Transformers: Robots In Disguise
Season 2
A Battle Between Life and Death
Part 3
Arrival of the Oriocons
Wedge: Last time on Transformers Robots In Disguise, Optimus was extremely upset
over the death of Koji. So he went off to have a sulk. Fortunately, Ultra Magnus
was able to bring him around in his own way: by knocking him for a loop. The two
united to save the Autobot Brothers from Starscream and Database. Man, the
things that have to happen to unite two arch enemies.
Skywars banked as another round of missiles flew by him.
"Slag it, this has to be the worst day of my existence!" He cursed. Close
behind were several F-14s sent out by Fort McKinley. "That's it, no more Mr.
Nice Bot." Skywars did a u-turn and rushed at the squadron. He fired his nose
lasers which clipped the right wing on one airplane. The airplane pulled away.
Skywars fired his engines and went into a straight 90 degree climb.
"Skywars combat mode!" Skywars transformed and immediately his ascent became a
descent. "Pile Drivers!" Using his huge pillar-like arms, Skywars rammed
himself into another airplane. The airplane was drilled straight down to the
ground. "Skywars, attack mode!" Skywars transformed again and flew back into
the air.
The planes switched to guns and began dogfighting Skywars. Several times they
actually got in a good hit. Skywars transformed again and went into hand-to-
hand combat with them. While he was dealing with one plane, another came in from
behind and fired his missiles. The missiles were right on target and Skywars
went down. The planes, seeing that their bogey was down, returned to base.
Skywars laid there, his back smoking. He was cursing himself. To lose to Autobots
was one thing, but to lose to a bunch of humans in poorly-built flying machines
was a whole different matter. Unicron was not going to be happy. Skywars
transformed and wobbily flew back to Unicron.
================================================================================
I can remember my father first telling me about it.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to do some good for a change."
"I don't know, dear," my Mom said. "I mean I love it that you get the ability to
contribute your knowledge for the good of man-kind, but New York is so dangerous,
what if something happens to you?"
"I'm sure nothing will happen. Son, you've been quiet, what do you think of this
global summit?"
I smiled at my father. I always loved how he was so smart and kind, the type of
attributes I want to have when I become an adult. "I think you should go for it,
Dad. Like you said, an opportunity like this is really rare."
My father smiled at me. "I knew I could count on you, Koji."
===============================================================================
"IMBECILES! MORONS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ALLOWED YOURSELVES TO BE BESTED BY A
BUNCH OF WORTHLESS LIFEFORMS!" Unicron was scolding all of his soldiers for
their recent battles. Skywars was being repaired by Database.
"You are correct as usual, Master Unicron," Skywars said not daring to look at his
master (which was difficult consider Unicron was all around them). "I will
understand if you want to destroy me."
"No, Skywars, that would be the easy way out for you. I want you to continue to
function with the memories of your failures. And besides, if there's one of you
who deserves to be executed, it's you, Database."
Database paused in the middle of wielding Skywars' back armor into place. "You
have not only lost our one advantage against the humans, but you lied to me and
involved Starscream in what was clearly a losing battle."
"But Master Unicron, I killed a human."
"Oh big deal," Motorcross said rolling his head. "You killed a human, so what?
This planet's full of them! You can't turn around wihtout tripping over a few
thousand of them."
"You don't understand, this human was friends with the Autobots."
"So that's why they were fighting so ferociously," Starscreaam said. "You gave
the Autobots a reason to fight to their full power. You stupid human, you have
no right calling yourself a warrior!"
"Silence, all of you!" Unicron snapped. "I can see that the Autobots are going
to be more trouble than I originally thought. I think it's time to call in some
professionals... Mercenaries."
Gateway raised his head. "Mercenaries? Master Unicron, you can't mean..."
"Yes, Gateway, I do. Summon... the Oriocons."
"Master, even if the Oriocons could get the job done, their price is always too
high."
"You let me worry about the price. Just contact them."
"Yes, Master Unicron."
Database scowled. He had to do something to bring himself back into Unicron's
favor. He had to find that data crystal.
Autobot Headquarters was quiet. Although the two who now occupied it most of the
time, Optimus Prime and Tai, weren't much of talkers to begin with, it's been
as quiet as a tomb. Probably fitting.
Optimus Prime and Tai haven't talked about Koji's death since the mass they held a
few days ago. Although Optimus knows that there wasn't anything he could do to
prevent it, he still felt bad about losing his good friend. Tai did too, Koji was
a big help during their battle with the Predacons and even when Unicron appeared.
Optimus still found it hard to believe that Koji was no longer with them.
"The U.S. military have chased off Skywars," Tai reported.
"Good. Tell the Autobot Brothers and Ultra Magnus to stand down. Unicron's minions
are getting rusty."
"Or maybe we're just getting stronger."
"One day, I hope we can get strong enough to take down Unicron for good."
"One can only hope..." There was an uncomfortable silence. "The Build Team reports
that a section of H-14 tunnel has collapsed. They want to repair it."
"Tell them to start on it tomorrow." Optimus looked at a monitor that displayed
different times around the world." "I'll take over their spot until they're done."
"Yes, sir." There was another uncomfortable silence before Tai commented, "I still
find it hard to believe that Ultra Magnus is helping us out."
"Unicron is a dangerous foe, Tai. He knows that the destruction of Unicron comes
before any personal vendettas. When he attacked me, I thought he was going to use
the opportunity to grab the Matrix from my spark. Imagine my surprise when I found
out it wasn't."
"He seems to have gotten more friendly. He doesn't argue with you."
"We still argue, but not on duty."
"That's good. Just between you and me, I'm glad he's on our side and not on
Unicron's payroll."
"Don't we all."
The silence returned.
"Tai?" Tai immediately knew what Optimus wanted to ask.
"It's okay, Optimus."
"No, Tai, it isn't. Your feelings are just as important as anyone else's. If you
need an audio receptor, I'm here."
"It's just that... I realized that I can never die. I'm designed to last for
thousands of years, but humans don't have that ability. Which means that, while
Karen and Wayne will get married, have kids, grow old and die, I will remain the
same, trapped on this physical plane forever."
"You think that you'll never see Koji in the afterlife even if there is one."
"Yes. Optimus... he has been my best friend... human friend... for a long time. I
don't think I'll ever get a chance to thank him for treating me like a friend rather
than a machine."
"Tai, I'm sure that wherever Koji is, he knows how thankful you are to be his friend
And I'm also sure that as long as you keep his memory alive in your own, he'll never
really die."
"I want to believe that, Optimus, but..."
"Then believe it, Tai. It's okay to believe in such ideals. That's what sets us
apart from the Predacons."
"As long as you don't become obsessed with them, right?"
"Right."
Tai smiled. "Thanks, Optimus, you don't know how much that means to me."
If he had a mouth, Optimus would smile at Tai. "Actually Tai, I do."
"Sigh, this is getting ridiculous." People stared in horror at the half-robot, half-
shark who was trying to sleep on a park bench with a too small for him newspaper on
his chest. "It's times like these that I wish I was back in my room at headquarters,
or even better, on Cybertron." Sky-Byte sat up and sat in his usual pouting position.
After the final battle between Omega Prime and Galvatron, the Autobots dismantled
Predacon headquarters. Luckily, Sky-Byte was able to salvage some of his personal
belongings. He now stashed his belongings under a rock on the Canadian boarder where
nobody would think of looking for them, if they even wanted to.
Sky-Byte noticed the people staring. "Do you people mind, I'm trying to have a moment
alone here!" And just like that, the crowd dispersed, not wanting to provoke the
wraith of the ex-Predacon.
Sky-Byte continued his internal reflection. He liked to think that he was all worked
up because the Autobots had made him homeless, but that wasn't it. It was Koji, the
human child who worked with the Autobots, the original pilot of Fortress Maximus, the
son of the man whom the Predacons kept captured for all those months, his... friend?
"This is insane!" Sky-Byte cried to the now empty park. "How can one child waver
the spark of the second-most powerful Predacon in the universe? HOW?" Sky-Byte
let out a sigh then temporarily perked up. "I know, perhaps a haiku would cheer me
up. Let's see... hmmm... There once was a guy from New Zealand... NO, NO, NO!
Even my poetry has been affected by this! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"
Sky-Byte paced up and down. "Okay, so the kid's dead. Yes, I'll grant that it is
a tragedy, but still it shouldn't work me up so much... should it?" Sky-Byte ceased
his pacing and sat down on the bench again. "Let's face it, Sky-Byte, Galvatron was
right, you are a weak guppy."
"Sky-Byte." A robot condor landed next to him. Sky-Byte immediately took several
giant steps back.
"You're one of Unicron's forces!"
"Not any more," came the female voice. "My name is Frenzy, I protect the humans."
"So you're part of the Autobots?"
"No, I'm not part of them either."
"But you just said you protect the humans."
"That's right, from any harm that might come to them, Autobot or otherwise."
"I see. So what do you want?"
"Something has been bothering me."
"Don't worry about that, humans usually do that in private."
"No, that's not it," Frenzy said even though she had no clue what he was
talking about. Sky-Byte looked up at her. "The Autobots invited me to that
mass for their friend, Koji."
"I know, I was there too."
"But I was part of the enemy not too long ago."
"So was I."
"Which is why I came to you. Why would the Autobots invite me to something so
personal? I mean, I didn't even know Koji."
"It has been my observation that when something tragic has happened, humans find
comfort in numbers," Sky-Byte told her. "The Autobots and humans act alike in so
many ways, it's almost sickening."
"Autobots and humans act alike," Frenzy repeated. she never noticed it before,
but there were some striking similarities between the customs of the Autobots and
the customs of the humans. "If I'm to exist with the humans, I must know how they
think and act. Since they mourn for others, even if they are not their own
species. I must cry for Koji's death."
"No!" Sky-Byte snapped. Frenzy looked at him in shock. "If you mourn, do it
because you feel sad that you will never see Koji again, not just because
everybody else is doing it." Sky-Byte looked into Frenzy's eyes and saw that her
eyes were sad, like they were crying. She was sad for Koji, sad for his death.
Sky-Byte wondered if it had something to do with her self-appointed charge of
guarding the humans.
He stared at the setting sun. "When I first met the kid, I thought he was an
annoyance, the Autobots' weak link. I actually thought he was the key to getting
the information on the world's energy sources that his father held. Megatron
definitely used every opportunity he could to ransom him off. But... over time,
I realized that he wasn't a normal human. There was something... different
about him. He wasn't scared of me like most humans nor discriminating like the
Autobots. It was... as if he could see into my spark."
"He could do that?"
"I wondered that hundreds of times. When the space needle almost collapsed, I
felt that I had to save it... save him. Even if it meant facing Megatron's
wraith. I shall never forget his kindness and the sincerity in his eyes."
Sky-Byte stood and faced the setting sun. "Although he is gone, he shall never
remain dead, while he's in our sparks. Hey, I got my poetry back!" Frenzy
laughed at the dance Sky-Byte was doing. Fortunately it didn't last long and
the two ex-enemies continued watching the sunset.
==============================================================================
It was horrible, like a bad sci-fi movie. This hand, this... giant claw came
out of nowhere, turned into this gigantic purple robot and delibrately
targeted my father because he knew about the world's energy supply. I had to
contact him. I quickly dialed his cell phone."
"Koji..." Was the only sound he could get out before the transmission went
dead.
I tried to tell myself that this wasn't happening, but it was. My father
always helped me when I was in trouble. The one time he was in trouble, I
am powerless to do anything.
I couldn't hold my tears in. "Please," I said to myself. "Someone... save
my father."
"And someone will," an unknown voice called out. I looked up in confusion.
============================================================================
Far out in space, just beyond the planet Mars, a spaceship cruised towards
the planet next to Mars, the metallic one.
"I can't believe we were summoned by Unicron," one robot said with what
humans would consider an Australian accent. "We must be legends!"
"Zip it, C.A.B.," another robot said from next to him. "You talked non-stop
from the Localian Nebula and personally I'm sick of it."
"You got a problem with me, 'Swipes?"
"Gee, was it that obvious?"
"Can it, both of you," their leader ordered from the center control panel.
"Yes, sir," the two arguing robots replied.
One of the robots looked at another robot. "Hey Chief, Buzz wants to know
what would make a big bot like Unicron call for us."
"Hey yeah, I thought he had his own henchmen," the Australian-speaking robot
chimed in.
"Our job is not to ask why," the leader said. "But to do what we're paid to
do."
"Here we go," the robot who was arguing with C.A.B. announced. A hatch in
Unicron's side opened up and the ship slid in sideways.
Once secured in the docking bay, the five robots exited the ship. Skywars
was waiting for them.
"Follow me," he said without greeting. He led the robots to the control
room. Unicron's other henchmen were standing in a straight line. A pair
of glowing eyes appeared on the view screen. Seeing Unicron's eyes was a
rare sight.
"Master Unicron," Skywars called. "Allow me to introduce the Oriocons."
The leader stepped forward. He was a large and square-looking gray robot.
"I'm Hauler, the leader."
The next one was the robot with the Australian voice. He was blue
and white with a visor over his eyes. "I'm Crash And Burn, C.A.B. for
short."
The next robot was the one who was arguing with Crash And Burn. He was
yellow, also with a visor over his eyes. "I'm called Sideswipe."
"Breakdown," said a white and brown robot. "And that's Buzz." Buzz
looked normal, a red body with white legs and arms and red hands, but
his head was only half there. Literally. Only the top part of his head
was shown.
"Speak before Master Unicron, dolt," Starscream ordered Buzz.
"He can't," Breakdown informed him. "He took an Autobot disruptor right to
the head. Vocal box entirely destroyed. I speak for him."
"Bah, we don't need such a useless..." Starscream never saw Buzz move but
next thing he knew, the mute Oriocon had extended a set of spikes from his
forearm and held them at Starscream's neck.
"As you can see," Hauler said. "Buzz can handle himself just fine."
"Going against Starscream is one thing," Skywars said. "Going against the
Autobots is another."
"Well put, Skywars," Unicron agreed. "I'll make this simple. I want you
to destroy the Autobots that are stationed on the planet Do you think you
can do that?"
"Depends on the price," Sideswipe said.
"Perhaps a trial run is in order, to see if you truly have what it takes."
A map of the Earth appeared and a dot appeared on the continent of South
America. "The Autobots are stationed all over the planet, but the ones in
this area have been giving us the hardest time. Defeat them in battle,
then we'll talk price."
"You think we just came online yesterday?" Crash And Burn asked. Hauler
put an arm out silencing him.
"We shall take your test," Hauler declared much to Junkyard and
Sideswipe's surprise and Crash and Burn's chagrin.
"Excellent. Starscream, prepare to bring them to Earth."
"No need," Hauler said. "We have our own transport."
"Then go."
"Hey wait a second," Doom Buggy said. "The humans are definitely going to
notice if a giant ship descends onto their planet. Perhaps they should be
given Earth disguises. The problem with Skywars was that his vehicle mode
stood out too much. They should get alternate forms too."
"Doom Buggy is correct," Unicron said. "I shall give you alternate forms
so you can slip within the humans' scanning equipment." A yellow energy
beam began scanning each of the Oriocons.
Database stood in a corner quietly. He was still mulling over the lost
of the data crystal that contained the Earth's plans for a Global Defense
System. He had to do something to get back under Master Unicron's good
side.
The Oriocons left along with their new transformations. Outside the
control room, Crash And Burn was outraged. "Hauler, why are you
agreeing to play his little game?"
Hauler grabbed the yellow robot's neck and pinned him against the wall.
"You fool, Unicron can destroy you before you can even compute. To
go against him now would only be suicide! Let's try to not cause any
trouble this time."
"But what about getting paid?" Crash And Burn asked.
"Everyone who has stood us up was destroyed. Unicron, despite his power,
is a client just like all the others. If he double-crosses us, then we
shall extract the payment by force."
Crash And Burn grinned. The Oriocons continued on to their ship unaware
that Unicron could hear all that goes on within him.
Heavy Duty was on guard at the Hyper Force's base camp in French Guyana.
He stared at the overcast sky, a perfect reflection of the current mood
of all the others, including Hot Rod.
"Heavy Duty?" Speak of the devil.
"Get some sleep, Hot Rod, you are not on guard tonight." Heavy Duty's
voice was surprisingly gentle. Normally, he would bark out orders but
not tonight.
"I can't, I have too much on my processor."
"Mainly?"
"Heavy Duty, I never knew Koji Onishi, yet his death is affecting me just
as hard as it would Optimus Prime, Sideburn, or Tai. Is that wrong?"
"Koji's death, was honorable. He fought until the end and never gave up
until the end. Out of all the Autobots, something inside me says that he
was the most heroic."
"Even though he wasn't an Autobot?"
"Even though he wasn't an Autobot," Heavy Duty repeated. "A soldier must
respect those who have fallen in battle." Hot Rod nodded and stood at
attention, paying his own tribute to Koji.
Suddenly a low rumble caught Heavy Duty's audio sensors. It sounded like
a car engine.
Hot Rod heard it too. "That's strange, Tai never warned us that someone
would drop by."
"Use your scanners, Hot Rod," Heavy Duty instructed pointing straight
ahead. Hot Rod activated his own scanners, combining night vision with
long-range vision. He saw several vehicles coming towards them. They
were a gray trailer truck, blue race car that looked like Mirage, a
yellow porsche, a red jeep with a brown hood, and a small brown sedan.
Both of them noticed that there was nobody in the driver seat of any
of them.
"Intruders!" Hot Rod gasped.
"Hyper Force, battle protocol!" Heavy Duty announced. "Intruders
approaching!" Immediately the other Hyper Force members came online."
"What is it, Heavy Duty?" Firestar asked.
"I don't know. I don't think they're Autobots, Predacons or part of
Unicron's forces."
"Then who are they?" Shuttle asked.
That question was answered with a cry of "Oriocons, transform!" The
semi's cab splitted and formed legs. The top of the trailer also split
and folded to the side to become arms. Hauler's head popped out from the
back of the trailer. Sideswipe's hood was his chest and his trunk was his
legs. The race car's front folded back and a head popped out. Legs came
from underneath and the arms were actually the wheels in vehicle mode.
Breakdown's transformation was the same as Sideswipe's. Buzz's hood
folded back as the front half stood on the back half.
"We're the Oriocons," Hauler introduced. "We're here to destroy you."
"Petty words from one of Unicron's dogs," Hot Rod cracked.
"Shut your trap, metalhead," Crash And Burn snapped. "We're here and
he's not. So deal with us."
"Fine by me," Hyper Flight said. "Hyper Force, attack!"
"Show no mercy!" Hauler shouted as he took on both Shuttle and Hyper
Flight. Hauler's armor was extremely tough. Hyper Flight and
Shuttle's punches weren't getting through at all. Hauler elbowed Shuttle
then kicked Hyper Flight in the chest. The Hyper Force leader doubled
over.
Crash And Burn's speed was making Hot Rod dizzy. He was afraid that there
was actually someone in existence faster than him. The Oriocon was
literally running circles around him. Hot Rod held out his arm in hopes to
trip him but felt nothing. Crash And Burn doubled around and round-kicked
Hot Rod in the head sending the young robot to the ground.
"C'mere, cuty," Sideswipe said with a smirk as he desprately tried to get at
Siren.
"Not in this reality," Siren said as she ran behind a tree. She threw all
her weight against it and tipped it over onto Sideswipe. But Sideswipe
caught the tree and threw it aside. "Siren Shock!" She fired a burst of
sonic energy from her sirens but Sideswipe took them in stride. The Oriocon
retracted his hand into his arm and an axe blade popped out. He swung at
Siren and sliced her sirens off her chest. "Hey, that's harrassment!"
"Cry me a river," Sideswipe said as his other hand retracted and a shield
popped out. He slammed it against Siren's head.
"You don't talk much," Firestar said as he dodged the first twenty or so
upper cuts from Buzz. "The strong silent type really isn't in this year."
Buzz activated his blades and made several cuts on Firestar's chest.
Heavy Duty fired his chest cannon in a strafing motion. The Oriocons were
forced to back off giving the Hyper Force time to regroup.
"These guys aren't pushovers," Hot Rod commented. "Should we combine?"
"Yes," Hyper Flight agreed. "Hyper Force unite!" They transformed into
their vehicle modes and became their combiner. "By the power of the sun,
I am Hyperion!"
"Whoa, they combined!" Crash And Burn gasped.
"Unicron never told us they could do that," Breakdown agreed.
"It's no big deal," Hauler said. "I think you guys know what to do."
"Right," Crash And Burn, Sideswipe, and Breakdown said. Buzz just nodded
his head.
"Oriocons, transform and combine!" Hyperion gasped as the Oriocons performed
a similar feet. Hauler's cab was pulled into the trailer as Buzz and
Breakdown formed legs and Sideswipe and Crash and Burn formed arms.
"I am Terrorion, the instrument of your destruction!" The gestalt introduced.
"We shall see, villain," Hyperion replied. The two giants clashed with brute
force and power. For almost five minutes, the battle went nowhere, until
finally, Terrorion began to get the upper hand.
The Oriocon gestalt leaped up and landed a series of kicks to Hyperion's chest.
Hyperion countered with a spinning back kick which Terrorion caught.
"It's time to use my ultimate power," Hyperion decided. "Hyper Power!" He
launched a blast of shining blue energy. Terrorion crossed his arms and blocked
it the best he could.
"Reflection!" Terrorion cried. The blast suddenly did a U-turn and doubled back
towards Hyperion. The gestalt could only look on in horror as the blast hit him
head on. The Hyper Force came apart and landed, their bodies bruised and smoking.
"Victory," Terrorion declared.
"Optimus!" Tai called. "I just lost the Hyper Force. I can't find their signal
anywhere!"
Optimus muttered a few Cybertronian curses. This was one thing he did NOT need
right now. "Tai, contact Ultra Magnus, Tow-Line, and the Build Team. Have them
meet me at the Hyper Force's camp. Optimus Prime, transform and roll out!"
As Optimus drove off, Tai immediately activated the emergency channel.
"Ultra Magnus, Tow-Line, Wedge, battle protocol. Report to South America on the
double!"
"What's the emergency?" Ultra Magnus asked as the three appeared on separate
view screens.
"We just lost all contact the Hyper Force. The only conclusion that can be
drawn is that they have fallen, and fallen badly!"
"All right, we'll be right there," Tow-Line said.
Tai shut down the communication sequence. "Please don't let them be gone,"
she said silently. "I don't think we can handle any more deaths this week."
A scuffle caught her ears. She whirled around but only saw a crate.
"All right, who's there? Come out and show yourself!" She called out.
From behind the crate came Karen Howard. She was still in the same clothes
she was wearing when Koji died, only they were a bit more askew. Her eyes
were bloodshot. It was clear that she was crying or had been crying at least.
"Karen, how long have you been there?"
"E... Ever since Ultra Magnus came back from his battle with Database." Tai's
calculator told her that she had been there for about two days.
"Karen, you should go home. Your parents must be worried sick."
"I... I can't," Karen sniffed. "I just... it's just that... Koji saved my life,
and now... I will never get the chance to thank him, to repay him." Tai helped
Karen to a nearby seat. "Before I met Koji, my friends were far and few. I
was beginning to think that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Then I
met Koji Onishi. The moment I pushed him out of the way of that speeding
convertible, I knew that... no, it was more like a feeling, I had a feeling
that this boy would change my life forever."
"I think I understand."
"We became friends almost immediately and have been ever since. Tai... I cared
about Koji, from day one and now he... I... he's..." Karen began to show signs
of crying again. "I'm sorry, I can't stop crying."
Tai smiled and turned away. "Then you're pretty lucky."
That cleared up Karen's voice. "Huh?"
"You can freely express your feelings through means such as crying. I can't."
"But I've seen you express feelings before."
"That's not the same. Despite Database's upgrade to me, I'm still just a
hologram, a computer, a piece of hardware. I have no tear ducts, therefore,
I can't cry. The only way I can express feelings if from imitation. But you...
you have free reign over your emotions."
"Tai, I..." But Karen didn't really know what to say.
Tai continued, "You should embrace your feelings, Karen, not be ashamed of
them. I would do anything to be given the ability to cry. We both cared about
Koji, but of the two of us, you are the only one who can express that."
Tai heard Karen come up from behind her and put her arms around the A.I.'s
slender frame. Her voice wavered. "Then... then I'll cry for both of us.
If... if you can be strong for both of us."
It's a deal." Tai felt a drop of water on her shoulder. Their talk had
started a fresh wave of tears from Karen's eyes.
Tai turned around and embraced the girl back. "It's okay, Karen," she
cooed. "Let it out, let it all out." Tai ran her fingers through the
younger girl's hair as Karen cried hard enough for two.
The Hyper Force's base camp was in ruins by the time the Autobots arrived.
"What happened here?" Wedge asked.
"Nothing good," Tow-Line replied.
"Ya' think?" Ultra Magnus said rhetorically as the Autobots spread out.
"Optimus," Hightower called. He gestured over to the Hyper Force who
were strewn along the ground. They were damaged beyond belief. Shuttle's
arm was pulled completely out of the socket, Heavy Duty's cannon barrel
was bent. Hyper Flight was in the worse shape.
"By Primus," Optimus Prime gasped. "What could've done this?"
"Prime," Ultra Magnus called. Optimus went over to his brother
who was down on one knee staring at a giant footprint. "I don't know
what could've caused this, but I can tell you this. It was big and it
wasn't good."
The Oriocons had returned to Unicron. Unicron was pleased with the
results of their battle.
"Very good, I see the reputation of the Oriocons is just as they say."
"We finished your test," Crash And Burn said sharply. "Now how about
our payment."
"Yes, your payment. Destroy the Autobots and you can name your own price."
"Our own price!" Hauler gasped.
"Yes, anything. Energon, weapons, power, even control. Your spark's desire
is yours."
"We accept your terms," Hauler said.
Unicron laughed maniacally while Database listened from outside the control
room. He grabbed Starscream who was passing by. "Starscream, take me to
Earth."
"Why?"
"Don't ask questions, just do it," Database snapped as unicron continued
his laughter.
To Be Continued
Siren: Terrorion is cunning and ruthless. Even Omega Prime is forced to
fall before his superior power. But that's making Starscream and the
others nervous, almost the point of rebellion. Meanwhile, a package comes
for Wayne in the mail. A package, which could bring new hope to the
Autobots. The next episode of Transformers: Robots In Disguise: "A Battle
Between Life and Death Pt. 4: The Delivery." So get ready to roll out!
Season 2
A Battle Between Life and Death
Part 3
Arrival of the Oriocons
Wedge: Last time on Transformers Robots In Disguise, Optimus was extremely upset
over the death of Koji. So he went off to have a sulk. Fortunately, Ultra Magnus
was able to bring him around in his own way: by knocking him for a loop. The two
united to save the Autobot Brothers from Starscream and Database. Man, the
things that have to happen to unite two arch enemies.
Skywars banked as another round of missiles flew by him.
"Slag it, this has to be the worst day of my existence!" He cursed. Close
behind were several F-14s sent out by Fort McKinley. "That's it, no more Mr.
Nice Bot." Skywars did a u-turn and rushed at the squadron. He fired his nose
lasers which clipped the right wing on one airplane. The airplane pulled away.
Skywars fired his engines and went into a straight 90 degree climb.
"Skywars combat mode!" Skywars transformed and immediately his ascent became a
descent. "Pile Drivers!" Using his huge pillar-like arms, Skywars rammed
himself into another airplane. The airplane was drilled straight down to the
ground. "Skywars, attack mode!" Skywars transformed again and flew back into
the air.
The planes switched to guns and began dogfighting Skywars. Several times they
actually got in a good hit. Skywars transformed again and went into hand-to-
hand combat with them. While he was dealing with one plane, another came in from
behind and fired his missiles. The missiles were right on target and Skywars
went down. The planes, seeing that their bogey was down, returned to base.
Skywars laid there, his back smoking. He was cursing himself. To lose to Autobots
was one thing, but to lose to a bunch of humans in poorly-built flying machines
was a whole different matter. Unicron was not going to be happy. Skywars
transformed and wobbily flew back to Unicron.
================================================================================
I can remember my father first telling me about it.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to do some good for a change."
"I don't know, dear," my Mom said. "I mean I love it that you get the ability to
contribute your knowledge for the good of man-kind, but New York is so dangerous,
what if something happens to you?"
"I'm sure nothing will happen. Son, you've been quiet, what do you think of this
global summit?"
I smiled at my father. I always loved how he was so smart and kind, the type of
attributes I want to have when I become an adult. "I think you should go for it,
Dad. Like you said, an opportunity like this is really rare."
My father smiled at me. "I knew I could count on you, Koji."
===============================================================================
"IMBECILES! MORONS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ALLOWED YOURSELVES TO BE BESTED BY A
BUNCH OF WORTHLESS LIFEFORMS!" Unicron was scolding all of his soldiers for
their recent battles. Skywars was being repaired by Database.
"You are correct as usual, Master Unicron," Skywars said not daring to look at his
master (which was difficult consider Unicron was all around them). "I will
understand if you want to destroy me."
"No, Skywars, that would be the easy way out for you. I want you to continue to
function with the memories of your failures. And besides, if there's one of you
who deserves to be executed, it's you, Database."
Database paused in the middle of wielding Skywars' back armor into place. "You
have not only lost our one advantage against the humans, but you lied to me and
involved Starscream in what was clearly a losing battle."
"But Master Unicron, I killed a human."
"Oh big deal," Motorcross said rolling his head. "You killed a human, so what?
This planet's full of them! You can't turn around wihtout tripping over a few
thousand of them."
"You don't understand, this human was friends with the Autobots."
"So that's why they were fighting so ferociously," Starscreaam said. "You gave
the Autobots a reason to fight to their full power. You stupid human, you have
no right calling yourself a warrior!"
"Silence, all of you!" Unicron snapped. "I can see that the Autobots are going
to be more trouble than I originally thought. I think it's time to call in some
professionals... Mercenaries."
Gateway raised his head. "Mercenaries? Master Unicron, you can't mean..."
"Yes, Gateway, I do. Summon... the Oriocons."
"Master, even if the Oriocons could get the job done, their price is always too
high."
"You let me worry about the price. Just contact them."
"Yes, Master Unicron."
Database scowled. He had to do something to bring himself back into Unicron's
favor. He had to find that data crystal.
Autobot Headquarters was quiet. Although the two who now occupied it most of the
time, Optimus Prime and Tai, weren't much of talkers to begin with, it's been
as quiet as a tomb. Probably fitting.
Optimus Prime and Tai haven't talked about Koji's death since the mass they held a
few days ago. Although Optimus knows that there wasn't anything he could do to
prevent it, he still felt bad about losing his good friend. Tai did too, Koji was
a big help during their battle with the Predacons and even when Unicron appeared.
Optimus still found it hard to believe that Koji was no longer with them.
"The U.S. military have chased off Skywars," Tai reported.
"Good. Tell the Autobot Brothers and Ultra Magnus to stand down. Unicron's minions
are getting rusty."
"Or maybe we're just getting stronger."
"One day, I hope we can get strong enough to take down Unicron for good."
"One can only hope..." There was an uncomfortable silence. "The Build Team reports
that a section of H-14 tunnel has collapsed. They want to repair it."
"Tell them to start on it tomorrow." Optimus looked at a monitor that displayed
different times around the world." "I'll take over their spot until they're done."
"Yes, sir." There was another uncomfortable silence before Tai commented, "I still
find it hard to believe that Ultra Magnus is helping us out."
"Unicron is a dangerous foe, Tai. He knows that the destruction of Unicron comes
before any personal vendettas. When he attacked me, I thought he was going to use
the opportunity to grab the Matrix from my spark. Imagine my surprise when I found
out it wasn't."
"He seems to have gotten more friendly. He doesn't argue with you."
"We still argue, but not on duty."
"That's good. Just between you and me, I'm glad he's on our side and not on
Unicron's payroll."
"Don't we all."
The silence returned.
"Tai?" Tai immediately knew what Optimus wanted to ask.
"It's okay, Optimus."
"No, Tai, it isn't. Your feelings are just as important as anyone else's. If you
need an audio receptor, I'm here."
"It's just that... I realized that I can never die. I'm designed to last for
thousands of years, but humans don't have that ability. Which means that, while
Karen and Wayne will get married, have kids, grow old and die, I will remain the
same, trapped on this physical plane forever."
"You think that you'll never see Koji in the afterlife even if there is one."
"Yes. Optimus... he has been my best friend... human friend... for a long time. I
don't think I'll ever get a chance to thank him for treating me like a friend rather
than a machine."
"Tai, I'm sure that wherever Koji is, he knows how thankful you are to be his friend
And I'm also sure that as long as you keep his memory alive in your own, he'll never
really die."
"I want to believe that, Optimus, but..."
"Then believe it, Tai. It's okay to believe in such ideals. That's what sets us
apart from the Predacons."
"As long as you don't become obsessed with them, right?"
"Right."
Tai smiled. "Thanks, Optimus, you don't know how much that means to me."
If he had a mouth, Optimus would smile at Tai. "Actually Tai, I do."
"Sigh, this is getting ridiculous." People stared in horror at the half-robot, half-
shark who was trying to sleep on a park bench with a too small for him newspaper on
his chest. "It's times like these that I wish I was back in my room at headquarters,
or even better, on Cybertron." Sky-Byte sat up and sat in his usual pouting position.
After the final battle between Omega Prime and Galvatron, the Autobots dismantled
Predacon headquarters. Luckily, Sky-Byte was able to salvage some of his personal
belongings. He now stashed his belongings under a rock on the Canadian boarder where
nobody would think of looking for them, if they even wanted to.
Sky-Byte noticed the people staring. "Do you people mind, I'm trying to have a moment
alone here!" And just like that, the crowd dispersed, not wanting to provoke the
wraith of the ex-Predacon.
Sky-Byte continued his internal reflection. He liked to think that he was all worked
up because the Autobots had made him homeless, but that wasn't it. It was Koji, the
human child who worked with the Autobots, the original pilot of Fortress Maximus, the
son of the man whom the Predacons kept captured for all those months, his... friend?
"This is insane!" Sky-Byte cried to the now empty park. "How can one child waver
the spark of the second-most powerful Predacon in the universe? HOW?" Sky-Byte
let out a sigh then temporarily perked up. "I know, perhaps a haiku would cheer me
up. Let's see... hmmm... There once was a guy from New Zealand... NO, NO, NO!
Even my poetry has been affected by this! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"
Sky-Byte paced up and down. "Okay, so the kid's dead. Yes, I'll grant that it is
a tragedy, but still it shouldn't work me up so much... should it?" Sky-Byte ceased
his pacing and sat down on the bench again. "Let's face it, Sky-Byte, Galvatron was
right, you are a weak guppy."
"Sky-Byte." A robot condor landed next to him. Sky-Byte immediately took several
giant steps back.
"You're one of Unicron's forces!"
"Not any more," came the female voice. "My name is Frenzy, I protect the humans."
"So you're part of the Autobots?"
"No, I'm not part of them either."
"But you just said you protect the humans."
"That's right, from any harm that might come to them, Autobot or otherwise."
"I see. So what do you want?"
"Something has been bothering me."
"Don't worry about that, humans usually do that in private."
"No, that's not it," Frenzy said even though she had no clue what he was
talking about. Sky-Byte looked up at her. "The Autobots invited me to that
mass for their friend, Koji."
"I know, I was there too."
"But I was part of the enemy not too long ago."
"So was I."
"Which is why I came to you. Why would the Autobots invite me to something so
personal? I mean, I didn't even know Koji."
"It has been my observation that when something tragic has happened, humans find
comfort in numbers," Sky-Byte told her. "The Autobots and humans act alike in so
many ways, it's almost sickening."
"Autobots and humans act alike," Frenzy repeated. she never noticed it before,
but there were some striking similarities between the customs of the Autobots and
the customs of the humans. "If I'm to exist with the humans, I must know how they
think and act. Since they mourn for others, even if they are not their own
species. I must cry for Koji's death."
"No!" Sky-Byte snapped. Frenzy looked at him in shock. "If you mourn, do it
because you feel sad that you will never see Koji again, not just because
everybody else is doing it." Sky-Byte looked into Frenzy's eyes and saw that her
eyes were sad, like they were crying. She was sad for Koji, sad for his death.
Sky-Byte wondered if it had something to do with her self-appointed charge of
guarding the humans.
He stared at the setting sun. "When I first met the kid, I thought he was an
annoyance, the Autobots' weak link. I actually thought he was the key to getting
the information on the world's energy sources that his father held. Megatron
definitely used every opportunity he could to ransom him off. But... over time,
I realized that he wasn't a normal human. There was something... different
about him. He wasn't scared of me like most humans nor discriminating like the
Autobots. It was... as if he could see into my spark."
"He could do that?"
"I wondered that hundreds of times. When the space needle almost collapsed, I
felt that I had to save it... save him. Even if it meant facing Megatron's
wraith. I shall never forget his kindness and the sincerity in his eyes."
Sky-Byte stood and faced the setting sun. "Although he is gone, he shall never
remain dead, while he's in our sparks. Hey, I got my poetry back!" Frenzy
laughed at the dance Sky-Byte was doing. Fortunately it didn't last long and
the two ex-enemies continued watching the sunset.
==============================================================================
It was horrible, like a bad sci-fi movie. This hand, this... giant claw came
out of nowhere, turned into this gigantic purple robot and delibrately
targeted my father because he knew about the world's energy supply. I had to
contact him. I quickly dialed his cell phone."
"Koji..." Was the only sound he could get out before the transmission went
dead.
I tried to tell myself that this wasn't happening, but it was. My father
always helped me when I was in trouble. The one time he was in trouble, I
am powerless to do anything.
I couldn't hold my tears in. "Please," I said to myself. "Someone... save
my father."
"And someone will," an unknown voice called out. I looked up in confusion.
============================================================================
Far out in space, just beyond the planet Mars, a spaceship cruised towards
the planet next to Mars, the metallic one.
"I can't believe we were summoned by Unicron," one robot said with what
humans would consider an Australian accent. "We must be legends!"
"Zip it, C.A.B.," another robot said from next to him. "You talked non-stop
from the Localian Nebula and personally I'm sick of it."
"You got a problem with me, 'Swipes?"
"Gee, was it that obvious?"
"Can it, both of you," their leader ordered from the center control panel.
"Yes, sir," the two arguing robots replied.
One of the robots looked at another robot. "Hey Chief, Buzz wants to know
what would make a big bot like Unicron call for us."
"Hey yeah, I thought he had his own henchmen," the Australian-speaking robot
chimed in.
"Our job is not to ask why," the leader said. "But to do what we're paid to
do."
"Here we go," the robot who was arguing with C.A.B. announced. A hatch in
Unicron's side opened up and the ship slid in sideways.
Once secured in the docking bay, the five robots exited the ship. Skywars
was waiting for them.
"Follow me," he said without greeting. He led the robots to the control
room. Unicron's other henchmen were standing in a straight line. A pair
of glowing eyes appeared on the view screen. Seeing Unicron's eyes was a
rare sight.
"Master Unicron," Skywars called. "Allow me to introduce the Oriocons."
The leader stepped forward. He was a large and square-looking gray robot.
"I'm Hauler, the leader."
The next one was the robot with the Australian voice. He was blue
and white with a visor over his eyes. "I'm Crash And Burn, C.A.B. for
short."
The next robot was the one who was arguing with Crash And Burn. He was
yellow, also with a visor over his eyes. "I'm called Sideswipe."
"Breakdown," said a white and brown robot. "And that's Buzz." Buzz
looked normal, a red body with white legs and arms and red hands, but
his head was only half there. Literally. Only the top part of his head
was shown.
"Speak before Master Unicron, dolt," Starscream ordered Buzz.
"He can't," Breakdown informed him. "He took an Autobot disruptor right to
the head. Vocal box entirely destroyed. I speak for him."
"Bah, we don't need such a useless..." Starscream never saw Buzz move but
next thing he knew, the mute Oriocon had extended a set of spikes from his
forearm and held them at Starscream's neck.
"As you can see," Hauler said. "Buzz can handle himself just fine."
"Going against Starscream is one thing," Skywars said. "Going against the
Autobots is another."
"Well put, Skywars," Unicron agreed. "I'll make this simple. I want you
to destroy the Autobots that are stationed on the planet Do you think you
can do that?"
"Depends on the price," Sideswipe said.
"Perhaps a trial run is in order, to see if you truly have what it takes."
A map of the Earth appeared and a dot appeared on the continent of South
America. "The Autobots are stationed all over the planet, but the ones in
this area have been giving us the hardest time. Defeat them in battle,
then we'll talk price."
"You think we just came online yesterday?" Crash And Burn asked. Hauler
put an arm out silencing him.
"We shall take your test," Hauler declared much to Junkyard and
Sideswipe's surprise and Crash and Burn's chagrin.
"Excellent. Starscream, prepare to bring them to Earth."
"No need," Hauler said. "We have our own transport."
"Then go."
"Hey wait a second," Doom Buggy said. "The humans are definitely going to
notice if a giant ship descends onto their planet. Perhaps they should be
given Earth disguises. The problem with Skywars was that his vehicle mode
stood out too much. They should get alternate forms too."
"Doom Buggy is correct," Unicron said. "I shall give you alternate forms
so you can slip within the humans' scanning equipment." A yellow energy
beam began scanning each of the Oriocons.
Database stood in a corner quietly. He was still mulling over the lost
of the data crystal that contained the Earth's plans for a Global Defense
System. He had to do something to get back under Master Unicron's good
side.
The Oriocons left along with their new transformations. Outside the
control room, Crash And Burn was outraged. "Hauler, why are you
agreeing to play his little game?"
Hauler grabbed the yellow robot's neck and pinned him against the wall.
"You fool, Unicron can destroy you before you can even compute. To
go against him now would only be suicide! Let's try to not cause any
trouble this time."
"But what about getting paid?" Crash And Burn asked.
"Everyone who has stood us up was destroyed. Unicron, despite his power,
is a client just like all the others. If he double-crosses us, then we
shall extract the payment by force."
Crash And Burn grinned. The Oriocons continued on to their ship unaware
that Unicron could hear all that goes on within him.
Heavy Duty was on guard at the Hyper Force's base camp in French Guyana.
He stared at the overcast sky, a perfect reflection of the current mood
of all the others, including Hot Rod.
"Heavy Duty?" Speak of the devil.
"Get some sleep, Hot Rod, you are not on guard tonight." Heavy Duty's
voice was surprisingly gentle. Normally, he would bark out orders but
not tonight.
"I can't, I have too much on my processor."
"Mainly?"
"Heavy Duty, I never knew Koji Onishi, yet his death is affecting me just
as hard as it would Optimus Prime, Sideburn, or Tai. Is that wrong?"
"Koji's death, was honorable. He fought until the end and never gave up
until the end. Out of all the Autobots, something inside me says that he
was the most heroic."
"Even though he wasn't an Autobot?"
"Even though he wasn't an Autobot," Heavy Duty repeated. "A soldier must
respect those who have fallen in battle." Hot Rod nodded and stood at
attention, paying his own tribute to Koji.
Suddenly a low rumble caught Heavy Duty's audio sensors. It sounded like
a car engine.
Hot Rod heard it too. "That's strange, Tai never warned us that someone
would drop by."
"Use your scanners, Hot Rod," Heavy Duty instructed pointing straight
ahead. Hot Rod activated his own scanners, combining night vision with
long-range vision. He saw several vehicles coming towards them. They
were a gray trailer truck, blue race car that looked like Mirage, a
yellow porsche, a red jeep with a brown hood, and a small brown sedan.
Both of them noticed that there was nobody in the driver seat of any
of them.
"Intruders!" Hot Rod gasped.
"Hyper Force, battle protocol!" Heavy Duty announced. "Intruders
approaching!" Immediately the other Hyper Force members came online."
"What is it, Heavy Duty?" Firestar asked.
"I don't know. I don't think they're Autobots, Predacons or part of
Unicron's forces."
"Then who are they?" Shuttle asked.
That question was answered with a cry of "Oriocons, transform!" The
semi's cab splitted and formed legs. The top of the trailer also split
and folded to the side to become arms. Hauler's head popped out from the
back of the trailer. Sideswipe's hood was his chest and his trunk was his
legs. The race car's front folded back and a head popped out. Legs came
from underneath and the arms were actually the wheels in vehicle mode.
Breakdown's transformation was the same as Sideswipe's. Buzz's hood
folded back as the front half stood on the back half.
"We're the Oriocons," Hauler introduced. "We're here to destroy you."
"Petty words from one of Unicron's dogs," Hot Rod cracked.
"Shut your trap, metalhead," Crash And Burn snapped. "We're here and
he's not. So deal with us."
"Fine by me," Hyper Flight said. "Hyper Force, attack!"
"Show no mercy!" Hauler shouted as he took on both Shuttle and Hyper
Flight. Hauler's armor was extremely tough. Hyper Flight and
Shuttle's punches weren't getting through at all. Hauler elbowed Shuttle
then kicked Hyper Flight in the chest. The Hyper Force leader doubled
over.
Crash And Burn's speed was making Hot Rod dizzy. He was afraid that there
was actually someone in existence faster than him. The Oriocon was
literally running circles around him. Hot Rod held out his arm in hopes to
trip him but felt nothing. Crash And Burn doubled around and round-kicked
Hot Rod in the head sending the young robot to the ground.
"C'mere, cuty," Sideswipe said with a smirk as he desprately tried to get at
Siren.
"Not in this reality," Siren said as she ran behind a tree. She threw all
her weight against it and tipped it over onto Sideswipe. But Sideswipe
caught the tree and threw it aside. "Siren Shock!" She fired a burst of
sonic energy from her sirens but Sideswipe took them in stride. The Oriocon
retracted his hand into his arm and an axe blade popped out. He swung at
Siren and sliced her sirens off her chest. "Hey, that's harrassment!"
"Cry me a river," Sideswipe said as his other hand retracted and a shield
popped out. He slammed it against Siren's head.
"You don't talk much," Firestar said as he dodged the first twenty or so
upper cuts from Buzz. "The strong silent type really isn't in this year."
Buzz activated his blades and made several cuts on Firestar's chest.
Heavy Duty fired his chest cannon in a strafing motion. The Oriocons were
forced to back off giving the Hyper Force time to regroup.
"These guys aren't pushovers," Hot Rod commented. "Should we combine?"
"Yes," Hyper Flight agreed. "Hyper Force unite!" They transformed into
their vehicle modes and became their combiner. "By the power of the sun,
I am Hyperion!"
"Whoa, they combined!" Crash And Burn gasped.
"Unicron never told us they could do that," Breakdown agreed.
"It's no big deal," Hauler said. "I think you guys know what to do."
"Right," Crash And Burn, Sideswipe, and Breakdown said. Buzz just nodded
his head.
"Oriocons, transform and combine!" Hyperion gasped as the Oriocons performed
a similar feet. Hauler's cab was pulled into the trailer as Buzz and
Breakdown formed legs and Sideswipe and Crash and Burn formed arms.
"I am Terrorion, the instrument of your destruction!" The gestalt introduced.
"We shall see, villain," Hyperion replied. The two giants clashed with brute
force and power. For almost five minutes, the battle went nowhere, until
finally, Terrorion began to get the upper hand.
The Oriocon gestalt leaped up and landed a series of kicks to Hyperion's chest.
Hyperion countered with a spinning back kick which Terrorion caught.
"It's time to use my ultimate power," Hyperion decided. "Hyper Power!" He
launched a blast of shining blue energy. Terrorion crossed his arms and blocked
it the best he could.
"Reflection!" Terrorion cried. The blast suddenly did a U-turn and doubled back
towards Hyperion. The gestalt could only look on in horror as the blast hit him
head on. The Hyper Force came apart and landed, their bodies bruised and smoking.
"Victory," Terrorion declared.
"Optimus!" Tai called. "I just lost the Hyper Force. I can't find their signal
anywhere!"
Optimus muttered a few Cybertronian curses. This was one thing he did NOT need
right now. "Tai, contact Ultra Magnus, Tow-Line, and the Build Team. Have them
meet me at the Hyper Force's camp. Optimus Prime, transform and roll out!"
As Optimus drove off, Tai immediately activated the emergency channel.
"Ultra Magnus, Tow-Line, Wedge, battle protocol. Report to South America on the
double!"
"What's the emergency?" Ultra Magnus asked as the three appeared on separate
view screens.
"We just lost all contact the Hyper Force. The only conclusion that can be
drawn is that they have fallen, and fallen badly!"
"All right, we'll be right there," Tow-Line said.
Tai shut down the communication sequence. "Please don't let them be gone,"
she said silently. "I don't think we can handle any more deaths this week."
A scuffle caught her ears. She whirled around but only saw a crate.
"All right, who's there? Come out and show yourself!" She called out.
From behind the crate came Karen Howard. She was still in the same clothes
she was wearing when Koji died, only they were a bit more askew. Her eyes
were bloodshot. It was clear that she was crying or had been crying at least.
"Karen, how long have you been there?"
"E... Ever since Ultra Magnus came back from his battle with Database." Tai's
calculator told her that she had been there for about two days.
"Karen, you should go home. Your parents must be worried sick."
"I... I can't," Karen sniffed. "I just... it's just that... Koji saved my life,
and now... I will never get the chance to thank him, to repay him." Tai helped
Karen to a nearby seat. "Before I met Koji, my friends were far and few. I
was beginning to think that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Then I
met Koji Onishi. The moment I pushed him out of the way of that speeding
convertible, I knew that... no, it was more like a feeling, I had a feeling
that this boy would change my life forever."
"I think I understand."
"We became friends almost immediately and have been ever since. Tai... I cared
about Koji, from day one and now he... I... he's..." Karen began to show signs
of crying again. "I'm sorry, I can't stop crying."
Tai smiled and turned away. "Then you're pretty lucky."
That cleared up Karen's voice. "Huh?"
"You can freely express your feelings through means such as crying. I can't."
"But I've seen you express feelings before."
"That's not the same. Despite Database's upgrade to me, I'm still just a
hologram, a computer, a piece of hardware. I have no tear ducts, therefore,
I can't cry. The only way I can express feelings if from imitation. But you...
you have free reign over your emotions."
"Tai, I..." But Karen didn't really know what to say.
Tai continued, "You should embrace your feelings, Karen, not be ashamed of
them. I would do anything to be given the ability to cry. We both cared about
Koji, but of the two of us, you are the only one who can express that."
Tai heard Karen come up from behind her and put her arms around the A.I.'s
slender frame. Her voice wavered. "Then... then I'll cry for both of us.
If... if you can be strong for both of us."
It's a deal." Tai felt a drop of water on her shoulder. Their talk had
started a fresh wave of tears from Karen's eyes.
Tai turned around and embraced the girl back. "It's okay, Karen," she
cooed. "Let it out, let it all out." Tai ran her fingers through the
younger girl's hair as Karen cried hard enough for two.
The Hyper Force's base camp was in ruins by the time the Autobots arrived.
"What happened here?" Wedge asked.
"Nothing good," Tow-Line replied.
"Ya' think?" Ultra Magnus said rhetorically as the Autobots spread out.
"Optimus," Hightower called. He gestured over to the Hyper Force who
were strewn along the ground. They were damaged beyond belief. Shuttle's
arm was pulled completely out of the socket, Heavy Duty's cannon barrel
was bent. Hyper Flight was in the worse shape.
"By Primus," Optimus Prime gasped. "What could've done this?"
"Prime," Ultra Magnus called. Optimus went over to his brother
who was down on one knee staring at a giant footprint. "I don't know
what could've caused this, but I can tell you this. It was big and it
wasn't good."
The Oriocons had returned to Unicron. Unicron was pleased with the
results of their battle.
"Very good, I see the reputation of the Oriocons is just as they say."
"We finished your test," Crash And Burn said sharply. "Now how about
our payment."
"Yes, your payment. Destroy the Autobots and you can name your own price."
"Our own price!" Hauler gasped.
"Yes, anything. Energon, weapons, power, even control. Your spark's desire
is yours."
"We accept your terms," Hauler said.
Unicron laughed maniacally while Database listened from outside the control
room. He grabbed Starscream who was passing by. "Starscream, take me to
Earth."
"Why?"
"Don't ask questions, just do it," Database snapped as unicron continued
his laughter.
To Be Continued
Siren: Terrorion is cunning and ruthless. Even Omega Prime is forced to
fall before his superior power. But that's making Starscream and the
others nervous, almost the point of rebellion. Meanwhile, a package comes
for Wayne in the mail. A package, which could bring new hope to the
Autobots. The next episode of Transformers: Robots In Disguise: "A Battle
Between Life and Death Pt. 4: The Delivery." So get ready to roll out!