Special thanks must go to ShadowSonic for reigniting my interest in this work. And for all the assistance put in during this stories development, especially the creative input and proofreading to correct my mistakes.
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CH (1): Dusk
A land of broken shadows and shattered spirits is all that could summarize what had come to pass. No light from the star warmed the surface anymore, filtered through the clouds it became a choking haze filled with reds and oranges that mimicked the land. The very rain itself that should have washed away the impurities only seemed to add more, burning into the rocks as flashes of lightning cast fleeting shadows across the lands.
Few creatures could survive in such condition and of them most would perish under the intolerable hardship. A cluster of such survivors looked across the land, their glowing eyes trying to guide them out of the wastelands and towards safety as the rain burned their through metal skins.
The machines always traveling east, picking up their weakened colleagues as they stumbled onwards, the two leaders supporting each other as they clambered their way into a temporary shelter to wait for their companions.
Both bipeds stood at the entrance guiding others into the cave for shelter, a bolt of lightning in the darkness lit up the creature of that tiniest of moments, the leaders like their companions had alternate faces of creatures on their bodies, their bodies vaguely resembling these creatures unlike their current design. Claws, tails, teeth and weapons forged into some unholy alliance that seemed to work.
At the entrance one of the creatures resembled a red and blue lion made human, a lions head and mane covering its chest while heavy claws made way for dexterous hands, its body burnt and slowly dissolving like its comrades though its determination and resilience shone through. The other covered in dark purples and grays resembled a ferocious dragon or raptor, its horrific face cast as a breast plate, a tail resting upon its right arm as two large plates resembling wings covered its back. Behind them the mixture of other creature made biped sheltered and cared for each other, trying to make repairs for the next leg of the journey.
Ignorant to the commotion behind them, both leaders stared at a single point in the sky where a constant fire burnt surrounded by a thousand specks of light, a burning eye forged in the center of a moon scaring the planet with its presence alone.
A lone figure jolted up, the veils of night hiding their identity with only the light of a clock illuminating the surrounding room. Its' rapid panting slowly returning to a steady breathing. A hand patted a creature that purred reassuringly before lying back down to try and recover what sleep was possible.
CHARR
On a cold and desolate planet the remaining Decepticons where crammed together, the stagnant rock unable to support them for long, not able to produce their life giving energon from the blackened and skewed planet the survivors struggled to sustain themselves. The weak and injured already ripped apart for their energon reserves. The terrors forged by the broken god Unicron: Cyclonus and Scourge arrived to take charge, their towering presence alone putting rest to the fights and fractioning the plagued the remaining few.
As an uneasy order fell upon the planet the two overseers addressed those few they determined worthy of their trust. "Soundwave, you are to prepare a raiding party for Cybertron. We are in desperate need of energon so while the Autobots are distracted with reconstructions you shall collect a stockpile of energon which we can use to launch our attacks and sustain ourselves." Cyclonus commanded.
"Commander, wouldn't it be more effective if you lead this party." The monotone of Soundwave responded, surprised with the sudden responsibilities.
A compassionless glare putting rest to the minor challenge to his authority the chief overseer replied with his usual cold demeanour, "I trust you can complete such a menial task Soundwave. Still, we shall be preparing a distraction to simplify your task."
His position confirmed the weaker soldier accepted his new superior, "Yes commander."
Away from the remainder of the Decepticons, well outside Soundwave's listening range the two overseers discussed their plans.
"Do you think it'll work?" Scourge asked as his opposite looked across the lifeless planes that formed their new home world.
"I guarantee it." Cyclonus responded, his face crossed by a rare smirk.
CYBERTRON
Far away on the home world of all Transformers, Cybertron, the Autobots continued with their attempts to rebuild the planet after the devastation reaped upon the planet by the dark god Unicron. The new Prime coordinating work as the planet was gradually put back together while above the dark god's head watched the wounds he created be healed, slowly returning the planet to a sense of normality.
Walking up to his old friend the larger robot addressed his colleague, "Kup, how do the reconstruction efforts fair?"
"Good enough considering the damage that monster did. We're still short on energon, but our supplies should see us through." The older looking robot replied, knowing that his friend Rodimus still looked to him for reassurance.
Moving to gain a better vantage point to survey the repairs the taller answered his friends' question. "There is no need to worry. I've sent Ultra Magnus to Earth to gather supplies. They should begin sending shipments soon enough to replenish supplies."
"What about the Decepticons? We haven't had trouble from them recently and I don't think they're sitting back taking their defeat lightly." Kup asked, bringing up a still touchy subject.
"They're not a concern right now; Blaster has been monitoring their activities and reports they're too busy fighting amongst themselves for power to pose a threat. Last I heard they were on the brink of destroying themselves." Rodimus said, trying to be as confident as possible considering the memories they all had of past 'victories'.
"Lets hope that is true." Kup said smiling, sensing the doubt in the leaders voice.
Above, a bird finished its mission, flying off as silently as it had arrived. The two purple symbols on its wings leaving streaks in the sky as it flew away.
CHARR
"This is excellent news Laserbeak. We shall strike the shipment and leave before the Autobots can retaliate." Cyclonus cried as the listening robots smiled, waiting for the taste of Autobot fuel.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's remind them of the power of the Decepticons!" Blitzwing cried to rapturous applause as the raiding party flew off, leaving the remaining Decepticons to wait for their return.
"You owe us for the energon we gave you! You better return successful or not at all!" Someone hailed from the crowed, reinforcing to those on the mission what was at stake. Quickly the two commanders broke off, leaving the remainder of the party to their business.
ABOVE CYBERTRON
Inside the enormous remnants of the Dark God himself that orbited Cybertron, the commanders arrived, a series of computer banks waiting to be checked filled the hollow head.
"Scourge, get to work, I'll provide cover incase some fools decide to interfere."
"Yes Cyclonus, just so you know, this could take some time."
"Then get going, time is not our greatest ally." Cyclonus snapped as he watched over the entrance, paying careful attention to what was happening around them.
Stopping on a particular file Scourge called out.
"I've found it, bringing it onto the main screen."
On the screen two robots did battle, the smaller red one eventually gaining the upper hand as his hands took hold of a diamond like crystal. Only moment later the purple and grey robot was thrown into space before a blinding light killed the camera.
"Excellent, can you track his trajectory?" Cyclonus sneered.
"Of course." Scourge shot back, insulted by the challenge to his abilities.
"Then do it, and let's hope Soundwave can complete a simple mission." Cyclonus scowled as they transformed and flew off.
INTER SOLAR SPACE
Onboard a shuttle destined for Cybertron, four robots carefully guided the ship towards its destination filled with its precious cargo. Energon cubes filled the storage compartments to capacity. Their precious cargo was only a fraction of the amount they had gathered on Earth, the energy which was freely given by the grateful people on the planet for finally ridding the planet of the Decepticons.
An explosion, then tearing sounds, jolted the Autobots from their seats. "What the-" Shouted Jazz as he looked around seeing a gaping hole in the side of the ship where three large Decepticons entered.
"Decepticons Attack!" Ordered Soundwave as he and two others let loose a hail of fire upon the stunned Autobots.
Fighting desperately the Autobots began pushing back the Decepticons with pure weight of numbers, also being fully charged and repaired helped, forcing the attackers to hide near their makeshift door.
"Jazz to Cybertron, come in Cybertron. We're under attack from the Decepticons! If you get this, we need reinforcements quick!" Jazz called for help while they had the advantage before rejoining the fight. The three Decepticons kept their fraction of ground, hiding from the continuous fire while their armor held.
"Constructicons now!" Soundwave ordered, another series of explosions separating the front of the shuttle, leaving the Autobots to drift away.
"What's going on?" Hound called as the Constructicons waved towards the drifting section.
"We can't risk damaging the cargo now can we?" Blitzwing smirked, transforming into his tank form. A single shot destroying the makeshift life raft for the Autobots.
"Autobots eliminated." Astrotrain cackled as the team rejoiced for their first victory in a while.
After their brief rejoice, Soundwave issued the import command. "Astrotrain, transform. Begin energon transfer."
Transforming into a shuttle he sat attached to the remains of the transport as the remaining team members began moving the Energon cubes into their colleague.
ZI
Through darkened woods two wolves stalked their prey, the massive beasts continuing to move forward as their occupants complained. Two men in their late twenties sat in their pilot seats talking as they continued searching for an elusive prey. Their military figures complemented by the haircuts, eyes and uniforms.
"Four years of sleeper hunting and were outwitted by a single Rev. Damn, we're becoming soft." The blondie growled, watching his instruments closely.
"I hear you, this should have taken ten minutes at most." The black haired man responded.
"It's this forest, that thing's built for running through here."
"Don't worry, we've still got its tracks so it's only a matter of time. Let's go."
"I just don't get it, why so much trouble over a sleeper. We've recovered the others haven't we?"
"You know the commander, he demands perfection and we've got a reputation to keep."
"Gets a bloody promotion and suddenly thinks he's all that. One of us should have been given that promotion, we do all the hard work and he gets the praise."
"Sure it a hypocrisy but it's just one less problem to deal with later."
"Guess so, still at least we're not stuck on transport duty."
"I second that at least we-"
The two wolves stopped on the edge of a small crater, above a thick canopy obscuring the floor from the sky but on the ground the damage was plane to see. The remains of a Rev Raptor lay stun across the forest floor, its body shattered into thousands of pieces and badly melted, all fanned either side of a long charred column that that streaked deep into the forest.
"I think we found our sleeper..." The black haired man stated to nobody in particular, breaking the awed silence.
"…What happened here?"
"No idea, but we better get some records and send them back to base. Something brutal went down here."
The large robot struggled to climb the carved pinnacle, it's red and blue body stark against the orange and yellows of the rock. Reaching the top it surveyed the lands, even with its' advanced optics a continuous desert in all directions was all it could see.
"Without the Matrix to guide me I have been left to my own devices. What terror has scarred this place?"
Sitting to watch the desert in silence, it pondered the terrible feeling it received from the lands it felt through every sensor.
Far away, above a well used path, another robot whose purple and gray blended with the sky it watched a passing convoy from a mountain peak nearby. The travelers unaware of the horror that stood watching their every move.
"Those things, controlled by flesh creatures. Whatever they are, they have the supplies that we need. It's time for us to introduce them to the power of the Decepticons." It thought
Taking to the air, those condemned to early graves learnt too late what had been watching them. Not a word was spoken before a rain of fire fell upon the convoy, every Zoid torn apart by the fury of the attack that ripped through armor mercilessly. The smallish robot compared with those now destroyed, moving through the smoldering remains to collect what it needed, parts of Zoids and crates alike, all piled together and carried of effortlessly as the robot once again took to the air.
The control room in an unknown military facility one of the radio operators made a standard call to her superior.
"Sir, we've lost contact with supply convoy 3087-C, They failed to make a radio check at 15:27 and haven't responded to our calls."
The older man looked up from a pile of paper work to quickly ponder the situation, "Alright, send a response team to scout their path, see if they've just lost communications ability, if there's any sign of bandit activity follow up with standard procedures."
"Yes sir." Saluting the young woman walked off make the necessary arrangements.
Within a dark cavern, compassionless eyes overlooked the parts salvaged from the recent operation. A murky white light illuminating the cavern where the parts were being melted down, the metal used to reinforce the walls and entrance to properly secure the new base of operation. The battered and twisted doors which had been ripped off to gain entrance soon to be replaced by newly forged ones better suited for the new owner; the two doors each etched with half the symbol that marked its allegiance.
"Fragile creatures, still they had what we needed." It thought, it smirked as it continued work, the weapons being stripped apart and adding to a growing pile.
In the skies above a distant part of Zi, a Pteras flew towards a hopeful position, the pilot noticing a spire of smoke that emanated from further north.
"This is Pt-B7012, I am currently twelve clicks south, south east of the calculated position and I see smoke approximately thirty clicks to the north, north west, please advise." The pilot called across the radio.
"Investigate sight of smoke, but we advise caution, there is the possibility of bandits still in the area." A response came quickly from a warred person back at base.
"Very well, proceeding with caution." Flying quietly towards the sight of the smoke, eyes scanning for others watching below.
The sight below…no words could explain as such violence and destruction was unimaginable, Gustav's ripped apart, Saber Tigers and Command Wolves blown apart, their parts sprayed across the grasslands, and large parts missing. One Gustav's armor had been torn completely off leaving only the mangled insides exposed to open air.
"This is Pt-B7012, send an emergency response team to my location immediately. All Zoids are down, I repeat all Zoids are down. No signs of bandit activity within the area, I'm going in to check for survivors." The pilot called frantically, mouthing a silent prayer as it circled preparing to land.
"We'll have a team out there as soon a possible. Advise on the situation as soon as possible." Respond a faceless person too late for the pilot to hear as she ran towards the broken Zoids.
A distraught young woman struggled towards her Zoid, the flayed, burnt and mangled remains of her colleagues scarring her memory, she struggled to call in the report.
"Pt-B7012 to base, there's no need to rush the response unit, there are no signs of survivors." Collapsing inside her Zoid and closing the cabin, wishing for the images to disappear.
Within a room filled with concerned faces the Guardian Force met with one of their commanders, Karl Shubaltz standing proud but carrying a somber face, the rumors had reached the members of the Guardian Force long ago but it was his job to confirm and deny what had been heard. The images in the file before him were a distressing sight, combined with the reports from the investigation teams and medical reports, it was potent enough to make a soldier like himself quiver in fear. Four of the initial investigators hospitalized for psychological trauma, others still undergoing trauma counseling, many things those before him didn't need to know. Composing himself as the others in the room sat in an uneasy silence he slowly stood to begin his address.
"As you may have heard there has been a spate of attacks on convoys over the past fortnight, and finally it has been brought into our jurisdiction."
Letting the information sink in he brought up two images of attacked convoys, the fragmented remains of Zoids and supplies strewn across a cratered battlefield.
"These here are the two initial incidents. As you can see by the marks here and here, the weapon used is extremely similar. In all likelihood it is the same weapon used on both occasions. Whatever did this has also been linked to the destruction of a Rev Raptor nineteen days ago. We believe this was caused by a high powered laser, but there is no small Zoid that could generate the power required for such a weapon."
"But this looks similar to a charged particle cannon blast, couldn't it have been a Geno Saur or the Breaker with some form of modification to allow it to fire pulses instead of a beam?" Irvine asked after a careful look at the displayed images.
"True, but the blast doesn't carry the residual particles or energy pattern of a charged particle weapon. The problem is these attacks have increased sharply. We're unable to confirm till the remains have been fully analyzed, but we suspect this Zoid has struck seven convoys over the past fortnight." The Colonel continued.
"So why are we being brought into this so late. Shouldn't we have been told earlier?" Thomas objected.
Waiting calmly as his younger brother sat back down Karl answered as best he could while continuing the briefing. "We've been unable to identify the perpetrator so all sections were waiting till they had some idea about what was causing this before calling for our assistance. But the perpetrator strikes so fast and decisively that there has never been a distress call made, the units just vanish and no one's lived to describe what happened. To make things worse, in the initial attacks we see extreme amounts of damage to Zoids and surrounding area, but whatever it is seems to be learning, if that's the right word. Slowly the levels of damage have become less and less, while the Zoid remains are becoming fewer. In the most recent attack only the cockpit of the Zoids were left behind, the rest of the Zoid parts have completely vanished."
"That's insane, what could do such precision damage so quickly, and what does it want with the remains?" Van yelped, finally opening his mouth.
"We don't know, we assume whatever it is, is an aerial Zoid, possibly with a Whale King to back it up and scavenge the parts." Karl replied with signs of doubt.
Doubtful looks fell of Karl before Van asked the obvious question. "Wouldn't you detect such a thing?"
"That's what we need you to discover, quite possibly it uses some form of stealth."
"To hide a Whale King?" Van asked as the team became more confused.
"What else could it be, no Zoid can lift the remains of seven Zoids, plus supplies without leaving marks on the ground, so it must move through the air. And then it must be large enough to hold all that equipment." Karl replied, using the exact words written in the dossier.
"So, what are we supposed to do about this menace?" Irvine asked.
"You're being assigned to guard duty. We'll be equipping your convoy with special equipment to protect you from the attack and allow you to repel and destroy the target."
Karl finished, handing out a thin file to these present before packing the massive stack of documents before him.
"So when do we leave?" Thomas asked as the others continued reading through the documents.
"Eight days, Dr. D is still working on the convoy." Karl concluded leaving the room as the screens still displayed the images of convoys that had gone before them.
CHARR
Cyclonus stood on the wasted planet, his home once full of loyal subjects, now barren of all forms of life. "Those traitors…where did they run off to?!" he screamed, kicking the remains of a former Decepticon left upon the planet.
"There is no evidence to point to where they went." Scourge answered calmly, standing next his forged brother. Behind them those Decepticons that made up the attack party waited quietly, not wanting to attract their leader's wrath.
"I can see that…still all the more energon for us. We begin our hunt immediately." Cyclonus said, calming down as he returned to their transportation, the glowing energon cubes filling a large amount of the internal space.
"For the traitors?" Scourge asked, moving towards the front to guide Astrotrain.
"No you idiot, for our true leader. Once lord Galvatron returns we will deal with the deserters. Astrotrain, lets move out!" Cyclonus shouted, as the ramp closed behind them sealing the Decepticons inside their transport with an angry leader.
CYBERTRON
"I don't care, I'm going to kill those Decepticons myself!" Jazz yelled angrily as Perceptor finished his repairs.
"Easy there Jazz, your still not one hundred percent fixed." Rodimus said, trying to calm his angry friend.
"Rodimus Prime, Blaster reports that the majority of Decepticons have left Charr, and what's more the few we can still detect are leaving towards deep space." Kup reported having barged into the room.
The logic circuits in Rodimus' head went into overdrive. "This doesn't make sense. The Decepticons have never run from us so easily."
"I know what you mean, it still seams worth investigating. If they're off to cause more chaos we better send someone to follow."
"I understand that."
Jazz took the brief moment to voice his frustrations, "Rodimus, I insist I go on this mission. I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Easy Jazz, very well assemble a strike team and keep us informed. You're to take the Dinobots for backup since we may not be able to come to your rescue." Rodimus stood aside as Jazz rushed off to begin preparations, hoping he had made the right decision.
ZI
The solitary robot that sat perched on its pinnacle stood up, having surveyed the lands and borne witness to the myriad of life that had passed below its position. It mentally voiced its conclusions to summarize all that it had seen.
"Strange, this world despite the damage wrought upon the land seems to host abundant life forms. Both beings that appear human and large mechanical creatures that seem similar to ourselves, or are they nothing but robot designed to the features of this environment. I have wasted enough time watching them from afar. Best be careful about this, I don't want to make the wrong impression."
Having patiently climbed down to the sands below it transformed into a more suitable form, a semi trailer, before beginning its long journey following the path it had seen so many others take.
TBC
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