Chapter Thirteen:
The window exploded outwards, sending glass and the transformer known as Octopunch to the ground; a hundred storeys below. He howled in fury, his temper rising. The Senate office, exposed to the elements, lay in its own debris. Megatron was helpless against the god that now showed it. Unicron was in control of his body now; he was the passenger this time.
FIND THEM!!! The voice boomed, coming from Megatron's body yet disjointed from him also. THEY MUST NOT STOP US!!!
Bludgeon stood in the doorway. He watched the tirade of carnage that the Dark Lord had served on the place and was impressed. This is how he saw the Chaos Bringer. Megatron was simply a tool, something to allow the cross over. He would no doubt be discarded once Unicron had his true form back. He watched as the being before him threw furniture into the atmosphere beyond the window and was in awe. Bludgeon himself was no weak transformer; he was after all a master of Metallikato. An Art form, forbidden from use on Cybertron from before he was assembled; but all that paled in comparison to the powers on display here. This was truly his God; albeit a rather subdued one. Once they reached Iacon, things would be different. "They won't," Bludgeon said, "Nothing can stop us now. We have our army; our troops are ready and willing. We will take Primus by force."
DO NOT BE SO OVERCONFIDENT BLUDGEON. WE CANNOT AFFORD ANY MISTAKES.
Megatron could feel control of his body returning. He felt drained; the Chaos Bringer's outburst had depleted his energon reserves somewhat. He breathed heavily, regained his composure. Bludgeon stood nearby. "What are your orders Lord?"
"Find out who did this. And when you do; kill them."
Bludgeon saluted and left the room. A breeze had picked up as the sun set outside the hole in the wall. Megatron turned and faced it. The sun burnt a golden shade; the sky had turned red.
SO THE SUN SETS. BRING FORTH THE LAST DAY OF THIS NEW CYBERTRON.
* * *
The notion that they were being followed was growing continually as the two Maximals made their way through the sewer system. Water bubbled around them. This place didn't seem to bother Rattrap; he was after all, a rat. But Cheetor disliked it here. Above them, they could hear the bustling crowds on the streets of Cybertropolis. How he wished he was up there with them. Getting on with his life.
"Who's Suteneko Prime?" Rattrap asked. Cheetor looked at him: "What?"
"Suteneko Prime. While you were resting up, you mentioned Suteneko Prime."
Cheetor shook his head. "I don't know." He began, "All I know is that we have to find him. He has to stop a great evil." Rattrap grinned. Cheetor had seen it a thousand times before. The Maximal didn't believe him. But he wouldn't believe himself if it hadn't come from. . .
"The Primes told me to find him."
"The 'Primes'? Are you sure you didn't knock that cranium of yours?"
Cheetor stopped. "I saw Bigbot. I saw the past Primes. They told me that a great evil was coming. I didn't mention it. I thought they were just dreams. But with what's happening. . . I just don't know. I think it was the Oracle."
Rattrap stood on his hind legs, shaking his fore ones. "Oh no," He said, "I ain't doing this again." He rubbed his eyes. "You ain't going Primal on me." Cheetor hobbled to him, "Just what is that supposed to mean?"
"I need you here Spots, in reality. I don't need you in some fantasy land following prophecies and hearsay. Don't get me wrong. I miss the monkey too. But we gotta deal with here and now." He sighed, "And here it comes." Cheetor spun round to see:
The water around them exploded as something emerged. The two Maximals were thrown off balance, falling to the ground. Cheetor reacted instantly and withdrew his sword. In the blink of an eye (and in his current state; it surprised him) he was up, on his feet and ready for the new menace.
"Please. No." The words reverberated around the walls of the cavern. Before Cheetor stood a transformer three quarters his size. It held its hands up in defence. Its orange eyes showed no hint of danger and Cheetor relaxed, bringing his sword to his side. "Who are you?" He quizzed. The transformer eyed Rattrap as he gathered himself up from the floor.
"My name is Hammerstrike. I wish you no harm." Hammerstrike lowered his arms. "You have come to join the resistance, yes?" Rattrap dusted himself down. "What are you babbling about? What resistance?"
Hammerstrike smiled: "I will take you. It is not far." Cheetor leaned close to him; saw the Maximal symbol adorning Hammerstrike's shoulder. "Show us." He said.
* * *
"Can you get us a ship?" Silverbolt asked. Waspinator stared at him, "Waspinator get anything he wants now." He chuckled. Nightscream rolled his eyes. They sat in the recess of a corridor that led to the basement of the Detainment Centre. They had simply walked away from Bay Six but that had been the easy part. The alarms had been tripped and they found an exit to the place problematic. It was something Waspinator had never considered. He only needed to get in.
"Why don't we just fly there?" Nightscream quizzed, "I could use the exercise." He flapped his wings. Silverbolt turned to him. "We don't have enough energon resources to make it that far. Waspinator, we need to get to the docking bay. Once there can you get us a ship. Yes or no?" Waspinator nodded. "Of course," he said. "But Waspinator go with you."
"What?" Nightscream lowered his voice, "Look I'm grateful for the early release but come on." He glanced to Silverbolt, "Can we trust him?"
Silverbolt eyed the Predacon carefully. "Waspinator have no chance of survival now. Once Megatron finds out Waspinator help Maximals, Waspinator as good as dead." Silverbolt grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall.
"What do you mean 'Megatron'?!"
* * *
Hammerstrike walked ahead of the two and Rattrap couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was more to this than what was being said. Cheetor seemed happy to see a transformer that wasn't out to destroy him.
"Don't expect the finest location please. We have very little." Hammerstrike stopped and Rattrap assumed they had reached their final destination. Before them, a crudely fashioned door slid to it's side; it creaked with the motion. Beyond that they saw:
"I'd stand and show you around if I could." Cheetor hadn't expected to find Sideswipe here. Nor had he expected him in the state that he was. The Senator had been put back together by the looks of it; crudely at that. He was missing his legs and an arm, but he still smiled. Hammerstrike approached him, "Please Senator. Rest. You must regain your losses."
Cheetor entered the place, which extended as far as he could see; ending with the Cybertropolis Falls beyond. "I don't understand." He said. Rattrap followed closely behind, "That makes two of us." They walked further in; saw transformers they recognised; others who were strangers to them. They buzzed about, each seemingly with a purpose. "What is this place?" Cheetor asked. Hammerstrike turned to him:
"This is the resistance."
* * *
"I don't understand." He said as they made their way across the deserted courtyard that sat in front of the Detainment Centre. The security droids were now absent, the thought of where they could be; bothered Waspinator. "How the hell did Megatron come back?!" Silverbolt kept asking. Waspinator chuckled, "It was a surprise to Waspinator too."
"I don't believe this," Silverbolt added. Long shadows stretched across the yard as the sun set on this part of their world. "It doesn't seem possible." Nightscream had remained silent since they had been notified of Megatron's return. The thought scared him. Was the transformer indestructible? Was there any point in fighting him if he continually returned? How could anyone hope to defeat. . .?
"Nightscream, I need you to go to the top of the gates, check the coast is clear." Silverbolt said, breaking his train of thought. He nodded and rose in the air.
* * *
"I don't understand," Cheetor said, "Resistance to what? The technorganic?" Hammerstrike rose up from behind a Vehicon cycle drone that lay upon an operating table. Its head lay open, its circuits exposed. "No, no." Hammerstrike uttered, "There are others. A power is rising that wants to destroy all the Oracle has bestowed upon us." Cheetor looked around this 'base of operations' that the resistance had acquired. Part of it seemed to be for the training of transformers. He recognised various styles of combat. They were being taught by a transformer he knew as Gears, one of the oldest of the Autobots. He had fought alongside Optimus Prime against the original Megatron and was presumed dead. Very little information had been kept from the Cybertronian Wars; an idea to stop future generations repeating the mistakes of old.
The other side to this base seemed to be for operational purposes. He saw lines of old, battered Vehicon cycle and tank drones; all being worked on. All being reprogrammed. For the good of their cause? He saw Rattrap there, seemingly at home with the electronics.
"Who's leading them?" Cheetor asked. From the back of the room, he heard Sideswipe say: "Senator Bludgeon." Hammerstrike rose back up from the cycle drone. "No." He said, "Bludgeon is just a pawn in this game. The real power is unlimited. It is the Chaos Bringer incarnate." Cheetor stared at him. "What does that mean?" he quizzed. Hammerstrike never broke his gaze when he uttered: "It goes by the moniker: Megatron."
* * *
TIME IS SHORT.
Megatron sat in the Senate room alone. The sun had set; the room was coated in the night. From his view, he could see the stars of the cosmos.
"We move tomorrow." He said.
WE MUST. I MUST REACH THE ORACLE.
"What of me?"
WHAT OF YOU?
"Once we reach the Oracle. What happens to me?"
YOU WILL BE REWARDED. YESSS.
Megatron felt uneasy with this but he was not in a position to argue. The Dark Lord shared his body and ultimately his mind. If he wanted to remain alive, he simply had no other choice.
The window exploded outwards, sending glass and the transformer known as Octopunch to the ground; a hundred storeys below. He howled in fury, his temper rising. The Senate office, exposed to the elements, lay in its own debris. Megatron was helpless against the god that now showed it. Unicron was in control of his body now; he was the passenger this time.
FIND THEM!!! The voice boomed, coming from Megatron's body yet disjointed from him also. THEY MUST NOT STOP US!!!
Bludgeon stood in the doorway. He watched the tirade of carnage that the Dark Lord had served on the place and was impressed. This is how he saw the Chaos Bringer. Megatron was simply a tool, something to allow the cross over. He would no doubt be discarded once Unicron had his true form back. He watched as the being before him threw furniture into the atmosphere beyond the window and was in awe. Bludgeon himself was no weak transformer; he was after all a master of Metallikato. An Art form, forbidden from use on Cybertron from before he was assembled; but all that paled in comparison to the powers on display here. This was truly his God; albeit a rather subdued one. Once they reached Iacon, things would be different. "They won't," Bludgeon said, "Nothing can stop us now. We have our army; our troops are ready and willing. We will take Primus by force."
DO NOT BE SO OVERCONFIDENT BLUDGEON. WE CANNOT AFFORD ANY MISTAKES.
Megatron could feel control of his body returning. He felt drained; the Chaos Bringer's outburst had depleted his energon reserves somewhat. He breathed heavily, regained his composure. Bludgeon stood nearby. "What are your orders Lord?"
"Find out who did this. And when you do; kill them."
Bludgeon saluted and left the room. A breeze had picked up as the sun set outside the hole in the wall. Megatron turned and faced it. The sun burnt a golden shade; the sky had turned red.
SO THE SUN SETS. BRING FORTH THE LAST DAY OF THIS NEW CYBERTRON.
* * *
The notion that they were being followed was growing continually as the two Maximals made their way through the sewer system. Water bubbled around them. This place didn't seem to bother Rattrap; he was after all, a rat. But Cheetor disliked it here. Above them, they could hear the bustling crowds on the streets of Cybertropolis. How he wished he was up there with them. Getting on with his life.
"Who's Suteneko Prime?" Rattrap asked. Cheetor looked at him: "What?"
"Suteneko Prime. While you were resting up, you mentioned Suteneko Prime."
Cheetor shook his head. "I don't know." He began, "All I know is that we have to find him. He has to stop a great evil." Rattrap grinned. Cheetor had seen it a thousand times before. The Maximal didn't believe him. But he wouldn't believe himself if it hadn't come from. . .
"The Primes told me to find him."
"The 'Primes'? Are you sure you didn't knock that cranium of yours?"
Cheetor stopped. "I saw Bigbot. I saw the past Primes. They told me that a great evil was coming. I didn't mention it. I thought they were just dreams. But with what's happening. . . I just don't know. I think it was the Oracle."
Rattrap stood on his hind legs, shaking his fore ones. "Oh no," He said, "I ain't doing this again." He rubbed his eyes. "You ain't going Primal on me." Cheetor hobbled to him, "Just what is that supposed to mean?"
"I need you here Spots, in reality. I don't need you in some fantasy land following prophecies and hearsay. Don't get me wrong. I miss the monkey too. But we gotta deal with here and now." He sighed, "And here it comes." Cheetor spun round to see:
The water around them exploded as something emerged. The two Maximals were thrown off balance, falling to the ground. Cheetor reacted instantly and withdrew his sword. In the blink of an eye (and in his current state; it surprised him) he was up, on his feet and ready for the new menace.
"Please. No." The words reverberated around the walls of the cavern. Before Cheetor stood a transformer three quarters his size. It held its hands up in defence. Its orange eyes showed no hint of danger and Cheetor relaxed, bringing his sword to his side. "Who are you?" He quizzed. The transformer eyed Rattrap as he gathered himself up from the floor.
"My name is Hammerstrike. I wish you no harm." Hammerstrike lowered his arms. "You have come to join the resistance, yes?" Rattrap dusted himself down. "What are you babbling about? What resistance?"
Hammerstrike smiled: "I will take you. It is not far." Cheetor leaned close to him; saw the Maximal symbol adorning Hammerstrike's shoulder. "Show us." He said.
* * *
"Can you get us a ship?" Silverbolt asked. Waspinator stared at him, "Waspinator get anything he wants now." He chuckled. Nightscream rolled his eyes. They sat in the recess of a corridor that led to the basement of the Detainment Centre. They had simply walked away from Bay Six but that had been the easy part. The alarms had been tripped and they found an exit to the place problematic. It was something Waspinator had never considered. He only needed to get in.
"Why don't we just fly there?" Nightscream quizzed, "I could use the exercise." He flapped his wings. Silverbolt turned to him. "We don't have enough energon resources to make it that far. Waspinator, we need to get to the docking bay. Once there can you get us a ship. Yes or no?" Waspinator nodded. "Of course," he said. "But Waspinator go with you."
"What?" Nightscream lowered his voice, "Look I'm grateful for the early release but come on." He glanced to Silverbolt, "Can we trust him?"
Silverbolt eyed the Predacon carefully. "Waspinator have no chance of survival now. Once Megatron finds out Waspinator help Maximals, Waspinator as good as dead." Silverbolt grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall.
"What do you mean 'Megatron'?!"
* * *
Hammerstrike walked ahead of the two and Rattrap couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was more to this than what was being said. Cheetor seemed happy to see a transformer that wasn't out to destroy him.
"Don't expect the finest location please. We have very little." Hammerstrike stopped and Rattrap assumed they had reached their final destination. Before them, a crudely fashioned door slid to it's side; it creaked with the motion. Beyond that they saw:
"I'd stand and show you around if I could." Cheetor hadn't expected to find Sideswipe here. Nor had he expected him in the state that he was. The Senator had been put back together by the looks of it; crudely at that. He was missing his legs and an arm, but he still smiled. Hammerstrike approached him, "Please Senator. Rest. You must regain your losses."
Cheetor entered the place, which extended as far as he could see; ending with the Cybertropolis Falls beyond. "I don't understand." He said. Rattrap followed closely behind, "That makes two of us." They walked further in; saw transformers they recognised; others who were strangers to them. They buzzed about, each seemingly with a purpose. "What is this place?" Cheetor asked. Hammerstrike turned to him:
"This is the resistance."
* * *
"I don't understand." He said as they made their way across the deserted courtyard that sat in front of the Detainment Centre. The security droids were now absent, the thought of where they could be; bothered Waspinator. "How the hell did Megatron come back?!" Silverbolt kept asking. Waspinator chuckled, "It was a surprise to Waspinator too."
"I don't believe this," Silverbolt added. Long shadows stretched across the yard as the sun set on this part of their world. "It doesn't seem possible." Nightscream had remained silent since they had been notified of Megatron's return. The thought scared him. Was the transformer indestructible? Was there any point in fighting him if he continually returned? How could anyone hope to defeat. . .?
"Nightscream, I need you to go to the top of the gates, check the coast is clear." Silverbolt said, breaking his train of thought. He nodded and rose in the air.
* * *
"I don't understand," Cheetor said, "Resistance to what? The technorganic?" Hammerstrike rose up from behind a Vehicon cycle drone that lay upon an operating table. Its head lay open, its circuits exposed. "No, no." Hammerstrike uttered, "There are others. A power is rising that wants to destroy all the Oracle has bestowed upon us." Cheetor looked around this 'base of operations' that the resistance had acquired. Part of it seemed to be for the training of transformers. He recognised various styles of combat. They were being taught by a transformer he knew as Gears, one of the oldest of the Autobots. He had fought alongside Optimus Prime against the original Megatron and was presumed dead. Very little information had been kept from the Cybertronian Wars; an idea to stop future generations repeating the mistakes of old.
The other side to this base seemed to be for operational purposes. He saw lines of old, battered Vehicon cycle and tank drones; all being worked on. All being reprogrammed. For the good of their cause? He saw Rattrap there, seemingly at home with the electronics.
"Who's leading them?" Cheetor asked. From the back of the room, he heard Sideswipe say: "Senator Bludgeon." Hammerstrike rose back up from the cycle drone. "No." He said, "Bludgeon is just a pawn in this game. The real power is unlimited. It is the Chaos Bringer incarnate." Cheetor stared at him. "What does that mean?" he quizzed. Hammerstrike never broke his gaze when he uttered: "It goes by the moniker: Megatron."
* * *
TIME IS SHORT.
Megatron sat in the Senate room alone. The sun had set; the room was coated in the night. From his view, he could see the stars of the cosmos.
"We move tomorrow." He said.
WE MUST. I MUST REACH THE ORACLE.
"What of me?"
WHAT OF YOU?
"Once we reach the Oracle. What happens to me?"
YOU WILL BE REWARDED. YESSS.
Megatron felt uneasy with this but he was not in a position to argue. The Dark Lord shared his body and ultimately his mind. If he wanted to remain alive, he simply had no other choice.