Chapter Twenty-Two:
THEY ARE COMING.
"Why aren't I there with them?!" He demanded, his patience within this void was growing thinner. His body was new; he had been reborn and he wished to join his friends in the battle they were to face. Suteneko Prime (would he get used to the name?) could do nothing but watch the scene unfold before him.
The Predacon ship, the battle station known to him as SHOURISHA was moving. It ploughed through the decayed buildings with ease, its mass rolling over anything in its path. It didn't, nor would it, seem to stop for anything; the dust cloud behind it had built to such an extent that it now began to block out the orbiting sun above the city of Iacon. The city was slowly falling into darkness and there was nothing he could do to stop the monstrosity.
IT IS NOT YOUR TIME YET. YOU MUST ALLOW IT ACCESS.
Suteneko Prime turned his gaze away from the images of destruction and glanced over to Primus, who stared at the beast making its journey. How could he let this happen? He thought. They both knew the SHOURISHA's destination. They both knew what would happen if was allowed to continue, yet primus seemed oblivious. Or was he? The God of Light had been very cryptic with him; always speaking in riddles when all he desired was a straight answer. He didn't have time to discover them for himself; he must know.
"I'm ready," He said. Primus turned his gaze away from the images and smiled at him.
BE PATIENT. SOON.
* * *
He'd watched in absolute horror as Nightscream sank beneath the behemoth's treads; the bulk made its way through the city of Iacon, devastating everything in its path. He daren't look when the beast eventually rolled by, his view of Nightscream should remain untarnished. Rattrap twisted his body free from the rubble that surrounded him and turned to see Waspinator do the same. The dust began to cloud the air, thrown back by the immense girth of SHOURISHA continuing its way.
"We have to warn them!" He shouted to the Predacon unsure as to whether his voice would be picked up over the deep rumble that shook the streets. Waspinator looked at him, "Where's Bat-Bot?" He quizzed. Rattrap's face painted more than his words could say and instantly Waspinator understood, "Oh." He said, "This is bad."
"Tell me about it." Rattrap transformed, his beast mode would be more agile in the wake of SHOURISHA. "We have to warn Swoop."
* * *
She was surprised that her acceptance into the Matrix hadn't happened yet; her body still racked with pain but her spark seemingly unwilling to separate from it. Buzzsaw knew she was stubborn but this was taking it a little bit too far, she thought. She raised her wrist to her mouth and spoke into the comm-mic there.
"Is anybody there?" The only reply she received was the headache inducing hiss of static. Dead air. And it didn't surprise her. It was foolish to think that they could have changed anything. She could do nothing much now but revel in the fact that as she left, her last images would be of the technorganic world she called home. Her mind flooded with images, flashbacks she assumed; a last ditch effort to retain some sanity in this bloody crusade. Buzzsaw tilted her head back as around her, the ground began to shake.
So it came as no surprise when the treads of SHOURISHA came down upon her.
* * *
"They're dying!" Suteneko Prime yelled, his temper rising. Dammit, he thought, I should be there. He turned to Primus who still overlooked the images of the scenes. "Restore me. I can help them, they're dying Primus." The Light God optics turned to him. He smiled.
THEY ARE REBORN SUTENEKO PRIME. YOU CANNOT ALLOW THESE IMAGES TO CLOUD YOUR JUDGEMENT. BE PATIENT. SOON, I PROMISE.
Suteneko marched from the godly view and put his head in his hands. He didn't understand any of this. They were supposedly his children. They were the extensions of Primus. Yet the God seemed perfectly happy to send his children to the slaughter. Didn't he understand that this was genocide? Pure and simple. Do not let the images cloud your judgement. What the hell did that mean? How could he not let the scenes that played before him affect him? These were his friends. They were his comrades. And they had all put their lives on the line to com bat something that they had had no idea of. A great evil, he had been told. Was it meant to be Megatron?
"He is right," The voice came from behind him and he turned to see Optimus Primal stood to his left. He glanced to Primus. "Whatever you may think of his actions or his reasons, he is right."
"Is it right to kill?" Suteneko Prime asked his voice low as if to prevent the Light God from eaves-dropping.
WHEN THE SITUATION DICTATES IT. He said not removing his gaze from the action playing out. THE PIECES HAVE YET TO COME TOGETHER.
* * *
SHOURISHA was moving faster than he had anticipated and he knew at this speed he would not outrun it. Rattrap could feel hi energy reserves rapidly decreasing but what could he do? He needed to warn Swoop though he hoped that the Dinobot already knew of the monster heading his way. Behind him, he could hear Waspinator panting as he ran. Why the Predacon wasn't using his alternate mode, he didn't know. Surely it was faster than this?
The beast of a machine was slowing, he was sure of it. Maybe they would outrun it after all. Maybe they would reach the Heart of Cybertron in time to warn the Dinobots there. Or maybe:
SHOURISHA stopped throwing up thick clouds of fine dirt. Rattrap skidded to a halt, his optics pasted with the dirt. He could feel and taste it in his mouth and somewhere in this cloud he could hear Waspinator cough. But there was something else. Something deeper. It sounded almost like the groan of hydraulics. As if:
"Aw, crap" He uttered, before "Waspinator?" The cloud remained silent for a moment before:
The blast was from a disruptor rifle he was certain but where had it come from? "Waspinator?" He shouted as the dirt cloud around him began to clear and what came into view, he wished hadn't.
* * *
She awoke to find herself in a void. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear but somehow she knew she wasn't alone here. There were others but whom and why she didn't know. She didn't even know where here was. Had her stubbornness finally relented and she had become one with the Matrix? And suddenly, without warning, she could hear again. And the words that greeted her:
WELCOME TO THE HEART OF CYBERTRON. I AM PRIMUS.
* * *
Waspinator looked up at Rattrap though his optics sent no information to his central processor; his head was separated from his body, smoke bellowed form the blast wound in his neck. The cycle drone stood above him, admired its handy work before turning its gaze to the Maximal who stared in disbelief. They had come so far, to be stopped now. . .
He was rooted to the spot, knowing that this time there was no escape as the lone cycle drone was joined by its brethren. Each identical unit made its way slowly down the gangplank of SHOURISHA and he watched as they did so. Something else joined them. A bastard representation of a transformer and Rattrap knew he needed no introductions. This was Megatron; the stench of his spark evident through the cobbled pieces. The cycle drones looked to him and he raised his arms.
"Kill him." He laughed, "Kill them all!"
Rattrap closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of the rifles. Within a second, he didn't need to. And at that point, if he could have, he would have guessed that he was dead.
THEY ARE COMING.
"Why aren't I there with them?!" He demanded, his patience within this void was growing thinner. His body was new; he had been reborn and he wished to join his friends in the battle they were to face. Suteneko Prime (would he get used to the name?) could do nothing but watch the scene unfold before him.
The Predacon ship, the battle station known to him as SHOURISHA was moving. It ploughed through the decayed buildings with ease, its mass rolling over anything in its path. It didn't, nor would it, seem to stop for anything; the dust cloud behind it had built to such an extent that it now began to block out the orbiting sun above the city of Iacon. The city was slowly falling into darkness and there was nothing he could do to stop the monstrosity.
IT IS NOT YOUR TIME YET. YOU MUST ALLOW IT ACCESS.
Suteneko Prime turned his gaze away from the images of destruction and glanced over to Primus, who stared at the beast making its journey. How could he let this happen? He thought. They both knew the SHOURISHA's destination. They both knew what would happen if was allowed to continue, yet primus seemed oblivious. Or was he? The God of Light had been very cryptic with him; always speaking in riddles when all he desired was a straight answer. He didn't have time to discover them for himself; he must know.
"I'm ready," He said. Primus turned his gaze away from the images and smiled at him.
BE PATIENT. SOON.
* * *
He'd watched in absolute horror as Nightscream sank beneath the behemoth's treads; the bulk made its way through the city of Iacon, devastating everything in its path. He daren't look when the beast eventually rolled by, his view of Nightscream should remain untarnished. Rattrap twisted his body free from the rubble that surrounded him and turned to see Waspinator do the same. The dust began to cloud the air, thrown back by the immense girth of SHOURISHA continuing its way.
"We have to warn them!" He shouted to the Predacon unsure as to whether his voice would be picked up over the deep rumble that shook the streets. Waspinator looked at him, "Where's Bat-Bot?" He quizzed. Rattrap's face painted more than his words could say and instantly Waspinator understood, "Oh." He said, "This is bad."
"Tell me about it." Rattrap transformed, his beast mode would be more agile in the wake of SHOURISHA. "We have to warn Swoop."
* * *
She was surprised that her acceptance into the Matrix hadn't happened yet; her body still racked with pain but her spark seemingly unwilling to separate from it. Buzzsaw knew she was stubborn but this was taking it a little bit too far, she thought. She raised her wrist to her mouth and spoke into the comm-mic there.
"Is anybody there?" The only reply she received was the headache inducing hiss of static. Dead air. And it didn't surprise her. It was foolish to think that they could have changed anything. She could do nothing much now but revel in the fact that as she left, her last images would be of the technorganic world she called home. Her mind flooded with images, flashbacks she assumed; a last ditch effort to retain some sanity in this bloody crusade. Buzzsaw tilted her head back as around her, the ground began to shake.
So it came as no surprise when the treads of SHOURISHA came down upon her.
* * *
"They're dying!" Suteneko Prime yelled, his temper rising. Dammit, he thought, I should be there. He turned to Primus who still overlooked the images of the scenes. "Restore me. I can help them, they're dying Primus." The Light God optics turned to him. He smiled.
THEY ARE REBORN SUTENEKO PRIME. YOU CANNOT ALLOW THESE IMAGES TO CLOUD YOUR JUDGEMENT. BE PATIENT. SOON, I PROMISE.
Suteneko marched from the godly view and put his head in his hands. He didn't understand any of this. They were supposedly his children. They were the extensions of Primus. Yet the God seemed perfectly happy to send his children to the slaughter. Didn't he understand that this was genocide? Pure and simple. Do not let the images cloud your judgement. What the hell did that mean? How could he not let the scenes that played before him affect him? These were his friends. They were his comrades. And they had all put their lives on the line to com bat something that they had had no idea of. A great evil, he had been told. Was it meant to be Megatron?
"He is right," The voice came from behind him and he turned to see Optimus Primal stood to his left. He glanced to Primus. "Whatever you may think of his actions or his reasons, he is right."
"Is it right to kill?" Suteneko Prime asked his voice low as if to prevent the Light God from eaves-dropping.
WHEN THE SITUATION DICTATES IT. He said not removing his gaze from the action playing out. THE PIECES HAVE YET TO COME TOGETHER.
* * *
SHOURISHA was moving faster than he had anticipated and he knew at this speed he would not outrun it. Rattrap could feel hi energy reserves rapidly decreasing but what could he do? He needed to warn Swoop though he hoped that the Dinobot already knew of the monster heading his way. Behind him, he could hear Waspinator panting as he ran. Why the Predacon wasn't using his alternate mode, he didn't know. Surely it was faster than this?
The beast of a machine was slowing, he was sure of it. Maybe they would outrun it after all. Maybe they would reach the Heart of Cybertron in time to warn the Dinobots there. Or maybe:
SHOURISHA stopped throwing up thick clouds of fine dirt. Rattrap skidded to a halt, his optics pasted with the dirt. He could feel and taste it in his mouth and somewhere in this cloud he could hear Waspinator cough. But there was something else. Something deeper. It sounded almost like the groan of hydraulics. As if:
"Aw, crap" He uttered, before "Waspinator?" The cloud remained silent for a moment before:
The blast was from a disruptor rifle he was certain but where had it come from? "Waspinator?" He shouted as the dirt cloud around him began to clear and what came into view, he wished hadn't.
* * *
She awoke to find herself in a void. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear but somehow she knew she wasn't alone here. There were others but whom and why she didn't know. She didn't even know where here was. Had her stubbornness finally relented and she had become one with the Matrix? And suddenly, without warning, she could hear again. And the words that greeted her:
WELCOME TO THE HEART OF CYBERTRON. I AM PRIMUS.
* * *
Waspinator looked up at Rattrap though his optics sent no information to his central processor; his head was separated from his body, smoke bellowed form the blast wound in his neck. The cycle drone stood above him, admired its handy work before turning its gaze to the Maximal who stared in disbelief. They had come so far, to be stopped now. . .
He was rooted to the spot, knowing that this time there was no escape as the lone cycle drone was joined by its brethren. Each identical unit made its way slowly down the gangplank of SHOURISHA and he watched as they did so. Something else joined them. A bastard representation of a transformer and Rattrap knew he needed no introductions. This was Megatron; the stench of his spark evident through the cobbled pieces. The cycle drones looked to him and he raised his arms.
"Kill him." He laughed, "Kill them all!"
Rattrap closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of the rifles. Within a second, he didn't need to. And at that point, if he could have, he would have guessed that he was dead.