Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Transformers. Hasbro and Dreamwave do (lucky them). So don't sue me, please. I also don't own the way I've brought back a certain character. Sergeant Pepper lays claim to that.

Author's Note: I have decided to write my Transformers stories as one big ongoing series. This is a continuation of the original cartoon. In other words, this is a virtual Season 4, picking up after the events in "The Rebirth." After watching all 98 episodes of the original cartoon and the movie, this is what I came up with. Some of my borrowed stories I will still use (with permission, of course) but for the most part, I want to be more original. Enjoy!

The Transformers

Episode 99: Death and Resurrection–Part 1

The Decepticon super-robot Scorponok was drifting through space, piloted by Galvatron and Lord Zarak of Nebulos. "It's a miracle we finally got this flying junkpile of yours stabilized!" said Galvatron angrily.

"You were the idiot who opened the Plasma Energy Chamber, Galvatron," said Zarak boldly.

"Silence!" yelled the insane Decepticon leader. "There is much to do. We will attack other planets, we will suck them dry, we will rebuild a planet a hundred times more powerful than Cybertron. And I will rule the galaxy!"

"Who will rule the galaxy?"

"Me! It is my destiny!"

"We shall see, Galvatron," said Zarak, treason on his mind. "We shall see."

*Three Years Later*

It is the year 2010. The Autobots are in complete control of Cybertron, in the midst of its second Golden Age. The Decepticons have not been seen or heard from since the disastrous incident with the Plasma Energy Chamber. They have been attacking remote worlds, stocking up on much-needed Energon cubes for survival. They are now planning to return to the burned out planet of Charr, and begin their dreams of conquest anew.

As Soundwave, the Decepticon communications officer piloted Scorponok, Cyclonus and Scourge were talking with Galvatron nearby. Cyclonus, Galvatron's ever-loyal second-in-command said, "We are approaching Charr."

"Good," said Galvatron smiling evilly. "Once we land, we will take a week to rest up and reenergize. And then, we can finally begin our long-awaited conquest of the Universe." Galvatron's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the room.

Soundwave heard this and frowned. It soon disappeared as he thought, 'A week. Perfect. That will be all the time I need to finish my long-delayed project.'

He then noticed a faint energy signature. He amplified it and was surprised to find that it was Cybertron! Somehow, still in existence and charged with more energy than would ever be needed! He was relieved to know that Cybertron still existed, but knew that Galvatron would be furious. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Galvatron, I am picking up strong energy readings! It is Cybertron!"

"What?" asked the Decepticon leader in disbelief. He ran to where Soundwave was sitting and noticed that what he said was true. "No! I destroyed Cybertron! And Earth! I destroyed it all!" He then furiously punched out the monitor. Soundwave quickly crouched to the ground. Galvatron was in a fit of rage. He turned and began firing his powerful arm cannon. All Decepticons in the room ran, ducked, and cowered in fear. Some were even unfortunate enough to be hit by Galvatron's cannon fire. When he finally calmed down, he said, "Everyone wounded, get to the repair bay. Then reenergize. Soundwave, change course. We attack Cybertron now!"

Soundwave slowly got back to piloting Scorponok and said, "As you command, Galvatron." He knew the futility of this. He knew that the Autobots' numbers were much greater than theirs. But he was also smart enough not to defy Galvatron, for he was insane enough to blow Soundwave to bits for disobedience without thinking twice. Or at all. Plus, his secret "project" depended on him being alive.

On Cybertron, Hot Rod, Blurr, and Wheelie were racing through the Maze in their vehicle modes. There were no obstacles here, just a straight-up race. Blurr won easily. By the time Hot Rod and Wheelie were finished, Blurr was just standing there waiting for them in robot mode. Hot Rod and Wheelie transformed as Blurr bragged in his hyper-speed voice, "See,see,ItoldyouIwasgoingtowin! Itoldyou,Itoldyou,Itoldyou!"

Irritated, Hot Rod said, "Alright, Blurr, you've made your point."

"Yeah," said Wheelie in his annoying high-pitched voice. "Don't rub it in. We knew you'd win."

"Attack!" yelled a maniacal voice. The three Autobots turned and dived aside just in time as a blast from Galvatron's cannon hit the ground. Hot Rod stood up slowly to see Galvatron land with Cyclonus by his side.

Galvatron smiled and said, "Hello, Rodimus. Or should I say Hot Rod?" He then fired his arm cannon. Hot Rod was barely able to dodge. He and his two friends were able to hide behind one of the Maze's many walls and tried to fight back.

Back at the Autobot city of Iacon, Daniel Witwicky, now 15 years old, was sitting at the radar screen bored. After the injuries he had sustained on Nebulos healed, he decided to break his binary bond as Arcee's HeadMaster partner. He had learned much about Cybertronian technology over the past three years. But sometimes, he wished that the Autobots and Decepticons were still going at it. He immediately got his wish as the radar started to blip like crazy! He immediately tapped into the communications systems and said, "Optimus Prime, this is Daniel! I'm picking up Decepticons heading for Iacon!"

Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Jazz were playing Poker. As he shuffled the cards, Jazz smiled and said, "Alright, folks, this is for all the marbles."

However, they were interrupted by Daniel's message. "I repeat, Decepticons are heading for Iacon!"

Prime answered the message console. "What? Are you sure?"

"Positive," came the boy's frantic reply. "They're approaching fast!"

Optimus said, "Contact all Autobots in Iacon. Have them prepare for battle!"

"On it!"

All Autobots in Iacon either prepared their battle stations or began heading out to face the oncoming forces head-on. This particular force was led by Scourge, followed by his Sweeps. Close behind were the Predacons (merged as Predaking) and the Terrorcons (merged as Abominus). Slugslinger, Misfire, and Triggerhappy were attacking from the air in their jet modes. Optimus Prime led the charge out of Iacon in his semi-truck mode, joined by Ultra Magnus, Kup, Jazz, and various other Autobots.

Elsewhere, Omega Supreme was fighting Devastator, the combined form of the Constructicons. Spike Witwicky, Daniel's father and long-time human Autobot ally was able to use Fortress Maximus to fight off Scorponok. Cerebros was on Nebulos living in peace now that it was free from the Hive. Scorponok was attacking in scorpion mode, while Fort Max was able to fight it off with sheer firepower in battle station mode. The power in Scorponok's tail gun and other weapons was no match for the seemingly endless artillery within Fortress Maximus. But Spike wondered why Scorponok wasn't transforming to robot mode. 'I wondered what happened to Zarak,' he thought. 'Not that I'm complaining.' As Scorponok finally fell in defeat (but not deactivation), Spike, who had been rocked quite a bit himself from the fight let out a large breath and said, "I'm getting too old for this."

All over Cybertron, fighting was going on. The Decepticons never stood a chance

Hot Rod and Blurr were able to simultaneously hit Cyclonus, knocking him down. Galvatron stopped firing, turned, and watched him fall. He yelled, "Get up and fight, you incompetent fool!"

Using this distraction, Wheelie dove from his hiding place, firing his gun. Galvatron cried out as he was hit in the chest. Ignoring the pain, he yelled, "You little weakling! You'll pay for that!" He transformed to cannon mode and let loose the most powerful blast he could. Wheelie never had a chance to dodge.

Wheelie screamed as he was gunned down. Hot Rod yelled, "Wheelie!" He and Blurr began firing on the Decepticon leader. He was hit and transformed back to robot mode.

Galvatron growled at the two of them and said, "You fools! No one defeats Galvatron!" He fired his arm cannon. Hot Rod and Blurr were barely able to get out of the way. Seeing them down, Galvatron smiled and turned his attention back to the fallen Wheelie. He was badly damaged and unable to get up. Galvatron smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll make your death quick and painless. Well, quick anyway." He pointed his cannon at the much smaller Autobot and blasted him. Wheelie's whole body was turned to dust. Wheelie was dead. Galvatron laughed maniacally.

Hot Rod and Blurr got up just in time to see Wheelie terminated. Blurr said, "Ohno,ohno,ohno! GalvatrondestroyedWheelie! Whatarewegoingtodo,HotRod? Huh,huh,whatarewegoingtodo!"

"We'll make Galvatron pay!" yelled Hot Rod. He and Blurr then began firing on Galvatron. Galvatron yelled out in pain as he was hit with the barrage.

Cyclonus got up and saw his leader being fired upon. "No!" He fired his weapon, hitting both Hot Rod and Blurr. He then approached his fallen leader and picked him up. He activated a communicator in his arm and said, "Decepticons retreat! Galvatron is hurt!"

As Soundwave and his cassettes picked up the order to retreat, Rumble said sarcastically, "Whoop-dee-doo." Soon all the Decepticons were leaving.

As the Decepticons retreated, Goldbug (formerly Bumblebee) said, "That's weird. They're pulling out."

"But why?" asked Arcee.

"Who cares," said Springer. "We won!"

Back at Iacon, Optimus Prime received a message from Hot Rod. "Optimus Prime, this is Hot Rod, acknowledge."

Answering the call, Prime asked, "Hot Rod, are you okay?"

"Blurr and I are fine, but Galvatron destroyed Wheelie."

Perceptor approached the Autobot leader and said, "Also, a cursory evaluation indicates some casualties, but very few."

Optimus shook his head and said, "We can be thankful for a decisive victory today, Autobots. But next time, we might not be so lucky."

"Why not, Prime?" asked Kup. "Their numbers are depleted thanks to Unicron, not to mention Galvatron himself. The only reason they aren't extinct is because we haven't hunted them down."

"We haven't hunted them down because we have no idea where they've been the last three years," said Ultra Magnus. "This was their first attack since Cybertron was restored."

"But in either case," said Prime, "the Decepticons are back. And though their numbers are fewer than ours, we still must not take them lightly. Trust me, they'll be back." All Autobots present were inclined to agree.

Back on Charr, the Decepticons who either didn't need repairs or already were repaired were taking what Energon cubes they needed and storing the rest in a large room. "Ah, home sweet home," said the Combaticon Swindle.

"Home? Bah!" complained Slugslinger. "Cybertron was home! And thanks to both Unicron and Galvatron, we may never have a chance to go home again! It's a miracle none of us were killed today!"

"I wish Megatron was still here," said Sixshot. "Now, HE was leader you could look up to."

"Pretty big talk, coming from you, Sixshot," said Astrotrain. "But, yes, you're right. I know I tried to take power from him a few times, but he was the one who led us when Cybertron was ours. I used to believe Megatron and Galvatron were the same guy," said Astrotrain. "Now I'm not so sure."

'You have no idea, Astrotrain,' thought Soundwave as he took some Energon cubes. Knowing that the others thought of him as a loner, he snuck out and flew off. But he wasn't headed to his personal quarters.

Far away from the main base on Charr, he entered an underground laboratory he had tunneled for himself and set the Energon cubes down. He approached a nearby table covered with a sheet. He pulled the sheet off. On the table was the body of a silvery-grey robot with a large black fusion cannon mounted on his right arm: The great Decepticon leader Megatron.

As he began working on the inert body, Soundwave thought, 'My project cannot wait any longer. It must be completed now.' As he began working, he thought back to a moment five Earth years ago.

*Flashback*

Astrotrain was flying through space in his shuttle mode. Soundwave was holding Megatron's barely-functional body near the back. Starscream was near the front of the shuttle. Megatron said weakly, "I know that the first chance he gets, Starscream is going to throw me into space. Let him. I fear I may be damaged beyond repair. Quickly, it is time."

A panel on Megatrons chest opened up and a cable came out. It attached to Soundwave's forehead and began making a download that Soundwave recorded. "There. I have downloaded my memories and personality into your memory banks. Make absolutely sure it doesn't get erased. Now, leave me. Get me rebuilt and restored as soon as possible."

"Yes, Megatron."

*End Flashback*

After several hours of non-stop work, Soundwave finished working on the body. He looked at it and nodded in satisfaction. He then took some of the Energon cubes and attached cables to them and parts of Megatron's body. Soundwave waited patiently as Energon was pumped into the body. Once it was done, Soundwave opened a panel on Megatron's forehead. He then transformed to tape deck mode and a cable came out from the side. It inserted itself into Megatron's forehead and began downloading Megatron's memories into the body.

Once it was done, the cable reeled itself back in and the access panel on Megatron's forehead closed automatically. Soundwave transformed back to robot mode. He stood over the body and waited patiently. A few moments later, Megatron's optics powered up. Consciousness began to return. He looked up trying to get a clear view of his most loyal follower. "S-Soundwave?"

In his monotonic sing-song voice, he said, "Yes, Megatron?"

"What . . . has happened?"

To Be Continued