Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the delay in this chapter. I have had a very bad weekend. Not bad as in "I-broke-this-stuff" bad, but bad as in "I-had-my-first-ride-in-an-ambulance" bad. Actually, it was my grandfather who needed the ambulance, but I had to go along for the ride. Not fun, believe me.
Disclaimer: I think you know already.
Unexpected Encounters
Chapter 8: Autobots, Skrills, and Implants
Zo'or was frozen in his command chair, staring at the glaring warrior, too shocked to move. He saw the warrior's aim shift...
Just then, Da'an arrived. Zo'or had never been so glad to see his parent as he was at that one moment. The elder Taelon took one look at the group and moved toward them.
"You are Ultra Magnus, are you not?" Da'an asked the bluenette.
Blue eyes narrowed. "I am," the man confirmed. "Who are you?"
"I am Da'an. Your lifemate has told me of you. I have already arranged transportation for you. Follow me, please."
Warily, the group followed Da'an to the shuttle bay, where several shuttles, large enough to handle the Dinobots, waited. Da'an shooed the transformed Cybertronians onto the shuttles, then gestured to the pilots and stepped out of the way. The shuttles lifted off and flew out of the ship.
"Can we trust them?" Springer asked in Autobot.
"Ultra Rodimus tells me that we can," Magnus responded. "I trust my mate's judgement."
"Then that is good enough for me."
The shuttles were forced to land some distance from the place where Ultra Rodimus and the two agents were. Swoop shook out his leathery wings and took to the skies, flying in an ever-widening circle, his keen eyes penetrating the shadows beneath the trees.
"Swoop will find them," Perceptor noted, adjusting his lab coat.
The pteranodon screeched and flew back toward them. "Me Swoop found them! This way!"
The other Dinobots followed after the flier, and the rest of the group trailed them.
Ultra Rodimus lifted his head from the tree trunk he was leaning against, and the two men with him tensed. With one hand, Ultra Rodimus gestured for them to relax.
"My friends are coming," he explained.
A loud screech echoed from overhead, and both men looked up.
Overhead soared a huge shape, its wings definitely not feathers, a long crest sticking out from the back of its skull. The sunlight gleamed off its leathery grey and red skin. It screeched again, circling them.
"Is that a dinosaur?" Liam asked incredulously, not really believing what his eyes were telling him.
"A pteranodon, to be specific," Ultra Rodimus agreed. "One of my friends. That's Swoop, one of the Dinobots. If you think he's impressive, wait until you see the other four."
The ground underfoot trembled. Something very large was moving in the distance.
A black head peered out of the trees. It was a bear.
The bear sniffed loudly, then emerged from the trees and entered the clearing. The trio kept very still as it moved about, wary of the teeth in its powerful jaws and the tearing claws on its four feet. Then its head swung toward them, and it reared up onto its hind legs.
"I think we have a problem," Liam murmured, and Ultra Rodimus gave a barely audible grunt in response. Sandoval was too shocked to answer or move.
The bear showed its teeth.
Then an ear-splitting roar erupted from behind the creature, and an ancient monster exploded out of the trees.
Somehow, being on Earth instead of on the mother ship had stimulated the Dinobots' transformations, and they'd all reached the full sizes of the dinosaurs they were based on. It made them even more terrible to see.
Liam gasped. Sandoval nearly fainted. Ultra Rodimus grinned.
Twenty feet tall. Fifty or more feet long. Four-foot jaws lined with six-inch razor-sharp teeth. Seven tons of bones and muscle. Tyrannosaurus rex, the tyrant lizard king, burst out of the trees with a deafening roar, its huge jaws snapping shut inches from the suddenly terrified bear. The bear let out a roaring scream and ran, barely dodging the sharp horns of the Triceratops following in the tyrannosaur's wake.
"Hello, Grimlock," Ultra Rodimus greeted.
The T-rex bent down to nose the human Autobot. "Me Grimlock glad to see you."
The Prime patted the scaled muzzle. "And I'm glad to see you."
Slag shook his horned head to get rid of a bush caught on one of his horns. He eyed the two men, then looked at his leader. The two exchanged nods. Swoop landed above, folding his wings and leaning over to look down at the group. A spiky Stegosaurus joined them, stopping beside the Triceratops.
The ground shuddered again, harder.
Sandoval looked over at Ultra Rodimus. "How many of them did you say there are?"
"Five. That's Sludge you feel. Just wait until you see him." A grin revealed all of Ultra Rodimus's teeth.
"What kind of dinosaur is he?"
"Look up."
Both men looked. Two jaws dropped.
Above them swayed a very long neck, ending in a very small head. The ground shook with every step the creature took. Birds and small animals fled, and the trees began to shake. Then the creature emerged from the forest, towering over them.
"Brontosaurus, the thunder lizard." Ultra Rodimus grinned up at Sludge.
"That is a big lizard," Liam commented.
"Very big," Sandoval agreed shakily.
"So here you are." A man stepped out of the trees.
Liam and Sandoval tensed, but Ultra Rodimus waved them down.
"Relax. He's mine." Ultra Rodimus turned toward the blue-haired man. "It's about time you got here."
Magnus grinned, dropping the barrel of his weapon. Then he walked over to his mate. "At least I arrived."
"Who's that?" Liam asked.
"Ultra Magnus, my second-in-command and friend," Ultra Rodimus responded.
The other Autobot knelt to inspect Ultra Rodimus's leg. Liam had shredded Ultra Rodimus's shirt to bind the wound. The bleeding had stopped, but the fabric was stained with blood. From the amount of blood, Magnus could tell that the wound was deep.
"This will need treatment," he noted.
"Where are the others? I need Perceptor."
Magnus looked around, instantly spotting the trail of destruction left by the web of monomolecular wire. He pulled out his comm and summoned the scientist. A few minutes later, Perceptor picked his way out of the trees, brushing leaves off his coat. Ultra Rodimus said something in Cybertronian, and the scientist headed off after the wire-web.
"Don't want to leave it lying here for the Taelons to find, huh?" Liam commented.
"I don't want to leave it because if anyone blunders into it the wire will sever limbs and claim lives. It is very dangerous."
The two Taelon agents shuddered. Then Perceptor returned, carrying a small antigrav pod. The pod contained the wire-web, neatly balled up inside a forcefield.
"Here it is," the scientist announced.
"How soon can we go home?" Magnus asked.
Perceptor inspected the deep gash in Ultra Rodimus's leg. "Not until this heals. I do not recommend dimensional travel with a wound like this. There is no way to tell what might happen."
"How do we get him out of here?" Sandoval asked. "He's too heavy for us to lift."
Magnus grinned. "Easy. That's why the Dinobots are here."
The T-rex leaned over. "Me Grimlock carry Prime."
"Down," Magnus instructed.
Grimlock leaned down, using his tiny arms to support his body. Magnus climbed onto his back, reached down, and hooked his hands under Ultra Rodimus's arms. Liam and Perceptor helped lift the young Prime onto the dinosaur's back. Then Grimlock pushed himself back to his feet, turned, and began to walk back the way he'd come.
Perceptor clambered onto Snarl's back while the stegosaur held still. Sandoval scrambled up behind him. Liam took a running jump onto Slag's back, settling behind the bony shield. Slag snorted and followed Grimlock.
The other Autobots were waiting next to the shuttles, watching the crowd of fascinated humans that had gathered. They'd noticed the shuttles, and had come to see what was going on. Attempts had been made to chase them away, but nothing had worked.
The ground shuddered. Birds chirped nervously as the trees shook. The humans stirred uneasily.
"Feels like Sludge is moving again," Jazz commented.
The others nodded.
The ground shook again. Then Sludge's head, high over the trees, appeared, and the humans began shouting and pointing.
"Is that a dinosaur?!"
Swoop appeared next, flying overhead with a loud screech. The shouting increased. Slag and Snarl appeared together, the sunlight gleaming off Slag's horns and Snarl's tail spikes.
"That's four," Smokescreen muttered.
A huge head emerged from the trees, and the humans suddenly fell silent, staring at the ancient beast, Nature's perfect predator. Grimlock walked out of the forest, head turning to regard the crowd out of fierce yellow eyes. He opened his huge jaws to reveal his teeth and hissed. The humans scrambled back.
"Leave them alone," Ultra Rodimus ordered. Grimlock rumbled in protest, but obeyed.
"At least he's listening," Perceptor muttered.
Sandoval stared at the T-rex. "He obeys Ultra Rodimus?"
"And only him. He'll tolerate the rest of us, but Ultra Rodimus is the only person he'll really obey. Ultra Rodimus in his natural form is a multi-changer, and one of his numerous alternate modes is an allosaur. He's beaten the tail off Grimlock more than a few times."
The T-rex walked toward the shuttle, then crouched down so the Autobots could lift Ultra Rodimus off his back. The Autobots worked together to lift their leader's considerable weight. Springer grunted in surprise.
"I know, I know," Ultra Rodimus grumbled.
"That's mostly muscle," Magnus explained.
"Doesn't make him any lighter," Jazz grunted.
Ultra Rodimus swatted him.
Between them, the Autobots got Ultra Rodimus into the shuttle. They settled him into one of the passenger seats. Magnus sat beside him.
((You hurt bad,)) Falcon commented.
(Yes, I know.)
"Want to tell me who that was?" Magnus asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"A new friend." Ultra Rodimus pulled up his sleeve. "Magnus, meet Falcon."
To be continued...
There's chapter 8. Thanks for bearing with me. Sorry for the delay. Now send me some reviews!