Polyhex
Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Gore walked nonchalantly into the chambers of his two fellow members of the Tripedicus Council, a grin quite evident on his faceplate. At least it was evident to Decatron and Galvatron Prime, Gore was too preoccupied with scheming to notice his expression as he walked into the chamber. Decatron, the highest of the three Decepticons present in the Chambers, turned to Gore. "So, Gore… is everything going as planned?" He asked without preamble, and the query broke Gore out of his reverie. He looked up at Decatron and started yakking.
"In Iacon, preparations for our final assault go well. But there is one minor detail we didn't anticipate occurring that we'll have to deal with." Gore said simply, to which Decatron said nothing, but Galvatron Prime leaned forward and starting asking a question while Gore climbed into his own seat.
"What, pray tell, is this little detail, Gore? If the Autobots so much as get one whiff of our plot –"Galvatron Prime started, but Gore was quick to cut him off.
"The Autobots have somehow gotten much more than a whiff of our plans, Galvatron. They've somehow found out about this meeting, because an Autobot team is being sent here to Polyhex." Gore snapped at Galvtron Prime quickly, not much in the mood for mindless babbling.
Raising his hand to forego a snap reply from Galvatron Prime, Decatron looked over at Gore. "Why are they coming here?"
Gore offered up the simplest shrug he could. "I don't know, precisely. But it would seem evident that the Autobots know about this meeting, and thus they also know about us. I'm going to assume that they're coming to either spy on us or kill us. Either way they choose, it means we do the same thing."
"Kill them?" Galvatron Prime asked, posing the obvious question running through all of their minds at that moment. Gore and Decatron rolled their optics in unison at the question and pressed on.
"I assume by that smirk that you have a plan for dealing with the intruders, Gore?" Decatron asked, to which Gore's grin grew after reappearing.
"Naturally I have a plan. Just leave it to me my fellow Decepticons. I just need your permission to call back a few units from the front."
Decatron's left optic raised up a bit. "Why, might I ask?"
Gore shook his head. "Just trust me, oh mighty leader."
"Trust? We're Decepticons, we trust no one." Galvatron Prime interjected, voicing what Decatron was thinking, but the leader of the Tripedicus Council ultimately nodded his head in approval, then got up and walked out of the chamber. Galvatron Prime soon followed, leaving Gore to begin executing his plan.
Suburbs of Polyhex
Retaliator Camp
Present Orn
Optimal Retaliation stood silently outside the perimeter of the team's base camp for this operation. A bombed out and deserted building in the heart of one of the suburbs of Polyhex was where the Retaliators were spending the next orn before making the last leg of their journey. Long since abandoned and quite a distance from the direct route of travel between the two ancient cities, the possibility of detection was remote, but Centbot knew well that Optimal Retaliation's last trip out this way had taught him a hard lesson about relying on the odds to keep you safe. As a matter of fact, Optimal Retaliation hadn't said a word since they'd broken out of the Line. Speed Railer had been ordered by the combined authority of Centbot and Accelerate Demon to go nowhere near Optimal Retaliation for the rest of their time here.
When asking why he was forbidden from moving near the Autobot he'd made it his mission in life to force into lightening up a bit, Speed Railer just got a repetition of the order to stay away. Eventually the young Autobot gave up and roamed the camp, trying to find something to amuse himself with. Centbot, meanwhile, had silently followed Optimal Retaliation after said Autobot had left the camp, knowing exactly where he was going. This was the place they met, the place where Optimal Retaliation's life changed forever. And when he caught up to his young friend, he followed Optimal Retaliation's gaze down to the ground, on which laid a single Autobot body. Optimal Retaliation was quite literally looking at his own dead body. It had been abandoned when the Retaliators evacuated the area, having realized that leaving his spark within his old body would kill him.
Centbot approached slowly, and when Optimal Retaliation became aware of him, he didn't bother turning around to face him. He was lost in memories of the past, of his past life as a historian named Optimal, his reconstruction back in Iacon, the decision to change his name to Optimal Retaliation, and his new life as a soldier. He was thinking it over entirely, and Centbot said nothing to disturb him. He took this moment to reflect on his time with Optimal Retaliation, their friendship, and his choice to not tell Optimal Retaliation that Helicon One was alive. He just walked up beside his friend, and joined him in standing there and reflecting in the silence.
Back at the camp, Audited Racer and Accelerate Demon were watching the two distant forms of Optimal Retaliation and Centbot in the distance. They had formed a rapport as of late, being the outsiders of the pack. Audited Racer, for his part, was intensely curious about Centbot in particular, and as the Autobot who's known Centbot the longest, Accelerate Demon was the best 'Bot to ask questions about their leader. Such as the one he was asking right now. "So… what are they doing?"
Accelerate Demon spared a glance in their direction, then turned back to cleaning his lightning rifle. "They're standing in front of Optimal's grave."
"Excuse me?"
Expecting that reaction, Accelerate Demon kept on cleaning his weapon while replying. "Optimal died over there. When we arrived on the scene, his body was too badly damaged for us to keep his spark in there. So it was removed and we left his body behind. Thusly, Optimal died there."
Audited Racer was kind of shocked to hear that. "You just left him here?"
Accelerate Demon finally looked Audited Racer in the optics. "We left his body to save his spark, his essence. When you have twenty Decepticons bearing down on your position, you have to make hard choices."
"I understand that. But they have always taught us to never leave a friend on the battlefield."
"You think we left a friend on the battlefield?"
"Well no, but… couldn't you have just carried the body back?"
Accelerate Demon put down his weapon and sighed as he locked optics with Audited Racer. "You misunderstand me. What I mean is that Optimal Retaliation's body was damaged far beyond our capability to repair it. If we'd relied on his own automated repair systems to sustain his spark, it would have extinguished itself before we'd gotten more than a handful of clicks."
"He was that close to going offline?"
Accelerate Demon nodded. "He was that close." Then the Retaliator's second in command turned back to cleaning his weapon.
Silence descended upon the pair of them for a few astrocycles before the urge to ask questions returned to Audited Racer. "So… what happened over there?"
"Well, I can't say I know all the details," Accelerate Demon said as he put down his weapon after finally cleaning it to his personal satisfaction, "but from what I know Optimal was out here hunting for information on the Matrix."
Audited Racer's optics shot open even wider at the mention of the Matrix. It was long believed to be a myth by all Transformers; however, as was inevitable, there was always those who sought to solve the mystery. To explore the myth and prove it existed. From he'd seen of Optimal Retaliation, he'd never pegged the Autobot as one of those lunatics. "He was a Matrix hunter?"
Accelerate Demon cocked up the rim of his right optic. "Matrix hunter?"
"You know someone who spends their lives devoted to finding the Matrix, believing it and only it can end the war."
The older Autobot laughed. "Oh, not even close, Audited Racer. Optimal thought that the Matrix had a connection to the Black History from what I gather, and he thought there were some old data tracks here that could link the Matrix to the Black History."
"So did he find anything?"
Accelerate Demon looked back out at the distant form of Optimal Retaliation. "If he did, he's apparently going to keep that secret until he's well into his grave. But its likely Deathmaster struck before he'd find anything."
"Who's Deathmaster?"
"Don't you know your military history? Deathmaster was the devious mind behind the attack on the Taragon Lowlands."
Audited Racer now glanced over at Optimal Retaliation as well. "You mean… Deathmaster was the Decepticon who planned the surprise attack on the Lowlands, and you took him out?"
Accelerate Demon shook his head. "We didn't, he did." He said as his chin jutted out to indicate Optimal Retaliation.
Audited Racer was surprised, suddenly discovering newfound respect for Optimal Retaliation. "Whoa."
"No kidding."
Polyhex
Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
"Of all the spies we have in the Autobot ranks… never would I have imagined one of them would dare impersonate a Decepticon warlord." Gore said simply to his 'guest'. He had kindly flown in all the way from Iacon in order to join him as part of their little deal and so far he was impressed with this spy's performance. So far, he'd managed to guess the Retaliator's moves to a 'T'. A definite strategist, this sly Autobot was. But there was still the matter of this Autobrat's gall in impersonating one of his old rivals. True they weren't friends, but he'd slag any Autobot daring to impersonate a Decepticon. The spy just chuckled after Gore finished talking.
"Gore, Gore, Gore… I see you're still as slow as ever. I'm not impersonating Deathmaster. I am Deathmaster, or at least what's left of him."
"I'd watch it if I were you, Autoboob. Even with the meager scanning abilities of my optics, I can tell that your spark isn't a Decepticon one. And I know for a fact that Deathmaster's spark was that of a Decepticon."
The spy confidently approached Gore in his chair without a second thought, something that no one Autobot or Decepticon ever dared attempt without permission. At least not if they valued their lives. When we was a short distance away, the spy tossed Gore a small data recorder which Gore subsequently snatched from the air and held up in front of him. "Scan it." He demanded.
"Excuse me?"
"I said scan it, and see for yourself that I'm not lying about my identity."
"And what is this supposed to be?" Gore asked, his optics flashing a violet color as he scanned the information on the recorder. His expression was one of annoyed curiosity as he reviewed the files.
"It is how I've survived my own destruction." The spy said, allowing himself a small grin as Gore's expression turned from annoyed curiosity to utter shock.
"Not possible…" Was all Gore could say as the spy walked right up in front of his, plucked the recorder from his hand, and then stepped back. He felt a swell of pity for Gore and his limited ability to comprehend the fact that where science was involved, nothing was impossible.
"It is possible my old rival. I'm back from the dead, and in possession of the last thing the Autobots would expect – one of their own."
Gore nodded, still trying to adjust to the shock of a Decepticon warlord living in an Autobot's spark… especially such a short one. "So then what do you intend to do now that you're back?"
The spy turned and began to walk out of the Chambers, talking as he went. "I intend to do nothing. It is you who have the arrival of the Retaliators to prepare for. Keep your Tripedicus Council and your hordes of dead Autobots, Gore. I have my own business to attend to now." Then the spy was out the door and was gone. After he left, another figure approached Gore from behind.
"Now there's a twist I'd have never believed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." Galvatron Prime said as he walked beside Gore, who was still staring at the door the spy had exited through. "So what now?"
Gore took a very long time to say anything. But, eventually, he managed to make a simple reply. "We crush some Autobots. Let Deathmaster do what he wants, we have to make sure those Autobots do not leave Polyhex intact."
Polyhex
En Route to the Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Optimal Retaliation was at the head of the pack, double-barreled plasma shell shotgun out, loaded, and scanning the local area for any signs of Decepticon activity. Behind him were Centbot and Minicannoner, each taking flanking positions behind him. The rest of the Retaliators were spread out in a staggered line formation. They were in robot mode, all of them, as traveling in vehicle modes would generate a visible dust cloud and have drawn too much attention. This slowed their rate of advance considerably, but then again, they only had a few more clicks to cover.
A thermal signature flashed by Optimal Retaliation's line of sight on his right, and he immediately turned in that direction and trained his weapon. He saw nothing but the side of a small building; however, switching to thermal sensors, he could see a thermal trace coming from the wall. Given there was no active power source coming from the building, something had to be behind it. He signaled the other Retaliators by hand, letting them know he was checking it out and that someone should cover him. Minicannoner took care of the covering, while he moved forwards. Quickly, he jogged his way up a flight of stairs to the ground level of the building, and then peeked inside the windows. That was when he saw a flash of movement, and without thinking his shotgun leveled at its target and fired.
Optimal Retaliation's shot blew through the front of the building and tore just shy of its target, a small Decepticon that was trying to run away. He rammed his shoulder through the doors and ran after his prey, but he would never catch up to his quarry and he knew it. He rounded a corner, and then he saw an opportunity to end this chase. The Decepticon had run down a long twisting corridor, which twisted in a series of S-curves. Just ahead of his quarry, however, was a rusted and decaying ventilation pipeline. Lifting the barrel of his shotgun up to aim at its supports, Optimal Retaliation fired a single round. The plasma shell ripped through the rusted metal like it never existed, and the pipeline broke off its hinges and swung downwards right into the Decepticon's face. The blow lifted the small Decepticon off of its feet to land not so gently on its back.
Optimal Retaliation warily pointed his shotgun at the Decepticon, anticipating an attempt to attack. It was a good thing he was anticipating an attack too, because that's exactly what he got. The Decepticon looked over at Optimal Retaliation, and it was then that Optimal noticed that it wasn't a Decepticon, it was an Autobot. Further, the Autobot was grinning at him. "I knew it. I knew it was you Optimal. It's been a long time since we've seen one another. Sadly though, I've got to run. And fret not, I won't tell anybody you're here." The Autobot then raised its left arm, allowing the large covering on its forearm to lift up and reveal a pair of missiles, one of which fired. Optimal Retaliation hit the deck, letting the missile slam into the roof of the corridor, the explosion blinding Optimal Retaliation for a moment. When the smoke cleared, Optimal Retaliation looked over and saw the mystery Autobot was gone.
"Optimal Retaliation, you okay?" Minicannoner asked as he bolted down the hallway. Optimal Retaliation tried running another thermal scan, but the signature and the Autobot were gone.
"Did you see him?"
Minicannoner's optics did a quick scan of the local area before fixing back on Optimal again. "See who?"
"The Autobot!" Optimal Retaliation roared as he stood himself up. He growled as Minicannoner just shook his head.
"Optimal, we're the only Autobots in Polyhex."
Optimal Retaliation sighed, and then began walking back to the others. "No we're not. How else do you think that hole got into the ceiling?"
Minicannoner had no explanation, so he just switched subjects. "Do you think we're compromised?"
Now it was Optimal Retaliation's turn to shake his head. "No… whatever he was, he seems to be on a scouting mission. And not for the Decepticons but rather for himself." Afterwards, the two Autobots quietly exited the building and moved back to the waiting Autobot Retaliators and Centbot. After being told of the encounter, Centbot got the team moving again. This time, they moved at a quicker pace.
Polyhex
Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Decatron, Gore, Galvatron Prime. Three Decepticon warlords, united together to forge an alliance to finally accomplish victory over their Autobot enemies. Their Chambers were an amazingly simple affair. Three thrones, each positioned on a raised dais with the tallest one in the center belonging to Decatron, the leader of the Tripedicus Council. The entire room was circular, with four doors on the perimeter. The enter room was made of metal, colored a nice and dark violet hue. All three members of the Council were outfitted with full dress regalia, as befitted a political assemblage like this one. It was a grand display of Decepticon might, to be shown to the entire planet. Eventually anyway, but for now, the three of them were clustered together over a console in the center of the room, which displayed a sensor grid of the area surrounding the Council complex. Nearly a dozen blue dots representing the Retaliators were approaching slowly, but surely. And at least four times that number of red dots representing Decepticons was even now moving to surround the incoming Autobots.
Decatron looked over at Gore. "This had better work."
Gore just shrugged. "That transmission they sent allowed us to locate and track them. There's no way they're getting out of this."
Polyhex
Outside of the Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
It was annoying slow he had to admit. Centbot never liked things that took forever to do, but sneaking into the enemy's nerve center to assassinate their leadership required stealth, which took a long time. But still, he had been uneasy since Optimal Retaliation's encounter with the rouge Autobot. He'd made a call back to Iacon to make arrangements for some support, but he'd gotten back some rather unnerving information. Helicon One was nowhere to be found, she'd managed to give Armourhide and Sharpwing the slip back in Iacon, and she fit the description of the Autobot Optimal Retaliation said he saw back in that building. This meant that if she was a traitor, their entire mission could be compromised.
"There it is!" Hissed Auto Ticketer over a low-power comlink. He was moving towards a computer access terminal, one of several sub junctions that had direct links to the Council Chamber's mainframe.
"Good." Centbot said quickly over the same frequency. "Get into their system, everyone else, take defensive positions. This is it, Autobots."
The other members of the Autobot Retaliators spread out, finding positions of good cover. The Decepticon sentries in the Chambers could not see past the entryways, so for now Centbot hoped they were out of sight. Of course, this was all a setup, then such would be a moot point. He'd just have to pray and trust in the capabilities of himself and his team. It was time to show what this old war horse can do…
Polyhex
Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Galvatron Prime looked over at Gore. "They're accessing the mainframe."
Decatron finally began to get anxious. "Gore?"
For his part, Gore was intently studying the readouts. The Retaliators were still in an open clearing, and the firepower of Centbot alone would wipe out their attack force in an open range. For now, they had to wait until the Retaliators made their move. "Not yet. Let's wait and see what they do." Gore gestured off-handedly behind him. "Bluevolt, do your thing."
Another Decepticon by one of the door and his three comrades snapped into a salute at Gore's order, and then quickly exited the room.
Polyhex
Outside of the Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
"I'm in." Auto Ticketer said quietly as he accessed the Decepticon mainframe computer system. "What do you want to know?"
Centbot pondered that for a moment. "Give me the usual."
Auto Ticketer nodded, and after a few moments, he came back with the requested information. "Security is way the heck lighter than it's supposed to be, Centbot. Apparently more than half of the security force was sent out to investigate Optimal's little scuffle earlier. We should be able to go straight through the front gates."
Centbot waited for Auto Ticketer to go on. Eventually, the young Autobot got the hint that going through the front gates wasn't an option. "Okay then, alternate routes… let's see here…" A few more cycles of silence followed. "Bingo! Alright, Centbot, you wanted a way in, I got one for you. There's an unused lift shaft on the southern end of the complex, it leads up to the level of the Tripedicus Council chambers… hold on."
"What is it?" Centbot asked.
"Cent… I'm picking up a transmission coming from the Council Chambers." Auto Ticketer slammed a few more keys on the computer terminal in front of him that he'd hooked to the Decepticon sub terminal. "Looks like they're setting up for a live broadcast within the next breem. But what for?"
"Attack orders." Optimal Retaliation stated glumly, and Centbot nodded his head in agreement.
"Alright 'Bots, waiting time is over. We have to go in right now and stop that attack order from being given. Audited Racer, you'll go in with Auto Ticketer, Aeroscream, Retaliatory Aider, Minicannoner, and Auto Speeddemon through the front gates. Hit 'em hard and fast, then draw them OUT of the complex." Centbot said quickly, and he waited until Audited Racer said he understood his orders before moving on. "Optimal Retaliation, Accelerate Demon, and Speed Railer; you're with me. We're going in to meet this Tripedicus Council face-to-face. Understood?" There was a series of nods all around his team, and Centbot took a moment to settle down his capacitors, which were getting a bit excited. "Alright then, you have your orders. Let's do it, and good luck."
With that order, the Autobot Retaliators split up into two groups, both circling around the cylindrical Council Chamber building in different directions on their way to their objectives.
Polyhex
Inside the Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
The building shook with the fury of the first assault, and immediately four red dots blanked off the screen Decatron was looking at. He looked over at Gore, who was grinning with gleeful anticipation. "Shall we?"
Gore looked over at his fellow Council members. "By all means, my fellow 'Cons, let's kill them all."
On the sensor display, all forty plus red dots on the map converged on the less than a dozen blue dots which represented the Autobots… and were soon joined by more waves of Decepticons.
Polyhex
Outside the Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Audited Racer roared as both of his quad blaster cannons came to life. A quartet of running seekers caught the full fury of his assault, cut down before they could gain the presence of mind to seek cover. A couple of bulkier Decepticons who clearly had tank alt. modes were the next to try and rush the Retaliators in the main lobby of the Council Chambers as they pulled back out of it. Naturally, Audited Racer's quad blaster cannons sang their deadly song and spit their deadly energy bolts at the Decepticons, but their thicker armor proved capable of withstanding their assault. What their armor couldn't withstand, however, was Minicannoner's sniper rifle. With such precise aiming that befit his formidable build up prior to his selection as a member of the team, he fired one round into each of the kneecaps of the Decepticons in sequence from left to right. With their legs cut out from under them, all three Decepticons fell flat on their faces, giving the Retaliators the opening they needed to escape.
More Decepticons piled into the room, but Audited Racer paid their fire little heed. Getting out was more important to him than ducking fire. And taking a quick glance behind him before shifting his fire to suppress a group of advancing Decepticons who'd just arrived, he noticed a horde of Decepticons piling into the main corridor. "Auto Ticketer, secure our escape route!" He shouted of the roar of combined weapons fire from both the Autobots and the Decepticons.
Auto Ticketer, meanwhile, heard and obeyed the order. He fired off another pair of shells from the turret-mounted gun on his back, dropping a seeker into stasis lock. He then transformed into vehicle mode, and raced around the lobby so that his front bumper was lined up with the doorway out of the lobby and the Decepticon hordes pouring through it. "Here we go." He said to himself nervously as with the sound of squealing tired accompanied by the sound of his turret-mounted gun firing off a salvo of shots into the mass of Decepticons in front of him, he burned rubber and made his way to the doorway at reckless speed. As a result, every last Decepticon before him was either shot down or ran down. Either way, in Auto Ticker's wake was a path of devastation, and behind him, Aeroscream and Auto Speddemon were already running out of the building, firing back into the lobby as they went.
Audited Racer and Minicannoner tried to follow, but as the larger Autobot turned to bend over and fit through the tunnel for his escape he took a plasma mortar shell to the right leg. The shot boiled away armor right down to the frame, and he dropped to the ground hard. In retaliation, his quad blaster cannon gave that Decepticon a faceful of energy that decapitated him and let his lifeless body hit the deck hard. Minicannoner slowly backed towards Audited Racer's position, his sniper rifle having lethal aim as everywhere it pointed Decepticons went down. "Are you okay?" Minicannoner shouted over the din of so much weapons fire.
"My right leg's totaled!" Audited Racer shouted in frustration, rolling over and giving the Decepticons some more blaster bolts from his dual quad cannons. It would seem that in the space of a few breems, the Decepticons had managed to amass quite a few troops to defend this place. It was indeed a trap.
"Can you transform?" Minicannoner asked, his aim switching to a Decepticon motorcycle, who tried to speed around to the rear of the Autobots and shoot them from the back. Minicannoner's shot nailed the 'Con in the cranial unit, allowing the Decepticon to plow into and through the doorway.
"I think so!" Audited Racer shouted back to Minicannoner, and tried to transform. Much to his eternal relief, he was able to despite the bum leg. Thankfully, the thruster in that leg was still functional, and so Audited Racer was able to get airborne. His quad blaster cannon array pummeled various Decepticons as they pivoted around in a full 180-degree arc, forcing most of them to seek cover and thus not shoot Minicannoner as he transformers and got the heck out of there. It wasn't an astrocycle later that Audited Racer burst through the doorway, crumpling the metal as he passed through the wall and into open sky. And it was there he saw the full scope of Gore's trap.
Polyhex
Interior level of the Council Chambers
Present Orn
Centbot was the first out of the lift shaft and onto the floor leading to the entrances for the Tripedicus Council chambers. He wasn't very surprised to see a pair of guards waiting for him. After eliminating them with a burst from both of his plasma shell machineguns, he waved the others through into the corridor. Accelerate Demon, Speed Railer, and Optimal Retaliation all filed through in good order. They each took position around one of the doors leading into the Chamber, readied weapons, than on a count of three, stormed into the chamber, weapons drawn and ready.
Polyhex
Interior of the Tripedicus Council Chamber
Present Orn
"Well, well, well. Ain't this a surprise?" Gore said with a smirk as he and he alone stood in the center of the room, with four Autobots surrounding him. Centbot approached him carefully.
"How'd I know you'd be on this damned Tripedicus Council?" Centbot asked with clear sarcasm.
"Gee… I don't know. Maybe your CPU booted up at long last. But, sadly it's time for you to die now Centbot."
Centbot glanced about the room, and seeing no one but Gore in the room, he laughed. "You're alone Gore. You couldn't harm a protoform."
Gore's sly grin didn't falter in the slightest. In fact it grew. "Really?" He asked as a trio of red dots appeared on Centbot's chest, and then there was no further warning. A trio of plasma mortars slammed into Centbot's torso and exploded. The explosion lifted Centbot off of his feet and shot him back several meters towards the doorway he'd entered from. For any other Autobot, that blow would have been fatal, but thankfully for Centbot his ablative armor dispersed enough of the heat so that he avoided critical damage. Reacting instinctively, Optimal Retaliation, Speed Railer, and Accelerate Demon leveled off their weapons and fired. Sadly, their fire hit Gore's frontal enemy shield.
"Whoops on you." Gore said with a smirk as he dropped his shield and aimed his photon cannons at Speed Railer and Accelerate Demon. Both Autobots ran in opposite directions, forcing Gore to pick a target for his cannons. He chose Speed Railer, but the little Autobot transformed and drove under the fire. Trying to take advantage of this opportunity, Optimal Retaliation cocked a new pair of round into his shotgun and aimed at Gore's unprotected backside, but then something rammed into him from behind. His shot fired off into the wall, and Optimal Retaliation tried to pick himself off of the ground, but the Decepticon who'd previously knocked him down was already on him again. The Decepticon grabbed Optimal Retaliation by his cranial unit and lifted him into the air, then promptly sucker punched him in the gut, sending him sprawling.
Speed Railer, meanwhile, tried to turn around and ram Gore's legs to knock him down, however, as he came around another plasma mortar shell lanced out, this time blowing out Speed Railer's rear right tire and damaging his entire right flank in addition to toppling him over. Accelerate Demon tried to hit Gore a few more times with his lightning rifle, but each time he tried Gore would erect his shield to block the shot. Then, however, two more Decepticons landed between Gore and Accelerate Demon, blocking his view of the Decepticon warlord. The two Decepticons, one obviously a femme and the male Decepticon much larger than Accelerate Demon was and built like a tank, charged him. His lightning rifle spat out energy at his foes, but they nimbly sidestepped his attacks and double teamed him.
The larger Decepticon came right on in, aiming a punch at Accelerate Demon's head. He ducked that, then dove over and attempted sweep kick by the femme. He rolled back onto his feet just in time to be grabbed by the male Decepticon, who held him in place with his weapon pinned against his chest while the femme pointed her weapon at Accelerate Demon's cranial unit. She turned to his comrade. "What do you think, Harritron? Should we put him out of his misery?"
Harritron thought that over for a moment. "Why yes, Widowspider. That's an excellent idea. This little Autoboob should be lucky he gets to meet his fate like this." He said, and Widowspider gave Accelerate Demon a little kiss on the cheek before she got shot. There was the blessed sound of thunder as Speed Railer's lightning rifle fired, the bolt catching Widowspider right in the chest and dropping her. Surprised, Harritron momentarily forgot about Accelerate Demon, letting his grip go slack. Knowing that he'd never get another opportunity like this one, Accelerate Demon placed his lightning rifle right up against Harritron's chest and pulled the trigger. The energy coursing through his circuits forced Harritron to release Accelerate Demon, who dropped to the deck while Harritron himself hit the deck hard on his back.
Whooping in relief, Accelerate Demon gave Speed Railer a thumbs up as he moved over to him. "You ok?" He asked Speed Railer, who wasn't getting off the floor.
"I'm immobile in my right side, Accelerate Demon." Speed Railer said, his voice worried. Accelerate Demon couldn't blame him for being worried. It was pretty clear to him by now that this whole thing was apparently a setup. But if Speed Railer was out of commission, then he had to get him out of here.
"Come on, we're leaving." He said as he moved to pick up Speed Railer.
"Wait a breem here." Speed Railer said as Accelerate Demon began to get him on his feet. "What about Centbot and Optimal?"
Accelerate Demon spared a glance at the other two Autobots. Centbot was still slumped unmoving on the floor, with Gore advancing on him slowly. Optimal Retaliation was currently engaged in a fist fight with a massively built Decepticon, and it was doubtful he'd be able to break away from the engagement. He looked back to his team mate. "We can't help them ourselves, we have to get the others first, and then we can come back."
Speed Railer reluctantly nodded his head and helped Accelerate Demon get him onto his feet. Then together the two Autobots headed out of the room as fast as they were able to.
Optimal Retaliation swore as the burly Decepticon he was facing swung another axe handle blow down upon his head. He stepped off to the right and let the Decepticon overextend himself. Afterwards, he spun around on his right leg and gave the Decepticon the most powerful roundhouse kick he could manage. The Decepticon went down for a moment, but it wasn't long before it swept his legs out from under him. After the sweep, Optimal Retaliation lost his grip on his shotgun and it went flying. Much to his irritation, this Decepticon just would not give Optimal a moment to recover, as he quickly rolled on top of Optimal and rained down blows upon the fallen Autobot with his fists. "Knock it off!" Optimal shouted as he grabbed each of the Decepticon's arms in sequence, and then kicked his legs up, hitting the Decepticon on the small of his back and rolling him forward off of Optimal Retaliation and onto his back.
They both rolled to their feet and stared at one another for a moment. "And who the slagging heck are you?" Optimal Retaliation demanded.
"Bluevolt." Was the Decepticon's simple response before he charged again, roaring as he came. He punched both of his fists forward, and Optimal took both of his enemy's fists in his hands, trying to grapple with him. But Bluevolt's physical power was amazing, and he just rammed into Optimal Retaliation and carried him through a doorway and back into a corridor. Bluevolt repeatedly slammed Optimal into the corridor wall, quickly denting its once pristine surface. Once the wall had a big enough dent in it and Optimal was sufficiently dazed, Bluevolt pulled him from the wall and bodily tossed him down the corridor. It would be several meters before Optimal Retaliation came to a crashing stop against a wall.
The dazed Autobot tried to stand again, but his balancing gyros were unstable, and he couldn't manage to stand until they stabilized again. Meanwhile he looked on as Bluevolt walked forward, vibro-axe in hand and ready for the killing blow. "Goodbye." Those were Bluevolt's final words before his vibro-axe was raised above his head… and his back erupted in flames. The rocket that struck him dead-on in the back lifted him into the air and dumped the dead Decepticon on top of Optimal Retaliation. Swearing again, Optimal rolled Bluevolt off of him, and then looked at his would-be savior, only to see the Autobot he'd met earlier. The spy, the Decepticon warlord impossibly returned from the dead, a face that Optimal recognized now that he could see it plainly.
"Helicon One?"
Gore laughed despite the carnage going on all around him. Outside the Chambers the Retaliators were fighting a pitched battle against quite overwhelming numbers of Decepticons. Inside, Optimal Retaliation was soon to face a whole different sort of fight; Accelerate Demon would have to pick his way through the Decepticon soldiers littered through out the complex to get Speed Railer somewhere safe and Centbot… well… Centbot was dead. Gore intended to see to that personally as he walked slowly toward the damaged Autobot. When finally he stood over Centbot, he reached down and brought Centbot up to eye level so they could lock optics. He was gifted when Centbot's optics lit up and they actually did lock optics.
"You know, Centbot. I'm kind of disappointed in you. I mean, of the very long list of your faults, I never guessed you were so inept as a commander that you'd accept a suicide mission. And this time, you're really going to die. What a pity." Gore said with a most sincere grin on his face.
"Gore…" Centbot said as his right fist tightened, then glowed a scarlet color.
"Yes, Cent?"
"I hate you." Centbot snarled as his right fist came up hard and fast, slamming into Gore's face as hard as he could manage. Sadly though, Centbot's blow was aimed high, and so he missed Gore's optics, but the blow still shocked Gore and knocked him back a few paces. Centbot dropped to the ground and scooped up his plasma shell machineguns. Gore saw this and reacted immediately as both machineguns leveled themselves at Gore's torso and opened up. Gore's shield went up, and deflected the fire. Naturally, though, Centbot was stubborn, and his machineguns continued to hammer away until finally Gore's shield went down.
You'd think that the fall of Gore's shield would be good thing, but Gore used the time it took Centbot to hammer through his shield to charge up the photon cannons on his shoulders. As soon as his shield went down, Gore fired, and Centbot took the hit to the torso. And this time, his ablative armor wasn't enough to protect him. He hit the wall with his internals exposed and his torso armor blackened, but kept on firing. His shots continued until his machineguns ran out of ammo, and Gore's hand-held weapon was slagged and his photon cannons damaged by the fire. When the assault ended and Centbot discarded his weapons and stood up, Gore just glared at Centbot. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, both of them rushed one another and the fist fight began in earnest.
"This is impossible… you're dead." Optimal Retaliation said with utter disbelief as he shakily got himself standing again. Helicon One, however, was completely serious in her expression and posture. Her intent clearly spelled out by the rocket launcher that had remained aimed at Optimal's chest this entire time.
"Not quite dead, Optimal. I got help, help you apparently weren't willing to give me considering that you left me behind." Helicon One said, for the first time showing real emotion, and that emotion was pain and anger. Rage. All focused at him.
"What are you talking about? I didn't leave you behind… I saw your spark chamber get hit…" Optimal Retaliation stammered as he tried to fumble for words. Then, however, he was alleviated from the need for words by a change in Helicon One's voice. It was no longer her own, but a new, male, and hauntingly familiar voice.
"Come now, Optimal Retaliation. You know as well as I do that death isn't permanent. You're living proof of that with your rebuilt and far more powerful body. It's a shame really. All that enjoyment I had in tearing apart your old body… then you go and get a new one." Deathmaster said as he took over Helicon One for the time being. As he spoke, an enegro katana appeared in Helicon One's hands, which he gave a couple of practice whirls. But that mattered not to Optimal Retaliation; the voice was all that mattered.
"You… you spawn of Unicron!" Optimal Retaliation shouted at Deathmaster, who just laughed.
"Spawn of Unicron? Come now, is that the best you can come up with?"
Optimal Retaliation took a few unsteady steps towards his old enemy, his own breed of rage now giving him strength and purpose. "What did you do to her?"
If the sight of a well and truly ticked Optimal Retaliation scared Deathmaster in the slightest, he was remarkably good at hiding it. "I did nothing but give her the ability to get her revenge after you betrayed her."
"I betrayed no one!" Optimal Retaliation shouted, the last shred of his self-control having left him and being in his own form of rage, Optimal pulled back his right fist and set a right hook in Deathmaster's direction. The smaller Transformer simply bent under the blow, and then elbowed Optimal in the waist. The Autobot doubled over and fell to his knees, and Deathmaster came up right behind Optimal, taunting him on. Deathmaster stepped back a bit as Optimal Retaliation got up again and charged. Deathmaster was grinning, and all Optimal Retaliation could find himself thinking about was wiping that grin off of his enemy's face. He ran forwards and tried a jab with his left fist, but Deathmaster simply dropped to one knee below Optimal's outstretched fist and jabbed his enegro saber clean through the Autobot's torso.
Three different personalities had three different reactions to one event. One was shocked, another was pleased, and a third was remorseful and in unfathomable pain as Deathmaster withdrew his saber from Optimal Retaliation's chest, and let the Autobot fall to the ground lifelessly.
Centbot wasn't having a better time of it either. He was now running for his life as Gore had transformed into his tank alt. mode, determined to run Centbot down. The Autobot managed to gain a good meter on Gore, but the Decepticon was simply relentless. Finally getting an idea, Centbot broke out into a straight dead run, and naturally Gore pursued. Then, after a few astrocycles, Centbot spun around 180-degrees so that he faced Gore, then he ran at the Decepticon. He balled both of his fists and let them charge with energy so that when he jumped on top of Gore and slammed his charged fists into the sensor unit that looked like his tank alt. mode's cockpit, they easily melted through the armor protecting it and crushed its delicate internal circuitry.
Gore roared and swerved violently, throwing Centbot off of him. This also allowed the side horn on Gore's flanks in vehicle mode to slice into Centbot's armor, splitting open and revealing a small view of the Autobot commander's spark chamber. He rolled to a stop next to the fallen Harritron. Gore, for his part, lazily rolled around to face Centbot, who was lying on the ground reaching over towards Widowspider and transformed into robot mode. Gore's cannons twitched as they worked to lock onto Centbot. "Well then, Centbot… this has been fun… but it ends here." Gore's cannons sparked as he charged them to their maximum potential.
Centbot, meanwhile, had finished unlocking Widowspider's cannon from her arm. "You know what, Gore? I'm disappointed."
"And why is that?"
Centbot laughed. "Because I thought you'd know better than to think you'd ever win." He rolled over, allowing Gore to see Centbot's stolen cannon. The fusion weapon was already charged, and Centbot pulled the trigger. Reacting instinctively, Gore fired as well, and three high-energy weapons fired off at the same time, with three successful hits. There was a moderate explosion from the discharge of Widowspider's stolen weapon after the anti-matter charge in the weapon was exposed to the photon charge from Gore's cannons, and when the dust cleared… all was silent between the two.
Polyhex
Outside of Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Audited Racer was pissed. There was words greater in scope that would better describe the extent of his anger, but pissed carried a unique tone to it that suited his current mood best. There were swarms of Decepticon seekers all around him, dozens or perhaps even more than that. The numbers were insane, and so was the evasive maneuver he was forced to pull to stay intact. And it wasn't just him either. All of the Retaliators were dodging like mad, firing back occasionally, but mostly ducking under whatever cover would withstand the fury of so many Decepticon weapons. They were surrounded, outgunned, and Audited Racer was certain their time was up. He was quite a distance away from the Council Chambers, pulling up hard and entering a corkscrew maneuver as he pulled back in an Immelmann turn. The fire from a pair of pursing seekers swirled around him, but thankfully none hit him this time around.
"Clean my back I clean yours!" Aeroscream yelled to Audited Racer as he swung around in front and below the larger Autobot. On Aeroscream's tail was a half dozen seekers, who were trying to box him in with their fire. "You've got it!" Audited Racer shouted back as he leveled out and got target locks on the Decepticons. Aeroscream's two laser cannon barrels sparked as he prepared to fire on his targets, and then it all happened. Aeroscream claimed the first kills, the narrow laser beams erupting from his cannons having cut the two seekers pursuing Audited Racer in half. Audited Racer's quad blaster cannons swiveled on their mounts and turned his first pair of targets into Swiss cheese. His second group of targets lost their wings, and quickly spiraled down to explosive demises on the ground below. The last pair of seekers peeled off of Aeroscream, and another quartet of seeks vectored towards the Autobot flyers.
"Where's that fire support!" Minicannoner demanded over the comlink, and Audited Racer swore and veered around quickly to head back to his friend's position. The tiny Autobot was completely surrounded alongside Auto Ticketer and Auto Speeddemon with a desperate exchange of fire hitting both sides of the engagement. "It's coming, hold on!" He yelled as his thrusters screamed and he accelerated, swooping down on the Decepticons surrounding Minicannoner and his group, quad blaster cannons raining energized destruction on them without mercy. His sweep of the area broke open a hole in the Decepticon line surrounding the wounded Autobots, and taking advantage of the opening, they ran like Hell to a new position. But they were getting pushed farther and farther back from the Council Chambers. They were being pushed farther away from Centbot and the others.
"You think they're still all right?" Auto Speeddemon asked from below, and Audited Racer could think of only one honest reply as he ignored a communication request from what he assumed was a Decepticon trying to ask him for his surrender.
"I hope so."
Another Decepticon came up; another Decepticon fell down from the combined fury of the lightning rifles of both Speed Railer and Accelerate Demon. The two Autobots had been stuck in the corridor outside of the lift tube for a while now, and there were simply too many Decepticons about to move. Especially since Speed Railer had taken another hit, and was unable to walk at all. The Autobots kept a steady vigil on both ends of the corridor, wary of any signs of Decepticon attacks which cropped up occasionally. It was during this vigil that Accelerate Demon picked up a transmission on an Autobot frequency. He turned into the channel and sent out a request for help. Another voice quickly came back over the line. "Thank Prime that you're all still intact. Long range radar was picking up a crapload of Decepticons suddenly heading back to Polyhex and we figured you Retaliators were at the center of it. What's your condition?"
"Bad and getting worse." Accelerate Demon said honestly. "Centbot is down, the Tripedicus Council's existence is confirmed, and I don't know how many causalities the rest of the team has suffered. We need some reinforcements or an evacuation as soon as possible."
"Hmm… so I guess we weren't as far off the mark as we thought. Just hang on, Retaliator; your reinforcements will be there shortly."
"Wait… are you only sending us only one Autobot?" Speed Railer asked worriedly.
"Not exactly, no. However, since Decepticons are likely listening in on our transmission, let's just say that Centbot has managed to recruit the big guns. Hold on guys, help is coming." With that, the voice on the other end of the comlink was gone leaving the two Autobots alone once more. Accelerate Demon looked at Speed Railer, who nodded as if knowing what Accelerate Demon was about to say.
"Even though I know you're going anyway… how do you know they aren't already dead?"
Accelerate Demon didn't really have an answer for that. He just shrugged and put his hands on his friend's shoulder. "Will you be all right?"
Speed Railer scoffed. "Compared to Optimal Retaliation, Decepticon hordes are nothing. I'll be fine. Go get Centbot and Optimal."
Accelerate Demon nodded, and then he stood up and ran down the corridor back to the lift. Once he was back inside of it, he quickly began ascending back up to the Chamber entrance level.
Polyhex
Entrance Level of the Council Chambers
Present Orn
"My only regret is that this wasn't more of an entertaining fight." Deathmaster said sadly as he looked at the prone form of Optimal Retaliation, lying on the ground. His words weren't offered in sarcasm. He meant it. He'd been plotting this moment for a vorn, and now it came so easily it was a definite letdown. There was a large explosion in the Chambers that shook the entire level, but Deathmaster ignored it. He turned to walk away and let Optimal Retaliation lay there when something within him stirred. We're going to leave him laying there? Helicon One's voice intruded upon his mind, and Deathmaster was quick to respond.
"My dear Helicon One… you must learn a thing or two about pain and suffering. It's only fitting considering he left you to die." He said to her, turning away from Optimal Retaliation.
You said his death would be quick; justice for his betrayal would come swift.
"Considering what he did to m-, I mean us; his death should be slow and painful. It's the fate he saw fit to inflict upon us."
No one's death should be so prolonged… I don't want him to suffer. I owe him that. Helicon One thought at Deathmaster forcefully, straining his patience with his vessel.
"You-"He started to say before he felt the tug of Optimal Retaliation's hand on his right shoulder as the Autobot spun him around so that they were face to face. Once they were, Optimal sent a powerful right jab into his face. Deathmaster stumbled back, and then looked at Optimal Retaliation incredulously.
"Not…" Optimal Retaliation was standing shakily, the large hole in his abdomen sparking as live conduits vented energon into the air and his words emerged with great difficulty. "… As in control of yourself… as you'd thought?" He said, his optics dim, but still possessed of clarity and purpose. It was an impressive testament to the dexterity of this Autobot, and it gave Deathmaster some hope that he'd yet get some amusement from this day.
"Care to try and test how much your former friend wants me to kill you?" Deathmaster said with a smirk, getting his enegro saber in hand and ready for quick activation should it be needed.
For his part, Optimal Retaliation was shaking his head. "I don't want to test you, Deathmaster. I want to kill you." Both Deathmaster and Helicon One were surprised to hear Optimal Retaliation say that, the latter more so than the former. "You've twisted what really happened in that data vault to make her hate me. You used her to pursue your own insane quest for immortality."
Optimal Retaliation was walking slowly towards Deathmaster now, and before he realized it, Deathmaster was taking steps backwards in order to keep the same distance between them. "I didn't use Helicon One, I've helped her."
Optimal Retaliation shook his head, his rage a bit more controlled now. It had diluted into a sort of moral outrage, instead of a blinding torrent of rage that threatened to consume him. As a result, he was able to begin putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "Helped her indeed, after you got her to believe what you needed her to. After you made her believe that I left her behind when my original body that you tore to shreds is still lying in the very spot I fell at. You're not interested in helping her, you're interested in revenge."
"What?" Helicon One asked, temporarily reasserting control of her body, but Deathmaster quickly pushed her presence back and regained control. "Clever little protoform, Optimal. But tell me this: what chance to do think you have against me in your current state?" He asked simply, finally stopping and bringing the hilt of his saber in front of him with a ready stance, its energon-based blade snapping to vibrant life.
Optimal Retaliation stopped just outside of Deathmaster's reach, and then reached down towards his right leg. He pulled out his sole remaining sword that Retaliatory Aider had modified with parts from his sword that had been destroyed while in Centbot's possession back in Iacon. He held the blade out in front of him in a ready stance as well, and then he activated it. The core section of the blade slid upwards, doubling in length until it was nearly as tall as Optimal Retaliation was. Then two small currents of plasma run along both edges of the weapon, forming a brand-spanking new double-bladed sword. "I'd say I have enough of a chance to kill you. Because there's no way I will let you continue to not only twist my friendship with Helicon One into something it wasn't, but also use her as your pawn. If she were really here, I know the Helicon One I knew would rather die than live like this."
Deathmaster's grin vanished and was replaced with a frown. "How sickeningly noble of you." Wait…came the silent plea from Helicon One, but Deathmaster wasn't listening. He ran forward at Optimal Retaliation, who back stepped to prepare for the charge. The first blow came from Deathmaster, a straight jab aimed right on for the Autobot's speak chamber. A slight pivot of Optimal's blade to the right knocked Deathmaster's saber up and to the right. Immediately after, he moved his entire body down in a crouch after stepping forward, allowing his right first to get under Deathmaster's chin and send him flying.
"Come on, Deathmaster, is that all you can come up with?" Optimal Retaliation said. His tone suggested he was trying to be sarcastic, but the strain evident in his voice killed the effect. Deathmaster ignored the attempted taunting and stood up again, bringing his saber back up and ready.
"You robbed me of everything I was, Optimal. And now you suffer for that." Another charge came, this time by Optimal Retaliation. Having a longer reach than his opponent, Optimal Retaliation swept his blade in for a slice from the right. The blow was one-handed and an intentional opening for Deathmaster to take, but the ex-Decepticon warlord didn't go for the ruse. Instead he ducked under the slice, then stood up again and hopped backwards, lifting up his right arm and revealing his rocket launchers. That, Optimal clearly hadn't anticipated, and so when the rocket fired all he could do was moving his free arm in the way of the projectile. Losing an arm was better than losing your life, after all.
The detonation of the missile not only blew off Optimal Retaliation's arm, but it also knocked him back a good distance. He hit the ground on his back, skidding back into a wall. Though he was in an even greater deal of pain than before, he managed to climb to his feet again. "You never…" Optimal Retaliation flipped his blade over so that its tip was pointing towards the ground. "…Had anything."
Deathmaster finally got a bit of a rise out of that one. "I had everything until it was stolen from me. You still don't get it, do you? All of this, I helped arrange. I allowed the Tripedicus Council to know of your arrival, I leaked the information to the Council of Primus that the Tripedicus Council was forming." Deathmaster pulled his saber back so that it was level with his left should and pointing towards Optimal Retaliation. Then he moved forwards at a dead run, intending to make his final blow.
"You can't blame me for your own failures!" Optimal Retaliation shouted across the corridor. Deathmaster was in the body of the much quicker and far more nimble Helicon One, so the distance between them was crossed in seconds. Deathmaster, having the shorter reach of the two; attempted to run past and cut down his enemy as he went. Optimal Retaliation however, had a far different plan. He waited until the precise moment that Deathmaster started his swing, and then he dropped into a sweep kick. The Decepticon's legs were knocked out from under him, and as he fell Optimal Retaliation's blade flashed upwards, slicing across the falling Decepticon.
The cry of pain didn't come from Deathmaster, it came from Helicon One. But the cry was ultimately strangled as Deathmaster regained control of her body and stood up. Helicon One's abdomen had been laid bare, exposed and vulnerable to attack. It was a giant weak spot for Deathmaster to take into account when next he attacked. And he did precisely that. "I can blame anyone; use anyone I want to get my revenge!" The Decepticon advanced again, just as fast as last time, but when Optimal Retaliation swung out his blade to meet him halfway, Deathmaster ducked under the swing and got under Optimal's defenses. For a second time Deathmaster ran Optimal Retaliation through the chest with his saber, but there was a slight difference between the two events.
Soon after the saber's tip jutted out from Optimal Retaliation's lower back, his blade sliced upwards, taking Deathmaster's sword arm clean off at the shoulder connection. Again Helicon One screamed, louder this time, and Optimal had slight hesitation at finishing his enemy off. Then however, Deathmaster made a move to grab his saber with his other hand, and Optimal Retaliation backed off. The Decepticon's reach fell short, and Optimal brought his blade down on Deathmaster's torso. A deep diagonal section of armor was burned away, and Deathmaster fell back a step. Deathmaster, suffering the effects of massive internal system damage, found himself unable to focus on his target as he tried to fire off his remaining rocket. "It will not end like this… I will have…"
But before he could aim his launchers, before he could even finish his final words, he heard a single loud voice speak one clear voice. No. Was the simple statement by Helicon One and her entire command system froze. Deathmaster literally froze where he was, and Optimal Retaliation took advantage of this, rushing in, and blade at the ready for one final strike. Most would accept their fate at this point, but Deathmaster was not like most sentient life. He intended to live; he intended to reassert his control. He intended to get his revenge. And he'd fail at all three. "Foolish femme! Do you have any idea what you've done?" He shouted at Helicon One as Optimal Retaliation's blade was stabbed forward, heading for Helicon One's spark chamber, where the remnants of Deathmaster's spark that sustained Helicon One's spark were.
Yes, I have gotten my revenge. Was Helicon One's reply as Optimal Retaliation's blade ripped through the lower portion of her spark chamber. The flood of energy into her spark made her scream alongside Deathmaster as the two of them got to experience death together. An astrosecond later the scream stopped, Helicon One's optics darkened, and Optimal Retaliation watched as Helicon One lifelessly dropped to her knees and then onto the ground. She didn't move, she didn't twitch, and she didn't do anything.
The enegro saber stuck inside of Optimal Retaliation's torso deactivated, and its hilt fell to the ground. Finally, a combination of exhaustion and battle damage caught up with Optimal Retaliation, and he leaned back against a wall as a support as he looked at what was left of his closest friend. Somewhere he realized he'd just murdered one of the few people he'd ever loved unconditionally, but right now he didn't care about that. In that moment, all that mattered to him was two words: "I'm sorry."
Gore could not have been more humiliated than he was at this very moment. He lay there, on the ground, completely unable to move. Centbot's final shot had pierced his power regulatory system, meaning that his body was unable to send power to anything aside from his cranial unit, which it was directly plugged into. He looked around uselessly for anything other than dead or soon to be dead Transformers that littered the ground around him. Then however, there was the sound of an opening door, and a slightly familiar face appeared above him. And much to his continued humiliation, it leveled the barrel of its lightning rifle at his cranial unit.
Accelerate Demon slowly made his way to the Council Chambers, and when he got to the doorway, he heard an explosion from inside. He tried opening the door, but it was sealed. After a couple cycles of futile efforts to force the door, there was a second explosion, this time from down the hall. He gave up on the door, and got his lightning rifle ready as he charged down the corridor towards the location of the explosion. But the Council Chambers were huge, and even at a full run it took him a bream or two to get there. It was then that he saw Optimal Retaliation slumped against a wall. The Autobot seemed to be almost comatose, staring at a fallen Transformer. Accelerate Demon almost didn't look, but when he did, he saw Helicon One lying on the ground, spark still pulsating, but intermittently. She'd be dead before long.
Accelerate Demon tried to rouse Optimal Retaliation from his stupor, but the damaged Autobot was completely unresponsive. Grimacing, guessing what Optimal Retaliation was likely going through, Accelerate Demon reluctantly left him be and moved to the only open door to the council chamber - the same one Bluevolt had busted down while pummeling Optimal Retaliation. He saw Centbot lying next to that big brute Harritron. His entire body was blackened and burned, and his optics was dark. Accelerate Demon's optics moved over towards Gore, who was lying on the ground. A hole was blown clean through his lower torso, but his optics was active.
He walked over to Gore, planted a foot on his chest, and moved his lightning rifle so that the business end of it hovered mere millimeters above Gore's face. "Well now, this is certainly interesting."
"Go away and have the courtesy to die while doing so." Gore grunted, looking away from Accelerate Demon.
"Gore… call off your lackeys, or I shoot you."
Gore turned his head back to look at Accelerate Demon, although more accurately he was staring down the barrel of Accelerate Demon's lightning rifle. "Shoot me, and your friends die anyway. Or shoot me, someone else takes my place on the Tripedicus Council, and your precious city gets blasted to the slag pits anyway. So go right on ahead and fry me."
"Maybe so, but you'll die too."
Gore laughed. "You say that as if I care."
"Don't you?"
"Not in the slightest."
Decatron and Galvatron Prime were, much like Gore at the moment, very unhappy customers. They were in another building, watching a sensor readout. The readout which now showed one massive blue blimp that registered one very large Autobot presence on the battle. A presence that was wiping out scores of Decepticon blips by the dozen. Galvatron Prime huffed in outrage and looked to Decatron. "When the slagging heck did they start pulling Maximus Prime out of their pockets whenever they needed him?"
Decatron growled. "Does it matter? He's here now."
"No duh! So… what do you intend to do about it?"
"Me? Since whe-"Decatron's rant was aborted when the sensor readout vanished and was replaced with the face of Maximus Prime. While he had no actually mouth to smile with, Decatron could just tell the Autobot was beaming at his successful surprise attack.
"Decatron, old friend. I do believe you and I have something to discus."
"Such as?"
Maximus Prime chuckled. "Your surrender."
Polyhex
Outside of Tripedicus Council Chambers
Present Orn
Minicannoner was about to pick another seeker to clip the wings of as it began a strafing run on his position when said seeker suddenly peeled up and away from his attack run. Audited Racer, who was damaged and lying on the ground beside him next to Speed Railer fired off a few more shots at the retreating Decepticon, but when the battlefield quieted down and the assembled Autobots realized the Decepticons had stopped shooting, they did the same. Speed Railer, who had been dragged over here by Armourhide after the unexpected but much welcome arrival of Maximus Prime and Fortress Maximus, found this a good time to make a smart remark. "Aww… it's over already? It was just getting good."
Never before in his life had Speed Railer been told to shut up by so many Transformers at once.
Iacon
Autobase Medical Bay
A Few Orns Later
"And here Maximus Prime tells me I came back home with too much damage." Centbot said to Optimal Retaliation, who had just awoken from his latest trip into a CR Chamber. His blown off arm had been replaced, and Optimal Retaliation considered himself to be as good as new. Well, almost.
Optimal Retaliation rolled his optics, sighed, and then adopted the closest thing to a grin he could manage. "I lost a limb; you lost nearly everything you had to lose."
"Not true." Centbot said simply.
"Oh?"
"Yep, you're still here." He said with a smirk, and Optimal scoffed. "You did good back there, Optimal. It was a hard thing to do." He said seriously.
"You have no idea."
"Actually, believe it or not, to a certain extent I do."
One of Optimal's optics lifted up. "Oh, you do?"
Centbot nodded. "Yeah, but that's a story for another time. I just wanted to stop in for a moment and make sure you're not still catatonic." Optimal laughed, and Centbot moved for the door.
"Cent?" Optimal Retaliation asked quickly just as the door opened.
"Yeah?" Centbot asked as he turned his head to look back.
"How is she?"
Centbot looked to Retaliatory Aider, who shook his head. Nodding his own head in reply, he said to Optimal their agreed upon cover story. "She's alive." With that, he stepped out the door and was gone. Optimal Retaliation was his second-to-last stop in his trip to check in on his team. Audited Racer was the worst off of the bunch. Decepticon seekers had completely destroyed his leg servos and thrusters. He was currently in the air, trying to get the hang of his new thruster configuration. Speed Railer was pinned to his bunk in the Ward by orders of Retaliatory Aider, who had remarkably managed to come out of the battle with only a few scratches. Aeroscream, Auto Speeddemon, Auto Ticketer, and Minicannoner all came out of the battle with varying degrees of damage, none of it serious. And Accelerate Demon had the dubious honor of being the only team member to come out of the fight without a scratch. From all reports, the Slagmakers had found him standing over Gore, something to which earned him many toasts in his honor when Maximus Prime brought them all back to Iacon.
Speaking of whom, after winding through a few corridors and using a few lift shafts, he'd soon get to where he needed to be so he could meet Maximus Prime to discuss the fate of their newest Autobot.
Ordinarily Autobots did not house medical patients in the brig, but this was one of those rare exceptions to the rule. When Centbot entered the bring chamber, he found Maximus Prime already there, waiting for him. The patient was there too, watching him silently from the moment he entered the room. "You're late Centbot." Maximus Prime stated.
"On the contrary. You're earlier than I expected." Centbot said as he walked up to the Council member. "So… has it chosen a name or even a gender yet?"
"I figured I'd let you handle that." Maximus Prime said with amusement. He quickly stepped back, and Centbot then noticed the new Transformer's optics on him. Flinching slightly, he turned to face it. "Alright… go ahead. Tell us your decision."
It stood up, looking straight at Centbot. "Do you remember your first moment of life?"
Centbot shook his head. "No I don't. Must have got shot in the head one too many times, you know how it goes."
It smiled a bit, and then looked away for a second. "I have two lives, two paths to choose from. Both are radically different from the other on the surface, yet they are still the same. I find it difficult to choose between one or the other."
"Why do you need to choose at all?"
It looked back over to Centbot, and then glanced at Maximus Prime. "Autobots are not very accepting of Decepticon ideals. Decepticon ways of thinking I don't find compatible of the beliefs I hold as an Autobot."
Centbot shook his head. "No, no, no… you misunderstand. I'm saying why do you need to be either a Decepticon or an Autobot? Helicon One and Deathmaster are gone."
"Yet I still feel them as part of me."
"They are part of you. So why then can't you just be a Transformer, as we all are?"
It thought that over for a moment, and then it smiled. "I am… a Transformer. Yes… not just an Autobot or a Decepticon. I mean both yet neither - a Transformer."
Centbot grinned. "A Transformer indeed. So, as a Transformer you need a name. Got any in mind?"
It nodded. "I am Deathcon One."
"Well then, Deathcon One. Welcome to Iacon. I hope you'll find it agreeable here." Centbot nodded to Maximus Prime, he moved to a console and dropped the security field. Now able to step out of its cell, Deathcon One did so, standing in front of Centbot.
"What now?" It asked.
"Now we show you around, and teach you what you've gotten yourself into." Accelerate Demon said as he entered the room. Centbot brought Deathcon One's attention back to him.
"Go with Accelerate Demon over there, and he'll show you around. We'll talk later." With that, Centbot watched Deathcon One be escorted out of the brig by Accelerate Demon, and then he turned to Maximus Prime.
"Well?" Centbot asked.
Maximus Prime headed for the door. "I just hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Centbot. And Deathcon One for that matter as there's no guarantee it will decide to Autobot."
"And there's no guarantee it will follow a Decepticon lifestyle either. But either way it chooses, it has the right to choose its own way in life."
"And what about Optimal Retaliation?"
"What of him? Optimal Retaliation killed his friend, a regrettable circumstance, but I have a feeling that he'll get over it."
Maximus Prime raised an optic. "With Deathcon One's help, I assume?"
"Why Maximus… there may be hope for you yet."
Maximus Prime just sighed and walked out the door, his final words being uttered just before it closed. "You had better know what you're doing."
After Maximus Prime left and the door closed, Centbot smiled to himself. "Now where's the fun in knowing everything beforehand?" He asked no one in particular as he headed out of the brig as well.
THE END