16- Operation Breakdown.
It was night in a ghost town in the Kanto region. Everything seemed peacefully, until some tremors began to shake the area. Then someone crashed against one of the buildings: it was Wheeljack. He was pushed back by Breakdown.
"Wheeljack." Breakdown saluted as he changed one of his hammers for his hand. "Imagine you and I bumping into each other in the middle of nowhere while tracking a stray energon signal."
Wheeljack got up. "Yeah, it must be your lucky day."
"I must admit that during all the time before arriving here, I was hoping to see Bulkhead again after so long."
"Me too. But I made him a promise: in case ever meeting you in his place, be sure to give you a lesson from him."
Both cybertronians charged at each other, grabbed each other's hands and tried to push back his rival.
"Where's your pet human? You have one like Warpath, don't you? How about when I finish with you, I pay him or her a visit?" Breakdown provoked.
That made Wheeljack yell in fury and tackled Breakdown to the ground.
"So, Wreckers have a soft spot." Breakdown mocked.
Wheeljack grabbed a big rock next to him and tried to use it to finish Breakdown, but he dodged it, swung his hammer already ready and hit Wheeljack in the head hard, making him collapsed to the floor. With his opponent dizzy, Breakdown put his hammer at Wheeljack's head.
"Fear nothing, I'll make sure to send Bulkhead memories from you. I'm sure that will hit his nerves to come and look for me, and that way I'll send him with you. Hammer time." Breakdown declared as he was about to give his final blow.
But when he was about to strike, a Thunder Wave attack hit him, knocking him down. Before went off too, Wheeljack heard and saw a couple of military helicopters flying above him. Four green advanced military helicopters and a gunship of the same color landed near them, followed by a Magnezone, probably the one who stunned Breakdown.
"Nice shot, Magnezone." A soldier complimented it as he and others came out from the gunship.
As the soldiers surrounded and aimed their weapons at the Autobot and Decepticon alongside a little squadron of Magneton, Misbelwy came out of the gunship and pulled out her Tyrantrum which joined them.
"My lady, we only have the resources to transport one." A female officer informed her.
"Take the victor." Misbelwy instructed smirking, which caused the Tyrantrum to approach Breakdown with his jaws open.
Moments later, Wheeljack started to wake up when someone called him by com-link.
"Marco. Marco. Marco!"
"Dawn?" He recognized.
"Uh…no. Now you're supposed to say Polo. I've already told you. Even Piplup knows that."
Immediately, Wheeljack stood with his guns ready, but he saw Breakdown was no more.
"Dawn." Wheeljack started as he groaned a little in pain. "Let Doc know I need a ground bridge."
Moments later, Wheeljack was back at base while Ratchet was patching up his shoulder with an electric tool.
"Engaging the enemy on your own was foolish, Wheeljack. "Optimus scolded.
"Tell that to Breakdown, Prime, he jumped me. As a Wrecker I know how to operate solo. I know I could take him." Wheeljack defended before groaning in pain a little.
"Stay still." Ratchet advised.
"But at least you managed to leave him look worse, right Jackie?" Dawn asked.
"Well, about that…" Wheeljack started.
"Pi?" Piplup asked.
"You didn't hit him?" Dawn asked surprised.
"Not exactly. I figured you all did. When I came to, Breakdown was just gone. I remember hearing a copter and someone calling back their pokémon. Maybe it was a pokémon ranger." Wheeljack told.
"It wasn't one of us." Ranger Lunick said as he walked in from the elevator with his little companion Minun on his shoulder. "But I have an idea who. Show me where this Con abduction occurred."
Of course, they weren't the only ones aware of this. In the Nemesis bridge…
"Lord Galvatron, I fear Breakdown has gone missing." Darkscream reported to his leader.
"The Autobots?"
"According to surveillance provided by the astonishingly accurate Soundblaster, Breakdown was abducted by humans and pokémon."
"Your point?"
"My strongest recommendation: we assemble a rescue team to hunt the vermin responsible for this outrage."
"Breakdown is on his own." Galvatron simply answered, surprising Darkscream.
"Master?"
"If Breakdown allowed himself to be captured by those smaller than him, weaker than him, he deserves whatever fate awaits him."
"But Breakdown is a key player in our…" Darkscream started, until Galvatron silenced him with only his angry look. "Your wisdom reigns supreme, lord Galvatron." He said before walking away. "For now." He said quietly.
Meanwhile, Breakdown awakened inside an unknown room. He saw next to him, from both sides, a few machines with drills and buzz saws.
"Huh? What?"
He tried to move, but he saw that he was trapped by metal braces on his hands and feet. He tried to break himself free, but it was no use. Then a door opened, and Misbelwy, one of her officers and two soldiers entered the room as a few other grunts operated a terminal up in front of him with Breakdown's schematics.
"Filthy fleshlings! Who do you think you are?!" Breakdown demanded.
"We are Team Alien. And I am Misbelwy."
"Release me now and I will let you live."
"I'm afraid you're far too valuable to us."
Breakdown laughed. "Galvatron will never pay a ransom."
"Oh, you misunderstand. We don't want a ransom. We want only you, all of you."
Back to the Autobot base…
"This is where we picked up Wheeljack." Ratchet showed on the screen.
"That's a former mining town, one which was abandoned once it's supply was completely drained. Now it's just a ghost town." Ranger Lunick explained.
"Hum, May mentioned she, Max, Ash and Brock had to spend a night on a creepy ghost town when they were traveling through Kanto for Ash's Battle Frontier challenge. Maybe it could be that one." Dawn shared.
"Our intel reported Team Alien activity there earlier today."
"Team Alien? The criminal gang who tried to grab the artifact Solana was escorting?"
"The very ones who know of our existence on your planet." Ratchet added.
"They must have tracked one of us there." Wheeljack deduced.
"But what would they want with Breakdown?" Sideswipe asked.
"What's it matter? They can have him." Arcee scoffed.
"(Who'd expect that such a tough Decepticon would be dragged off by that criminal scum?)"
Wheeljack laughed. "Yeah, dragged off by humans and pokémon. Ha, guess I softened him up for them. Huh?"
"I guess so." Dawn simply said.
"Ratchet, reactivate the previous ground bridge coordinates. We will rescue Breakdown." Optimus proclaimed.
"What?" Ratchet and Elita spluttered.
"Optimus, you can't be serious." Hot Rod objected.
"Are you mad?" Moonracer followed.
"(I don't think so.)"
"Team Alien can melt him down for all I care. Let the Cons rescue their own." Warpath agreed.
"It is unlikely that Galvatron would bother with an errand of mercy. And sometimes we must raise above ourselves for the greater good." Optimus recited.
"Oh, what's that supposed to mean? Breakdown's gonna be grateful and go all soft and join the cause?" Wheeljack scoffed.
"While it is unlikely that any Decepticon will choose the path of good, even they possess the potential for change."
"Well, we do actually have a former Con in our side." Moonracer recalled.
"You're referring to Drift, right?" Warpath deduced.
"Wait. Drift was a Decepticon?" Dawn asked surprised.
"Drift became aware of the Decepticons' true nature and the damage they were inflicting to everything around them, so he regretted his actions and decided to join us in order to amend his mistakes." Elita explained.
Wheeljack groaned. "I knew where this was headed."
"Okay. But this is Breakdown we're talking about. Drift was nothing like him." Hot Rod reminded.
"By greater good Optimus meant human and pokémon kind. Team Alien presents a clear and present danger." Elita clarified.
"She's right." Ranger Lunick supported. "We know Team Alien already surpass the other organizations by having such strong pokémon trained in military ways, also obsessed with obtain groundbreaking technology."
"Which means we cannot allow cybertronian biology to fall into their hands again." Optimus finished.
Back to the secret room, Breakdown was still trying to break his chains.
"Full disclosure: we intend to pull you apart, break you down, if you will. And we will utilize whatever we discover to gain back what we lost: our Crown's Jewel. And with it we'll develop a new generation of weaponry." Misbelwy revealed to Breakdown before she snapped her fingers, giving the signal.
Immediately, a pair of grunts started to operate the machinery next to Breakdown as a pair of Excadrill hovered toward him. The drills and saws came closer, making Breakdown started to get worried.
"I'm afraid that you won't survive the process." Misbelwy said as she walked down and next to Breakdown. "So, thank you in advance for your sacrifice. Team Alien is very much in your debt."
"You are making a very big mistake, little woman. When I'm finished with you, they'll have to scrape you off the floor." Breakdown threatened.
"Since you evidently aren't squeamish, I'll allow you to watch." Misbelwy said to him before she turned to one of the operators. "Are his pain receptors disabled?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Good, then he won't make as much noise. Open him up."
"Excadrill, Horn Drill."
The two pokémon started to spin their hand drills and pulling them near to his face. The last thing Breakdown saw was sparks on his face. Back to the Autobot base, the ground bridge was already opened…
"Come on, Jackie. They need you to come with." Dawn pleaded.
"Pi piplup." Piplup encouraged.
"My answer still is no." Wheeljack said with his arms crossed.
"Wheeljack."
"Optimus, I'm sorry. I just can't do it."
"I support your choice."
"What?" Both Wheeljack and Dawn asked in disbelief.
"Given the history of your comrade Bulkhead with Breakdown your judgment may be clouded. And thus, jeopardize the mission." Optimus explained.
"Besides, the Decepticon may be more in need of a medic than another warrior." Elita added.
"Lock and loaded." Ratchet announced.
"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus commanded.
All the Autobots transformed and went through the ground bridge before it closed.
"Fine. Happy hunting." Wheeljack grumbled.
He heard Dawn sigh and saw she looked disappointed, or maybe sad, as Piplup tried to cheer her up. That made him get a little sad too.
"Uh-uh…what do you say? Creature double feature?" He proposed to cheer her up.
"Sure." Dawn said dully.
"Maybe we should take a break." Ranger Lunick joined. "What do you say, buddy?"
"Minun, mi." Minun answered cheered.
The Autobots arrived to middle of the town. They changed to robot form and readied their guns.
"No signs of life." Optimus observed.
"Human, pokémon, or cybertronian." Elita nodded.
"(I found some tracks.)"
"They look like pokémon footprints. Maybe they were left behind by the pokémon which carried Breakdown away." Hot Rod suspected.
"Forget the tracks, you two. I'm picking up a faint energon signal, three clicks north by northwest." Ratchet informed seeing his scanner.
"Breakdown." Warpath deduced.
"But we shouldn't be getting a reading. Unless…" Sideswipe started.
"His energon's been spilled." Ratchet ended.
Meanwhile, the ones at base were seeing some kind of kaiju/titan movie. Well, not everyone: Ranger Lunick was sleeping on the coach while Dawn wasn't exactly seeing at the screen, and Piplup was playing with Minun. Wheeljack was the only one who was seeing it.
"Giga Golurk vs Mecha Tyranitar, I heard this movie was based on a short made by a kid which knows Ash, and that many people still want to see it at cinema. You also wanted to go and see it, but you don't seem excited for it now." Wheeljack told her.
"You're right, Wheeljack. Because there is something more important now in my head: the fact that everyone is out there looking for Breakdown except you."
"Huh?"
"Breakdown may be cruel, but Team Alien is worse. You know what they did to your kind before we met. The last time they were that powerful ended with the Decepticons and Megatron's return. Think about what could happen if they achieve it again. This isn't about your rivalry with Breakdown"
Wheeljack sighed. "Dawn, you don't understand. Breakdown isn't my rival, but my pal Bulkhead's. The two of them have a long history together on battles, he told me everything he did alongside his Con combiner team, the Stunticons. Unlike Drift, Breakdown enjoys being a Con. His spark, chassis, his entire being, all that of a Decepticon. Those like him don't change that easy, Prime don't realize that. And that's why I'm not rescuing him. Not now, or ever."
"Wheeljack, you don't have to forgive him, you only have to show him you are better than him."
"Ah, what?"
"By rescuing him, you will show him how Autobots are better than the Decepticons. They would not risk their lives to reach him, but the Autobots are doing it instead. That way he'll see the Decepticons are no better as he thinks, and if that makes nothing, you can always win him in the rematch if he tries something. Whatever the case, you are the one who will win."
"Hum." Wheeljack said, starting to think.
"And to ensure that, Piplup will go with you. That way he will learn not to underestimate any of you. What do you say, Piplup?"
"Piplup." The penguin pokémon said proud.
Seconds later, a ground bridge took Wheeljack and Piplup to the ghost town. Once there, he saw the same tracks Bumblebee discovered, and because they had no other clue, Wheeljack decided to change to vehicle form and follow them after Piplup got inside of him. Meanwhile, the other Autobots followed Ratchet's lead.
"This way."
The trail took them to some kind of fountain. Arcee, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Moonracer and Hot Rod advanced first, followed by Optimus, Elita, Warpath and Ratchet. As they advanced, the scanner's sound was becoming closer.
"Reading's coming from right…here." Ratchet saw.
In the center of the fountain was only a little piece of metal, which looked like some kind of metallic eye.
"Breakdown's eye." Ratchet identified, making the other Autobots stay in shock.
Meanwhile, the duo followed the tracks until Piplup spotted something: a green advanced sports car which was scouting.
"Team Alien. Nice eyes, Piplup." Wheeljack congratulated.
They followed the car to a tunnel's opening, probably the old mine. Wheeljack prepared his gun and allowed Piplup to climb on his shoulders before getting inside. At the same time, back with the others, Ratchet inserted the eye into his scanner.
"What are you doing?" Arcee asked.
"The optic receptors might have retained the final images seen." He explained as he typed some buttons and the screen showed an image.
"What do you know? Weird science wins again." Sideswipe added.
The scanner showed the image of when the Excadrill's attack approached to Breakdown's eye. But suddenly, the image changed to static, only to display a live feed of Misbelwy, with Breakdown at the background being operated.
"Well well, Orion Pax, or as you are called now, Optimus Prime. A pleasure to set eyes on you again. Although, I must admit I was hoping to see Sentinel in your place." She saluted.
"She's converted the optics to a two-way-feed." Ratchet saw.
"Misbelwy. I cannot say the same about you. But even if Sentinel is not here, he will be glad to know we're making sure that your faction would not ascend to apex again." Optimus responded.
"I still can't believe you managed to survive." Elita added.
"Well, as you can see, I'm back. In the flesh, but being that our captive is not one of yours, I have to admit I was expecting my masterpiece: Galvatron." Misbelwy admitted.
"In this circumstance, Autobots and Decepticons share a common foe." Optimus proclaimed.
"Team Alien is anything, but not common, that suits Team Rocket's bush-leagues better. You can consider yourselves fortunate to be in presence of the moment in which we'll get back what's rightfully ours. Our guest is yielding quite a bit of information about your biomechanics as you can see. Although, Breakdown himself can't see so well anymore."
"We managed to beat you once and we can do it again." Hot Rod expressed.
"Yeah, we don't fear you." Moonracer added.
"Then you should. In fact, I would strongly urge that you not stand your ground." Misbelwy advised.
Trying to know what her words wanted to say, Optimus saw that right beneath the fountain was a bomb, with only a few seconds before explode.
"It's a trap." Optimus discovered, making the Autobots discover where the bomb was.
"Would this be a rollout kind of trap?" Sideswipe asked.
"Evacuate, now." Optimus ordered.
The Autobots changed to vehicle form and drove away the fast as they could before the bomb exploded. Although, the shockwave sent them flying, but they managed to change back to robot form and land safely.
"So, any idea where they're keeping the rest of Breakdown?" Warpath asked.
Breakdown could only watch how his captors were tearing him apart. At the same time as the machines and Excadrill did their job, some grunts and a pair of Kabutops, which were using Fury Cutter, joined them cutting from other sides.
"Enjoying the view? Ironically your would-be rescuers may be in more pieces than you, right now." Misbelwy revealed.
"Decepticons don't break that easy!" Breakdown argued.
"Who said they were Decepticons?"
"That doesn't make sense. Autobots wouldn't come to rescue me."
Suddenly, they heard a banging on the door, making everyone stop what they were doing.
"What's going on?" Misbelwy asked.
"My lady, there's movement on the main door, through the mine's access." One of the operators reported as he showed an image on the terminal.
The image showed lots of soldiers aiming their advanced weapons at the entrance, alongside a pack of Houndoom and a swarm of Ninjask. The door felt down and Wheeljack started advancing slowly threatening to hit them with his swords, but he simply used them to deflected the shots of the soldiers' weapons and the Houndoom's Flamethrower. The Ninjask attacked him with Swift, but they were shot down by Piplup, who used Bubble Beam to cover Wheeljack. This forced Team Alien's forces to retreat.
"Marco! You're supposed to say Polo!" Wheeljack joked as he advanced pushing some soldiers back.
"More grist for the mill." Misbelwy whispered as she and everyone walked out of the room.
They finally reached the room where he saw Breakdown trapped on the operating table. Breakdown looked up to see them walking toward him as Wheeljack retrieved his swords.
"It must be your lucky day." Wheeljack said approaching his hand to him.
Breakdown closed his eye, waiting for the end. But instead, he saw how Wheeljack ripped off his braces, thing that Piplup did too by using Drill Peck.
"What are you doing?" He asked confused.
"Getting you out of here. Yeah, I don't believe it either." Wheeljack said offering him his hand, which Breakdown took and got back to his feet. "Can you walk?"
"Urg, I think so." Breakdown answered while he closed his chest's open parts.
Suddenly, the alarm sounded.
"Can you run?" Wheeljack asked.
"Never run when you can fight." Breakdown answered changing his hand for a hammer.
"Fine with me, as always you keep that thing away from Piplup."
With Piplup again on his shoulders, Wheeljack and Breakdown started their way out. They encountered a squadron of Team Alien soldiers, a couple of placed automatic turrets and two Magmotar firing at them with laser guns and Will-O-Wisp.
"Creature double feature coming at you!" Wheeljack announced as he and Breakdown passed above the squad, forcing them to step aside and smashing the turrets while Piplup froze the Magmotar with Ice Beam.
They finally made it to the exit, but once there they encountered with an ambush: lots of cars drove around them as soldiers fired through the windows, a few tanks at the distance with three Tyranitar using Rock Throw, a few combat helicopters firing lasers and missiles, a few soldiers riding on Charizard and Garchomp flying around them while they used Flamethrower and Misbelwy's gunship with the helicopters. As they covered themselves from the attacks, Breakdown pulled out his shoulder turret and fired at one of the cars, making it to spin out of control and hit another. Piplup tried to counter the pokémon flyers' attacks with Ice Beam and Bubble Beam.
"You have some sort of escape plan?"
"Yep, but you're not gonna like it." Wheeljack said before using his com-link. "Wheeljack to Optimus, rendezvous to my coordinates. We're in need of backup."
Seeing that the tanks were such a problem, Breakdown grabbed a destroyed car close to him and threw it to a tank, destroying it and making the Tyranitar run for cover. Wheeljack decided to use his swords to cut the helicopters' missiles and neutralize the cars close to him by cutting their wheels. He also managed to kick another one hard, sending it against one of the helicopters. Piplup continued blocking Team Alien's pokémon attacks with his own, until he thought about something seeing one Garchomp heading at them while the soldier it was carrying held some kind of advanced missile launcher.
"Piplup, Piplup! Pi, Piplup!" The little pokémon said to Wheeljack pointing at the Garchomp.
"Alright buddy, as you wish!" The Wrecker nodded before grabbing him and throwing him.
Piplup managed to land not on the Garchomp, but on the soldier's face.
"Arg, get off, you little stowaway." He cursed, but Piplup managed to climb on his back.
Next, Piplup bit the Garchomp's tail, making the pokémon to roar in pain and spin around out of control. That also made the soldier to be unable to keep balance, which allowed Piplup to grab and fire the missile launcher against the remaining tanks. The missile also passed near the Charizard, making it not see Garchomp heading right at it thanks to Piplup before clashing each other. Piplup simply jumped before that to one of the helicopters. At the same time, Breakdown continued smashing the closest cars he found with his hammer. Then, he noticed the helicopters stepped aside, allowing Misbelwy's gunship to charge its front cannon and fire some kind of electromagnetic beam. Fortunately, Breakdown jumped out of the way in time. But Wheeljack was now in trouble: a little group of Galvantula and Ariados managed to trap him in a huge combined Electroweb-Spider Web trap, leaving him defenseless against the gunship's weapon. The gunship fired at him, but Breakdown pushed him aside before the beam could hit him and before disposing off the bug pokémon by trying to crush them with his hammer as Wheeljack released himself from the webs. Both cybertronians looked each before one of the helicopters crash-landed near them and Piplup landed on Wheeljack's shoulder.
"You managed to take down one of those? Dawn was right about you, little buddy." Wheeljack congratulated him.
"Piplup." He answered proud.
Of course, Team Alien did not cease their attacks, so they continued watching other's back. Misbelwy's gunship was about to aim the cannon at them again, as she touched her necklace's poke ball considering to send her pokémon to battle, but suddenly the radar detected something.
"My lady, incoming boogies."
That made Misbelwy mad, but knew what has to be done. "All units, disengage and initiate Omega protocols."
Immediately, all surviving Team Alien forces retreated, leaving Wheeljack, Breakdown and Piplup alone.
"Your backup?" Breakdown asked.
But the backup which arrived wasn't the one Wheeljack expected: it was a squadron of flying Decepticons, leaded by Darkscream.
"Commander Darkscream."
"Consorting with the enemy, Breakdown?" Darkscream asked walking at him.
"But Wheeljack got me out of there."
"Many spark felt thanks, Autobot." Darkscream said before facing Breakdown. "Now destroy him."
Breakdown looked at Wheeljack. "But…"
"Do you plan on joining their ranks anytime soon? No?! Then be done with him already!" Darkscream commanded.
Breakdown looked at Wheeljack and at the end smirked.
"Tough break, Wheeljack. Maybe the next life." Breakdown said pulling out his hammer.
But he did not have time for use it, because immediately an Ice Beam froze his arm completely, allowing Wheeljack to kick him on the back.
"I knew you would do that, but you have forgotten my little companion is not to be underestimated." Wheeljack said referring to Piplup, which attacked Darkscream with Bubble Beam.
"Destroy that pokémon scum!" Darkscream ordered, before Wheeljack hit him with an uppercut.
"To get him you'll have to pass over me first." Wheeljack warned as he grabbed Breakdown's arm and threw him against them before they could aim their weapons at him. "Hammer time! Wrecker style!" Piplup jumped on his head as he pulled out his swords. "Come on, we'll scrap all of you!"
Darkscream was about to fire at him when a storm of shots coming from behind them forced them to turn and see the rest of the Autobots advancing at them.
"Arg, retreat." Darkscream ordered.
All Decepticons retreated, including Breakdown, who pushed Wheeljack out of his way before transforming and drive away.
"Engaging the enemy on your own was even more foolish this time, Wheeljack. But I am honored that you saw fit to rescue your partner's rival." Optimus admired.
"You have truly risen above yourself." Elita congratulated.
"Did you see? I beat Breakdown and bash them all with his own hammer after Piplup froze it. The rematch is mine, for Bulkhead!" Wheeljack shouted proudly.
"I'm sure Dawn would be proud." Moonracer deduced, suspecting who convinced him.
Far from there, Breakdown was still driving when he was forced to stop because Darkscream, in vehicle mode, stayed in front of him.
"One day you will repay your debt to me, Breakdown. The day it comes time to choose sides."
Breakdown changed to robot form and faced him. "Uh, between Bots and Cons?"
"Between myself and Galvatron." Darkscream clarified before he started flying around Breakdown. "Incidentally, I suggest that Galvatron never know of this rescue. You do want him to think you overcame the puny humans and their creatures on your own, don't you?"
With all said, Darkscream flew his way back to the Nemesis, and let Breakdown with his thoughts. Meanwhile, Misbewly was seeing Breakdown's schematics in a secret room as she stroked her Tyrantrum.
"The test subject escaped, but we've managed to sanitize the location and transfer most of the newly acquired data to another facility. A diagnostic scan of the subject's vital components coincides with some remaining data we managed to recover before our exile, enough for us to initiate project "Ultimate Magearna". The power of the living machines will someday soon belong to Team Alien once again." Misbelwy said smirking.
