You're all going to finally see some action! Good old Autobots vs. Decepticons! Be sure to leave a review and enjoy the chapter!
(Cybertron)
Optimus vented air as his body went limp, held only by his restraints. He had lost count how many times Quintessa has electrified him. The only clue he had was that he had seen Jupiter through the hole in the Hall of Record's roof. Cybertron was slowly moving towards Earth and would most likely reach it in a few days at this rate.
All that time, the sorceress was determined to break the young Prime but had no success. Optimus displayed a strong will against Quintessa's methods, much to her aggravation. Switchblade and his crew had already left, their ship following Cybertorn from a distance. "I must admit, Optimus. Your will is even greater than I had originally predicted. Though I'd expect nothing less from my creation.
"I…am not your…creation…nor will I…ever…serve you…" Optimus said as he tried to refocus his optics.
Quintessa's optics narrowed at that declaration. And Infernocus let out a low growl and then roughly forced Optimus to his feet. That's when a new voice spoke. "It appears that your 'creation' is being more stubborn than we thought."
Coming out of the shadows was the towering mech that had hunted Dion. Its purple optics stared down at Optimus, and the Prime couldn't help but shudder at his gaze. For some reason, Optimus had the feeling that this mech was more dangerous than Quintessa.
Said Sorceress frowned at the newcomer. "Optimus Prime is necessary in recovering the staff, Thunderwing. Only the talisman, or someone with the CNA of the Thirteen can enter that vessel, and its occupants would not give me the chance of reaching it."
"Than perhaps we should trust the endeavor to another individual with the lineage of the Primes." Thunderwing suggested. "Jhiaxus has created a means of creating a new Prime, though our guest will be needed. We'll also need the use of Scourge, your hunter. He's the only one who will be suitable for the procedure."
"Very well" Quintessa replied before looking at Optimus. "I will contact Scourge and tell him to come. Have Jhiaxus prepare his machine so we can start the progress. And what will you be doing?" She asked Thunderwing.
Said mech began making his way out of the facility. "I will be heading towards Earth. Even if we cannot the talisman right away, at the very least we can acquire the other piece." He said before transforming. The large shuttlecraft blasted off at break neck speed, already disappearing from view.
Optimus turned his gaze from Thunderwing towards Quintessa. "Just what is it you're after?" Optimus demanded.
"I'm glad you asked." Quintessa said. With a hand gesture, the lights focused towards the engraving on a wall across from Optimus. The wall showed the image of twelve Cybertronians in the center of it. In the middle, above the warriors, was what appeared to be a staff, floating above an image of Cybertron.
"Before you, I created twelve warriors, the Knights of Iacon. They served me as my bodyguards and greatest warriors. But, they rebelled against me, trying to undermine my authority. They left Cybertron and taking with them my Staff. The staff amplified my abilities a thousand-fold. It allowed me to do things I could not do alone. Centuries later, they gave it to the humans of Earth, then hid it away inside their vessel, a vessel the talisman could lead us too." Quintessa said. "Without that staff, I cannot restore life to Cybertron and destroy Unicron."
The last part made Optimus recoil. "Unicron, the Chaos Bringer. I read about him, here, in the Iacon Hall of Records. The texts said he was brother to Primus, the creator of Cybertronians." His emphasis on the word 'creator' made Quintessa glare at him. "The Chaos Bringer sought to bring about darkness to the Universe. Primus fought his brother for eons, the tides turning in each other's favor countless times. It was only when Primus made the original Thirteen Primes that he was finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out to the stars."
"I assure you, that is a fairy tale." Quintessa stressed. "But Unicron was truly defeated. Cast out he may have been, but the Destroyer of Worlds was not gone. Instead, he has remained alive, slumbering in stasis for eons. As he slept, regaining his strength, space debris gathered around him due to his gravitational force. As more and more debris gathered around him, its mass grew to the size of a planet. That planet is Earth, where your precious humans live on."
"Earth, Earth is Unicron?" Optimus said in shock, unable to believe that.
"Yes, and once I retrieve my staff, not only will I be able to destroy Unicron, but by absorbing his own energies, I shall bring life back to Cybertron." Quintessa declared.
"But that will destroy the planet! Humanity will be wiped out!" Shouted Optimus, struggling with his bindings. "You can't condemn them to death!"
"Enough!" Hissed Quintessa, shocking Optimus again. "I was originally planning to send you to retrieve the staff. But given your refusal for redemption, I shall have to use other options. You will live, however, so you may bare witness to the rebirth of Cybertron."
(Autobot's Forward Base)
It was the morning in the junkyard as the Autobots were performing various tasks. Meanwhile, Izabella was busy working on attaching Sqweek's new arm. It was salvaged from the deceased Wildfire, thus, was a bit larger that it touched the ground. Nevertheless, it was the best Izzy could find and would suite her friend well.
The fourteen-year old was wearing old grey gloves, to safely hold the blow torch in her hand. Covering her face were goggles and a large cloth. Wheelie, Brains and Rewind were watching from the side. "You sure the kid knows what she's doing?" Wheelie asked the taller mini-con.
"Hey, I've seen her fixed worst shit than this." Replied Rewind. "Besides, be good practice for her once Ratchet gets her to work."
"Stuff of nightmares." Brains muttered.
"You guys mind? I need to focus." Izzy said as she continued fusing the arm to her friend's shoulder. After a few minutes of welding, the girl turned off the torch and put it down. Pleased with her work, Izabella declared, "Perfecto!"
Sqweeks clicked in Cybertronian, trying to move his new arm. It was a struggle for the first few seconds, but he eventually got it moving. Wheelie rolled up to him and examined the limb. "Heh, looks pretty ugly to me." Was all the ex-con could say before Sqweeks smacked him to the side.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Brains commented as he watched his friend hit the ground.
Izzy laughed at the interaction. "You look good, buddy." She said to Sqweeks.
The blue Autobot clicked back just as Adam rode up to them, riding on top of Ramhorn. The Cybertronian rhino nuzzled his head against Izzy affectionately, earning giggles from the girl. Adam smirked and then looked at Sqweeks, nodding in satisfaction at his new arm. "If you're up for another challenge, Ratchet and Cade want to see if you can put that new voice box into Bumblebee." The hybrid said.
As Izzy and Adam rode off to meet with the others, in another part of the junkyard, Elita was paying her respects to her fallen friend. Built in a part of the junkyard, far from the rest, laid two tombstones, with metal caskets buried underneath. One tomb had Jetfire's name written on it, and the more recent one had Dion's name. Standing beside Elita were Chromia and Prowl, the former there to give her sister comfort.
"All this time, thinking he was dead" Murmured Elita as she stared where her old friend was buried. "Why didn't Dion ever reveal himself to me and Orion? Why remain in hiding?"
"Who knows" Prowl said softly. "Perhaps he had his reasons, Elita. According to Ratchet's autopsy, Dion's wounds had been inflicted before ever entering Earth's orbit. Whatever he was running from, it was clearly doing everything in its power to stop him. Dion proved himself a true Autobot, not even letting his wounds stop him from reaching Earth."
Elita nodded, Chromia placing a comforting hand on her older sister's shoulder. Prowl decided to give her some space and began heading back to the base. As he walked, he was approached by Fixit, who quickly transformed from his alt mode back into robot mode.
"Sir, I wanted to inform you that Daytrader has left the base a while ago. Wheeljack also went with him too. Saying it was per your orders." The orange mini-con reported.
"I did, Fixit. Daytrader said he may have found us the ship I've been hoping for. I sent Wheeljack with him to rendezvous with Depthcharge in hopes he can repair it." Replied Prowl. "In the meantime, keep our surveillance security up and running."
"I'll get right to it sir. Do you think something is going to happen today?" Asked Fixit.
Prowl had a deep thinking look on his face as he stared up at the sky. "I lived long enough to trust my processors. And they're telling me something is going to happen soon, very soon. I want to make sure we're ready for it."
(Earth, Desert)
Colonel Lennox watched from in front of a row of folding tables as a jet streaked across the sky. He knew of no jet on Earth that looked like that. It was who they were waiting for. Megatron had arrived.
"Scheduled contact is IDed and cleared." Lennox heard in his earpiece. A TRF team was hiding nearby, armed and ready should Megatron attack. He watched as Megatron transformed and landed, dropping his two human hostages on the ground. He scared them off before approaching the line of tables. Perched on his right shoulder was Laserbeak, the condor's optics scanning the area.
Behind the tables were several black SUVs, as well as a single M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle (ASV). Lennox turned around and went to open the doors to an SUV, allowing the occupants to come out. Lawyers with the TRF and military were there to make sure the deal with Megatron went smoothly. They all had faces of fear as they exited the vehicles, seeing the towering menace marching towards them, his wicked sword-axe in hand.
"You know who they always kill first?" Lennox asked the Asian lawyer next to him. She was staring at Megatron in fear. "Lawyers."
Lennox went out to meet Megatron as the lawyers took up the seats at the tables, setting up laptops and all. He didn't want to do this, hated it even. But, as Morshower had said, it was a necessary evil. Megatron would lead them to this Staff and then promptly be put down hard. But while Lennox wouldn't admit it openly, the Decepticon terrified him. Megatron practically gave off a sense of impending doom. And seeing what the Con could do in Mission City, Cairo, and Chicago, didn't help lessen that fear.
Megatron finally stopped before Lennox. The mech cocked his head to the side, red optics staring at the man intensely. "Do I know you, human?" He asked offhandedly. Laserbeak let out a squawk as he downloaded data into the Decepticon leader's CPU. Images of Lennox killing Blackout from Mission City answered Megatron's question. He let out an 'ah' sound before getting down to business. "I want my crew!"
"Give me names!" Lennox said.
"Mohawk"
Lennox turned to the lawyers. They talked amongst themselves briefly before one of them nodded. He turned back to Megatron. "Okay, he's clear. Next."
"Hooligan"
One of the lawyers typed on her laptop. "Hooligan, in for… bank robbery. Aggravated assault. Murder. Double murder. Triple murder. Nine dead. Didn't even take the money. No!"
But, they quickly changed their mind when Megatron roared, followed by slamming his sword onto the ground. "What?!" Megatron roared.
"Well, uh, we can be flexible." Another lawyer stammered. "How about GPS? Yeah, we can put a GPS on them."
Lennox just shook his head. He then looked back at Megatron for more names.
"Nitro Zeus"
"That's fine, but the Government requests that he doesn't leave the county," some other lawyer informed. "And we're serious about that."
Lennox gave a sigh, muttering, "Alright, alright. Who is next?"
Unsurprisingly, Megatron requested the release of several Cons, including Dirt Boss, Blitzwing, Tankor, Vortex, Lugnut, Reverb, Macerator, Kickback, Trample and Tread, Fearswoop, Brimstone, and Ransack. Lennox was uncomfortable with releasing so many dangerous Decepticons, but the world leaders figured they would be easier to handle when put together. Plus, they would have GPS on them too.
"And, the last two." Megatron began. "Berserker"
Every human gave him a blank look before one lawyer said, "Absolutely not!"
"Nope, no" Lennox said to Megatron. "There are limits! Whose number two?"
Megatron scowled. "Onslaught"
"Eh, let me run that up the flag pole really quick." a lawyer said before pulling out his phone and calling someone. After the call, he held up the phone and shouted, "Yes, yes!" After that, the lawyers could not have been any faster, packing up and practically running back into the perceived safety of the SUVs.
Only Lennox remained, looking back at the Cybertronian. "What do you really want, Megatron?" Lennox asked the Con. Megatron had to have some twisted reason for this. The Staff had to be a super weapon or something. He had to have a plan to end Earth. That's what he had always done.
Megatron attached his sword to his back. "What anyone wants, human. To go home." The Decepticon leader replied before walking off, Laserbeak hissing from his shoulder.
Watching the Con leave, Lennox turned around. "Yeah, that would be alright with me, too." He muttered.
(South Dakota, several miles from Autobot Base)
Megatron inspected the force he had managed to assemble. Including Barricade and the ten Shockwave sent, it made a total of thirty soldiers. Most of them weren't Megatron's first choice for this mission, in fact many of them were just cannon fodder. But they would do for now until more of his troops were done with their tasks.
From the TRF he was able to secure the release of Mohawk, a knife-throwing foot soldier who transformed into a Confederate Motorcycle. Next up was Hooligan, a former Dread who turned into a rusty Volkswagen Type 2. Then there was Nitro Zeus, the younger brother of Shockwave and had a Saab JAS 39 Gripen alt mode, as well as the tactician Onslaught, a bluish-green mech that changed into an Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). After them were Dirt Boss, a Con that scanned a light green forklift, and Reverb, whom transformed into a red Buell Lightning XB9SX motorcycle. Macerator was one of the Cons that took part in the battle of Chicago and managed to survive, no doubt thanks to his Waste Management Garbage truck alt mode. Following him were Trample and Tread, twins that transformed together into a yellow Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker bus. He also had the loyal Kickback released, a reddish-brown Decepticon raider, who had been captured when he tried to assault an oil refinery and scanned a purple Dodge Journey. Then Blitzwing, a Triple Changer with three personalities to match too. He transformed into a tan and purple Panavia Tornado Jet Fighter & Mitsubishi Type 74 Tank. With him was Lugnut, a simple-minded Decepticon flyer that turned into a dark purple North American B-25 Mitchell. The jokester, Fearswoop, transformed into a orange AMX International AMX. Brimstone, a Con with a blue and orange Chopper Motorcycle, was also released. Vortex was a Con that transformed into a grey and black HH-60G Pave Hawk. The idiotic Tankor transformed into a blue Merkava Main Battle tank. Finally there was Ransack, a very old mech from the times of the Fallen, with a red and tan winged Albatros for an alt mode.
Shockwave had managed to send him the flyer, Ruination, with his alt mode, a grey Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Then Gunbarrel after that, a strong artillery specialist, who had scanned the fitting alt mode of a dark blue Flakpanzer Gepard. Another heavy hitter was Hailstorm, a weapon's expert and a green and grey M270 Multiple Rocket Launch System alt mode, was also sent. With them was the fast Space Case, who transformed into a light blue Sukhoi Su-27 jet. The dirty fighter, Terradive, with a orange black Sukhoi Su-30, was also assigned to this mission. Next was the sniper expert, Hardtop, whose alt mode was an tan brown Light Strike Vehicle dune buggy. The next two were Bludgeon and his partner, Mindwipe, who transformed into a dark green Type 10 Hitomaru Tank and a black F-117A Nighthawk respectively. Also joining was Cyclonus, a maniacal purple mech that scanned a Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter. A unique one was Scowl, a former Knight with a grey Ankylosaurus alt mode. Second to last was Skystalker, with a large black Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. And the last one was Blademaster, a sniper with forest green RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter alt mode.
Shockwave also mentioned that the Stunticons would be ready soon, and that they might be operational to come and assist.
"Lord Megatron" Barricade said as he approached his leader. "The humans have located the Autobots. We await your orders."
Megatron gave a savaged grin as he looked at his troops. "Decepticons, the hour of Cybertron's salvation is at hand. Today, we hunt!" He roared before transforming into his jet mode, taking off. The other flyers transformed and followed. Barricade and the other ground Decepticons drove off seconds later. Behind them, the TRF prepared to watch the situation from afar, preparing aerial drones for deployment.
(Junkyard)
"Okay, watch that wire," Cade instructed Izabella.
Presently, they were both elbow deep in Bumblebee's 'mouth' as they tried to remove his old voice box and install the new one that Daytrader brought. It was slow going, but it was going. With them were Adam and Ratchet, the latter watching over for any mistakes.
Izabella glared up at the inventor. "I know what I'm doing. Don't rush me."
Cade raised an eyebrow. He looked at Adam. "Is she always this snippy?"
"Most of the time." Adam shrugged, ignoring Izzy's glare. "Kind of like Ratchet here."
"Ha, ha, amusing." Ratchet commented drily. "Now, can we please get back to focusing at the task at hand."
They slowly slid the busted piece of Cybertronian biotech out, taking care not to damage anything else Bumblebee might need. When it was free completely, Cade and Izabella worked together to lower the new voice box into its slot. Both humans and Autobot tensed up as the final wires were hooked into place. Upon completion of the job, Cade stepped back. Bumblebee sat up from the metal slab he laid on and flexed his lower 'jaw'.
Wiping his hands with a dirty rag, Cade looked up at the yellow mech. "Alright, Bee. Sit up and try it out, buddy. Let's hear it, your real voice. Feel it out." He said.
"This is so exciting." Bee said, only to realize his 'voice' sounded more feminine. "Oh no! This isn't my damn voice!" He cursed.
"It appears that Daytrader gave us a femme voice box." Ratchet mused as he did a scan on Bumblebee.
Cade shook his head, pissed that Daytrader, sold them the wrong voice box. "I'm gonna kill him," he said to himself before turning back to Bee. "You know, I'm not giving up! You'll speak with your own voice one day, Bumblebee."
"Daytrader is a punkass bitch!" Bumblebee cursed just as Ratchet removed the voice box. He then transformed and drove off, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
"He's right, you know." Izabella said as both watched as Bumblebee tear around a line of stacked cars. Flipside, Strongback and Ironbolt were clicking from their perch at the nearby base as they watched the yellow mech. The other sparklings followed to see what the noise was about.
"About Daytrader being a bitch?" Asked Cade.
Izzy nodded. "Yeah"
"I know."
"I think we already knew that." Commented Adam.
'BAM!' 'CRASH!'
The three jumped when they heard something crash nearby. Running outside, they saw a downed military drone, with a large hole right through the center. From the fence, several of the defense turrets were standing up, their barrels smoking before retracting. The Autobots soon followed, their weapons at the ready.
Suddenly the loudspeakers came alive. Chief Sherman's voice spoke through it. "Uh, Cade," the chief's voice said, stressed and hurried. "The…thingy, that code… there's a red. A red thingy. Wait, code red! There's somebody coming!"
"He's right" Fixit said from the overlook. "Long range scanners are detecting multiple military drones, as well several energon signatures approaching at a fast rate."
Prowl came running out the base. "My informant in the TRF just contacted me. TRF made a deal with the Decepticons. We have a Con strike force heading our way."
Cade wasted no time and ran to the alarm system he installed, slamming his palm on the red button and then rushed to find Jimmy. Adam ran off to find his gear, while Izzy went to find Sqweeks. Meanwhile, Prowl started giving orders.
"Jazz, find the others, tell them we're moving in sixty seconds! Canopy, Grindcore, Trench, get the sparklings inside the base. Rewind, get Omega Supreme online, quickly. Fixit, prepare the energon blocker and cloaking system, have defense systems on standby. Contact the Aerialbots too. With Blazemaster and Tomahawk escorting Stratosphere and the refugees, they're the only air force we got." Prowl said in just five seconds.
The three Construction vehicle Autobots hurriedly brought in the squeaking sparklings, while Wheelie and Brains jumped onto their shoulders. Fixit was doing some last-minute adjustments, and the Dinobots took off to distract the humans. The remaining Autobots consisting of Prowl, Jazz, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Leadfoot, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Jolt, Skids, Mudflap, Crosshairs, Mirage, Drift, Brawn, Armorhide, Topspin, Inferno, Roadbuster, Salvage, Longarm, Warpath, Cliffjumper, Elita-1, Arcee, Chromia, and Evac quickly transformed into vehicle mode. After finding Jimmy, Cade hurried about, grabbing anything he could. He told Jimmy to grab as many weapons he could carry. The two rushed over to Cade's modified truck and climbed in. The only one that was not preparing to move was Hound. The commando was searching through his weapon arsenal for the ones that would do the most damage.
"This'll definitely mess somebody up good," Hound muttered to himself, strapping his assault rifles to his person. "Roll out of here, guys. I'mma buy ya some time."
"Don't be a hero, Hound!" Cade shouted as Adam got into the truck. "We're getting out of here, now!"
"Hell, I was born a hero." Hound said back. "Besides, someone's gotta distract those Cons for the systems to hide the base."
"Wait, wait!" Izabella came running up, Sqweeks rolling right next to her. "You're not leaving me. You leave me, and they take Sqweeks!"
"Leave Sqweeks!" Jimmy shouted. Though he most likely did not mean it, the prospect of being sent to jail or worse, killed, was putting the man under a lot of stress. "He's a survivor!"
Ignoring him, Cade and Adam helped Izzy push Sqweeks onto the back of the truck. Once that was done, the two teens climbed up beside the blue mech while Cade got back into the driver seat. Ramhorn snorted and stood beside the truck. Once they were buckled in, Cade turned the truck's key and drove, with the Autobots following behind him. As they left, the base behind them began to fade away, soon completely covered by the stealth tech.
A few minutes later, the Decepticons arrived. The laser turrets automatically opened fire, but they did little to annoy the Cons, who quickly dispatched them. Megatron transformed and landed between a row of rusted cars. He growled as he scanned the 'empty' junkyard. There was no sign of either Cade or the Autobots. As suspected, TRF had given away their approach and their enemies had fled. Still, Megatron knew they had not gotten far, the smell of gasoline was still fresh in the air. As well as their fear.
"Yo, Megatron, boss, we an't got no one here." Mohawk said as he stood on top of a rundown car.
"I can see that." Growled Megatron.
"Unfortunate, I was hoping to bash some heads." Nitro commented as he landed.
Cyclonus walked around the junkyard. The purple mech's optics spotted something on the ground. Zooming in, he saw several tire marks. "My lord, I've found their tracks. They're heading southeast." Cyclonus said.
Megatron nodded. He was about to order his soldiers to pursue when from a row of cars, something burst out from cover, literally. Old cars and scraps of metal were sent flying. Immediately, Megatron slid on his battle mask as an Autobot rolled out of the dust.
"Come and get some, ya bitches!" Hound shouted as he opened fire with his tri-barreled minigun.
The barrage hit Megatron first, forcing the Decepticon leader to a knee. The smaller Decepticons took cover as the bullets soared through the air. The others were about to retaliate when Megatron acted first. Rolling forward into a crouching position, he powered his fusion cannon. Raising his weapon, he fired two shots at the pest. The first missed while the second hit center mass of the Autobot, the force propelling him back into a pile of cars.
Retracting his mask, Megatron turned towards his troops. "Decepticons! Transform and pursue Yeager!" He ordered.
"Lord Megatron. What about the Autobot?" Onslaught asked, indicating to the wounded commando.
Growling Megatron replied, "Retrieving the talisman is far more important than the termination of a pathetic Autobot. Now, move!"
As the Decepticons took off, none of them spotted Trench. Once he was sure the area was clear, the excavator Autobot transformed and rushed to help Hound.
(Prowl's Team)
:This is Fixit to Autobots! Fixit to Autobots!: The orange mech's voice spoke through the coms. :The Decepticons are heading towards your position. Hound took some damage fighting them, but he'll live:
"Understood, Fixit. We'll take it from here." Prowl replied as the group reached an abandoned town.
:Be careful, it sounds like Megatron is after that talisman that Cade has: Reported Fixit.
"Talisman?" Repeated Cade. "You mean the thing Dion gave me?" He wondered. "Jimmy!" He shouted, startling the young man next to him. "My bag in the back. I need you to check it for the talisman I brought back from the No-Go Zone."
"I-I" Jimmy stuttered. "The what?"
"Circular metal thing with odd markings on it!" Yelled Cade.
"Alright, alright!" Jimmy said. He leaned back and pulled the leather bag and put it on his lap to rummage through. It took only a few moments, but Jimmy pulled out the talisman. "This it?"
Cade glanced at it. "Yes, yes! Now put it back inside!"
By then the group had entered the empty town. Due to its lack of populace, it was the perfect place where Cade and the Autobots rigged with traps. Placed just for a situation like this.
"Alright, Cade, make sure the bombs are ready. Then you and the other humans find somewhere to hide. The rest of us will take our positions." Prowl ordered as he brought out his neutron SMG.
The others quickly transformed and readied their weapons. But, before they could continue, a rapid beeping was coming from Bee's chest plating. Drift took his sword and knocked a small device off the scout. He held it on his sword for the others to see.
"What's this?" Crosshairs asked, leaning in to get a look. It was obvious what the device was, a tracker. The sharpshooter turned to glare at Bee and jabbed a digit at him. "You lead 'em right to us!"
Beeping wildly, Bumblebee raised his hands. "What? I know nothing about this!"
"Well, that would explain how they found our base." Jazz mused as he took the tracker from Drift.
Cade had pulled out an alien plasma rifle. "So, the TRF put a tracker on Bee. It's done, over with. No use getting worked up about it." He said, trying to break-up a possible fight.
"Cade's right. We have Cons inbound, so let's get ready for them." Ironhide grunted.
As the Autobots prepared for the ambush, Cade, Jimmy, Izabelle and Adam headed into an old hotel. Adam and Cade dumped the bags they had brought onto nearby couches, before opening them up and revealing explosives. "Jimmy, Izzy. Stay here while Adam and I get these things set up. Do not leave. At. All." Cade ordered as he headed out, followed by the hybrid.
"Ramhorn, stay here and protect them." Adam ordered the Cyber Rhino. Ramhorn let out a grunt in acknowledgement.
Izzy looked like she wanted to argue, but they had already left before she could open her mouth. Huffing, the teen plopped down on a couch. Jimmy had already done so, fumbling with the blaster he had gotten from Daytrader.
The Autobots had already taken position by the time the Decepticons arrived. The eager ones, those desiring to fight and kill Autobots, took the front, while the more tactical and cautious Cons were at the rear. And in the middle, was Megatron, with Barricade walking beside him.
Cade's eyes locked onto Megatron's appearance. His new form was a towering menace of metal. Sharp angles all throughout. The red optics seemed to glare at everything around him. Then there was that red mark on his face. It was as if the Devil marked him. That only made him even more terrifying and Cade couldn't help but shudder.
The Autobots also had their own opinions too. :Slag, looks like Megatron got an upgrade: Sideswipe commented.
:He looks like he came out from the Pit itself: Noted Mirage.
Brawn then asked the obvious. :Where did he even find the cyber-matter for that new body?:
:Must've been from the Seed. Despite Adam's tampering, there must have been enough for the Decepticons to construct Megatron a new body: Summarized Ratchet.
"Boo ya! Decepticons are in the street bitches! Time to take names and lay some hurt!" Mohawk cheered.
Nitro was next to him, punching his fist into his hand. "Oh yeah, I feel a fight coming on!" The Decepticon assassin cheered.
Macerator banged his fists against his chest, mimicking a gorilla. "Ugh! I'm getting anxious! When can we waste some Autobots?!" The green mech roared.
"Be quiet, fool! We will only waste them when Lord Megatron gives the order!" Hothead Blitzwing said to Macerator. His face then changed to Random Blitzwing. "Yeah, hide and seek is fun!"
Hardtop and Hooligan climbed up some nearby roofs, scanning the town. "Lord Megatron, I'm not picking up any Autobots on my sensors." Hardtop said as he looked through his Nucleon Charge Rifle.
"No, they are here!" Megatron responded as he waved his hand. "Spread out! Search this town and find them."
"Why don't we just blow the town up? Then we can just search for their bodies among the rubble." Gunbarrel suggested as he raised his four-barreled rotary cannon.
"We cannot risk destroying the talisman." Megatron snapped. "Just continue your scans but be wary. The Autobots are no doubt waiting in ambush."
The sound of something falling to the ground caused Cade to snap his head to the side. There, in the center of the road stood Sqweeks, his cover having been blown over by the wind. The inventor cursed as he saw the blue bot, because Sqweeks did not go unnoticed by the Decepticons. Megatron threateningly ordered him to come over to him. Once he was closed enough, Megatron grabbed Sqweeks by the head and picked him up.
Turning him this way and that, Megatron snarled, "You have an utterly repulsive scent. Disgusting."
"Hey!"
Cade's head snapped towards the source, and his heart dropped. Running out of the building was Izabella…heading straight towards the Cons.
"Put him down!" Izabella demanded. "You think I'm afraid of you?! Cause I'm not!"
"What's that supposed to be?" Kickback asked.
"A human youngling. Femme, by the looks of it." Replied Barricade.
Mohawk sneered at the girl. "Look at this little mofo walking up with all that swagger!"
"Go to hell!" Izzy shouted at the small Con.
Megatron scoffed. "This planet is hell!"
Before he could do anything, a sharp pinch caused Cade to cry out in pain. The talisman had somehow crawled out of his bag and latched on to his upper arm. It caused him to be spotted as Izabella continued her march forward.
"Ack! Get off!" Cade yelled as he tried to shake the talisman off. Unfortunately, Megatron heard him.
"Cade Yeager!" The Decepticon snarled, tossing Sqweeks aside. "I need that talisman!"
Seeing how his cover was blown, Cade took aim and fired at Megatron. The energy bolt hit the Con, making him stumble backwards a bit. Quickly, the inventor turned on the detonator. The bombs went off at once, consuming the Decepticons in a swarm of explosions. Many of them were knocked off their feet. Seeing the opening, Cade ran up and grabbed Izzy. Meanwhile, Ramhorn dashed from his hiding spot and grabbed Sqweeks just before the explosions hit the little blue bot.
As Cade guided Izzy around an alley, he yelled at the girl, "Are you out of your mind?" Cade scolded the girl as they ran. "You don't do this kamikaze shit! You're not going anywhere with me!"
Back with the Decepticons, despite the explosions, none of them were killed, though slightly disoriented. However, Megatron managed to get them back on track. "Get those wretched creatures!" Megatron roared through the smoke.
"Now!" Adam shouted from his position on top of a nearby roof. He fired his crossbow, the energy projectile hitting Barricade in the face. At the same time, the Autobots sprung from their hiding spots.
"Autobots, attack!" Prowl ordered, firing his sub-machine gun.
The entire town was soon consumed in gunfire as both sides opened fire. Some of the Cons gave chase, going after Cade and Izzy. Barricade dodged the attack and chased after the humans, with Hooligan and Nitro right behind him. Tread, Trample, Kickback and Macerator joined them, driving on the sides. As Barricade turned a corner, Cade fired a shot from his alien pistol. It struck the Con on his side, stunning him temporarily. Megatron fired at Cade and Izabella, but from his position he could not get a direct hit, though he was awfully close. However, he was forced onto the defensive when Wreckers opened fire on him. Onslaught, Skystalker and Gunbarrel tried to help their leader, but were cut off by Drift, Crosshairs, Ratchet and Cliffjumper. The Decepticon flyers had taken to the air but were soon cut off when the Aerialbots finally appeared.
Ruination aimed his plasma cannons at the humans. But he was cut off when Sideswipe and Jolt attacked him. Sideswipe cut off the Con's left arm, while Jolt fired electric bolts before ensnaring Ruination with his whips. The larger Cybertronian roared as he tried to strike Jolt with his rotor blades, only to be shot in the leg from Sideswipe's pulse pistols. Now on one knee, Ruination could do nothing as Jolt wrapped one of his whips around his neck. With electricity surging through it, Jolt tore off Ruination's head with a strong pull.
"Man, I missed taking down Cons!" Sideswipe said as he put away his pistols, while Jolt retracted his whips, allowing Ruination's corpse to hit the ground.
Meanwhile, Barricade quickly transformed and tried to grab the humans, but was interrupted when Grimlock appeared. Letting out a roar, the Dinobot leader struck the smaller con with his tail, before letting loose a stream of flames from his mouth. The flames struck Nitro, who had to use his jets to get out of the Dinobot's way. Hooligan was not so fortunate, as he found himself engulfed by Grimlock's jaws. He tried to escape, shooting at Grimlock's face, but was swiftly offline by the Dinobot's teeth.
Grimlock ran to attack Barricade again, only to be hit hard by a spiked tail. The impact sent the Dinobot crashing against a nearby building. Getting up, Grimlock's optics widened when he saw a large Ankylosaurus glaring at him. However, his shock changed to anger, the Dinobot let out a roar, "Scowl! Traitor!"
"I figured that would be the response I get from you, Grimlock!" Scowl roared as the two dinosaurs clashed. Barricade tried to take a shot at Grimlock with his arm-mounted gatling gun, but was prevented when Bumblebee performed a dropkick on the Decepticon. Growling, Barricade pulled out his energy baton and charged towards the yellow scout.
Back with Cade and Izzy, the four other Cons had finally caught up to them. Trample and Tread were the first to transform, splitting up to surround the humans. They were just about to grab them when Ironhide charged the twins. He first grabbed Trample, throwing the Con over his head before slamming him violently on the ground. Trample's head was smashed into pieces on impact. Seeing his brother's death, Tread roared and lunged at Ironhide. The weapon specialist dodged Tread's punch and then grabbed the Con's arm and leg. Before Tread could escape, Ironhide tore him in half, letting out a victory roar while doing so.
Despite their friends' death, Macerator and Kickback charged. "You two get out of here! I'll deal with them!" Ironhide told Cade and Izabella, firing his cannons. Macerator used his size to brush off the projectiles while Kickback circled around, going after Cade. The grey Con towered over them but was knocked back by Adam who had fired his weapon from the roof. Cade joined him and fired his own rifle. Kickback stumbled back a bit, before he was caught in a wrestling match with Evac, who had just arrived.
Back with Macerator, the large Con grabbed Ironhide and threw him against a building. Bringing out an axe, Macerator prepared to strike when Warpath attacked from behind. Firing his chest plasma cannon, he left a large hole in the Con's chest. Pushing his corpse aside, Warpath helped up Ironhide. "Getting sloppy in your old age, Ironhide?" Warpath asked jokingly.
"Shut it, kid." Ironhide huffed. The two joined to help the femmes, who were fighting against Brimstone and Tankor.
Meanwhile, Hardtop had taken cover behind a building, his sniper rifle at the ready. Peeking over the building's roof, he spotted Hailstorm engaging Mirage and Ratchet. The two Autobots were forced to take cover as Hailstorm unleashed his missile salvo on them. Raising his rifle, Hardtop took aim at Mirage's head, preparing to blow it clean off. Before he could take the shot though, Brawn came charging at him, firing his dual plasma blasters and shoulder mounted Ion LMG. Switching targets, Hardtop fired his weapon at the oncoming Autobot, only for his shot to bounce off Brawn's armor. Hardtop tried to change positions, but was not quick enough when Brawn destroyed the building he was one, sending the Decepticon crashing to the ground. Before the Con could get up, Brawn finished him off with several well place shots.
That's when Ransack came in, firing his machine guns at the red mech, knocking Brawn off balance. As Ransack prepared to finish him off, he was unprepared when Skids and Mudflap pulled a crazy stunt such as jumping from the nearby roofs. Both bots grabbed onto Ransack's wings. The twins' extra weight caused the elder Cybertronian to hit the ground, transforming at the same time.
"Damn brats!" Ransack roared as he tried to get the Twins off him. "Don't you know who I am?! I am Ransack! One of the ancient Seekers of the Fallen! I-"
Ransack's ranting was cut off when Mudflap punched the Con in the face. "Ah, like we care who you are, bitchin geezer!" Mudflap exclaimed as he and Skids continued punching the old mech.
Armorhide fired his weapon at Skystalker. The Con dodged the barrage of explosive energy packets before pouncing on his opponent. Bringing out one of his scythes, Skystalker tried to cut through Armorhide's chest to reach his spark. Growling, Armorhide held the weapon back, before his optics spotted a knocked over telephone pole. Grabbing it, the Autobot rammed it into Skystalker's shoulder joints. The Con roared as he backed up, allowing Armorhide to get back up.
"Slagging Autobot! That's dirty!" Skystalker shouted as he tried to pull out the pole.
"Deal with it, Con!" Armorhide counter before firing his weapon. The close range between them caused the plasma projectile to shoot right through Skystalker's chest. The blow pierced his spark, immediately offlining him.
Gunbarrel was having less luck in his fight. Crosshairs and Drift immediately ganged up on him. He had tried to counter with his machine guns but wasn't able to stop the samurai Autobot from cutting off one of his legs, followed by Crosshairs who fired Gunbarrel in the chest. The Con fell backwards, allowing Drift to run across his chest before stabbing the Con through both the head and chest.
Jumping off the corpse, Drift shook the energon off his blades. "Hahaha! Fantastic!" Drift exclaimed.
Crosshairs twirled his machine pistols. "That's how it's done ugh!"
The paratrooper's comment was cut off when an energy projectile struck him. The blow sent Crosshairs flying into a building. Dust kicked into the air from the impact. He was still alive but couldn't move.
"Crosshairs!" Drift shouted. He turned towards the source of the attack and his optics widened.
Walking towards him was Bludgeon. The Con's electric cannons retracted from the back of his shoulders. In both hands were energized katanas. His skull-like face grinned as he stared at Drift. "It's been a long time, Deadlock." Bludgeon said.
Drift frowned as he got into a fighting stance. "That mech died a long time ago, Bludgeon." He said as he raised his swords.
"By the end of this day, both you and him will be dead." Bludgeon declared before the two former comrades clashed. Sparks flew into the air every time their blades struck one another.
From his perch on a nearby roof, Mindwipe watched as his companion dueled his former student. The hypnotist was thinking of what to do when his scanners picked up five energon signatures heading towards them. Raising his head, Mindwipe zoomed in on the sources' location. What he saw were five Earth vehicles. From front to back were a yellow Honda NSX, a red Dodge Viper, a black Ford GT, a white Lamborghini Huracán, and finally and black and grey Kenworth W900. Chuckling, Mindwipe muttered, "Looks like things are getting interesting."
Cliffjumper had just delivered an uppercut to Onslaught when several cars nearly knocked him over. "What the scrap?!" The red mech exclaimed before going to cover when Onslaught fired his subsonic minigun.
Megatron threw off Steeljaw when he saw the new arrivals. "Stunticons! Show the Autobots your new power and slaughter them!" Megatron ordered.
"As you command, Lord Megatron!" Motormaster, the truck said. The Stunticon leader transformed and looked at his subordinates. "Combine into Menasor!" He shouted as he transformed into a large chest.
Drag Strip, the Honda NSX, transformed into a right arm. The Dodge Viper, Dead End, turned into a left arm. Next were Wildrider, the Ford GT, and Breakdown, the Lamborghini Huracán, transformed into left and right leg respectively. When the four attached to Motormaster, a large head popped up from the top. All the other combatants stopped when they saw the now large Cybertronian.
"Mensaor! Destroy!" The combiner shouted, firing his arm mounted double-barrel concussion cannons at Cliffjumper. Brawn immediately grabbed the red mech and used his more durable body to take in most of the damage. The blast still sent the two mechs flying. Menasor proceeded to fire more blasts, forcing the other Autobots to cover. Ironhide and Warpath opened fire on Menasor, causing the combiner to fire his shoulder mounted missile launchers at the two large Autobots. The explosions sent them to cover. The Aerialbots were unable to help as they were still facing against some of the Decepticon flyers.
Back with the humans, Jimmy was hiding underneath the couch he was previously sitting on, just as Adam, Cade and Izabella came running in. "Holy shit, that thing is huge!" Jimmy shouted.
"I think that's a combiner. Ratchet told me about those things. It's a lost art from the Dynasty of Primes." Cade said as he took cover behind a dusty desk.
"That's great and all, but how do we kill it? None of the Autobots have the firepower to take that thing on, and those other Cons are just going to keep attacking." Adam added.
"You got that right, fleshling!" A voice yelled, just as a red motorcycle crashed through the hotel door. Reverb quickly transformed and brought out his plasma gun, firing at the four humans. Jimmy screamed as he ducked for cover, followed by Izzy while Adam and Cade tried to fire back. But the Con was just to nimble, dodging their attacks while firing back his own.
"Lord Megatron, I have the talisman in sight. Preparing to retrieve it-" Reverb's communication was cut off when a powerful laser beam hit him from behind. The force blew a large hole in the Con's chest and tore off his right arm too. As the body fell, it revealed the shooter, a certain mini-con hovering in the air thanks to his jet pack.
"Rewind!" Adam exclaimed, happy to see his best friend.
Rewind smiled, hefting his laser rifle. "Sup. Hope you don't mind me cutting in. I brought some help too." He said as a large shadow engulfed the town.
Back outside, Fearswoop had pinned down Prowl and Sideswipe, firing a barrage of plasma bolts. As their cover began to wear down, the orange Con readied his rockets. "Looks like I'll be mowing down some Auto-weeds! Ha! Get it?" Fearswoop asked as he prepared to fire. Before he could, however, he felt himself being pulled backwards. The Con could only scream as he was trapped in the tractor beam, before being swiftly crushed by Omega's fingers. The giant Autobot threw the remains to the side and then focusing on the remaining Decepticons.
"Autobots: In danger. Weapons: Online. Engaging Decepticons." Omega said as he activated his chest, shoulder and wing-mounted plasma blasters. He fired his left-arm thermo rocket launcher and right-arm photon laser cannon at the Decepticons and then at Menasor. The Decepticon combiner grunted as the beam burnt his chassis. Some of the Decepticons tried to fight back, but were overwhelmed by Omega's firepower. Not even the fliers could get in a decent shot.
The barrage delivered by Omega began to overwhelm the Decepticons. With the big guy backing them up now, the Autobots added their own firepower into the mix. The surviving Cons had to take cover or run in order not to get hit. Megatron had managed to dodge a rocket before deciding to pull back. "Decepticons! Retreat!" He ordered as he transformed and took off. Following him were Barricade, Nitro Zeus, Mohawk, Onslaught, Bludgeon, Cyclonus, Blademaster, Tankor, Vortex, Brimstone, Scowl, Mindwipe, Kickback, Space Case, Hailstorm, Terradive, Dirt Boss, Ransack, Lugnutz, and Blitzwing. The Stunticons quickly disconnected and joined the others.
"They're falling back!" Inferno shouted as he fired his Photon Pistol.
"That's right! Chickens!" Shouted Crosshairs, who had managed to get back up from Bludgeon's surprise attack.
"We were lucky, Crosshairs." Prowl said as he and the others regrouped. "If Omega Supreme had not arrived, this could've turned out very differently. Anyway, sound off"
He got various responses from the others. "We're all in here and in one piece. Mostly." Brawn replied as he got up. The blast from Menasor's weapon had shaken him a bit, but the robust Autobot recovered quickly.
The coms suddenly came to life. :Prowl! Prowl, do you read me?!: Cosmos shouted desperately.
Wondering what was causing the scout to sound so scared, Prowl immediately replied, "I'm here, Cosmos. What's the situation?"
:A few seconds ago, something, or someone, just flew by me at an incredible speed. I'm picking up large energy signature, and it's heading right towards you!: Cosmos reported.
"I'm also detecting multiple TRF drones approaching the town. They're heading towards the humans." Armorhide added as he saw several flying objects approaching them.
BOOM!
A loud explosion caught their attention next. Turning around, the Autobots were shocked to see Omega Supreme being hit from behind. As the behemoth Autobot fell, his attacker appeared in the sky and then transformed into his robot mode. The Autobots readied their weapons, while Ratchet and Jolt ran over to help Omega.
Standing up, Thunderwing looked down at his smaller opponents. "So" He began "I'm looking for some humans. Have you seen them?"
Things are starting to heat up! I wanted to add more but didn't want to keep you folks waiting any longer. Be sure to leave a review!