(3 days later)
"Omicron, Boss, scan any and all satellites for any current hacks." Said Zane. He was standing in front of Omicron with his phone out, showing a video feed of Boss in the Communications Hub. The video was being recorded by one of his computers, so the video only showed Boss but not what he was doing. Not that Zane was worried, all of his Sparkless had proven they were loyal. They both started checking, and Boss confirmed there was.
"Do you wish for me to fix it?" Boss asked in a gruff, intimidating voice.
"Of course, but make sure only we can see it, not whatever government sent it up into space. Omicron, pull up the feed on your main screen."
They both did as he said, and to the surprise of none, there was the Nemesis over the Pacific Ocean. Zane grinned, and started speaking.
"Omicron, get the coordinates. Track it's progress. Keep me up to date on any deviations from its course. I am going to get a team ready to infiltrate and overtake it."
"If I may ask, why? I thought you wanted to stay hidden and build up your power?"
"Yes, well, I believe that the time for waiting is over. We have amassed an unstoppable army that will force the Autobots and Decepticons to work together to defeat us, or perish. We must take the Decepticon warship, however. Imagine this. The enemy tries to attack. We bring the Nemesis the site. With my modifications, cannons, guns, turrets, and other weaponry and defense, we stop them. We won't destroy them, clearly, as that would be counter-intuitive. The mere risk of their warship acting as a base for us, their enemy, should be enough of a threat that they will learn to work together and stop us. Taking it will also allow us to get rid of some of their Vehicon drones, forcing the Decepticons to rely on the Autobots more than they would than with hordes of cannon fodder to fight for them."
"Well, you certainly make a good point." Replied Omicron, the face on the screen appearing thoughtful.
Zane walked off, going to find some of his Chosen to come with him. He gathered all of the mechs that he had built, save for Boss, and then got some of his Vex assembled to act as backup. Zane had them teleport to the main room, then he himself teleported to where the Predacons lived. There, he started talking to Predaking, who was surrounded by seven of the Predacons they had woken up.
"Predaking, would you mind helping me fight the Decepticons on the Nemesis? You know it's layout much better than I. Also, we need your help fighting Megatron. But please, if you choose to help us, then do it in your Beast mode. Of course, I am going to bring a lot of backup, most of which will be quite strong against Soundwave, considering he will most likely utilize his Groundbridges. Any assistance you give us will be greatly appreciated. "
"Anything to get back at those Decepticon scum."
"Wait, why do you do whatever he asks? Aren't you stronger than him?" Asked Ser-ket. Both Predaking's and Zane's eyes narrowed. Though Predaking snarled, Zane was the one to answer.
"He does not do whatever I ask. I would lose all respect for him if he did. No, Predaking merely has the intelligence to understand what I plan to do. Perhaps more so than the those who truly are my underlings. And as for your second question, he is physically stronger than me. However, I do have the power of the Dark Spark. That provides me with the ability to control the Universe. However, I'm my eyes we are equals. I would never assume control of him, mainly because I do not think that either one of us could survive an all-out brawl. Now Predaking, let us be off."
Deeming the conversation over, Zane walked over to his Sparkless and chose Stinger, Two-Head, Malice, Havoc, and Roulette to come with him. Zane teleported them all to the main room, and started typing into Omicron's computer. Everyone waited in silence for a couple minutes, before Predaking lost his patience.
"What are you doing?!" He growled in annoyance.
"Making a computer virus to infect the Nemesis with. We wouldn't want them to be able to use any of it against us, now would we? I am also downloading Omicron's mind, I may need it inside the ship." Omicron was the one to reply to Zane's statement.
"I guess you wouldn't want any traps to be sprung, would you? And I thank you for this opportunity. This will be very fun for me: all of that information stored in the ship."
Finally, Zane plugged a flash drive into port of the computer, and pressed download. After a few minutes, most of which were while the bar was at 99%, it was done. Zane pulled the flash drive out and pocketed it.
"Omicron, can you teleport us all to the Nemesis, use that which is used by the Exos. I would do it, but I may need all of the power at my disposal."
"Of course, sir. Good luck, though luck must be supported by some level of skill in order to be of any use. Shame you don't have any."
Before Zane could retort, Omicron followed through with the orders and the group fizzled out of existence.
XxXxXxXxX
The group appeared in a large hallway. They were mildly cramped, considering they were teleported to be in as small an area in case of walls or other obstacles. The group spread out, prepared for ambushes or traps. Zane was quickly lost in thought.
"What do you call it again? Corridor? Hallway? Agh.. I hate it when I forget something that I almost always recall. Shame I never had the chance to see the actual layout of the ship. Oh well, at least I have Predaking as my guild." Zane, slightly sheepish, asked Predaking the question that was of the most importance.
"Hey, Predaking, where are we?"
"We are on the second lowest floor. This is where some of the Vehicons reside. The floor below us is mainly for the engine and other mechanics, while the floor above us is another floor used to house the Vehicons. The floor after that is where the officers have their rooms and at the end of that is the throne room. That is also where Soundwave watches over the ship." Before Predaking could continue, he was interrupted by Zane unleashing a long string of language so colorful it made rainbows look black and white. A moment later, a voice was heard booming throughout the whole ship, sounding annoyed and angry. Zane guessed that Soundwave informed Megatron of the intruders.
"How did Megatron ever get Soundwave's loyalty anyway? Their personalities are so different." Zane then realized he needed to pay attention to what was being said, just in case he could learn anything.
"Decepticons, we have intruders on the fifth floor. Engage immediately. Lethal force is authorized."
"Predaking, guide us through the ship! Megatron's throne room is our destination! Hurry!" Yelled Zane. Predaking nodded and started running throughout the hallway. Stinger picked Zane and placed him on Stinger's shoulder before following the rest of the Chosen. They ended in the back of the group, so they passed pieces of Vehicons; a stray head there, a mauled arm, a leg bent at an unnatural angle, an offline body covered in bite marks and Energon, another corpse that looked as if a wolf, a very large, mechanical wolf used it as a chew toy. Zane stared in shock as he watched a spark vanished in the open spark chamber of a rather unfortunate Vehicon, one who was ripped open to the point that it was almost unrecognizable.
Before the group could continue up to the next floor, a large swarm of Vehicons started rushing them from the direction the group just came. The two groups started firing at the same time, and Zane laughed at the Vehicon's horrible aim. He watched as Stinger alone killed 3 of the charging Vehicons in rapid succession. After the front fifteen were killed and their Energon went spraying into the group of rapidly approaching Vehicons, Stinger charged a blast from his cannon. He aimed and then let it loose, hitting the front Vehicon, who had happened to be drenched in Energon. That Vehicon exploded, causing a chain reaction that caused most of the hallway to explode, killing all of the enemy and forcing Stinger to shield Zane.
The group went up to the next floor, Predaking in the lead. Zane had everyone stop upon reaching a door that seemed to lead to the rest of the floor. He surrounded himself with a purple glow and floated off of Stinger's shoulder, He pulled some magnets out of his pockets, and used his powers to pull them apart. Pushing them and his hand through the door, he released the magnets.
After a few second, punctuated by the sound of electricity and loud thuds, Two-Head was ordered to pull open the door. He did so, and as soon as the door was pulled all the way open, he jumped out of the way as Predaking let loose a fireball. It hit the Vehicons that remained on the other side of the door, melting them almost instantly. Some shots rang out from the other side of the door, but the Chosen shot back and killed the Vehicons that were still alive.
The group, not seeing any more movement, went through the doorway. The path itself was clear, the bodies that had once been in the way melted into the ground. However, the path was flanked by the charred and melted corpses of the Vehicons who were not entirely destroyed. They continued walking to the other side of the hall, getting closer and closer to the throne room, which held the Decepticons that Zane wanted to meet.
The group set foot on the uppermost level of the Nemesis, and quickly killed the remaining Vehicon's who stood as guards, as well as a few Seekers They entered the throne room and was met by a booming voice.
"Decepticons, attack!"
All at once, over a dozen Vehicons, Seekers, as well as Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, and Knockout started shooting at Zane and his Chosen. Zane, wanting to keep casualties at a minimum in this battle, knew that he would have to stop the firefight. So, he started glowing purple and froze the Decepticons who were left on the ship. Stinger started speaking, as he knew Zane would want him to; and also put Zane on his shoulder.
"Megatron, would you like to survive the day? If so, Boss have a wager for you."
Megatron snarled and appeared to be trying to escape. Finally, he gave up.
"Fine, what is it?!" Megatron all but growled. Stinger smiled a predatory grin and walked over to where Soundwave was frozen by the computers. Stinger rested his arm on it, and Zane crawled down. After a moment of attempting to find a place to insert the flash drive, he gave up and used his power to rip Soundwave's tentacle out of the port. He jabbed the drive in, and smirked as an image of Boss appeared on the screen.
"Oh, I am so glad the group made it to your room. Now then, my wager is this. You will choose two champions to fight mine. Whoever wins gets to decide the losing side's fate. So, are the terms acceptable?"
"Fine!" Snarled Megatron, not seeing any other way and feeling overconfident. "I choose Soundwave and I!"
"Oooh, good choice. The two ex-gladiators of almost equal standing. Well, this will be fun for sure."
"And who will you choose, Boss?" Asked Stinger.
"Easy. Predaking and Roulette. Now then... I am going to activate the Groundbridge. I have the perfect place in mind. We finished it up the other day. Specifically for this occasion."
With that, a Groundbridge opened up. Zane made the Decepticons float up off the ground and into the Groundbridge. The Chosen then went through also.
{_~_}
Zane stared at the arena. It was basically a giant metal pit in the ground. It was about four times as tall as Two-Head, and large enough that ten blue whales could fit in with plenty of room left over. The sides were so smooth any cracks would have to be measured in nanometers. There were a few rocky piles spread throughout the arena. Finally, on top, there were thick metal bars to prevent any fliers from escaping. They were made of Zane's favorite materials. Each bar had an inch thick bar of Transformium covered with five inches of carbon nanotubes. The combination of materials were all but unbreakable, which is why Zane used it as bars. The area around the arena was a forest, trees meters thick and clustered together.
Zane teleported Megatron and Soundwave into the arena on one side, while Predaking and Roulette were teleported by one of the Vex. The Vex came back out in time to see Stinger walk up to the edge of the bars.
"In one side, we have the Chosen champions: Predaking and Roulette." Stinger said, mimicking a boxing referee. The Vex cheered as much as robots with no individual personality could cheer, along with the enthusiastic Two-Head, Malice, and Havoc. They quieted down when Stinger continued.
"And in the other side, we have the Decepticon's chosen champions: Megatron and Soundwave!" All that could be heard was a cricket and what had to be a recording of a male cough. Zane had a suspicion that Havoc had done it, though he was unable to prove such an accusation. Stinger continued.
"Since introductions are over, let me lay down rules. I want a nice clean fight. Lots of spilled Energon and scrap metal. The only thing not allowed is... a peaceful ending. Now, fight!" Stinger played a recording of a bell, and Zane watched in glee as the two sides rushed each other.
{_~_}
(Roulette POV)
I ran forward, not keeping up any defense whatsoever. Megatron got in the way. The little slagger! I am going to make a him a pile of scrap so... Oh look, Predaking is fighting Soundwave. Oh, that's gotta hurt. Not the optic, I can't help but wince. Ah, how is Soundwave so agile! Did he just do the splits?! Oh yeah... What was I thinking about? Oh look, Megatron is trying to stab me.
Twirl, jump, and block for good measure. Run to the wall, transform my servo that is not the permanent sword into a blaster, take aim, and fire. Yikes, right under belt. If he wore a belt. But he doesn't. Wait, was there a butterfly in the way? Look at the little silhouette on his little... um... oh well. Oh, dang, he looks pissed. How is he so fast?! He went from like seventy-five bazillion million meters away to right in my face. How?! Oh... maybe this is just one of my videogames I downloaded. Legally of course. On the internet. On the Dark Web. For free. Let's see, jump off the wall, grab his head, and keep going. Easy to do annnnd... nailed it! Oh... he does NOT look happy. Shame, he really should smile more.
"Roulette used his signature move, wall jump! The opposing Megatron is enraged!" I shouted, not being able to stop myself. I might as well look over to Predaking. Oh, looky here, Soundwave is using his strange tentacle thingys. That might not be fun, I better help Predaking. One shot, two shot, threefourfivesixseveneightnine... and done. I missed every single shot. HOW!? Ahh! Oh look, Megatron just sliced my back. How dare he?! I'll show him. Jump, spin, pat his helm, and finally try to stab his helm. Oh, really now?! You spin! Have dare you! Hahaha, right in you optic. Hey! Don't push me away!
"Guess what! You are just a little pile of worthless scrap playing with the big boys. And we are big. Look at Predaking! He's huger than anyone could ever hope to be! Now, die Megsy, die!" I yell, rushing him. That... May not have been the smartest idea I ever had. Look at his optic. That insane look... I love it! Slice, stab, jab, kick, shoot, how does he escape all of that?! Oh, how dare he! He hacked the game! Only I am allowed to do that! Now I might as well grab him, lift him up... oh look! He's scared... and throw him into Soundwave. Haw, look at all of those scratches and scrapes on them... poor Predaking. He's almost as bad as the two of them combined!
"Switch opponents! I can handle Slenderwave! Kill Megsy for me!" I may have better luck with Soundwave. Run run, faster than the Flash... oh yeah, I need to continue playing Injustice, my energy should be filled up by now... and stab Soundwave in the visor. That little glitch! He blocked it! That little slagging glitch-headed SPAWN of a scraplet... Ow! He shocked me! Me! Roulette! The champion of the Chosen! I can't let down Zane. That look of disapproval in his optics... eyes! Humans have eyes... I can't stand it. I feel like I just made the biggest mistake ever when he does that... Don't whimper... Don't whimper... And I didn't whimper. Of course I didn't. Whoever said I did? That person's lying. Who is he? I'll kill him... AGAIN!? He shocked me again! Use all of my strength and slice his helm in two...
"Augh!" I screech. A sword is sticking out of my chestplates. It hurts! I can't stop myself from falling to the ground. Oh, I am so sorry for failing you Zane, please don't hate me. How could I see Megatron behind me in my blind spot... The light, it's getting closer. Goodbye, cruel world. Goo... Wait... I can't die! What an idiot! I literally can not die. Might as well have a dramatic revival. What song should I play to set the mood... Oh yes, perhaps some organ music. Perfect.
Now, become a whirlwind of Transformium so I can remake myself... laugh internally at the look on everyone's faceplates. Except Zane, he was obviously expecting this. Then I need to start forming my frame. Focus on the details...
Work on my outside... make a couple missiles to shoot at Soundwave and Megatron... ready a cannon...
Aim... ready... fire five missiles at those two... Bullseye! Haha! Now they are little more than Mangled bodies... Hopefully they don't swing from wires on the ceiling, trying to take a bite out of me... and having others giving up on fixing them... oh well. Not my problem. Zane and Stinger will figure out what to do from here. I hope they appreciate me. I hope.
XxXxXxX
"What in the name of all that is holy just happened? Never mind, I do not wish to know. What to do... I guess I may as well fix Megatron slightly... Look at all of that Energon. That... May not be healthy. I wonder if... Yep, I won, didn't I?" Wondered Zane. He nodded to Stinger, who smirked underneath his mask before addressing Megatron.
"So, Megaloser, how did you enjoy getting your aft handed to you on a silver platter with a shot of High Grade?" Asked Stinger "Now, we won that bet, that roulette if you will. So, I will be taking the Nemesis off your hands... and Soundwave. I have always wanted to open him up and see what makes him tick. As I speak, Boss is contacting the Autobots saying you are in need of a medic. Now... If you please...?"
Zane threw a small metal ball in the middle of the pit. It released a green gas that Zane had perfected. It was a mixture of Tox-En combined with assorted other chemicals designed to cause any and Transformers who inhale it in their vents to go into stasis. Once the Decepticons were out, he teleported all of them, with the exception of Soundwave, to just outside of where Jasper, Nevada once was. Once they were gone, Zane used his power to awaken Predaking and teleport the group to base. He left the Chosen to sort themselves out and teleported once more to his bedroom and laid down on his bed, before immediately going out like a light.