Nebulan City, where everything seems to begin. Zarak's rebellion started here, the Constructicons hatched their master plan here, and now their lost brother returns to enact his plan for glory. The black and green crane truck drives through the empty streets, unaware of the cameras that are supposedly watching his every movement. it's a good thing for him, the worst security guard ever is currently on duty…
"I really don't know why the others insist on putting you on monitor duty, you never bother to pay attention." A tall mostly monochromatic blue Decepticon says to the current security guard, a mostly light gray robot with teal and purple highlight, who is illuminated by the monitors that he is supposed to be watching as he slumps down in the chair he's managed to make his way towards.
"You know better then anyone how futile it is." The gray robot says with a deep sigh, sounding as it's an effort for him to even speak. "If someone was going to infiltrate the city, they'd do it regardless who was watching. Might as well wait for it to happen, trying just always results in failure anyway…"
The Blue one shakes his head softly. "Your always such a lazy aft, Dreadwind. Even in the vast darkness of this universe, there is still reason to try. There are still too many that don't understand the true nature of this universe. If we don't inform them, they remain ignorant of the pain and suffering of this universe; they dare to be happy in their obviousness. They need to be taught otherwise, and we're just the mechs to do it!" The Blue robot says with a sinister laugh.
Dreadwind lets out another labored sigh. "Why must you always be so slagging upbeat, Darkwing?"
Behind Darkwing there is a soft growl, as what can be best described as a ball with teeth and eyes waddles up behind him. "Oh, there you are Gnaw!" Darkwing says with a smile and pets the ball-shaped primitive.
"Your still letting that thing follow you around? Why do you even bother with it?" Dreadwind asks, having some mild distain for the shark-ball-thing.
"I would think you of all mechs would understand. If there was ever such thing a pure creature in this darkness we suffer though, it would be Gnaw. Nothing matters to him other then his hunger. I rather admire him for that, his brilliantly simple mind blocks out all other complexities that plague the rest of us. Not even the other Primitives can claim that level of though."
"He's just a mindless beast. You seem to forget that he and his ilk tried to eat us." Dreadwind responds.
"You should be happy, they tried and failed. He's a symbol of your philosophy!" Darkwing laughs. "Come Gnaw, lets see what we can find to do around here!" The dour blue jet says, Gnaw growls happily and wags his tail and follows behind Darkwing as he leaves.
Dreadwind's optics dim as the pair leave the room. "Yes, just forget about me like everyone else does." He says with another sigh as he slumps further into the chair, failing to notice the Black crane entering the city…
The crane however isn't missed by the mysterious mech that has set himself up as Nebulan City's Overseer. The room he occupies is almost pitch black, a single computer monitor is the only beacon in the darkness of this room. It flickers and follows the movements Hightower.
"So, this is the new Constructicon? He doesn't look like much." The heavily flanged voice of the Overseer says, as the small orange mech known as Hard Drive enters.
"Yeah Boss. That's the one the boid told me about." Hard Drive replies "Said, he's got some plans for our lil city here. Should I dispatch the others to take care of him and show him our hospitality?"
It takes a moment for the Overseer to reply as he thinks it over. "Yes, gather who you can and send them after our intruder. I want to see how well he can handle himself. If he wants to be apart of the next era of the Decepticon Empire, he will have to earn it. We do not need those that have grown soft on Cybertron while we have been left to starve and rust out here."
Hard Drive chuckles happily. "Gladly boss, I've been aching for a fight anyway!" The orange mech states and darts out.
"So this is Nebulan City? I was hoping for something more interesting in the home of the last Decepticon civil war…" Hightower muses to himself as he drives through the empty streets of the city built around the giant transforming fortress once know as Scorponok. Most to the building are still in disarray after the end of Zarak's rebellion. Normally one would see a pack of Sweeps patrolling through the skies and oppressing the denizens to keep moral low, but with another civil war on the horizon they've all been called back to Deceptitropolis.
"Long wait will you have not!" A deep guttural growl says from one of the darkened dilapidated alleyways. A flash of yellow jumps out and pounces the crane truck causing it to tumble over.
Hightower transforms quickly, a lifeless transformer body falling to the ground as he does, and gets a good look at the creature that attacked him; a yellow and white mechanical wolf that seems to have had better days. The look in its red optics being close to what some humans might describe as feral. "What the slag are you?"
"Weirdwolf I am!" The wolf replies in a guttural tone.
"Yes, a very weird wolf indeed…" Hightower says rolling his optics as he stands up and starts brushing himself off.
"Dare insult the mighty hunter you do? Taste good I bet you do." Weirdwolf growls and pounces again, ready to tear into the lone Constructicon.
Hightower is barely able to dodge as Weirdwolf's claws nearly rip through his shoulder; leaving large claw marks. Hightower glares to his opponent. "Filthy primitive! Its time you had a bath!" Hightower threatens as his right hand retracts and is replaced by a nozzle which fires a corrosive acid at the Headmaster.
Weirdwolf yelps as the spray hits him and knocks him back, his armor already starting to melt and reveal the circuitry underneath. The Headmaster isn't swayed, as he once again gets to his paws. "Hurt me you did, but flesh wound it is…" He huffs.
"Enough Weirdwolf!" A deep hypnotic voice commands as a black and purple mech flies down from the shadows. He walks over to his damaged teammate and stares him in the optics. "Stand down, this one is not food."
"Yes, not food he is… Stand down will I." Weirdwolf repeats, seeming to be in a trance as all his fury dissipates quickly and sits down on his haunches.
The new mech then turns to Hightower. "You will stand down as well. We have enough trouble in this city with out you."
Hightower like Weirdwolf relaxes, his hand once again replacing the nozzle. "Yes, you have enough trouble here, without me adding to it." He repeats in monotone.
"Good, now that this skirmish is over…" He says and snaps, both of them coming back to their senses. "I am Mindwipe, sort of the peacekeeper here. My connection with the dark forces of the universe allow me hold sway over any beings I wish. If you wish to continue to be able to think freely, then you need to play by the rules."
"Rules? That stupid primitive attacked me first!" Hightower retorts.
"Yes, Rules. You are an intruder in Weirdwolf's territory. He has the right to defend it." Mindwipe replies calmly as he walks over to Hightower.
"Why do you let such a feral beast roam these streets? Even humans are smart enough to put down rabid dogs." Hightower says as he rubs the wound Weirdwolf caused.
"Weirdwolf is not simply a beast. He is, or was a normal Cybertronian. During the war with Galvatron however, his binary-bonded headmaster partner Monzo was killed. It seems that we headmasters risk much more then other binary-bonded pairs. While much of our consciousness is stored in our bodies, some of it still resides in the head Unit. If that link is severed, it like having part of your mind ripped away." Mindwipe explains and looks over to the wolfmech.
"Weirdwolf however didn't just have the link severed, it was obliterated completely. Monzo tries to distract Galvatron, so that his partner could ambush him. One shot was all it took to turn the Nebulan into cinders. The backlash of pain from Monzo's death, the severing of the link, and primitive instincts from his beast mode drove him insane."
"Well that explains his speech pattern…" Hightower muses.
"No, Weirdwolf's always talked like that… I think his vocal unit is defective…" Mindwipe replies with a shrug.
"So he needs a good head on his shoulders? I might be able to help with that. I've been studying the headmaster process." Hightower says as he walks over to the robot the fell from his cab when he transformed. "I call it an emissary unit. I created this one to interface with Scorponok. Its not a fully automatous being, needing someone to control it; but it would make Scorponok a weapon to fight back against Galvatron. I'm sure that with a proper lab I could create a similar unit for Weirdwolf…"
"Not fight against Galvatron again, will we. Suffered enough we did." Weirdwolf growls.
"Galvatron will not be in charge much longer. My brothers have seen to that; but they will need a counter to Trypticon. So I am commandeering Scorponok. You guys do not have to fight if you don't want to, but I will not let either of you stand in my way.
"It figures that you would just not give in and see the pointlessness of all your efforts will be all for naught. Suffering is the only constant in this universe that we rot away, just too many are blind to their own efforts to realize the truth of it all." A voice drones on from the skies above with a deep sigh.
"You should know very well by now bro, that they never accept it on their own." A more up-tempo voice in comparison replies. "The only way they will learn, is if we personally teach them the meaning of suffering. Show them exactly why their efforts will never improve things. Even if Galvatron is Dethroned, even if the Decepticons win, there will be another war, and another. They'll hunt themselves into extinction, and do it happily because they refuse to realize the truth just because they believe in some words by someone they believe will make the darkness just go away."
"Even as cheerful as you are, you are right. I should have known this wouldn't have been so simple when you insisted on dragging me along on this crusade that the overseer has given you." The first voice replies, as the source of the voices appear. The dour duo; Dreadwind and Darkwing have arrived, and they aren't alone.
The orange mech known as Hard Drive hops out of Darkwing's cockpit. "Finally found the lousy intruder. Now its time to show you what happens to uninvited guests in Nebulan City." He states as he rotates his servos. "Woulda been here sooner, but getting some these slackers to actually do somethin' is nexta impossible."
Hightower looks to Mindwipe. "Who are these bozos?"
"Trouble. Closest thing to a police force Nebulan City has." Mindwipe replies
"Police Force? I thought you said you were the peacekeeper here."
"I am, but only among those that refuse to follow Galvatron anymore. These guys enforce Galvatron's will in this city. The orange twerp there is Hard Drive, the mouth piece of the city's Overseer; Galvatron's eyes and ears for Nebulan City. The jets are Darkwing and Dreadwind, former mercenaries. They may not seem like it, but they are highly dangerous. The gray ball-thing is Darkwing's pet Sharkticon that he calls Gnaw because of it's voracious appetite. The tank is Quake, he's just as likely to smash up his allies as well as his enemies. The black racer, is a femme named Fracture, real psycho wench that one. She seems different then the usual Cybertronian, but I've not had the time nor the patience to delve deeper into that mystery." Mindwipe replies, before delving out of the way of a shot fired by Quake.
"You talk too much, bat! Shut up and fight already!" Quake yells ass he rumbles forward and fires off another shot from his turret.
The trio take cover behind a building. "Can't you do your weird mumbo jumbo and get them to stop like you did with Weirdwolf and me?"
"Unfortunately, no. My hypnotic powers are quite strong; but I can only make people do something they'd already be willing to do. The jets seem to be completely immune to my powers due to their personalities. Neither are really acceptable to suggestion because they don't really care about anything in the universe. And that beast Gnaw is equally immune as he's too simple minded to be effected." Mindwipe states, and almost as if hearing his name Gnaw jumps down and grasps Mindwipe's arm in his massive maw before ripping it off and consuming it.
Mindwipe yells out in pain as Weirdwolf pounces the shark ball. "Deep trouble in, you are! Bite off more then can chew, you did!" He grows and bites into Gnaw's leg.
"Wha ha ha ha! Didn't think you could hide from us, now did you?" Fracture asks with a mad cackle as she transforms to her robot mode in a flying and lands on the ground with a powerful stomp that makes the ground around her shake violently.
"Its been too long now since I've had some fun!" Fracture says and curls her right hand into a fit and fires and concussive beam from it, striking the building and causing the side of it to collapse on Gnaw and the trio.
"GNAW!" Darkwing calls out. "You stupid slag." Darkwing growls as he transforms and lands, before punching Fracture across the street with a powerful blow. "You. Better. Have. Not. Hurt. Gnaw." Darkwing doesn't care for many beings, but those that he did he would protect and look out for. "If you have, I will personally tear your head out through your aft and hang it on my wall!"
"Aw, great. Not even five cycles into this and this alliance is already fallin' apart…" Hard Drive sighs.
From the rubble a growl is heard as the large rotund beast bursts free and shakes itself off like a large dog. Gnaw staggers as he walks over to Darkwing and kinda whines softly, clearly having some injuries. The Sharkticon is built tough, but having a building dropped on him can be a lot even for him.
"Gnaw! That's a good boy. You just sit this out, I'll finish this myself." Darkwing replies as he pats the Sharkticon's bulbous, and slightly dented head.
"Oh great… Now you got him riled up." Dreadwind drones as he transforms, slouching forward as if he doesn't have enough Energon, yet remaining standing as he locks his cold dead stare onto Fracture. "They'll be no living with him after this. Its bad enough I've got to hear about that primitive when its healthy, but now that it's injured they'll be no end to it." He says letting out an exasperated sigh. "I just knew today was going to be a bad day…"
"Is not my fault that stupid beast was in way. Should be kept on a shorter leash." Fracture replies.
From under the rubble Hightower pulls Mindwipe to safety. "Now's our chance. You said that the tank would just as likely attack his allies, then use your ability on him, then while they are occupied we can get to safety and I'll do a quick patch on your arm.
"I will try." Mindwipe huffs, holding his wound as the purple fluid flows down his side. "Quake! We are not the ones you want to hurt. Dreadwind thinks he's better then you, thinks he can do this on his own. Show him that you should be in charge of this!" Mindwipe says in his hypnotic tone, his eyes glowing as the volatile Quake listens.
"Yes… Better then him… Better then all of them. Will show them my might!" He says as he turns and fires on Dreadwind.
The blast strikes true, hitting Dreadwind dead center. When the dust clears, Dreadwind is still standing limply, a hole in his armor and some exposed circuits sparking. "Ow.' He states dully, not seeming bothered by the injury. "I should have known it would be you that finally ends this miserable existence of mine."
"He's going to have to do better then that! You know as well as I do Bro, at the end of the universe it will be you and me because the universe isn't kind enough for us to die so quickly. It'll be a long and torturous life we lead, the universe will make sore of that. Teasing us with the end so close to our optics, but tearing it away at the last second. Also Optimus Prime will be there too since he doesn't know how to stay dead." Darkwing replies with a grim chuckle and fires on both Quake for attacking Dreadwind and Fracture for not caring about Gnaw's safety.
"As much as I hate to admit it, you are right Darkwing." Dreadwind grumbles.
While the group is fighting, Mindwipe transforms, rather painfully, into his bat mode and grabs Hightower with his claws. "Weirdwolf, time to get out of here!" He says and starts flying south, the yellow wolf following in the ground while the so-called Police Force fights among itself.
"Aw geez guys… They are getting' away! Stop fightin' each other and GO AFTER THEM" The puny orange robot shouts, but is unheard over the fighting. "Oi… I think I'm starting to see Dreadwind's point of view…" He says and slumps down, before seeing something else lying in the rubble and heads over their quickly. "This might not be such a loss after all." He laughs, as Hightower has left behind the Emissary unit in the rush to escape the battle zone. "Okay, plan B. That exhaust port will have to come to tha boss iffin he wants this back!" Hard drive laughs as he carries the Emissary unit off.