Chapter 7
After the incident with the drone army in Iacon, Straxus and his subordinates had fled to a semi-remote factory located in one of Iacon's outer suburbs, where he was certain he would not be found.
Even after Seizer and his team had been defeated, his top scientist Deluge captured, and control of his Nemesis Army had been lost, Straxus was not about to give up so readily. The thought of exacting his revenge upon Nemesis Prime in the most agonizing way possible for the rogue mech gave him much hope, and pleasure. He was determined to take back his Army, and he did not care what it would cost – even his own loyal followers were expendable.
"Clench! Grindcore! That Nemesis Prime must not rob me of my rightful reign! We must gather our remaining forces, and strike when they least expect it!"
The heavyset, heavily armed Destron, Clench, faced his leader with restrained anger and frustration – he, too, was more than eager to crush their enemies and revel in their misery. "Agreed," he answered. "My Lord, perhaps it would be wise to wait until the Nemesis Army has taken care of the Autobots for us?"
Straxus held a hand underneath his chin in thought, slowly pacing the large factory floor. "Those despicable Autobots must be defeated one way or the other, and the sooner, the better!"
As Straxus plotted his next move, still undecided on the best course of action, one of his subordinates rushed inside the factory in search of his leader. "Lord Straxus! I have news!"
Straxus turned to look at the Destron flyer who had just interrupted his thoughts. "Well, what is it, Slugslinger?"
The blue and white jet pointed outside, speaking quickly. "Iacon seems to have lost power. I saw it with my own optics – I was in the air when everything just suddenly went black–"
Straxus held up a hand, suddenly alerted. "Stop talking!" No one in the factory dared utter another word, lest they interrupt Straxus' thought processes and anger him. He carefully walked to the factory's exterior entrance and looked out towards the distant outline of the main city. Just like Slugslinger had said, the entire area of Central Iacon appeared to be dark and still. "Hm. It could be a trick…" he said, but then reconsidered. "Or, perhaps, my Nemesis Army has succeeded in laying waste to the city. Still, we must proceed with caution." He looked back at Clench, and then at Grindcore. Both stood waiting nearby. "Assemble the troops. We must strike now, whilst they are distracted!"
"Yes, Lord Straxus," Grindcore obediently replied, before gathering together his team, and Clench did the same.
"Our victory draws near!" Straxus declared with glee, before transforming into his space craft mode in preparation for his surprise attack on the Autobots' city.
The Autobots looked about in bewilderment, unsure whether the sudden blackout had been caused by an act of sabotage, or by a completely unrelated incident. The last thing they needed was a city that lay in darkness while an unpredictable Nemesis Army waited near by, the danger that it may suddenly decide to turn against them at a moment's notice all too real.
Starscream's voice cut through the dimness and uncertainty as he addressed the gathered Autobots, all the while ignoring Sentinel. "Listen carefully, Autobots, there is no time for me to explain. Find cover, and lay in wait until I give you the signal. Have your weapons at the ready, and attack as soon as I have fired the first shot."
"You will do no such thing!" Sentinel said, turning to the Autobots indignantly. "Do not do as he says!"
The Autobots regarded their obstinate leader in hesitation, but then looked to Prowl for guidance. "Attack? Who are we supposed to be attacking?" Ironhide asked.
"Straxus," Prowl interpreted, and then gave Starscream a knowing glance. "We'll be ready," he said to the Decepticons, and then motioned for the Autobots to get into position. "You heard what he said. Let's go."
Sentinel stood watching as, one by one, each Autobot made up his mind to turn away from him and follow Prowl's leadership instead. He was more than a little furious, to say the least, but knew that he had lost this personal battle. He turned to face Starscream moments before the Decepticons took to the air, as the Autobots mobilized and sought cover. "You will pay dearly for this," he threatened in a low, scathing voice, "you, and all Decepticons… if it's the last thing I do."
When the antenna suddenly stopped transmitting and the city below them went dark, Nemesis looked up to the heavens and cried out, "Nooooooo!" His booming voice seemed to echo right across to the far side of the galaxy. He stood there for several long moments as Hot Rod slowly stood up, watching with widened optics. Then the cadet reached his hands out in an unconscious gesture, attempting to guide and placate the much larger and more powerful mech. As Nemesis turned to look down at the situation on the ground below, Hot Rod backed away, fighting back a sense of dread that was starting to well up within his systems. The Nemesis' optics blazed a brilliant red, brightly illuminating his facial features against the surrounding semi-darkness.
"Optronix… please, I can help–" Hot Rod began, but was cut short by Nemesis' sudden anger as he lashed out at the cadet, striking him against the side of his face with a sweeping backhand. Hot Rod stumbled backwards into the antenna, cradling his right cheek with his hand.
"I… am… Nemesis Prime!" the mech reaffirmed once more and then, before Hot Rod could do anything to stop him, the Nemesis vaulted over the walkway with a swift, powerful leap, and disappeared out of sight.
The moment Hot Rod realized that the Nemesis was gone, he scrambled to peer over the walkway. Steadying himself with the guide railing, he watched the Nemesis climb down the side of the tower, the powerful mech moving quickly as he covered several crossbeams at a time; at this rate, he would reach the ground in only a few more seconds.
Without thinking twice, Hot Rod pushed himself over the walkway and began to climb down the tower after the Nemesis, hurrying to catch up.
Having been essentially abandoned by those who were meant to obey him, Sentinel stood motionless, watching and listening, observing the eerie stillness that had been brought about by the recent blackout. Then he charged up his plasma-powered cannon, the discharge electrodes at the rear of the weapon lighting up with bright pink energy, and began to slowly pace in front of the waiting Nemesis Army, watching carefully for any sign of change in the drones' behavior.
As the day cycle drew to a close, twilight had begun to settle upon the planet's surface. Compounded by the dimness brought on by the blackout, it had become harder to see within the normal spectrum of visible light, while the only sounds that could be heard were the soft shuffling of the drones as they swayed and grumbled to a rhythm that only they understood. For those waiting for something to happen, it felt like the calm before the storm.
Distant sounds coming from near the top of the tower caught Sentinel's attention, and he looked up to see a figure climbing down the tall, slender structure. Nemesis Prime was moving fast – too fast to allow him enough time to escape, so he decided to stand his ground; if the Nemesis truly was Optronix in a new form, modified by the very Matrix that had been stolen from him, he would need to find a way of taking back the precious artefact. He knew that without it, he would not be able to retake command of the Autobot army.
The Nemesis leaped off the tower some several levels up to land with his feet firmly on the ground, as the drones cleared a path ahead of him. He looked about, surveying the area, until his scanning gaze rested upon Sentinel. With long, steady strides, the Nemesis proceeded to make his way through his army of drones until he came to stand in front of the Autobot leader, vis-à-vis. He did not appear threatened at all by Sentinel's impressive weapon.
"You dare stop Nemesis Prime?" Nemesis began, pointing an accusatory finger at Sentinel, red optics ablaze with vengeance. "I, alone, have been appointed by the First of our kind to lead us into a new era, and none shall stand in my way!"
By the time Nemesis had finished speaking, Hot Rod had caught up to him, running up behind the rogue Prime and then stopping short. Sentinel ignored the cadet, his focus solely upon the rival Prime.
"You have been appointed by nobody!" Sentinel challenged him, sneering derisively. "You are but a mindless drone yourself, no better than any of these pathetic creatures," he said, indicating towards the drones with a sweep of his hand.
Almost immediately, the Nemesis Army began to stir once again, responding to the Nemesis' own rage and moving ever closer with a frightening ease of mobility that would have sent shivers down any mech's linkage.
Hot Rod, acting quickly in an attempt to prevent yet another killing frenzy, stepped in between the two mechs, one hand reaching out to Sentinel, his optics pleading with his instructor to consider a different approach. "Wait, Sentinel… please, let me talk to him."
"Get out of here, Hot Rod, before you get hurt. This has nothing to do with you," Sentinel replied, apparently unperturbed by the encroaching drones.
But the cadet stood his ground this time, his impatience and frustration now coming to the fore. "No, Sentinel Prime – this has everything to do with me! I have to help Optronix." When Sentinel gave him a denouncing look, but said nothing further, Hot Rod quickly turned to face the Nemesis. "Primus… Primus needs you to defeat our enemies… we need you!" He turned to Sentinel again, emphasizing in a low, forceful voice. "Tell him. Tell him we need him!" Sentinel hesitated, and then started to back away as the first of the drones began to reach out for them, intent on grabbing hold of something living. "Do it now!" Hot Rod pushed him again, his optics pleading, as time was fast running out. Soon, the drones would be all over them if Nemesis did not stop them.
Sentinel glanced about him uncertainly, his cannon held protectively in front of him. If he was going to make a run for it, his window of opportunity was closing fast; within a few moments, they would be completely surrounded by the drones, and there would be no escape. He had to make a decision.
He powered down his cannon, and for the first time in his existence, hoped to Primus that he had made the right choice in trusting the cadet. "You had better know what you are doing," he warned Hot Rod, and then spoke to the Nemesis as clearly and concisely as he could manage. "Nemesis Prime, please accept my sincerest apologies. I have clearly misjudged you. If you would deliver us from your drones, then I shall do all within my power to ensure that you fulfil your appointed destiny."
To Sentinel's surprise and relief, the Nemesis Army began to retreat. Then Nemesis Prime stepped closer towards Sentinel, gazing intently at him, and for a long moment said nothing. He studied the Autobot leader as if he could see into his very spark.
The sound of distant jets approaching from the south-west did not register with Nemesis until after Sentinel turned to look up, alerted.
"Oh no, Straxus is back!" Hot Rod declared in quiet alarm, as he looked up at the sky. A contingent of Destron jets, led by a large space craft, stealthily approached, and then began to circle back around as they drew close, as if surveying the area. However, something was amiss – he could sense it – and a moment later he realized what it was. Straxus' ground troops were notably absent… "Sentinel, sir, we've got to get out of here, now!" he shouted suddenly, grabbing the Autobot leader by the arm in panic.
Even before Hot Rod could finish his sentence, a blaze of weapons fire hit Nemesis in the chest. The drone leader moved quickly out of the line of fire, seemingly unaffected by the initial blasts, but then the sound of heavy treads and artillery erupted from all directions, and Sentinel instinctively ducked, pulling Hot Rod down with him. A missile shot straight past them within mere mechano-inches from their heads, and slammed into a handful of the drones, blowing them to pieces.
The two of them began to run for cover as they struggled to find safety amidst the sudden onslaught of missiles and laser blasts that began to cut through the air all around them. Neither dared to stop or turn back until they'd reached temporary cover behind a barrier.
Once he was certain they weren't being fired upon, Hot Rod peered back over the metallic structure to see Nemesis Prime being attacked by several ground troops, while enemy air craft overhead continued to circle, looking for Autobot targets. "They're going to kill Optronix!" he shouted at Sentinel in desperation, ready to run back out into the middle of the battle zone in an attempt to try and drag the Nemesis to safety.
But Sentinel gripped his arm firmly, knowing the cadet all too well. "You will stay put. There's nothing we can do for him now," he replied, decisively, yet also with a touch of regret. "He'll have to fight this battle on his own."