The Story So Far: Starscream introduces his latest 'super-weapon' to Megatron, only to be told to terminate the project due to its unstable energy source. In an expected turn of events, Starscream denounces Megatron and assumes leadership of the Decepticons. Megatron is then taken to a holding cell, where he engages Motormaster in a battle of words. Soundwave, Megatron's only remaining ally, helps his overthrown commander escape. Before leaving, however, Megatron hands Motormaster his aft.

Meanwhile, in the world of the Autobots, Wheeljack's latest experiment is initially met with failure. He continues working on it and finally believes it to be working properly. He arranges a gathering of friends to watch the reveal. At the same exact moment Wheeljack activates his device, many miles away Starscream performs his own demonstration using his 'super-weapon'.

Both fail. But their combined energy signatures find a way to merge and create a rip in space and time. A stunned Optimus Prime is then visited by the recently outcast duo of Megatron and Soundwave, who were somehow able to overcome the Ark's security system. Before Megatron can explain to Optimus that Starscream has taken over command of the Decepticon Army, Perceptor contacts Prime with urgent news. Incoming transmissions from other beings claiming to be Transformers is followed by a visual image of three distinct Cybertrons.

Prime gives the order to allow the visitors to land. Meanwhile, Starscream's speech about the future of the Decepticon Empire is cut short when their sensors indicate several undisclosed ships were landing near their base of operations.

All The King's Men

"I can't believe this," Spike said with awe, looking over the massive gathering. "So many, there must be hundreds!" His longtime friend Chip Chase nodded in agreement. Transformers of all sizes and colors brought a sincere feeling of awe from the humans witnessing the event. "I don't know how this happened," Spike continued, "But I have a bad feeling that the Autobots aren't the only ones adding to their ranks."

Spike and Chip Chase had been friends for many years, and were among the first people on Earth to not only encounter the Transformers, but also in Spike's case, actually form a strong friendship with the Autobots. Bumblebee was like a brother to him, and he viewed Optimus Prime with the same level of respect he had for his own father. Both Spike and Chip had shared countless adventures with the Autobots. Chip, despite being confined to a wheelchair, never let his medical condition get in the way of lending a helping hand. Now, both stared out across the sea of mechanical beings and pondered whether or not the next adventure could be their last.

A lone Autobot, clearly one that had been active for a great many battles, had made his way behind them, and over heard their comments. "If that's true," Kup muttered aloud, "All we're missing is the return of a certain Chaos Bringer."

Spike and Chip turned and faced their new friend, then glanced at each other in wonder. "A certain what?" Chip asked.

"You don't want to know, lad," Kup replied. "You don't want to know."

As leader of the Autobots in an alternate universe, Fire Engine Prime shares many of the traits of the original Optimus Prime. Both wise and courageous, he shows great love and compassion for all creatures and has dedicated his life to defending the innocent. If there were one glaring difference between the two Autobots, it would be that this Prime had a more volatile temper. His anger against injustices has afforded him the distinction of having a legendary ferocity when it comes to righting certain wrongs. On his Earth, the main enemies of peace are the forces led by a dragon-like version of Megatron. The Megatron he has been sworn to battle is a six-changer, making him a most ruthless leader of the evil Predacons. Having an alt-mode of a fire engine has allowed him time to serve alongside the humans of his planet, giving both a chance to learn and grow from each other. Now, his optics scans those in front of him and he finds new faces. Despite being in a strange, new place, he realizes he is among allies.

The Beast Wars had ended. Optimus Primal and his crew of survivors were heading back to Cybertron victorious, with a defeated Megatron strapped to the top of their ship. Rhinox announced he was about to initiate the trans-warp drive. As he finished the sequence of commands and pushed the final button, a bright flash occurred and they found themselves in Earth's orbit. They had gone back in time and found themselves conversing with their ancestors. Not that long ago, they had stepped aboard the Ark on prehistoric Earth and prevented dinosaur-alt-mode Megatron from wiping them out of existence. Now all that they had accomplished seemingly didn't matter. One thing that puzzled him was the fact that he no longer sported his Transmetal form. He had reverted back to his original primate alt-mode, as had all others who once sported the improved bodies.

Fire Engine Prime caught himself staring at Optimus Primal and quickly corrected himself. There was a very special relationship between the two; one that Primal didn't even know existed. In that alternate universe, Optimus Primal served as a Spirit Guide to Fire Engine Prime. He shared his knowledge and defensive combat skills as a way to help do battle with the forces of evil. Here and now, the ghost was in actual form and it was hard not to be in a state of awe. While it was true that this Primal appeared in a different body, the bot behind the optics remained the same. A sturdy handshake and nod of the head was their formal introduction to each other.

Perceptor had given some thought to the image of seeing three Cybertrons. After running a few select tests and obtaining information from various beings, he had decided that each of the Cybertrons represented a different period in time. He identified one as Cybertron-Prime, meaning it served as his and his kinds home planet. Cybertron-Primal was announced as being the home planet to those who served in the Beast Wars. Oddly, that particular Cybertron was a mixture of both mechanical and organic makeup, causing some to think that particular Cybertron was actually a combination of two versions although time constraints did not allow further conjecture. And the third and final Cybertron that had been detected was classified as Cybertron-Alternate, as its binary material was slightly different from the other two, making it clearly belonging to Fire Engine Prime and his forces.

In a scene that resembled something out of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, ten mechanical beings sat in a circle and began to discuss recent events. Their early conversations shed some light on previous happenings that apparently resulted in this mass gathering. Each respective race, at the same exact moment, had initiated a certain power signature that shared the same dynamics.. As a result, the very structure of space and time had become compromised, and a rift was torn open. After nearly two hours of information sharing, all that was to be known had been disclosed.

"Interesting," Perceptor said. "But I am still puzzled by one thing. As great a number of us that have been gathered, it is still not all of our forces. There are certain soldiers not present, excluded for some unknown reason."

"I've noticed it among my ranks as well," Rhinox stated. "The one who calls himself X-Brawn said something similar where his Autobot comrades were concerned."

X-Brawn was caught a little off guard by being spoken for, seeing as how he was only four seats away from the Maximal. "Hey, partner," he called out. "I'm right here."

"Logic would indicate the Decepticons and Predacons have experienced a similar abscense in their forces," RiD Prowl added.

Optimus Prime let out a heavy sigh, a sign the burden he had been carrying since originally arriving on Earth had suddenly become much larger. "We can only hope," he stated. He excused himself from the meeting, deciding it be best to keep Megatron and Soundwave updated by his own hand. In a matter of minutes, the majority of the others had also left for different destinations. Only Perceptor, RiD Prowl, and Rhinox remained.

"It is rather curious, is it not?" Perceptor asked his fellow intellectuals.

"Yes," Rhinox replied. "It is."

They stared out and away, through the clear glass barriers that allowed them to gaze into the Central Meeting room. They looked out at the sea of machinery they called their friends and marveled at the number of beings present. For whatever reasons, they had been selected by some force of divine intervention to partake in a war. Why others were left unaccounted for was a question none had an answer to. What was to be the final outcome of such a battle? Would it finally bring an end to the seemingly endless conflict between factions? Or perhaps a final fate even darker and more hellish than imaginable? "This has been a most unusual day," RiD Prowl confessed, earning a small amount of laughs from the others.

end of chapter 8

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! I really appreciate the comments and the Favs/Alerts this story has gotten. Major thanks to Alaskan Olive for once again helping me get this chapter ready for viewing. Next two chapters will show more of the Autobots/Maximals/etc. getting to know each other, and we'll see how things are progressing with the Decepticon/Predacon/etc. interaction. The Optimus Primal/Fire Engine Prime relationship is based on the Tech Spec that Optimus Primal came with, as part of the Robots In Disguise toyline.