Let the Games Begin
A few hours later...
Twenty miles outside Caracas, capital of Venezuela...
He was one of the biggest Transformers ever created and very possibly the most sadistic. His name was Scorponok and he proudly wore the rank of Commander. At one point he led an army of Headmasters, robots that had been binary-bonded to the inhabitants of planet Nebulon. In particular, he was joined by Lord Zarak, the leader of an evil sect of Nebulans intent on planet wide domination. The relationship soured, for reasons both mechanical and personal, and the entire Headmasters process was done away with. Lord Zarak's whereabouts, along with the rest of those who participated in the experiments, were unknown.
The Commander wasn't sure how he ended up at his present location. One moment he was preparing to investigate a possible leak in his intelligence cabinet, and the next moment he and several of his top warriors were in the presence of others wearing a familiar insignia and sharing certain philosophies. Now, he stood waiting for what was to come and fumed at the fact he shared his name and rank with a much smaller, far less intelligent commander of the Beast Wars. Adding to his frustration were the assigned members of his attack force. He was denied access to his personal selections and instead granted usage of, in his opinion, somewhat less desirable soldiers.
"This is an insult," Scorponok muttered to himself. "Scorponok, the greatest commander to ever function, reduced to this." His optics fell upon the soldiers he had been entrusted to lead. The military vehicle combiner unit known as the Combaticons, and their alternate universe counter-parts, the (RiD) Decepticons. Despite being two of the most effective fighting forces available, he despised their war-hungry closed-mindedness.
"Barbarians," he coldly stated. "No style, no substance. Just destroy-destroy-destroy!" He checked to make sure they were in their proper positions, and then commented on the one remaining member of his team. "And that creature," he thought to himself. He was referring to Injector, a veteran of the Beast Wars who was half lionfish, half hornet, and wholly repulsive. "An abomination. Primus apparently has a wicked sense of humor."
Scorponok was quickly silenced as his sensors picked up the incoming Autobots. He stood in relative open view of his enemies, partly because his size made it difficult to hide, and also because he was the bait. The plan was to lure them in close, giving them a false sense of being in control, and then his troops would emerge from their hiding spots and surround them. He counted a squad of five, but only recognized two. One was minibot Warpath, a compact tank warrior, and the other being tough as steel Trailbreaker. In time, the identities of the remaining Autobots would be revealed to be the trio of Sideburn, Prowl, and X-Brawn; also known as the Autobot Brothers. They shared the same reality as Mega-Octane and the other RiD Decepticons. "This is going to be too easy," he chuckled to himself.
White Sands, New Mexico
A combined Autobot/Maximal unit had been searching the area for several minutes. Leading this particular group was Springer, a warrior with incredible skill in aerial defense. His team consisted of Armordillo, a soldier from the Beast Wars who specialized in desert combat... Geckobot, an aerial combat specialist from the future and a Vehicon's worst nightmare... Sandstorm, a modified version of Springer's triple-changer partner and participant in the Machine Wars... and the duo of Twin Twist and Top Spin, also known as the Jumpstarters, due to their quick and smooth transformations.
"Well, where are they?" Geckobot asked. "According to my readings, the bad guys should be directly in front of us."
Top Spin nudged his partner Twin Twist, and threw up his arms in a 'what now?' gesture. Twin Twist returned the movement. "I'm no Prime," Top Spin muttered, "But I don't see anyone. Perhaps your device isn't working properly."
Somewhat offended, Geckobot was quick to respond. "My device is functioning perfectly."
"It doesn't make any sense," MW Sandstorm said. He looked out across the landscape in disbelief. "We're in the middle of a desert, there are no places to hide. Your device is incorrect," he finished, shooting a stern look in Geckobot's direction.
Team leader Springer agreed with the others and decided to inform The Ark of their findings... namely, nothing. "Armordillo," he began, "Radio Optimus Prime and inform them of our situation. Request our new directive and..."
His voice was silenced by a wave of Geckobot's arm. Nobody moved, nobody said another word. In the span of mere seconds, Geckobot realized that his readings were, indeed, accurate. "I should have realized," he said, almost sounding apologetic.
"Realized what?" Springer yelled, quickly reaching for his weapon. The way Geckobot stood there, seemingly giving up any chance of survival before the actual battle began, filled the others with sudden fear. "What's going on soldier?" Springer shouted. "What is it?"
Geckobot stared at his location device, praying that perhaps his instinct was wrong. But he knew that not to be the case. "They're beneath us," he said. "Hidden within the sand itself!"
"Now!" an unseen voice ordered, "Attack! Let none stand before you!" Springer recognized the voice. It belonged to fellow Triplechanger, Blitzwing, one of the most ruthless Decepticons he had ever encountered. Emerging from the desert grains, a fighting force of sheer brutality surrounded the Autobot squad. Skyshadow and Quickstrike, two of the most feared Predacons involved in the Beast Wars, charged at their targets while the trio of Gas Skunk, Slapper, and Dark Scream chose to shoot from a modest distance. Strika, an all-terrain combat specialist serving in the Vehicon army, joined Blitzwing in the air. In unison, they began sending streams of lasers crashing down on those below them.
The battle had begun.
end of chapter 14