A/N: This battle also started in Chapter 14...
A Bitter Tasting Root
Twenty miles outside Caracas, capital of Venezuela...
The plan had worked to perfection. Seeing only Scorponok before them, the Autobot strike force approached their target without hesitation. "The bigger they are, BLAM!, the uglier they get!" Warpath joked. He made his way towards the large Decepticon, full of bravado. "You're coming with us. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Trailbreaker and the Autobot brothers stood close to their out-spoken ally. "Personally, I hope you choose the hard way. ZOW!"
Scorponok tilted his head downward, spotting the diminutive soldier and finding it hard not to laugh. "I beg to differ, insect." Before Warpath had a chance to reply, the eleven members that comprised Scorponok's unit emerged from their hiding places and surrounded the Autobots. On one side stood Mega-Octane and his soldiers, Armorhide...Movor...Rollbar...and Ro-Tor. The other side found Onslaught and his Combaticons, Brawl...Blast-Off...Swindle...and Vortex. And last but not least, one of the Beast Wars greatest Air Commanders, Injector, emerged from the shadows. "As you can see, the situation has now changed."
Trailbreaker realized they were about to be slaughtered, and activated his invisible force-field. "This will buy us a few moments," he stated, "But not much." While the force-field was nearly impenetrable, it drained an incredible amount of energy and couldn't be sustained for long. Despite being the primary defensive strategist in the Autobot ranks, the grizzled soldier could think of no other option aside from a direct attack. Internally, however, he knew it would be a suicide mission. He exchanged glances with the Autobot brothers and Warpath, silently preparing them for what was to come. Each nodded in response, knowing full well what was to follow. Trailbreaker would release the force-field, and they would attempt to hold their own against the masses.
Scorponok, however, didn't wait for the Autobots to initiate their heroic strike. He instructed the Combaticons and Mega-Octane's Decepticons to form their combiner giants, which they did without hesitation. "Terminate the shield," he ordered. "Then, destroy them." The joint firepower of Bruticus and Ruination pounded the force-field, causing Trailbreaker to increase the power supply and strain his electrical systems even further. It was too much for him to take, and a few seconds later some of the lasers penetrated the force-field and hit Warpath. As he fell to the ground, the Autobot brothers scrambled and prepared to return fire. Trailbreaker, totally drained from attempting to boost the force-field, slumped to his knees in defeat.
The brothers gave it all they had, and then some. X-Brawn, the oldest of the three, used his Bronco Blaster and managed to stagger the mighty Scorponok himself. Prowl, the strict and law abiding brother, unloaded his arm cannons, praying they'd hit a proper target. Side Burn, the youngest, used his optical laser strike to provide a glimmer of hope that they could survive this ordeal. Despite their bravery, it wasn't meant to be. Bruticus used his sonic stun gun to take X-Brawn off-line, while Ruination simply crushed Prowl and Side Burn to death. Scorponok was pleased with the relative ease of how things had gone down, but one member of his team felt left out. "Glory hogs," Injector hissed. "Didn't leave any of the fun for me."
A slight movement drew his attention, and his optics lit up. "He still functions," Injector cheered. Clinging to life, about ten feet away from where the victorious Decepticon/Predacon warriors stood, lay the broken body of Trailbreaker. There was only the slightest remainder of life left in his war torn body, but that was all Injector wanted. Making his way towards the brave soldier, he knelt down and whispered, "You're going to wish you had died." He quickly turned so his stinger was facing Trailbreaker, and injected him with a paralyzing poison. With his prey unable to react, he began to slowly dig into Trailbreaker's torso, taking his time in inflicting pain and enjoying the fact the last sensations the brave Autobot would feel would be unfathomable pain.
Unknown to Scorponok or any of his comrades, Fire Engine Prime had been en route to the area to check in on this particular Autobot team. He had made several attempts to contact them, and had grown concerned after getting no response. There was also another unknown hand about to be played. As he entered the outskirts of the battle scene, an old family member touched down by his side. "You're going to need help with this one."
"Ultra Magnus," Fire Engine Prime stated. "Well, brother, I can't say I'm surprised to see you. You have a knack for dramatic entrances." He took a moment and mentally compared this Magnus to the other Autobot that also went by the name Ultra Magnus, the one that was always near Rodimus Prime. Aside from a similar color scheme, they had little in common as far as personality went. "I'm just shocked it took you this long to make yourself known."
Something in the way Magnus paused before speaking let Fire Engine Prime know something wasn't right. "I arrived a few minutes ago, but still a few minutes too late," he explained. "By the time I got here, they were already defeated." He was never one to show his emotions, but the relationship he shared with Side Burn was a close one, and it hurt him deeply knowing he wasn't able to prevent his death. "You or I alone cannot stand against these strangers; we must unite."
Fire Engine Prime understood exactly what his brother meant. "Very well," he agreed. There would be time to grieve for their fallen friends later, right now demanded immediate action. The two Autobots raced up into the sky, drawing the attention of the Decepticon/Predacon troops. While in flight, their two bodies began to twist and bend, wrapping around each other and producing a singular being. "Omega Prime!" they yelled, as the two became one. Peering down at their enemies, the super-warrior manifested the Matrix Blade, a two-handed sword that was perhaps the most powerful weapon in the universe. "The loss of life you have caused will not go unpunished," he proclaimed.
"What have we here?" Scorponok asked, amused by the display of emotion. "A new hero to slay? Doesn't your kind ever learn?" The commander quickly went from robot mode into scorpion mode, and using his tail as a weapon, fired several electrical bursts, each one a frightening 100,000 volts. Omega Prime was able to dodge each one with ease, and began to descend upon the villains. Somewhat surprised by the lack of a hit, he transformed back into robot mode and yelled at his soldiers to do something. "Don't just stand around," he barked. "Attack!"
Injector looked up from Trailbreaker's corpse and witnessed the first strike. Omega Prime took hold of the Matrix Blade and slashed the combiner known as Bruticus in half. The individual components of the giant were left scattered and void of life. Seeing that the situation wasn't going to have a happy ending, Injector decided it was better if he retreated now instead of later. This left the combiner Ruination and Scorponok behind to deal with a very angry Omega Prime. "Lay down your weapons and we will consider letting you live," the Autobot stated. "Refuse to do so, and your fate will be the same as your comrade's."
"Surrender?" Scorponok asked. "Me? The greatest commander in the Decepticon Empire... surrender to the likes of you?" He quickly placed Omega Prime in his target-lock and fired a barrage of lasers in his direction. "I don't think so." A few of the lasers made contact, but not enough to register any serious damage. Determined to watch this arrogant savior fall, Scorponok began charging in his direction. Omega Prime held his ground, and when the Decepticon was in range, he again swung the Matrix Blade. Only this time instead of slicing the opponent in half, it simply removed the right arm and a sizable chunk of the shoulder area. Scorponok's head unit began to tilt towards one side, with its support being weakened. Short flickers of light and spirals of smoke escaped the wound.
With Omega Prime's attention focused on Scorponok, it allowed Ruination to sneak up from behind and grab hold of the Autobot. His arms wrapped tightly around the being, the grip being so secure that Omega Prime could not break free. This bought Scorponok some time to redirect his internal energy circuits, and basically 'stop the bleeding' of his wound. With an evil grin on his faceplate, he walked calmly over to the captive Omega Prime and got directly in front of his optics. "Seems you've over-stayed your welcome." The force of Bruticus' grip began to compromise Omega Prime's structural integrity, causing a slight drain in his core energy. As a result, the Matrix Blade faded from existence and left its owner without a weapon.
Scorponok leveled Omega Prime with several blows to the head and chest, each one denting the armor more than the prior one. After several minutes of constant beating, Scorponok felt a drop in his power levels and stepped back. He signaled Ruination to continue the attack while he allowed himself time to regenerate. During the one-sided fight, the two beings that had combined to form Omega Prime began silently devising a plan. They couldn't revert to their separate forms of Fire Engine Prime and Ultra Magnus. Omega Prime had sustained too much damage; there was little hope of breaking free from the beating and returning fire. Still, they couldn't allow these killing machines to walk away and give them another chance to wreck havoc somewhere else. Only one option remained, and that was the option they took.
A power surge began to build up inside Omega Prime's body. Each circuit expanded, allowing more than a hundred times the normal amount of energy to flow through his frame. He switched off any and all filters contained in his infrastructure and deactivated the fail-safe option. In short, Omega Prime had just turned himself into a ticking time bomb. He waited for the right moment to present itself. Finally, after several more minutes, Scorponok motioned Ruination to stop his attack and to stand aside. The commander seemed to take pity on this resilient being. "If you swear allegiance to the Decepticon Empire, I will spare your life." He knew a powerful soldier when he saw one, and reasoned that Omega Prime and the two bots that merged to form him would make wonderful additions to their army.
Omega Prime lifted his head and tried to look dignified. He raised his arm and motioned for Scorponok to come closer. Ruination looked on in silence, finding it hard to believe an Autobot would actually switch sides. Omega Prime tried to think of something poetic to mutter before self-destructing. By the time Scorponok got within a few feet of him, he decided to go the simple route. "Boom."
end of chapter 19