Chapter 21

In orbit over Earth, nine hours earlier

Like Skorponok on Nebulos, Fortress Maximus was lying down, floating in space ship mode over the planet and undergoing repairs. The headmasters Brainstorm, Highbrow and Hardhead were busy working on the deactivated form.

Here however, they also faced a completely different problem.

Unlike with Skorponok, his nebulon partner Galen, who was as a headmaster now a part of his own self, was dead, a fact that had left the Autobot partner of the bond in a state as good as lobotomized.

Besides his own team there were also two humans on board, Spike Witwicky and his wife Carly. This two however were there in first line for a special reason.

The physically damage could be repaired. Without the humanoid partner however the entire machine was useless.

Fortress Maximus himself, in his real normally sized body, was still suffering greatly from the effects.

This meant one thing, they would need a replacement, no matter how dangerous it might be. Only that this, replacing one partner in a binary-bond, especially after the one had died a violent and with no doubt traumatizing death, had never been tried before.

The Autobot was lying motionless on a cot a few meters from the two humans. Since they had left Nebulos he had not said a word or moved.

"Are you really willing to try to do that?" Carly asked her husband. Her voice was loud, half yelling. It was clear that she was worried beyond belief.

"Maybe I have no other choice", Spike replied with a side-look at Fortress.

"That is the point Spike, who said that you won´t end up exactly like him? Think about our family, about Daniel."

"I know, I guess that is the reason I have hesitated so long. But you know what kind of threat is out there right now."

"I remember", she replied, "Unicron."

"Yes and by what Rodimus has told us, has a new body."

It was only a short time ago that they have gotten Rodimus Prime´s message that the greatest enemy of all cybertronians had returned.

Despite everything that she had lived through since knowing the Transformers, Carly had never actually seen Unicron, only heard of it from others. But the things that she had heard was already more than enough for her.

She could barely believe that her son had been around when the Autobots had confronted this monster the last time. That had of course only been the outcome of a long line of very unlucky coincidences, but it had been enough to nearly make her go mad at that time.

"It is sure that he will come here?" She asked her husband.

"Rodimus thought so", Spike answered, "and even if he is not coming himself, then it is an army of thousands of drone-robots, that is barely any better.

They will destroy our world if they are not stopped. The Autobots need Fortress Maximus and as much as I dislike it, I am the best choice right now."

A part of her wanted to scream at him to let it be, to just go home and let the Autobots deal with the problem. But she also knew that running away was not a solution and if they were right, her home may not exist anymore soon.

"I understand", Carly told him. "Then do it. I hope you will be alright." She kissed him.

xxx

Now

Carly was the first who saw the metallic planet arriving into the star system and she and Spike were now watching in shock as it began it´s transformation sequence.

They saw in horror Unicron crushing the space station just before being engaged by a number of Autobot and human shuttles and fighters.

"My god", Carly whispered.

"He is here", Spike said. "We have to hurry up."

xxxxxxx

Decepticon transwarp-ship over Cybertron

The Autobots around Optimus and Rodimus Prime were standing in opposite to Megatron and his group. Both sides were clearly not completely trusting each other or their hosts.

They had all boarded the transwarp-ship to get to earth as fast as possible. However the temporally alliance between the now three factions was still very shaky and of trust could of course not even been spoken.

Galvatron´s lieutenants Soundwave and Scourge, supported by the targetmaster Decepticons and Sixshot, were now keeping an eye on the two groups of "guests" who were assembled in the hangar hall of the transwarp-shuttle.

Megatron´s Decepticons on the other hand watched Galvatron´s followers and the Autobots in barely concealed distrust while the Autobots were watching both groups of Decepticons.

After a few minutes Scourge had, out of curiosity and because he had nothing better to do, started a conversation with his counterpart Thundercracker.

"So our histories were identical up to a certain point?" he asked.

"Yes, to a point", Thundercracker told him.

"Do you know when things started to become different?"

"I am not sure", the seeker replied.

"Do you remember when Starscream freed this unit of renegades from mind prison and rebuilt them into the Combaticons to fight Megatron for him?" Scourge asked.

"Yes. We barely managed to stop them that time. If the Stunticons hadn´t been..."

"Do you remember that time when Megatron send the Insecticons to devour a human town?"

"Oh yeah, that was around the same time Starscream had threatened to use the space bridge to let Earth, along with all of us, be thrown into the sun", Thundercracker remarked with a side glance to the former Air Commander. "How could we ever forget about this funny little incident?"

"Yes, how could we ever forget?" Scourge repeated, also starring at his old comrade. "Our `friend´ had truly more than proofed his `trustworthiness´ back then."

Starscream saw the glares of the "two" Decepticons, but didn´t say anything. He had already been drastically demonstrated that he had long lost the trust of everyone here. Soon he would do something about this.

Meanwhile Scourge and Thundercracker were continuing their conversation.

"What about that time where Megatron had hired this unit of interstellar bounty hunters to take out Optimus Prime?" Thundercracker asked him this time.

"I don´t think that ever happened", Scourge answered in surprise. "I mean I don´t think this happened in our universe, in our time-line", he corrected himself.

"So it was around that time that things began to change. What about…?" Thundercracker wanted to ask something before he was cut off.

"Scourge", Soundwave addressed him or rather both of them, "stop this senseless monolog.", he said with pronouncing on the last word.

He had been listening to the absurd discussion for some time now, both of them mentioning different incidents from the past and had so gotten enough of it. Then after a few minutes of seeing Scourge literally debating with himself, even his patience came to an end.

He had to admit it was mostly the fact that both participants were technically the same person that irked him. The thought about it made his logic circuits hurt.

"Ahm, yes, okay Soundwave", Scourge surprisingly gave in quickly, perplexed for the moment about the communicators reaction.

Skywarp however, after seeing this exchange, just started to laugh loudly.

"Hey Thundercracker", he commented, "don´t let yourself grow a beard." A obvious snide at Scourge´s appearance.

In the next moment the alarms set off.

"They have arrived", Rodimus said.

"You think he had sent the Sweeps?" Optimus asked him. The question was however purely rhetorical. They all knew that the younger Prime thought that.

"Either that or he will come himself and sent the Sweeps to Earth and after what happened to him here the last time I bet he will send the drones first."

"Attention, Decepticons and Autobots", Cyclonus voice haled through the room, "the black Sweep army is closing in on Cybertron. Prepare for battle."

"I was right", Rodimus pointed out.

xxxxxxx

Earth

After Unicron had crushed the space-station he wanted to turn to the planet itself but was attacked by the Autobot forces. He saw a number of shuttles and even a few Transformers in jet form. His enemies however were like insects.

It reminded him much of the last battle over Cybertron. Yes, things were once again how they were meant to be.

He was a god, they were nothing, like it should be. And he kept on destroying them with a wave of his hand.

He saw more Autobots, reinforcements coming from the surface of the planet. More insects, Unicron thought.

xxx

The fleet of Autobots ascended from Earth, preparing to engage the enemy, but knowing that against this foe they barely had a chance to even survive. Metroplex in his new star-ship mode, Skylinx, Omega Supreme and over a dozen more shuttles and jets were going to defend the planet.

Inside the rocket mode of Omega Supreme the Dinobots were waiting to eject for the fight. Next to them stood the robot Outback.

"Me Grimlock said, we are not fighting for Autobots", the Dinobot leader exclaimed.

"And yet you are here", Outback remarked.

"We Dinobots are fighting for ourselves and for the planet we are standing on", Grimlock replied.

"If you say so."

The air-lock opened and the five Dinobots prepared to join the battle and face the planet-destroyer once again.

"Me Sludge thinks this reminds me of something", the brontosaurus said.

"Your right", Grimlock answered. "This reminds you because we did just this before."

"Yes, right, this just like last time", Snarl sneered.

"Well, let´s make sure that it ends like last time", Grimlock replied before he jumped out of the lock.

Exactly like seven years ago, the Dinobots were throwing themselves at the giant. They attacked wildly, but were only able to cause minimal damage.

And only seconds later they had to scatter to evade one of Unicron´s eye lasers.

xxxxxxx

Cybertron

The armada of black Sweep drones had come out of the hyper-space and was now flying with under-light speed.

While the most of Cybertron was being evacuated, the crew of the transwarp-ship was awaiting them.

Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge were already flying outside in space, ready to face them personally.

Behind them were Megatron, Skywarp and Thundercracker, as well as the Autobots Optimus, Rodimus and Ultra Magnus, who had volunteered for this mission, in case of the three inter-dimensional Decepticons in first line to proof their own trustworthiness.

Their presence had only one special purpose in mind, holding the enemy occupied long enough for the plan.

Despite that and they didn´t made any effort to hide it, the Decepticons under their group were thirsty for battle.

The idea was quite simple. Having the most important Decepticons and Autobots practically assembled here, it was more than likely that whoever commanded the drones would target them first.

They were right but for a different reason than they thought.

xxx

"Galvatron", Carnage whispered as he watched the image of the Decepticon leader while sitting in his command chair. What overcame him when he saw the pictures, was the lust for revenge.

xxx

"Everything is ready", Cyclonus reported to Galvatron.

"Good."

"Their number is greater than I thought", Ultra Magnus said.

"And it will continue to grow", Megatron told them. "Remember, the Sweeps are self-replicating clones and this version can multiply twenty times faster than the old one."

"If they can devour Cybertron if would be an absolute disaster", Optimus pointed out. "Nothing could stop them anymore. We better hope that the plan will work", he said to the others.

"So do I", Rodimus answered.

The first wave of the drones had arrived and opened fire. But the allied team of Autobots and Decepticons easily countered them.

Galvatron transformed into his cannon mode and fired at the incoming group of black Sweeps. His shot decapitated one of the drone robots, literally blew his upper half off, damaged two others and effectively broke their formation.

Optimus Prime and the alternate Megatron each shot one of the stumbling Sweeps. Megatron´s fusion gun completely obliterated one drone while Optimus took out the second.

For Galvatron, it felt like pure bliss as he was ripping Unicron´s drones apart left and right. In fact, every fight since the war had restarted did. It was like in old times, the battle, the destruction, the challenge for his powers, the lust for fighting, but without the always lingering madness that had plagued him in this years back.

And ironically Optimus and Rodimus Prime were fighting at his side now. With a look at his counterpart, he knew that Megatron completely shared his sentiment.

Skywarp and Thundercracker were challenging the drones in jet form. While their enemies were technically superior, their experience and Skywarp´s teleport-ability, not to mention simple independent thinking, were giving them a good fighting chance.

Cyclonus who was carrying an replacement gun now instead of Nightstick was opening fire, flanked by Ultra Magnus. It was not the first time this two were in a situation where they had to work together. A few years back when a Quintesson had captured them, Marissa Fairbourne and the Junkion leader Wreck Gar, they had to team up to save themselves.

"Well, it looks like we are fighting together once again instead of each other Cyclonus", Magnus commented. He was just firing one of his shoulder missiles at a drone robot.

"You see, this is what we Decepticons were created for", Cyclonus replied as he was blasting a Sweep away. "If at your side or against you, we live for battle, better never forget this."

"Believe me", he answered, "I won´t",

xxx

While the fight was going on, the planet Cybertron was beginning to be evacuated. The first shuttles were started from the surface and the Decepticon city Trypticon transformed into his space-ship mode to lift off.

To that came that the planet itself was starting to move on a course to the border of the solar system, bringing more distance between it, the sun, the attacking fleet and the rock planets and planetoids at the system´s core.

The main reason for the battle taking place was on one side to buy time for the evacuation and for the secret plan to come into motion.

xxx

After only one minute the first group of Sweep drones had been completely destroyed. But ultimately it made no difference.

The rest of the drone armada was slowly approaching them. From the shuttle in the center of the formation that seemed to serve as command ship, another black Sweep was just exiting and taking over the position on top of the fleet.

Then the newcomer transformed into robot mode.

"Galvatron", he greeted the Decepticon leader with a snarl.

"Well, interesting, I didn´t know that your kind can talk." Galvatron said sarcastically and smiled.

"You", the Sweep growled for a moment before he caught himself. "I have not always been like this, you should know. In opposite to the others here, I am not a drone.

You don´t recognize me right? My former leader. Maybe you remember the battle at the Earth Defense Platform and the fight over the Jupiter atmosphere?"

Galvatron´s face became unreadable for a few moments.

"You have left me to die Galvatron", the Sweep accused him. "It was only light damage, only a lucky shot of that Autobot. I could have easily been repaired. But you decided instead to let me fall to my doom. It was only through pure luck that I even survived. I landed on a small meteoroid. For over a week I was lying there before somebody found me."

The Decepticon leader said nothing at first. Now his features actually showed a number of emotions, if only for a second, anger, hate, disgust and regret? He remembered this incident all too well.

"You were falling into the atmosphere of a gas-giant", he finally answered. "Trying to save you would have only sent others into danger."

"Nonsense", the Sweep yelled, denying Galvatron´s thin justification, "You were just too insane and too possessed by your fight that you couldn´t care or even think about anything else."

This accusation was followed by another short period of silence.

Everything that the Sweep claimed was correct, Galvatron knew this. He had failed back then, he had been insane and completely out of control.

Only a minute ago he had felt like nothing could stop him. He had been back in charge. His leadership was restored. He had felt like he could conquer the universe. Despite the latest setbacks things were going well again and his revenge against Unicron was in reach.

And now something came to throw the failures of his past in his face like this. Suddenly all the drive from one minute ago and all the battle-lust was gone.

This was one of the many incidents he hated to remember. And now he had to deal with one formerly completely loyal soldier who had switched sides, ultimately as an result of his own madness. To say it in human terms, he felt like shit.

"And what about you", Galvatron finally responded. "You are leading an foreign army against the Decepticons, you have sided with Unicron. How is what you are doing any better?"

"I never claimed it was." The Sweep smiled. "You can see it in this way, once I had been abandoned to death and now all of Cybertron will share my suffering. I had been the victim, now I come back as the destroyer."

"You are insane", Galvatron replied.

"As if you are the one to talk. All I did was joining Unicron´s forces, like our kind should have done it in the first place. It was your own ill fated rebellion that led to your madness and our defeat."

"I refused to bow down and become a slave", Galvatron claimed, "like you obviously did. You would have been better of if you really died six years ago."

With a scream the Sweep raised his weapon and began to fire at him.

"Well, it seems as if we have no interest in talking anymore", the Decepticon leader said to himself.

xxxxxxx

Earth

Spike´s was sitting in the center of Fortress Maximus control room. His body and mind were about to be bonded to the systems of the Autobot. He was more than aware of the risk he was taking. The robot´s consciousness had been damaged by the violent loss of his partner.

In the last hours he had undergone the necessary modifications to become a headmaster. Computer interfaces and mechanical components had been implanted into his body.

But by now connecting himself to him it was possible that he would instead of healing the damage to Fortress mind destroying his own. Despite that, he would do it, because he simply did not have another choice.

Spike felt the mental connection being built up. The confusion, shock and pain of the Autobot began to fill him.

"Fortress", he began to call out in his mind. "Fortress we need you."

"Can not", he heard the mental voice of the Autobot answering a few moments later. "I have been destroyed, damaged…

…I am dead", the voice said.

"No, you are not", Spike told him.

"I have been ripped apart. Something is missing, incomplete."

"It is your Nebulon partner Galen. He is dead."

"Dead? He was a part of me."

"I am here to take his place."

"No, that is not as it meant to be", the voice said confused. "Partners, two halves of a whole. Death. Can not be repaired. Lost"

The Autobot clearly was disoriented as much as emotionally damaged and clearly in shock. Galen´s sudden death truly had an horrible effect. To that came that it hadn´t been a combat situation, where you would anticipate something like this. It was an assassination, done by a traitor from their own lines.

The truth was nobody even knew for sure what consequences the death of one partner in a binary bonding would have, because it had never happened before.

"I know this is…unusual", Spike said a bit insecure, "but we have no other choice. We need you. Look what is happening."

He concentrated on the consoles before him and so transferred the images he was seeing directly into Fortress mind.

The screens just showed Unicron crushing one of the Autobot-shuttles that were trying to defend the planet.

xxxxxxx

Cybertron underground

"You are really sure about this translation Nightstick?" Marissa Fairbourne asked the nebulon.

"Yes, this creature named Primus had showed Cyclonus and me where this machine is and how to control it."

"And you are absolutely sure that you don´t have made any mistakes?"

"I am" Cyclonus partner answered, now somewhat annoyed.

"Okay, I only wanted to be sure. Remember, the fate of the universe is depending on that this here works."

"You don´t have to tell me how important this is, I know", the nebulon answered as they started to activate the machine.

xxxxxxx

On the surface the battle was continuing. Squadrons of Sweep-drones were now flying over the sectors and cities of the planet.

Some of them were already starting to destroy buildings and began with the systematic destruction of the landscape. Lasers and missiles were shot into the city structures and now abandoned military facilities.

Others were still following the retreating cybertronian fleet. A few lagged behind Decepticons and Autobots were caught by them and fired upon.

One Decepticon seeker exploded under the missiles of at least a half dozen drone-warriors.

A Autobot helicopter, flying in a close distance to him, returned fire and managed to shoot two of the black Sweeps down. But after a short time he was also destroyed under the onslaught.

xxx

The forms of Galvatron, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, Cyclonus, Scourge, Skywarp and Thundercracker were now floating between the mangled bodies of dozens of unicronian drones.

But by now they were slowly being overwhelmed by the numbers and their energy reserves were growing to their limits.

"We are beginning to run out of energy", Optimus reminded the others.

"Good, then we return to the shuttle", Galvatron replied.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp, we are turning back", Megatron ordered.

"As you wish", Skywarp said as he teleported closer to the ship while still blasting Sweeps.

xxx

"Get them", the black Sweep leader Carnage shouted to his troops as he saw the beginning retreat. But the allied Autobots and Decepticons were already entering the transwarp-shuttle.

xxx

"Soundwave, now", Cyclonus ordered per com as soon as everybody was on board.

And before the eyes of Carnage and his drone warriors eyes, the ship vanished.