Chapter 16-Dissection
"And here we have the storage room." Annie said as she motioned to the room to her tour group. "Here, the Autobots stash their energon and other important things here. It's also where Wheeljack works his mojo with the synthetic energon using energy gathered from the solar panels."
"Outstanding." Comettor, a dark blue Minicon with one red arm and a large three pronged claw that was his alt mode's radio dish, breathed in awe. "I used to be an astrologer before the war and I've seen my fair share of Autobot ships in my day, but this is something else."
"Glad you like it, because this is going to be your new home for the foreseeable future. And we've got plenty of room here, so there's no need to hold back on being picky." Gina grinned. She loved playing tour guide for new faces.
Darren and Gina were given the two new Minicons acquired from the last two missions a tour of the Ark. After Sparkplug gave them a brief summary of the events that led up to that moment (Gina was contemplating making an orientation video for new arrivals to save time, as explaining the same things over and over was getting a bit tedious) the kids were tasked with helping the new Minicons get acclimated to Terra, being natives and all that.
One of the new arrivals was Comettor of course, a former astrologer from Epistemus who worked in the Minicons' slightly below average space program and one of the technical minds behind the navigational systems of the Exodus who spawned from the panel found on the Argo. The other was a femme who came from the panel Bumblebee and Wheeljack retrieved from Airlann.
"No! Don't touch that!" Darren yelled over a series of clangs and falling objects.
"Ooh, what's this? Is it a toy, nya?" An airy female voice asked.
"No! That's not a toy, put that down!"
A loud boom came from one of the rooms, followed by Roll Bar's angry shout. "Darren, what the hell?!"
"Sorry, Roll Bar!"
The femme in question was a hyperactive Minicon named Emulator; she was bright red with plug-like fingers and extensions on her feet, as well as a plug on the tip of her tail. She had big blue eyes, a grey faceplate and short feline ears to finish off her cat motif, fitting since her alt mode was a cat. The plug extensions on her body weren't for show-she could channel electricity and it made her incredibly hyperactive and hard to handle, as Darren was learning first hand.
"Are they going to be alright?" Comettor asked. Gina smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Yeah, they'll be fine. Granted, they may be getting an earful from Roll Bar, though. Whatever fell sounded expensive." Gina pointed to the room at the end of the hall. "Anyway, let me show you where the Command Center is-"
"That won't be necessary, Gina."
Prowl walked up to them carrying Darren and Peppercat in his hand. Ignoring Emulator trying to zap his fingers with her plug-claws, Prowl dropped them off next to Gina and Comettor.
"What's wrong, Prowl? You look grumpier than usual." Gina remarked.
"This tour is over. Take these Minicons back to their quarters, now. They're not to be let out without an Autobot escort." Prowl said. Darren and Gina looked at him in shock.
"Whoa, what's this about?" Darren said. "Are you putting them under lockdown?"
"If you want to see it that way, then yes." Prowl answered.
"Since when?" Gina frowned.
"Since just now. Believe me, I'm doing you a favor."
"Hmph, I thought you humies said the Autobots were different. This bulk doesn't look very different from Cons to me, nya." Emulator growled. Comettor nodded in agreement.
"Hold on, Peppercat, Prowl's just being…himself. You'll have to excuse him." Darren said and glared up at the tactician. "Would you lay off, Prowl! We're trying to help them!"
"And I'm trying to maintain security protocols on this ship. Don't get angry at me for doing my job."
"You're clearly doing this for a reason, Prowl. What happened? Did something come up?" Gina asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say anything to you, Gina. Now I'm not going to tell you again, take these Minicons back to their quarters or I'll do it myself." Prowl said firmly.
Darren growled and flexed his fingers, telekinetically ripping thin but sharp metal strips from the floor. "Not until you give us answers. And if you think treating them like criminals is going to solve anything, you're gonna have to go through me!"
Gina bit her lip and took a step back. Things were definitely going to get ugly if Darren of all people lost his temper, though Prowl made it easy. Thankfully, before the situation could escalate, Optimus appeared down the hall and approached the group.
"What is going on here?" He demanded, seeing the tense expressions on Darren and Prowl's faces.
"Optimus, thank Gaia you're here," Gina breathed in relief. "Prowl just showed up out of nowhere trying to lock the Minicons up. Talk some sense into him, please!"
Optimus looked at Prowl, who didn't even try to deny the accusations. Looking down at the kids, he said, "Darren, Gina, could you please take our guests back to the rec room for a moment? I'll be with you shortly."
"Sure, Prime." Darren said, still glaring at Prowl. Gina took his hand and led him and the Minicons down the hall. Comettor and Emulator gave the Autobots wary glances before following the children.
Once they were gone, Optimus faced Prowl. "What do you think you're doing, Prowl? Antagonizing the Minicons is the last thing we should be doing."
"I was simply making sure that they didn't wander into places where they had no business being in." Prowl said calmly.
"On what grounds are you taking this action? What have they done to warrant such treatment?" Optimus asked.
Prowl looked around the hall before leaning in. "I wasn't going to say anything until I had enough evidence, but since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you. I think we have a spy on the Ark."
Optimus' eyes widened. "A spy?"
"Yes, one of the Minicons. Haven't you noticed that the Cons seem to know more than they should about our missions? Like how they seem to always be near us whenever we mobilize for a panel? Starscream and Lugnut's teams appearing on the Agean Islands despite not having the clues we were going on until we reached Colchis and a kill team ambushing Bumblebee and Wheeljack in Airlann." Prowl explained. "Don't you think it's strange that the Cons were there before we're even there in the first place?"
"You think that one of the Minicons we have on the Ark might be feeding them information." Optimus said. Prowl nodded.
"Yes. I'm sorry for causing a scene, but I had to put my foot down and stop the children from showing potential spies the interior of the Ark. If such a secret agent crippled our ship, then we might as well roll over and let Megatron trample us under his treads."
Optimus crossed his arms and sighed. Prowl wasn't too far off in his assumptions; he, too, had suspicions as to how the Decepticons were getting the drop on them nearly every time they went out to get a Minicon. But Prowl's aggressive stance on the matter was doing more harm than good.
"Prowl, I understand your concerns, but treating the Minicons like prisoners will only further alienate them. They're already distrust us because of the way they were treated in the past, let's not give them a reason to take action against us." Optimus looked at Prowl intently. "Let's keep this information between us, but avoid taking action until we can pinpoint our mole. Preemptive action will chase our quarry away and lead to casualties down the line, most assuredly Minicons and humans."
"Understood, sir." Prowl said briskly. Optimus nodded and walked over to the rec room to settle things with the new Minicons.
Perhaps Prowl was acting a bit aggressive, that much the tactician was willing to admit, but it was for the good of the team and their mission. Unlike the others, he had not forgotten that their job was to defeat the Decepticons before they could gain a proper foothold on their planet they all had grown so attached to. And they couldn't do that if the very people they're trying to help were also undermining their efforts from the inside.
As he walked back to the Ark's information center, he vowed to keep a closer eye on the Minicons. Learning of Sparkplug's hand in developing Minicon combiner technology using stolen data, it was clear that they were keeping secrets, and that made him uneasy. As an Autobot, Prowl knew that his duty lied first and foremost with winning this war one battle at a time.
It was clear that the Minicons were a rogue element that must be dealt with accordingly, and could become a problem if they went unchecked. Prime might question his methods, but even an idealist like him understood that some things had to be done for the greater good.
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The Chanka Peninsula in eastern Yuktobania was once a thriving region home to a small town near a military complex. It was once populated by about 2,300 people, not including the military garrison posted near the town, but the eruption of the nearby volcano coated the area in a thick cloud of ash that was hazardous enough to cause lung problems and uproot the residents from their homes. After only two years it was still abandoned and now the place was coated in ash and hasn't seen the sun since the volcano first erupted. There wasn't even any animal life roaming around…though extraterrestrial life was another matter entirely.
Two giants did battle in the apartment complex; one was the green Autobot Bulkhead and the other was the Decepticon loyalist Lugnut. Both mechs were drawn there by an energon signal that popped up without warning and they ran into each other by chance. Things escalated from there.
Loud metallic clangs sprang from the constant clashing of a super strong wrecking ball and a hard magnetic mace as the two enemies threw powerful blows at each other. Lugnut dodged a hit from Bulkhead and slammed his mace into the Autobot's head, throwing him into a building.
"I will enjoy tearing off your head and offering it to Lord Megatron as a trophy." Lugnut growled, his red eye gleaming.
"Don't you ever shut up?" Bulkhead grunted. Lugnut chuckled.
"No more than you pet human that you drag around so much. Maybe I will let you go and hunt her down to offer to my master as a present."
"Don't you dare!" Bulkhead roared and rushed at Lugnut. He threw his wrecking ball at Lugnut, but the Con spun around his arm and slammed his mace into his chin, knocking him off his feet and onto his back from the powerful blow. Bulkhead crashed to the ground dazed and Lugnut stood over him.
"Maybe I should stick with your head. Lord Megatron is not too picky these days."
Lugnut raised his mace to smash Bulkhead's skull in, but the sound of a cannon firing made him pause. Something hit his chest and his body was assaulted by a powerful electrical jolt that froze his motor functions and knocked him over. On the verge of unconsciousness, Lugnut fell to the ground just opposite of Bulkhead.
Three stealth helicopters flew over the downed mechs and landed not too far from them. Soldiers in black body armor exited the choppers and surrounded the bots with their weapons trained on them. Those scramblers were designed to take out talos with strong EMP jolts to knock out their systems and these were modified to disable Cybertronian. They were state of the art, but one could never be too careful.
Out of the last helicopter to land came Aries, zodiac general of OZ, who walked over to the two mechs with his three-eyed gaze on their large forms. Those new toys Pisces gave him worked wonders on their first try. He'd have to thank the four-eyed bastard when he got the chance.
"That went well." Aries commented. One of the soldiers approached him.
"Sir, we only have enough resources to transport one of them." He reported.
Aries didn't take long to make his decision. "Take the victor."
XXXXXX
Later that afternoon, Bulkhead was in the medibay with Ratchet working on fixing his damaged shoulder with an arc welder to close his small wounds. Aside from a few dents and a head-splitting headache, he was mostly okay. During this, he was being grilled by Optimus, with Annie and Bumblebee watching.
"Engaging the enemy on your own was foolish, Bulkhead." Optimus scolded. "You know the rules of mobilization on this ship."
"It's not my fault, Lugnut started it. He blindsided me." Bulkhead huffed. Ratchet whacked him on the head to get him to stay still.
"Well, I certainly don't feel sorry for what's left of the other guy. Right, Bulk?" Annie smiled. Bulkhead looked down at his hands sheepishly, making her frown. "Wait, you mean you didn't torch him?"
"No, I thought one of you did." He said, looking at the others. "When I came to, he was long gone, though I did see an imprint of his body. I…remember hearing a chopper. Bee, did you and Jolt…?"
"Sorry, Bulkhead, but we were nowhere near your position." Bumblebee said.
Prowl entered the medibay with a grim expression on his usually dour face. "I think I have an idea as to what happened to Lugnut."
XXXXXX
Nightshade and Starscream entered the command center of the field base on Decepticon Island to speak with Megatron. Both Cons, while not very fond of each other, were deadly seriously as they approached their leader with a pressing matter.
"Megatron, we have a problem." Nightshade said. "Lugnut has gone missing. We lost track of his signal in Yuktobania."
"Autobots?" Megatron inquired. Starscream shook his head.
"According to the eye witness accounts of Lugnut's partner Search, Lugnut was captured by humans while fighting the Autobot Bulkhead." He said.
"If this is true, then we need to take immediate action." Nightshade said. Megatron didn't look very concerned by the news.
"Your point?"
"My lord, the only humans who know of our presence on this planet are the same group that ambushed the Autobots in Azteca. We must mobilize to rescue our comrade from those vile humans and wipe them out to ensure our operation remains secret." Starscream suggested grandiosely. "I can lead an air strike on the last known location of Lugnut and scout the area top to bottom."
It was a decent plan, but no one Megatron entertained.
"Lugnut is on his own." He said coldly. Nightshade and Starscream stared him in shock. "If Lugnut was bested by those weaker than him, smaller than him, then he deserves whatever fate awaits him. A Decepticon beaten by organics who haven't even mastered space travel has no place in my ranks."
"But, Megatron, Lugnut is a key member of our team! These humans alone pose a threat to our continued operations on this planet and could…"
Seeing Megatron's temper rise, Starscream took Nightshade by the arm and led her to the doors. "We understand, Lord Megatron. Your wisdom reigns supreme."
They left the room and Nightshade angrily threw Starscream off her, marching down the hall with a scowl. Pride or not, Nightshade wasn't going to let this insult to their kind go unpunished.
XXXXXX
Lugnut awoke with a groan, still feeling the effects of the EMP on his systems. The first thing he saw were the dim lights of some dark tunnel, and when he tried to sit up, he found his arms and legs restrained with large metal bolts holding him down to a metal slab. Ignoring the large drills and saws positioned over his body, he struggled to free himself but found no progress in that regard.
"What is this? Release me right now!" He shouted.
A door slid open and three humans walked out onto the catwalk at the foot of the metal slab. One of them, obviously a commander, was a well-built man in a bodysuit and sporting three eyes who kept his gaze locked onto Lugnut as he stood in front of the computer with his armed guards.
"Awake, I see. Good, this wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if you were sleeping." He said calmly. "And don't bother struggling. Those cuffs are made of adamantium, the strongest metal on Terra. You won't get free without some kind of leverage."
"Filthy fleshlings! Who do you think you are to attack a proud warrior of Lord Megatron?" Lugnut growled.
"We are OZ. And I am Aries." Aries replied firmly, his eyes narrowing. "And you, my dear Decepticon, are our honored guest."
Lugnut was already fuming at the thought of these worthless humans capturing him, and having this freak talk to him like he was superior only made him angrier. He would've loved to see how brave these humans would be if he was free!
"You damn fool! Lord Megatron will never pay a ransom!" Lugnut said. His comment made Aries laugh.
"Oh, we don't want a ransom. We want you." Aries leaned in. "All of you."
Lugnut's eye widened at the implication. These humans were going to tear him apart!
XXXXXX
Prowl brought Optimus, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Anne to the Command Center, where there was a map of eastern Yuktobania on the monitor with Bulkhead's last location highlighted.
"I've had Teletran-1 run global satellite coverage for any unusual human activity since our last encounter with OZ." Prowl said. "And lately, I've noticed that most of their operations occur outside the country, overseas, though it's been a bit difficult."
"You've been monitoring OZ without telling us?" Ratchet frowned.
"After running into them, I wasn't taking any chances. They're a foreign element that poses a threat to our existence on Terra and we know next to nothing about them." Prowl explained, not the least bit concerned with the growing animosity he was getting from his comrades for keeping this secret. As far as he was concerned, he was doing his job, nothing more, nothing less. "So I took the liberty of looking into them, keeping an eye out to avoid getting caught off guard like last time."
"You should've told us about this, Prowl." Optimus said.
"I know. I was just taking the initiative." He replied. "Now, the place where Bulkhead was investigating that energon signal was in eastern Yuktobania, where Lugnut just happened to be as well. Knowing OZ, it'd be logical to assume that OZ was sighted there because you two were in the area."
"They must have tracked one of us there." Bulkhead noted.
"And that energon signal was probably a decoy to lure us out there." Ratchet said. That was a troubling thought.
"But what would they want with Lugnut?" Annie asked.
"Who cares? They can keep him." Ratchet huffed. Bulkhead laughed and slammed his fists together.
"Ha! Big, bad Lugnut getting carried off by humans. That's a funny thought." He said and looked at Annie. "Guess I softened him up for them, huh?"
Annie didn't look as enthusiastic about it as Bulkhead hoped. She was still a bit disappointed that her big green friend didn't win against a Con whose brain was switched with his T-cog.
Optimus looked at the map with a firm gaze and looked at Ratchet. "Ratchet, open the ground bridge to the previous coordinates. We're rescuing Lugnut."
"SAY WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Optimus you can't be serious." Ratchet protested.
"Yeah, those goons can melt him down for all I care. Why should we rescue one of Megatron's lackies?" Bulkhead growled.
"Bulkhead, sometimes, we must rise above ourselves for the greater good. We can't let out personal feelings cloud our judgment." Optimus said wisely. Bulkhead made an aggravated noise.
"What the hell does that mean? You think Lugnut's gonna go soft on us and join the cause just because we saved his ass?" Bulkhead said.
"By greater good, I mean humankind." Optimus said, not perturbed by Bulkhead's attitude. "OZ presents a clear and present danger to both humans and Cybertronian, no matter the faction."
"Prime's right. OZ is obsessed with ruling the world through advanced technology." Prowl said.
"Which means that we cannot let them have cybertronian biology to their arsenal." Optimus looked at the map grimly. "I can only hope that we make it there in time."
XXXXXX
Aries walked down a small staircase and up to the metal slab that was lowered to the ground so he could stare Lugnut in the eye.
"Full disclosure, we're going to rip you apart, break you down, if you will. And we will use whatever we learn to create a new generation of weaponry." Aries explained in disturbing detail. "Sadly, you will not survive the procedure. But we will remember your contribution and bury what's left of you with the highest honors"
Lugnut struggled violent, wanting to tear the man in two. He was a proud Decepticon warrior! He was not going to show weakness in the eyes of his enemies, much less these filthy organic heathens! "When I get out of here, I will make sure that your slaves will have to scrape you off the floor!"
Aries wasn't fazed by the threat, if anything he welcomed the hostility. It made breaking him all the more enjoyable. "Since you evidently aren't squeamish, I will allow you to watch. Are his pain receptors disabled?"
"No sir." One of the soldiers answered. Aries grinned and leaned in close so that he was staring Lugnut right into his crimson eye.
"Good. I want to hear him scream." He said. "Open him up."
He stepped back as the drills and saw over Lugnut's body were switched on and began to descend on him. Finally Lugnut's bravado began to drain away and he struggled once more in vain. The noise of the drill as it neared his head grew louder the closer it got. It soon became deafening and he couldn't hear anything else…which was fortunate for him, as he could not hear his own screams as the drill gored into his head.
XXXXXX
The Autobots were assembled in the shuttle bay by the ground bridge preparing to embark on their rescue mission to Yuktobania. Optimus had brought Arcee and Jazz along for their stealth tactics and Ratchet was coming along as well, while Bulkhead hung back, not thrilled at all about rescuing Lugnut.
"Come on, Bulk! You can't just bow out of this." Annie whined.
"I'm not going." Bulkhead said stubbornly. When Optimus walked up to them, Bulkhead shook his head. "I'm sorry, Optimus, but I just can't do it. He's not worth the trouble."
"I respect your decision, Bulkhead." Prime said, surprising Annie and Bulkhead.
"Say what?" Annie blinked.
"Given your past with Lugnut, your judgment will be clouded by your emotions." Prime explained. "And Lugnut may be in need of a medic, instead of a warrior."
Bulkhead glared at Prime's back as he and the others entered the ground bridge and vanished. He sighed and looked down at Annie, who also didn't look happy for different reasons.
"So…creature double feature?" He asked hesitantly. "Your favorite is coming on tonight."
"Yeah, sure…whatever." She said and walked away.
Bulkhead watched her go and groaned. No matter what he did, he just couldn't win.
XXXXXX
The ground bridge appeared in the front yard of the apartment complex where Bulkhead and Lugnut battled earlier that day. Optimus, Arcee and Jazz exited the portal first, scanning the area with their weapons charged before allowing Ratchet to follow them.
"Clear." Arcee said. At least it wasn't a repeat of last time. "Where do we start?"
Jazz looked down and saw a pair of tire tracks leading away from the complex. "I found tracks."
"Forget the tracks, Jazz." Ratchet lifted his scanner in the opposite direction. "I'm picking up a signal, north by northwest."
The others looked confused. They shouldn't be able to pick up Decepticon signals unless they were right next to them. Arcee pointed that out. "But we shouldn't be able to get his signal." Her face turned grim when she made a realization. "Unless…"
"Unless his energon's been spilled." Ratchet finished.
XXXXXX
Grindor was taking a cat nap on the table while the old black and white monster move Dinolizard vs Godira blared on the large flat screen monitor in the rec room. Behind him, Bulkhead and Annie sat in an uncomfortable silence. Seeking to shatter this unholy silence, Bulkhead tried to break the tension.
"So…what's up? You're missing the smackdown!" He grinned. "Giant lizard vs flying dragon, the best mega-monster match ups!"
"No, you're missing the smackdown!" Annie yelled at him. She stood up and glared at him. "Lugnut is your archenemy, not Optimus' and certainly not OZ's."
Bulkhead sighed and shook his head. "Annie, you don't understand. Lugnut and I go way back. He was part of the militia of Nova Cronum-we were drinking buddies who started bar fights for fun. One night we trading blows over a couple of drinks, the next he's torching the city in Megatron's name. You don't know the things he's done for bucket head. I'm sorry, but I'm not saving him."
Annie scrunched up her nose in distaste. "I don't want you to bromance him, Bulk. I want you to beat him!"
"Huh?" Bulkhead said puzzled. Rolling her eyes, she decided to spell it out for him.
"Look, chances are that he's at the mercy of those supervillain rejects and he's defenseless. Which means that you can walk right up to him, smash his skull in, and be on your merry way."
Bulkhead had to keep himself from gulping at the intense look in Annie's vibrant green eyes. He was sure if she had Mjolnir with her, she would've done the deed herself.
"No rematch, no mercy, no prisoners. Only trophies." Annie said. "Are you ready to prove who's the better mech?"
Bulkhead weighed his options. He would be going against Prime's orders, but it would be useful in the long run to deprive Megatron of one of his strongest warriors. Sooner or later, someone was going to get slagged in this pocket war-better it be Lugnut than him or any of his friends.
"All right, I'll do it."
Annie smirked. "Then let's get you into the ring, shall we?"
XXXXXX
Ratchet led the team through the complex to where the signal was coming from. The trail brought them to a large church with the statue of an angel in the front yard. Jazz and Arcee took point to check for traps or hiding enemies. When they saw it was clear, they motioned Optimus and Ratchet to move in.
"The signal's close by." He said. "And it's coming from…here."
He pointed to the angel statue. The team moved closer, looking for anything out of the ordinary and to their surprise and horror, the source of the signal was more ghoulish than they thought.
Sitting at the foot of the statue was a round silver object with a red iris and a couple of severed cords connected to it. The Autobots immediately knew what this was, and they did not like the implications of what it meant for the Con they intended to rescue.
"It's Lugnut's eye." Ratchet gasped.
Back at the apartment complex, Bulkhead jumped out of the ground bridge he took in secret and scanned the area. As the bridge vanished, he looked around for any sign of Optimus and the others before he heard the sound of a car engine nearby. He quickly took cover behind a building as a jeep drove through the yard and towards the edge of the complex. The Autobot watched it go with narrowed eyes.
"Found you." Bulkhead growled.
At the church, Ratchet calmly picked up the eye in his hand and attached the nerve circuits to his scanner and began typing in some commands.
"What are you doing?" Arcee asked, a bit creeped out by Ratchet's calmness during all this.
"I'm plugging into the optical sensory array. We should be able to get a visual of the last thing Lugnut saw." Ratchet answered. After a few seconds, the optic glowed and the scanner began displaying a video recording.
"Wow, that's…that's weird, doc." Bumblebee said. The things people could do with weird science.
The video lasted only a couple of seconds, and they all watched as a spinning drill neared the screen before sparks started flying and the feed ended abruptly. Arcee gasped.
"Primus, he was awake when they tore his eye out?" She scowled. How sick were these people?
Suddenly the screen went dark before cutting to another recording, only this was in real time. Aries appeared on the screen, and in the background was a screaming Lugnut. Aries turned around and smiled at them.
"Optimus Prime. How good it is to set eyes no you again." Aries greeted him. Optimus narrowed his eyes.
"He's converted the optic into a two way feed." Ratchet said.
"It's nice to finally see you and your comrades again. As you can see Lugnut can't speak to you at the moment, he's a bit preoccupied." Aries said, looking back at Lugnut. "But our study of him is revealing quite a bit about your biomechanics. Fascinating creatures, you are."
"You sick, twisted bastard!" Arcee hissed.
"Now, that's no way for a lady to speak. Though I am glad to see all of you here, I was expecting someone else to come knocking. Namely, Megatron."
"In this situation, Autobots and Decepticons are united against a common foe." Optimus said.
"OZ is anything but common!" Aries said firmly, losing his mirth. "As Lugnut is finding out first hand. Speaking of which, I left you a little present I want you to have. Think of it as a gift for all the trouble you gave me in our last encounter."
It took Optimus a minute to figure out what that meant before he heard a faint beep coming from under the statue. Looking down through a small grate, he saw that the entire basement level of the church was lined with bombs…with a timer five seconds to detonation.
"Autobots, evacuate!"
They transformed and sped away from the church as fast as they could just as the timer hit zero. The entire church exploded in a brilliant plume of flames so powerful that it knocked them off balance and onto their sides. They transformed and rolled to their feet as the ground rumbled and looked back at the burning church.
"So…where do we find the rest of Lugnut?" Jazz asked.
XXXXXX
Lugnut's body was numb with pain. Having lost his single eye, he could not see what was going on, but he could still feel the saws, drills and plasma lasers cutting into his body, tearing off pieces of his armor off and exposing his inner circuitry. The humans were very thorough in their examination of him, and though they hadn't reached anything vital, it was only a matter of time. All the while, he could break free of these accursed restraints.
"Lugnut, can you hear me?"
Lugnut growled weakly, making Aries chuckle.
"Good to know you're as hardy as you say you are." He said. "Though, I can't say the same for your would-be rescuers."
"D-Decepticons don't break that easily!" Lugnut snarled.
"You misunderstand. Your rescuers aren't Decepticons, they're Autobots. Led by Prime himself."
Lugnut was puzzled. "No Autobot would risk their lives for a Decepticon."
Aries shrugged. "It doesn't matter at this point, since they're in more pieces than you right now."
A loud metallic bang echoing in the tunnel made everything grind to a halt. Aries raised an eyebrow as he heard more bangs and turned to one of his men, who immediately brought up security footage from the camera at the entrance.
A squad of soldiers assembled in front f the tunnel doors and pointed their weapons at it. The large metal doors designed to take tank shells head on were already deformed from whatever powerful force was hitting it from the other side. The soldiers steeled themselves for the difficult fight they were going to have on their hands.
Suddenly the doors burst open and Bulkhead came smashing through them like a battering ram, knocking them off their hinges. The soldiers opened fire, but Bulkhead ignored the storm of bullets assaulting them as he waved his wrecking ball menacingly at them, slamming it into the ground to make them scatter.
Aries narrowed his eyes at the footage and snapped his fingers, signaling his men to pack up shop and get ready to move. They were going to need more than just one or two squads to handle this intruder. Looks like he was going to get a chance to fight an Autobot after all. The thought made Aries smirk as he walked away.
Bulkhead managed to rampage through the barricade and ran down the tunnel. It didn't have to go far as he saw Lugnut on the slab, looking like a swarm of Scraplets had taken chunks out of him for the past hour. Lugnut heard the heavy footsteps of his nemesis and steeled himself for his inevitable doom. He was not going to die groveling for his life like Starscream!
"Go ahead, Autobot! Do your worst!" He yelled at Bulkhead. "I will die a warrior's death in the eyes of my master!"
Bulkhead raised his weapon, fully intending to smash Lugnut's head into scrap. But he couldn't get himself to do the act. Seeing the Con lying there after being almost decapitated took the air from his sails. He could kill him right now, but it wouldn't feel satisfying at all. It just felt…wrong.
'What am I doing?' Bulkhead thought, gritting his teeth.
Against his better wishes, he retracted his wrecking ball and pulled off the restraints around Lugnut's arms and legs, having to pull them out by the bolts, as exerting strength to shatter the adamantium cuffs would take too long, before helping Lugnut to his feet. The Decepticon looked confused as much as Bulkhead was astonished at what he just did.
"What…what are you doing?" Lugnut asked.
"Saving your afterburner." Bulkhead answered. "Any brawling we want to do can be done someplace else without these guys hounding us. Can you walk?"
"I never run when I can fight!" Lugnut growled. He still had his proximity sensors to help him navigate around objects until help arrived…if help arrived and he got medical assistance.
Bulkhead sighed. "Just point your guns away from me, okay? Let's go before they storm us in here."
The two large mechs ran back through the tunnel to the entrance, where they were once again attacked by soldiers. Bulkhead swung his wrecking ball into the ground to get them out of his way before leading Lugnut back outside.
They barely stepped a foot outside when spotlights were shined in their faces and they were assaulted by a storm of bullets fired from turrets mounted on jeeps and attack helicopters shooting at them from above. Lugnut didn't waste any time in getting his revenge. He opened the missile pods in his back and let the volley loose, firing a barrage of heat seekers that homed in on the trucks and choppers.
The forces unable to get away in time were completely destroyed, though the ground forces were soon replaced by odd-looking talos that mobilized from secret hangars in the area. They were OZ's mono-eyed talos units, the Codarls, who sported a more streamlined humanoid construction that most talos in the western hemisphere, with dark green armor and small pointed horns on the tops of their heads. Armed with assault rifles and shoulder mounted machine guns, they were aided by the older Orion talos, silver armored talos with humanoid upper bodies placed on tank treads like the M4 Murphy units. Shoulder mounted autocannons fired armor piercing rounds that could pierce tank armor at a certain distance locked onto the mechs and fired at once.
Bulkhead ran forward and slammed his wrecking ball into the first talos and converted his other hand into his blaster, blasting off the legs and heads of enemy talos. The enemy units fell back a little to take cover while the mobile units continued driving by the aliens' feet shooting rockets and machine guns at them. He grunted when a shell hit his knee and fired a blast at the Orion unit that fired the shot, taking it out in one hit.
Lugnut was not as refined as Bulkhead was in his massacre. He swung his mace at anything close enough, slamming his weapon into the chests of the enemy Codarls and crushing their cockpits from the blunt force alone. Those poor pilots wouldn't die immediately as they were crushed into a bloody mess. A jeep crashed into his foot and he picked it up, throwing it at a gunship, destroying both in a fiery blaze.
Bulkhead was done tearing the arms off an Orion talos when he was saw something silver flash in the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he ducked under a sharp blade coming at his head and jumped back from his attacker.
The talos that attacked him was different from the rest. It was blood red and stood around 7 meters. Its head was fashioned after the helmet of a roman centurion, complete with the vertical fringe that was a lighter shade of red. There was a machine gun on its shoulder that folded onto its back and in its hand was a sword resized to suit the needs of this mecha. This talos was an upgraded version of the Codarl, Aries' personal command unit.
In the cockpit, Aries stared at the two mechs through his monitor with an eager grin, his third eye glowing. "I've been waiting a long time to fight one of you myself. So I hope that you're worth the trouble"
"You will regret your arrogance, human!" Lugnut roared.
Lugnut charged at Aries with his mace raised high, but the Codarl dodged his downward strike and drew its sword. In one swift move, Aries severed Lugnut's right arm at the elbow, mace and all, much to Bulkhead's surprise. Lugnut staggered back, clutching his sparkling stump in pain and shock.
"No, machine. You'll regret you arrogance." Aries said.
Aries brought out Codarl's shoulder cannon and unleashed a barrage of HV rounds into Lugnut at close range, focusing on the exposed circuitry. As Lugnut fell to his knees, Aries went in for the kill, but Bulkhead charged into him from the side and knocked him over.
"Don't forget about me!"
"How can I?" Aries replied.
At the press of a button, a small blade extended from Codarl's wrist and Aries slashed him arm upwards, narrowly scratching Bulkhead's chest plate as the green Autobot stumbled back. Bulkhead glanced at the thin cut in his normally dense armor in confusion.
"Adamantium is the strongest metal on Terra, as I've explained to Lugnut. It can cut through anything," Aries said smugly. "Even cybertronian armor."
Bulkhead glared at him, but he was distracted by the other talos open firing on him from behind. More Codarls surrounded them and the remaining gunships began shooting hellfire missiles at Lugnut, who was starting to wear down. Aries ran at Bulkhead and slashed at him, pushing his machine to its limits. Bulkhead jumped back and swung his wrecking ball, but Aries moved his unit back and slashed Bulkhead across his arm.
Bulkhead backed up into Lugnut, who was struggling to stay on his feet as his wounds started to get to him. "We're getting overwhelmed. We're not going to make it at this rate."
"Do you have a plan then, Autobot?" Lugnut asked. He lifted an Orion unit and threw it at a Codarl that dared to rush them.
"I do, but you're not going to like it." Bulkhead switched on his comm. "Bulkhead to Optimus, I'm in need of an assist! Rendezvous at my coordinates."
Aries watched with glee as the two mechs began to falter under the relentless assault of his Mobile Armor unit. He lost a good deal of men and mecha, but now he had two specimens for study. It was only a matter of time. He thumbed a button on his right joystick and aimed his shoulder cannon at Bulkhead's head, intending to blow the Autobot away and end this battle for good.
But just as he was about to press the trigger, one of the gunship's pilots called him. "General!"
"What is it?" Aries growled, not wanting to be interrupted in his moment of victory.
"We've got two bogeys coming in at high speeds. ETA: two seconds."
'Reinforcements-typical.' Aries thought angrily. He was on the cusp of victory and the gods saw fit to steal it from him in the last minute.
"All units, disengage and initiate omega protocols." Aries ordered over the tact net. He glared at Bulkhead and Lugnut. "We'll meet again, Autobot. Make no mistake about that."
Weary and nearly drained, Bulkhead and Lugnut remained strong as the enemy talos, jeeps and helicopters stopped attacking and started to retreat. The crimson Codarl belonging to Aries stared blankly at them before it turned and walked away. Bulkhead gave a relieved sigh and sagged his shoulders.
"That was close." He breathed.
But his relief was cut short when he saw a giant raven and a military helicopter appear above them and changed forms. Bulkhead raised his blaster as Nightshade and Blackout touched down in front of him. At the same time, Optimus and his team made their appearance in vehicle mode, transforming and pointing their weapons at the Cons, prompting Blackout to do the same.
"You can relax, you fools. I'm not here to fight you." She said, glaring at them. "I'm here for one of my soldiers."
Bulkhead narrowed his eyes, but he stood down and stepped aside to allow Nightshade and Blackout to retrieve Lugnut, lifting him to his feet and helping him along. Before they left, Nightshade gave some parting words to Bulkhead.
"I'm not above swallowing my pride and showing gratitude to an enemy, Autobot. Thank you for saving Lugnut and risking your life to defend him, no matter what your reasons for doing so may be." Nightshade said honestly. "But keep in mind that the next time you two meet, you will be enemies."
"I'll be waiting for him." Bulkhead promised her.
Nightshade actually gave him a tiny smirk before she and Blackout helped Lugnut out of the battle scarred field. As they left the area, Optimus approached Bulkhead.
"Engaging the enemy alone was foolish, Bulkhead, and disobeying orders even more so." Optimus scolded, but his tone softened as he continued. "But you have done the right thing. It takes a lot of strength to save your enemy in their moment of weakness."
Bulkhead shrugged, looking at the ground bashfully. "Well, it was nothing. Besides, I can always get a rematch some other day."
"Indeed. But before that time, I believe you're due for a long conversation about following orders." Optimus said.
Bulkhead groaned. There was just no winning tonight, was there?
Deep in the forest outside the empty ghost town, Nightshade and Blackout placed Lugnut against a tree. Nightshade knelt next to him and looked him over, frowning at the wounds he sustained in captivity. Damn those vermin! Even the Autobots weren't this brutal to their Decepticon prisoners. But what else could she expect from a savage species like humankind?
"They did a number on you, didn't they, Lugnut?" She muttered. "Don't worry, we'll have Knockout fix you up in no time."
"Ugh…l-lady Nightshade?" Lugnut groaned. Nightshade shushed him.
"Hush now and power down. You're in safe hands, now." Nightshade glanced back at Blackout. "Call Soundwave for a ground bridge."
"Yes, sir." Blackout said and got to it.
Nightshade stood up and looked back at the town. They may have rescued one of their own, but she was not going to let this go. No one, let alone a bunch of humans, were going to get away with insulting Decepticon honor like this! Megatron may not take this threat to their security seriously, but she wasn't going to make that mistake. She was going to hunt down those savages and tear them limb from limb. A preview for what was going to happen to the rest of mankind!
XXXXXX
Aries sat in his quarters looking over the data he acquired from the scans and in depth studies on Lugnut's biology from the dissection. Despite the surprise attack on their facility, they managed to transfer most of the acquired data to a sanitized location with no problems. Schematics of the subject's vital components and samples of his armor and severed arm were enough to initiate his Project: Chimera, and hopefully get approval from his superior overseas. The project was still in its infant stages thanks to limited information, but he was confident that things would escalate if he acquired another living subject to further his studies.
Aries smirked; things were already going in his favor. He was still thrilled from his fight against Bulkhead and Lugnut earlier and he never felt so alive. It was only a matter of time before the power of the living machines was OZ's and they gained the power to change the world into the paradise it was supposed to be.