Chapter 34-The Tempest part 1
The minute Optimus and his team returned to the Ark, he ordered all teams out on the field back to the Ark to await further orders while issuing a Code: Red emergency. Once the Autobots and Minicons were assembled in the command center, he gave a detail summary of the events that just transpired in Azteca. He told them the identity of the beings who were hunting them down, the dolems, who sought to achieve perfect godhood by way of manipulating other races as biological experiments. He also mentioned of their goddess's intent of annihilating all aliens on the planet. Prowl finished off with the coming threat of the Cardinals that were aiming to take out both Autobots and Decepticons.
"Hold up, you mean we have another one of those freaky things heading our way?" Skyfire said, her voice a bit squeaky. "We barely survived that two headed dragon that tried to crunch us!"
"Jubileus made it very clear that we're in her way and thus has marked us for death." Optimus said. "Two Cardinals have already awoken following the planetary alignment. One is heading our way, while the other is heading towards the Nemesis. It's an assault on two fronts to wipe us out in one fell swoop."
"That explains the massive energy surges Teletran detected at the North and South poles." Ratchet said. "They happened just a few minutes before you got back."
"Then we don't have a nanosec to spare! We gotta move this ship before that thing finds us." Ironhide said.
"If the Cardinal is already tracking us, then moving the ship won't be enough. It'll chase us to the ends of this planet, and probably even beyond if need be." Wheeljack said.
"Then can the Ark's weapons handle that thing?" Ironhide demanded.
"Maybe, but it's not a battleship, Ironhide. One solid hit and this thing will go down." Wheeljack told him.
"And we can't risk our ship being spotted by the humans or their satellites in orbit. Using the Ark must be a last resort, Ironhide." Optimus said. He looked at Ratchet. "Ratchet, have Teletran monitor any strange anomalies that might be heading our way. I want to locate that Cardinal before it even reaches the Osean continent."
"I'm right on it, Optimus." Ratchet nodded and went for the terminal.
"Optimus, what about the children? The weather outside has been getting worse since you guys came back and I'm worried about them." Arcee said.
"The last thing I want is to bring the children anywhere near the Ark with the Cardinal targeting us, but…" Optimus had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him he should take this chance. The weather was nearing hurricane levels outside and it was only going to get worse as the day went on. "Take Bumblebee and Jolt with you to get them along with the Street Action Team. I don't want any Autobot or Minicon outside this ship unprotected."
"Understood, Bee, you're with me." Arcee said as she and Bumblebee ran out of the room.
As Optimus gave his orders, Prowl had something else in mind and called out to Ratchet. "Ratchet, I need you to do something for me."
"Prowl, I don't have the time to be doing any errands for you." The medic said but Prowl shook his head.
"Don't worry, it won't take away from your work. I just want you to track the second Cardinal coming from the South Pole when you finally locate them." Prowl requested. Ratchet turned back and gave Prowl a look.
"You want me to track the second Cardinal? It's heading towards the Nemesis!" Ratchet said.
"Exactly, if we track it, then we can possibly lead us to the Decepticons' headquarters." Prowl reasoned.
"Prowl, we're on the verge of being attacked by a powerful alien being. The Decepticons are the least of our worries."
"They're the main reason we're on this planet, Ratchet. Don't forget that we're fighting a war here, not lounging around on some exploration mission. Most of you seem to have forgotten that little fact." Prowl whispered harshly. He spun Ratchet back around and pointed at the screen. "This might be our only chance to find the location of their base, and that Cardinal might be the key. This is a simple task that won't take away from your job. We can worry about the information later."
Ratchet was both surprised and not surprised that Prowl would go to these lengths to get one over on the Decepticons. For all his stoic level-headedness, Prowl had an almost zealous drive to defeat the Cons in any way possible, even when something else of great importance was happening.
"I assume Optimus doesn't know about your plan?" Ratchet asked. He knew that Prowl liked to take things into his own hands to "lighten" Prime's load.
"I'll tell him later, Ratchet," Prowl assured him. "But right now, I need to know if you can do this for me."
Ratchet sighed and pushed Prowl's hands away. "I'll do it, Prowl, just in case this actually works. Now if you'll kindly let me get back to work."
"Right, thank you, Ratchet." Prowl said and walked out of the room.
Ratchet shook his head at the tactician. He knew Prowl wasn't one to let his emotions get in the way of his duty, but his almost condescending attitude towards those who don't keep their minds on the mission was something that needed to be watched carefully. Prowl may be an Autobot, but he often lets logic dictate his unethical and immoral actions to justify reaching the end goal. And that kind of thinking does more harm than good.
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"This is dull."
Annie said it in passing a few minutes ago, and Darren found himself agreeing with her. They sat in the school auditorium with the rest of the students in their grade and higher waiting for someone to get them. As it turned out, the light rainfall that morning had evolved into a freak hurricane that had winds blowing so violently that some trees were uprooted. The rain got worse every hour and the winds became so strong that all of the windows on the third floor of the school shattered from the sheer force of them, injuring some students unlucky enough to be near them. Parents were called and one by one the students were taken home to ride out the storm.
"The news never said that we were having a storm today." Darren said.
"Since when did you put stock in the news?" Annie snorted and leaned back on her hands, hissing a bit when she put too much weight on her still bandaged hand. "They're never right about the weather these days."
Gina smiled at Annie's attitude, glad she was back to normal. She almost had a heart attack when she heard about the brutal fight they had and almost cried when she saw their injuries. Annie was missing a finger that once held the cursed ring that possessed her, and Darren almost had a concussion followed by broken bones. The twins had made a full recovery, but Darren couldn't move too much without coughing or putting some strain on his body.
Darren listened to the other kids talking about the storm. Like him, they weren't expecting the weather to turn out this badly, and some were worried about getting home safely.
"I heard there was a hurricane passing over us."
"A hurricane? No one ever said anything about a hurricane!"
"I just heard from my homeroom teacher that the entire Osean continent is getting doused in weather like this. I've never seen a hurricane this bad before."
"Didn't the news say that Azteca was getting the same treatment down there too?"
"I hope my mom will be alright getting here. Three people already had accidents in this hour alone trying to drive through this storm."
Gina bit her lip and tapped her foot to ignore the muttering children around her. She hated being stuck in situations like this, where she couldn't do anything and that big brain of hers was basically useless. Though, she shouldn't be surprised, given that few things can stop Mother Nature, and man was not one of them.
"Hey," Darren gripped her hand. "You doing alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit anxious, that's all." Gina took a deep breath to calm herself. "I don't want my mom to drive through that mess outside for me. If something happened to her out there…"
"She'll be fine. Your mom's a smart woman, she'll be careful in this weather." Darren said.
"Where's Kevin and Penny?" Annie asked. "I don't see them anywhere."
"Penny's dad and Kevin's aunt picked them up before we came here. Apparently they got the right idea about this weather causing hell on the roads and got them out before it got worse." Darren said.
A loud rumble of thunder made everyone flinch. "Do you think Debbie will be able to pick us up?" Gina asked.
"I'm sure she will. Though I'm worried about High Wire and Sureshock." Annie said. "I can just imagine what it's like for them out there."
"Darren, Annie, Gina!" Someone called out.
The kids turned to see Debbie walking down the aisle towards them. They grabbed their things and got up to meet her. Debbie pulled the three into a tight hug when they reached her.
"I'm so glad you're all okay. I tried to get here as soon as possible, but the streets were too slippery to drive fast over." She said. "Get your coats on, I'm taking you kids back home."
"Debbie, is my mom okay?"
"Don't worry, Gina, your mother gave me a call saying she won't be able to make it earlier. I told her I could pick you up myself and you can stay over until the storm passes."
"Sweet, you're sleeping over!" Annie grinned and threw an arm around her friend's shoulders. "You get to share the same bed as Darren! His room is spacey so it shouldn't be a tight squeeze for you."
Gina blushed and elbowed Annie in the ribs. "J-Jinkies, Annie, could you not!"
"Annie, behave." Darren said before turning to his sister. "Now can we leave before we get stuck here to?"
"Sure, let's go."
The kids go their coats on and quickly made their way through the school towards the side exit near the parking lot. As soon as they made it outside, after struggling to push the door open with the strong winds pushing against it, they were greeted with the chaotic sight of heavy rains pouring down, lightning flashing in the sky and hurricane force winds blowing so hard that the trees were starting to bend. Annie yelped as she was almost blown over by a huge gust of wind.
"I didn't know there was going to be a breeze today!" She yelled over the winds.
"Not now, Annie!" Gina replied as she helped the girl along.
It took them a few minutes to brave the strong winds to get to the car, even with Darren blocking most of the rain and wind with a telekinetic bubble, but they managed to reach Debbie's car in one piece. The elder Radcliffe unlocked the car and ushered the kids inside before getting behind the wheel and switching the heater on.
"Hey, where are the Minicons?" Annie asked, frowning at how wet the bandages on her hand were.
"Ratchet gave me a call earlier and said he bridged them to the Ark a few minutes ago." Debbie said as she drove out of the parking lot. "He said that Arcee and Bumblebee are on their way here as well."
"Okay, and we're leaving the school anyway because…?" Annie said looking for an answer.
"If we stay, we'll get stranded here when the weather becomes too dangerous to drive through. And I'm sure no one here wants to spend the night inside a school." Debbie smiled when she saw the twins vigorously shake their heads. "Good, then I can get us back soon if I drive carefully."
Easier said than done. The downtown area was completely deserted as they drove through it, and everything was being pelted by heavy rains and rough winds. Dakote had its occasional hurricane or typhoon, but nothing as bad as this.
Thankfully Debbie didn't take long to pass through downtown and reached the bridge that crossed the river into the suburbs. It was here that Debbie had to be careful, and so she slowed down a little to maintain some control as she drove along. Wet roads meant no traction for the wheels and that was just an accident waiting to happen. They made it about half way before something that should've been impossible-lightning struck twice.
A lightning bolt hit the ground in front of the car, and it took Debbie by surprise. She swerved a bit to avoid the hole in the road, but started to lose control when the car began to skid across the bridge. Debbie gripped the wheel and tried every trick in the book to regain control and for a moment, she did, righting the car on a straight path again. But another bolt, this one more accurate, hit the front of the car dead center, destroying the engine and sending the car into another spiral that sent them crashing into one of the support cables. The cable snapped and half of the car tipped over the edge, balancing on its axel like a dangerous see-saw with the front of the car facing the rushing waters down below.
Debbie held her breath and didn't take another until she heard the groaning of the car stop and felt the car stop swaying for the moment. She let out a shaky breath and turned to the kids. "I-is everyone okay?"
"I'm fine." Annie breathed, her heart pounding noisily in her chest. "Gina, Darren, you good?"
"We're in one piece, but Darren got cut over his eye." Gina said, pressing a tissue into Darren's right eyebrow. They jumped a bit when the car started to sway again. "We're stuck, aren't we?"
"We are," Debbie admitted. "But so long as nothing pushes us too hard, we should be alright."
"With the wind blowing this hard? That's suicide." Annie looked out the window and cursed when she saw that there was no solid ground on her side. "All in favor of bailing out?"
"Annie, we can't jump out!" Darren said. "If we move, we fall over."
"If we wait, we fall over. There's nothing else we can do." She replied.
Lightning struck the cables and then hit the ground near the car. It blasted away the stone holding them up and the weak support keeping them from falling started to fail. Debbie panicked and tried to get the car in reverse, but with the rear wheels off the ground they weren't moving anywhere but down. When she saw the river below them, Debbie screamed. They were going to fall!
Suddenly two cars sped down the bridge, uncaring of the rough weather-it was Arcee and Bumblebee. As he got near the trapped humans, Bumblebee let Sara jump out of his vehicle mode before transforming and running over to the car, grabbing the trunk and pulling down on it to keep it from falling over. He tried to remain steady, but it was hard when his feet were slipping on the wet ground.
"Arcee, get them!" He grunted.
Arcee jumped over the side and gripped the ledge with one hand while she tore open the door on Darren's side. Reaching out, she held Darren climb onto her arm and get on her back. She got Gina out as well before the car slid forward a few more inches and heard Bumblebee yelp when another lightning bolt hit near his foot.
"Hold it steady, Bee!" She yelled.
"I'm trying, but I don't have much ground to stand on!" He said. The car's weight was pulling him along for the ride and the girls were still in the front of the car.
Sara jumped onto the car and swung over to Annie's side, ripping open the door and taking Annie onto her back before slowly climbing back onto the bridge with Arcee. Once she got Darren and Gina on the bridge, Arcee leaned back down and reached out to Debbie, who slowly climbed out of the car and tried to reach her hand
"Come on, you can do it!" Arcee urged her. She almost had Debbie when Bumblebee's foot slipped and he almost lost his grip on the car, making it slide forward more. Debbie, who was holding onto the car door, lost her footing and slipped off the car. "No!"
"Debbie!" Annie screamed.
Debbie screamed as she lost her hold on the car door and felt herself falling. She saw the looks of horror on her family and the Autobots' faces and shut her eyes as she waited for the cold sting of the river to swallow her up. But she felt something break her fall and cracked her eyes open to see that she was still hanging over the river. In fact, she was hovering in mid-air over the drop! She yelped when she saw her car drop past her and crash into the river below and squirmed in the air.
"Debbie, stop squirming!" She heard her brother yell.
Looking up, she saw that Darren was actually pulling her up with his powers-he was actually telekinetically lifting another human being! And it seemed to put some strain, as his face was red and sweaty. Debbie was slowly levitated into Arcee's outstretched hand and she quickly grabbed the Autobot's slender fingers, feeling the telekinetic hold on her fade.
Arcee pulled her back onto the bridge and placed her on solid ground, where Darren and Annie pulled her into a hug. Debbie hugged them just as tightly.
"I'm glad you alright." Darren muttered into her coat.
"I am now, thanks to you." Debbie said. "That was amazing. I didn't know you could do that."
"It was on reflex. I don't think I can do that again if I tried." He said sheepishly. Debbie looked up at the Autobots.
"Thank you two as well. You saved our lives." She said honestly.
"All in a day's work for us Autobots." Bumblebee said proudly.
"Except our work isn't done." Arcee sighed and turned to the humans. "Let's get you four back to the Ark. Things are a little bit tense as of late."
"How tense?" Annie asked.
"Sparkplug will explain the situation to you." Arcee went into car mode and opened her doors. "Now let's get moving before you all get sick in this weather."
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The Nemesis flew over the Pacific Ocean combing the area for any signs of the alien entity that was heading straight for their island. Megatron stood on the bridge of his ship watching the weather turn violent and the seas becoming a violent monstrous force of nature that swallowed everything that fell into it. Even Megatron could see that this wasn't natural, this abnormal weather was being caused by something.
"Lord Megatron, it's been an hour since we've taken flight and so far we've detected nothing approaching our position." Flamewar said. "I feel that this was a waste of time on our part. Why should we wait here twiddling our blasters when we could be out looking for energon?"
"Because I said so, Flamewar, that's why. Nightshade has informed me of an attack directed at us and I'm not being taken by surprise this time." Megatron said.
"And on what basis does she make this declaration of a supposed threat? For all we know, her mind could've been altered by these dolems while inside that dome. You know how strong their powers are." Flamewar continued.
"It's not a matter of how accurate her information is, it's how much I trust her not to lead me astray, and I certainly trust her more than I trust you." Megatron looked at her over his shoulder. "Don't play games with me, Flamewar!"
"Come on, two wheeler," Starscream grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. "Let's go before you get me slagged."
Flamewar wrenched her arm free and continued to poke the lion. "I'm just being cautious, my lord. We're preparing to fight an enemy we're not even sure is heading our way. I'm not even sure Nightshade's info is credible given that she's had her mind played with by those creatures in the past."
"And so have Starscream and myself. Are you saying that we're compromised as well?" Megatron asked, looming over her small form, and looking like he was about to rip her in half.
Flamewar's courage faltered as Megatron's burning gaze settled on her. "No, my lord. I was just-"
"I know what you're trying to do, Flamewar. Plant seeds of doubt in my mind to slander Nightshade and ring her down while you weasel your way into my good graces. Starscream tried that before, huntress, and failed miserably numerous times in the past."
"Sure, add insult to injury." Starscream grumbled.
"Let me make this perfectly clear to you. If you try to uproot the order I have instilled on this unit, if you try to start a civil war among my ranks, I will make you eat your own Spark core while I make you run your T-cog until it burns out." And he wasn't making an idle threat. Knockout could make cadavers dance with enough motivation.
"So you keep reminding me." Flamewar replied, staring up at him.
"And I will keep reminding you until it gets through that thick cobalt skull of yours." Megatron turned back to the monitor and waved her off. "Starscream, take your trash and leave me."
"Right away, Megatron!" Starscream grabbed Flamewar's arms and pulled her out of the room. "Come along, little huntress, you've done enough damage for one day."
"Let go of me you plebian!" She shouted as the doors closed.
Megatron frowned as Starscream and Flamewar left the bridge. This little pissing contest between Nightshade and Flamewar was getting out of hand. . He didn't interfere because he thought that it was amusing to see his normally stoic second in command get into low level cyber-cat fights with the fugitive huntress, but now that Flamewar was making power plays for her position, he had to be careful. Unlike Starscream, she knew how to be subtle and when to strike when her prey was at its weakest. There was no telling what she'd do to gain more influence…or get free.
"Leader-1," He turned to his Minicon manning the communication array with Soundwave. "Is everyone back on the ship?"
"Everyone save Blackout. I'll bring him up." Leader-1 switched the comm on. "Cannon, this is Leader-1. Tell your buddy to put it in gear. Megatron's getting impatient."
Out in the furious storm, Blackout flew over the violent ocean waves that reached hundreds of feet into the air. Blackout thought he could make it back to the Nemesis on his own, hence why he neglected a ground bridge, but he didn't think the storm would come down on him this hard and fast. Cannon, fully healed but slightly traumatized after his torture at Annie's hands, never let him live it down as they tried to navigate the storm.
"Cram it, crankcase, we're moving as fast as we can." Cannon said over the loud winds and deafening thunder. "We've got energon weighing us down and if we move any faster, we'll drop it. You want to be responsible for that?"
"Just get back to the island. Megatron wants all hands on deck in case we're attacked by something."
Cannon snorted. "Like what? There's nothing out here but fish and stupid seaweed!"
As if the universe wanted to prove him wrong, a massive creature burst from the water, leaping nearly 20 feet into the air at them. Cannon didn't see what it looked like, but he definitely saw the massive jaws closing in on them. Blackout cursed and swerved out of the way, just barely avoiding the large teeth that almost crunched him in half. The jaws snapped shut with enough force to cause sparks to fly as the beast dove back into the ocean with a massive slash. Even through the heavy rain he could see its large form just beneath the surface, circling around to swim towards Decepticon Island.
"Cannon," Blackout said after getting over his shock. "Tell Megatron we found his mystery monster."
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The minute they entered the Ark through the ground bridge, the children were swarmed by their very concerned guardian Minicons, who took them all, even Debbie, into a group hug.
"We're so glad you're okay!" Sureshock said. "I'm sorry we weren't there for you. We were told it was too dangerous for us to stay outside any longer and assured us that you'd all be safe."
"Who said that?" Darren said.
"Prowl," High Wire said. "He was very insistent that we'd be bridged back here. We only went because he said that you'd be safe for the moment."
"So Prowl short-changed you guys. My oh my, what a surprise that is." Annie rolled her eyes.
"Ms. Gina and the others almost expired, but we managed to reach them in time." Sara said and walked over to Gina, pushing Sureshock aside and hugging the blonde woodenly. "I have learned how to hug from Minicon Tracer. Is this adequate for you, Ms. Gina?"
"Y-Yes, Sara, you're doing fine." Gina laughed awkwardly.
Sparkplug walked over to Debbie. "Are you doing alright?"
"We're all in one piece. I am short one car thought.' Debbie said. At least they made it out with their lives, though she hoped that the Bots could fish her car out of the river. Maybe Wheeljack can fix it, that'd be a great way to save money. "And the weather outside is absolutely terrible. We were almost drive off the bridge by two direct lightning bolts!"
"Three bolts, I took one to my foot." Bumblebee said, showing the scorched armor where the bolt almost hit his leg.
"I'm afraid it's only going to get worse from here on out." Sparkplug said and looked up at the two Autobots. "Optimus is waiting for you in the command center."
Arcee nodded and smiled down at the twins before leaving the room with Bumblebee.
"What's going on?" Gina asked, seeing the tense expression on Sparkplug's face.
"I'll tell you after we get you four dried up." He said and led them out of the room. "But let's just say that it's about to get really noisy soon."
In the command center, Ratchet and Longarm were hard at work at the terminal locating the Cardinals. Optimus walked over to the pair to check on their progress.
"Give me a sit-rep."
"I think we've found the Cardinals." Ratchet said and pointed at the large white swirling vortexes on the screen. "See these weather patterns near the poles? They've been gaining strength for the past hour while moving at a fairly even pace. It looks normal, but not only did they appear out of nowhere and move at the same time, they're also moving against natural wind currents."
"What the hell does that have to do with the Cardinals?" Ironhide asked impatiently.
"Storm fronts don't move like that, Ironhide. They go where the wind takes them." Longarm said. "These aren't regular weather patterns, they're the Cardinals we're looking for."
Ratchet pointed to the one moving through Alaska. "That's the one we should look out for. The Cardinal that's heading our way."
"You're telling me all this crazy weather is caused by the Cardinals?" Skyfire looked at the screen in shock.
"The entire western hemisphere from pole to pole with Osea and Azteca in between are suffering from these abnormal weather conditions, with powerful storms hitting both continents with unnatural ferocity." Ratchet said seriously. "I'd say they're causing the storms themselves."
"They're that powerful?" Bumblebee whispered in awe. "How are we going to fight something like that?"
"I hope we're not going to wait for that thing to come to us." Bulkhead said.
"We're not waiting." Optimus said in a firm tone. "Once we can pinpoint its location, I will go to the Cardinal myself and try to negotiate with it."
"You want to talk to it?" Jazz looked at Prime with a disbelieving expression. "Boss bot, that's straight up suicide."
"That thing will kill you on sight!" Ironhide said. "It's too dangerous."
"Autobots, that Cardinal is the heart of this storm that's assailing Osea. It will cause massive damage to the land as it passes through each state, and that includes any human settlements in its way. Lives are at stake here, and the least I can do is stop it in its tracks before it can cause anymore damage."
"And what about the Decepticons?" Prowl asked. "Will we be coming to their aid too?"
Optimus glared at Prowl, who stared unflinchingly back at him. He knew Prowl would be against any alliance with the people they were warring against, even in the face of fighting a powerful enemy. Four million years of warfare had worn down hard on everyone, especially Prowl, who had to make a lot of terrible decisions in battle just to gain some ground against the Cons. That being said, Optimus wasn't going to let Prowl's prejudice alter his battlefield decisions.
"The Decepticons are on their own." Prime said. "We won't be going to their aid any time soon if that's what you're concerned about, Prowl, even thought our combined forces would prove sufficient enough to handle the Cardinal's might."
It was a backhanded comment meant to tell Prowl that if it meant increasing their chances of victory, then he'd gladly team up with the Decepticons.
Seeking to lower the tension in the room, Arcee cleared her throat. "Optimus, we all know you want to avoid a battle at all costs, but what if the situation gets worse while you're out there?"
"Don't worry, Arcee. You will all be on standby in case the Cardinal attacks me. Even I'm not foolish enough to fight a Cardinal on my own." Optimus said this to everyone, but his gaze was on Prowl as he said this. Seeing that he made his point, he walked past his tactician to head to the ground bridge.
Skyfire nudged Jazz. "Is it just me, or are those two acting a bit frosty towards each other?"
"Those two always had some beef when it came to how to do things in the field. Let's just hope they keep it together long enough to make it through this." Jazz muttered.
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"Are you sure, Blackout?" Megatron asked against after hearing Blackout's account on what happened.
"Yes, my liege. I only caught a glimpse of the beast that attacked us, but I recognized that it was no organic creature." Blackout confirmed. "It's the Cardinal."
"So they really are coming to challenge us." Megatron frowned. Nightshade crossed her arms and glared at him.
"As I have already told you." She said.
"Forgive me if I don't take everything at face value like some people, Nightshade." Megatron said, meeting her glare with his own. "I like to have some credibility to claims like these without rushing head first into danger."
"Your orders Megatron?" Soundwave asked.
"Bring the ship over to Blackout's location." Megatron said. "I'm going to talk to it."
The others looked at him as if he had lost his senses. "Talk to it? A creature of the same race as that two headed monstrosity that almost destroyed us on the floating island?" Starscream shook his head in disbelief. "What do you need to talk to it for? To see what kind of metal it likes to eat?"
Megatron pushed past Starscream to leave the bridge. "I want to see the beast whose heart I'm going to tear out with my bare hands."
The Nemesis flew through the storm a few miles away from Decepticon Island to head over to Blackout's location, who was tailing the Cardinal. As they neared his position, the hatch on top of the ship opened up and Megatron walked out into the terrible weather, rain and winds pelting against his large form as he walked over to the edge of his ship to look down at the violent waters down below.
"Come out, beast! I know you're out there!" Megatron bellowed to the chaotic sea below. "I know you hear me! Face me like a true warrior!" When he got no response, he started to get frustrated. "I said come out! I want to see the face of the false god who dares to challenge me!"
"You speak as if you are a legendary warrior, when in reality, you are a king of a dying race." A thunderous voice said from the sea. "You call yourself invincible, but death looms over you like a shadow. Let me show you your place."
The water in front of them started to swirl and form a whirlpool, and from the churning waters emerged a beast not native to these waters. The Cardinal was a large four-legged beast with a slender torso clad in golden armor lining its ribs, and four long legs that had humanoid faces on the joints, with each leg ending in a massive four clawed foot. Its head was larger in proportion to its torso, and was little more than a giant golden head split open to reveal a wide mouth with jagged teeth that looked like huge shards of broken glass. On its back were golden wings that served no purpose for aerial flight at all, and a halo floated above its head.
Megatron grinned at the mighty beast. "There you are."
"I am Sapientia, Cardinal of the South and devoted servant of our Grace, Jubileus." It said, it's voice sounded like a rumbling thunder just before the thunderclap. "By Her will, I shall smite you!"
"You're welcome to try!" Megatron fired his fusion cannon directly at Sapientia's face. The blast hit the right side of its head, but it did little else than slightly move its head to the side. Aside from a sizeable chunk of stone blasted off its shoulder, the Cardinal was relatively unharmed.
"Meet the end here, in the depths of my kingdom!" Sapientia roared. "Face the full might of the sea!"
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Once Teletran-1 identified the eye of the storm in the forests of Canadia, Optimus took a ground bridge there and traversed the powerful storm to meet the Cardinal. The deeper he got into the forest, the stronger the winds became, until it became a chore just to walk without losing his footing. Walking through a forest during a thunderstorm was a terrible thing to do, but Optimus figured that few things he did in his line of work was good for his health.
The Cardinal had passed over two towns already, and the storm it trialed in its wake left behind two ravaged settlements that stood no chance of surviving. Like a force of nature, it continued on its path, unrelenting and unstoppable. But this creature was no force of nature, and it certainly wasn't a god. Optimus felt the Matrix pulse in his chest and knew he was getting close.
'Almost there.' Optimus thought. 'Just a little farther.'
Optimus exited the forest and saw a massive tornado sitting in the middle of a large field, a wide plain of grasslands that extending into the tundra that covered much of northern Canadia. The tornado reached hundreds of feet into the air, but it didn't touch the clouds above. This tornado was being generated by its own power, something not born of nature. Optimus could only go a little farther before being forced to stop, lest he be swept away by the gale force winds.
"Cardinal!" Optimus yelled. "Here I am!"
The wind grew stronger and lightning struck the ground from within the tornado, hitting a tree and splitting it in half. As nature began unraveling around him, Optimus heard a loud, deep voice speak from within the tornado.
"Here you are, standing before me in all your splendor. Even in the cold dark winds of the tempest you shine brightly, Optimus Prime."
At an unspoken command, the tornado dissipated and Optimus was allowed to see the Cardinal. It was just as alien looking as Fortitudo, sporting a large body built like a castle, with smooth marble skin with intricate patterns carved into its hide. Its face, stoic and cold, sat in the middle of its torso with a large golden halo floating above its main body. Its arms were like massive trees, also decorated and ending in large tube-like fingers that wiggled around in their socket. The arms were connected to the body by white tendrils of energy with two rings orbiting a diamond-like crystal holding everything together. It had no legs, floating hundreds of feet off the ground and sporting three ruby spheres along the lower portion of its body that was also decorated with green adornments encrusted with gold and silver.
"I am Temperantia, Cardinal of the North and proud servant of Lady Jubileus." It announced, with the same, deep reverberating voice that made the very air shake with power. "You are either very brave, or very foolish to face me alone."
"I did not come here to fight, great Cardinal, but to talk." Optimus said politely. "Will you listen?"
Temperantia considered the request, its smooth face showing no emotion. "Speak, alien."
"I appeal to you to stop your rampage, Cardinal. This storm you've caused with your power threatens innocent people; humans who you have professed to worship you and your goddess. I do not care what happens to me, for I do not ask this for myself or my Autobots, but for the humans who call this land home."
"So you come here as some kind of martyr for humanity? How laughable it is that you think appealing to me will spare your people the punishment you rightfully deserve." Temperantia scowled. "There was a time when humans worshipped us as gods, but over time they began turning to false idols for selfish reasons. They have forgotten the gifts we've bestowed upon them, the brilliance of our light and the might of our judgment. They shall suffer for their sins, as will you!"
Temperantia's halo grew brighter as its rage grew, and its power caused the land to shake and tremble.
"Your kind has no place on our world, alien! Die, and return to nothing!"