(2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden Plays)

Me: Yo, yo, yo, yo, what up everybody? It's WOLFWATCHER12 here with the Amazing Ghost Musician and also with us is another friend, PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47. Glad to have you here, dude.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: What's up fellow FanFiction Readers and Author's alike? I hope that you're all ready for this next chapter, it'll be one that could decide the fate of the Crystal Gems, the Maximals and everyone in Beach City. We hope that you're ready for this Phantom.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: You bet!

Me: Good, now this picks up where chapter 16 left off. Airazor has been damaged and she and Tigatron are trapped on a mysterious flying island.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Now because of what could happen, Optimus, Rattrap, Steven, Garnet and Lapis must all head to the flying island to help out Tigatron and Airazor, and they must stop the Predacons from taking control of the island. Once they do have control of the island, the Predacons will be able to enslave the people of Beach City, capture all the Crystal Gems and destroy the Maximal Base. This is a matter of life and death!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh crumbs!

Me: Yeah, and this chapter is inspired by The Trigger - Part 2, which is one of my favorites.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: It's also one of my favorite episodes as well, but that's besides the point. Phantom, we'll get you all caught up.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Gotcha. I've read a lot of this story, and it's awesome!

Me: Glad to hear. Did you read it over and over again?

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yep. My favorite parts were when Steven and co. meet the Maximals, and where Lapis intimidates two other Lapis Lazuli gems. I also have a figure of Tigertron, too.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Alright dude, that was from chapter 11, but for now let's focus on our current chapter.

Me: He's right, this race against time is something the Maximals and Crystal Gems cannot afford to lose. So if you guys are ready, let's do it to it!

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Like I've said, if the Predacons do take control of the Flying Island and its weapon, all of the Maximals and Crystal Gems, everyone in Beach City and possibly the whole world will be doomed.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: *gulp!* Yipes!

Me: I know, it's frightening. But that's why Optimus, Steven and the others will do what they can to stop them. Right fellas?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Damn straight! They're goal is to keep the planet and all of the Galaxy from falling into the hands of Megatron and the Predacons, so let's hope that the Maximals and the Crystal Gems can stop them.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yep, the Crystal Gems are there to help those in need, wherever they go, making Earth, the Gem Homeworld, and other worlds a safe place.

Me: Precisely, so like I said before, Let's do it to it! I have always wanted to say that.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Anyway, it's time for us to start chapter 17. We hope that you all enjoy it.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Let's do this thing, gentlemen!

All: AND AWAY WE GO!


Disclaimer: We do not own Steven Universe or Beast Wars/Transformers in any way. All rights for Steven Universe go to Rebecca Sugar, Ian Jones-Quartey, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Inc. All rights for Beast Wars: Transformers go to Hasbro, Larry Ditilio, Bob Forward, YTV, Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Media and Claster.


Chapter 17: Trigger Of The Black Diamond - Part 2!

We find ourselves in a room that looked like that of a private ski resort and here we see a young man dressed in indigo pajamas, he had messy dark brown hair, mostly due to him having serious bedhead and indigo eyes. He was feeding his dog, which was a golden retriever who looked like Air Bud.

He turns to the screen and says, "Oh, hey there readers. I take it you're wondering who I am. Well, wonder no more." he told the ones watching. "My name is Carter, and this is Mick, my dog." he stroked the dog's fur. "And if you're wondering what I do, it's quite simple really. I'm a chronicler. Recently, my attention has been drawn to the adventures of Steven Universe and his new allies, the Maximals."

He then went to TV and said, "When we last saw the Maximals, one of their allies, Tigatron, was getting ready to do his report, but got bombarded by Terrorsaur, Waspinator, Flamenix and Bluebird Azurite." he explained as he showed the readers. "During the bombardment, an avalanche occurred, causing Tigatron to fall into a cloud, but inside was a flying island. The Maximals and Crystal Gems searched and searched, nothing to be found. And when Megatron heard about the flying island, he sent Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Jasper and DarkFanger to that island, little realizing that the new Maximal, Airazor, had been following them."

Carter fast-forwarded the tape all the way to a different scene, "Tigatron was revealed to still be alive and he managed to record a message into one of Scorponok's spying Cyber Bees and sent it to the Axalon while it was carrying one of Airazor's feathers, Cheetor and Pearl both found it and they heard that the island itself is an ecosystem guarded by weaponry of alien origin, if the Predacons gain control of this island, they'll be able to destroy the Axalon, enslave the population of Beach City, turn the Earth into a fortress and win the Beast Wars!" he added it all in. "And now, onto the next chapter of Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts, Trigger Of The Black Diamond - Part 2!" he said, making the number two symbol with his fingers.


The cloud that concealed the flying island moved slowly across the frozen landscape, while inside the cloud, the flying island showed its lush grounds and wondrous view and we see Tigatron on the plateau, overlooking the area in a "Welcome to Jurassic Park" kind of way.

"It is as though I have come home." Tigatron said, talking to himself. "Though my heart is a Maximal fluid-pump, my soul is that of a tiger. And on this strange flying island, despite its weaponry, I finally feel at peace… It must not fall into the clutches of the Predacons."


Meanwhile, on the ground, following a narrow path between the rocks as they made their way cautiously amongst said rocks and shrubbery, Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Jasper and DarkFanger walk along with Blackarachnia in the lead. She looked at the monument and said, "That Obelisk seems to be the center of power for this whole place."

Jasper said, "It's also got to be guarded by computers." She was weary about it.

"Whatever the case, we best keep our wits about us." Scorponok added.

"Agreed. Don't want to get attacked out of nowhere." DarkFanger said, without even hissing.

Blackarachnia nodded in agreement. "Keep your scanners on high-res, and… Wait-"

"What is it?" asked Jasper.

She reacted to a strange symbol ahead, and it resembled the distant obelisk while being carved in a rock. "There's something here… It looks like some sort of marking…" she said.

Suddenly the ground underneath Blackarachnia collapses and falls away, revealing one of the clear-through-the-bottom pitfalls, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed.

"OH SLAG!" DarkFanger yelped, shocked by this.

"What the hell just happened?" Scorponok gasped. He then looked at the pit, and turned white as a sheet "Oh, fireballs." he gulped.

Just then, Jasper grabbed Blackarachnia before she could fall. "I got ya." she said and helped her up.

"There are times it pays to be a spider." Blackarachnia said, appreciating the help Jasper provided, as she looked at the symbol carefully. "That symbol! It seems to mark a trap location, this could be useful knowledge."

"Got that right." said Jasper. "Better keep an eye out for more of these." she added to that.

But, on the brigadoon, Tigatron sees the movement from the four Predacons, he turns around to the injured Airazor, and walks up to her. "We should move. How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better." she replied. She struggled to move and said, "Still thrashed…Ugh…Can't fly." Airazor was still injured from the blast Scorponok did to her.

"In that case, the lady shall ride a tiger." Tigatron said, allowing Airazor to ride on his back and he ran off of the brigadoon.


Back at the Maximal Base, we see Optimus planning things out to his team and relaying what he had in mind.

"Alright team, Tigatron is still alive, but unfortunately Airazor is badly damaged and they both seem to be trapped on a flying island which had been concealed from all major viewpoints." Optimus started off. "So, we'll need some additional backup to bring them back to base and assess the situation."

"That's right, which is why I got a hold of Lapis and she has agreed to help us out." Garnet relayed the part on her end. "She has volunteered for this, and so have I."

"Great work getting in touch with Lapis." Steven said, commending her. "And it's a good thing that we sent that urgent message to City Hall, otherwise, we'd have no way to evacuate the city."

Rhinox nodded. "I hope the prototype of the shelter we came up with is ready." he said, hoping it works.

"Fortunately, Rattrap and I have run it over and over time and time again." Pearl said, as she went over the footage of the tests she conducted with the proto-shelter, "It took us about 95 and a half tries to get it right."

That made Steven blink, as well as Amethyst and the others as well. "Wow, that's a lot of tries." said Steven. "Anyhow, I think we're all set."

"Alright team, let's move." said Optimus, as he and the others bolted out of the Axalon and rocketed into the sky, with Rattrap riding on Optimus' back.

Rattrap had a few complaints about that. "Man, I still don't see why I gotta be the one to get carried like a sack of rusty nuts."

"Cuz you're the only one that I can fly the whole distance." Optimus said.

"Let's not forget that Tigatron said that the flying island was plagued with booby traps," Steven mentioned, "And no one knows more about traps like Rattrap."

Garnet nodded, "That's correct. Your knowledge of traps will be required by any means necessary."

"Awwwww, the curse of a great reputation." Rattrap sighed, before he joked a little, "Say, we got beverage cart service on this flight?" he asked in a joking manner.

"Just make sure that your seatbelt is securely fastened." Optimus said with a small chuckle, finding the joke a little bit funny.

At the Maximal Base, Rhinox and Pearl were at the console, going over the calculations as he was aiming something into the air. "Launching laser probe, now." Rhinox said. Just then, a laser communication probe launched upward from the base to hover in the sky towards Optimus, and it connected right on the mark.

"This is Maximal Base calling Optimus," Rhinox spoke into the comm-link. "Come in, Optimus."

"This is Optimus Primal, sounds like the laser link is working fine." Optimus replied, commended him.

Rhinox smiled, as he did a high five with Amethyst. "It's line of sight transmission, but at least it's free of Energon interference."

Pearl nodded. "Exactly, and the infra-red beam should go through the cover cloud without any trouble at all." she added.

"Got that right!" Amethyst grinned, high fiving Pearl.

Cheetor comes running into the main hold in a panic. "Hey guys, speaking of trouble–" he panted when he said this. "Bluebird, Flamenix, Terrorsaur and Waspinator have all taken off from Pred Central, they must be back online."

Amethyst gasped "Already?"

Pearl got a look at the map. "Uh oh, they're towards the area where Optimus and the others are going!" she exclaimed.

"You hear that, Optimus?" Rhinox asked, concerned for his old friend.

"More than just hearing it, Rhinox—" Optimus replied to him, as he saw them heading his way. "We're livin' it LIVE!"

"Incoming!" Steven panicked when he saw them dive bombing their way.

"TERRORIZE!" Terrorsaur shouted, transforming into robot mode, as did Waspinator and Flamenix.

They fired their weapons at them, prompting Optimus to veer a hard right as the missiles exploded.

"Steven, use that new arm cannon you showed me a while back!" Garnet called out, activating her gauntlets.

"Right Garnet!" He activated an arm cannon he thought up to best prepare himself for a situation like this.

Flamenix and Waspinator came at the two of them, they tried to hit them, but to no avail.

"Optimus, Garnet and I are gonna need some assistance." Steven requested.

Bluebird and Terrorsaur tried to shoot at Optimus, while Rattrap panicked at this. "That's a negative Steven," he replied. "I can't maneuver with a passenger!" Optimus exclaimed.

Hearing that, Rattrap complained again. "Well excuse me, I'm the one hangin' on by my little pinky toes." Rattrap groused "I can't even transform like this!" adding on top of that.

Steven then decided to open fire on Bluebird, to which it impacted.

However, Terrorsaur fires his shoulder missiles, hitting both Steven and Garnet, causing them to collide into Optimus. The impact causes them to fall, and Rattrap falls with them. While Optimus is sent spinning uncontrollably.


Meanwhile, on the flying island, we see Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Jasper and DarkFanger walking around the trail.

"The obelisk is perfectly preserved if it must have been here for centuries." Scorponok stated.

Jasper nodded in agreement with that. "I wonder who constructed it though." she thought.

As they continued walking, they were stopped. "Hold it, you three." Blackarachnia said. "We want to be very careful and avoid this area."

"Why?" asked DarkFanger, asking the reason.

"You see that mark right there?" Blackarachnia said, pointing out the symbol on the tree. "If we cross this area, another trap will be sprung." she added.

The three of them were left stunned, "How did you know about that?" asked Jasper.

"Call it…Intuition." the She-Spider, as she decided to take a different route.

Little did they know, Airazor was watching them via her binocular eyes and she was intrigued. "Hmmmm. Blackarachnia seems to be freaked out by that mark on that tree."

"A mark? Like that one?" Tigatron asked, as he pointed to the rock wall. "What does it mean?"

Suddenly, the ground just shook, and they both looked on in fright.

"I think we just found out!" Airazor said, as she was stunned.


In the sky, Rattrap, Garnet and Steven were falling as Optimus spiraled out of control, while he fought back against Waspinator and Bluebird.

Flamenix tried to aim at Optimus, but he dodged his blasts every time, "Urgh! Curses!" he cursed himself.

It was at that moment Garnet thought of something. "Steven, we have to fuse!" said Garnet.

"Right!" Steven grabbed Garnet's hand and merged into Sunstone, making Waspinator gasp in shock at this. Sunstone attempts to grab Rattrap, only for Terrorsaur to blast at her.

Optimus exchanges fire with Waspinator and Bluebird, and then he has a shootout with Flamenix, who returns fire at him. "Sunstone, hurry! Help Rattrap!" ordered Optimus.

Sunstone replied, "I got you!" as she darted down toward Rattrap, only for Terrorsaur to shoot at her again. "Ugh, blast it all!"

"Aaagh! Slag heap city… I'm gonna die!" Rattrap wailed, in a panic. "I'm small, pitiful and helpless!"

Terrorsaur dives towards Rattrap, and cocked his gun at him. "Hahahaha, a scared little mouse. This is just too good to be true." he taunted.

Just then, a water ball was shot at Terrorsaur and when he turned his head, he saw that it was Sunstone and Lapis, who had arrived as fast as she could, "Get away from that mouse, Beakface!" Lapis demanded.

Terrorsaur gasped, "What the?" he was horrified. "Lapis, where'd you come from!?"

"I was at Little Homeschool when I got a call to help my friends." Lapis said, stating that. "And imagine my surprise when I find you, hurting them as always!"

Sunstone blasts him for hitting her prior to Lapis showing up.

"Hey, Terrorsaur, over here!" said Rattrap, as he transformed into Robot mode as he spun in the air and fired his rifle at the Predacon. *KABLOTTO!* off went the gun.

"Yite… Beast mode!" Terrorsaur panicked and switched back into his beast form, prompting Rattrap to land on the latter's neck and use him as a vehicle to ride on.

Terrorsaur felt the pain as he yelped "ACK! Get off! You're choking me!" he yowled.

Lapis couldn't help but laugh at this. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" as she was amused by this. "Not so tough now when you're caught between a Maximal and two Crystal Gems, while one is a fusion!" she taunted back.

"Eeek… You're gonna pay for this!" Terrorsaur threatened, only for Rattrap to keep his gun pointed at his head.

"Heh heh, just had to get close enough to hitch a ride." Rattrap shot back.

"It serves him right for blasting at me!" Sunstone sniped. "Now you better not drop him, or I'll toast your dummett headed hide!" she blared, making him wince in terror.

Optimus fired back at Waspinator and managed to make him collide with Bluebird and Flamenix. "Finally… Now for Rattrap and Sunstone!" he said to himself, as he turned around to see that Rattrap and Sunstone were alright, thanks to Lapis.

"Thanks for the assist, Optimus, but we've already got it covered." Sunstone replied, reassuring him.

"We have to thank Lapis for the help." Rattrap said. "Now what are we hanging around here for?"

Optimus chuckled, "You're a real piece of work, Rattrap."

"Ain't that the truth… Thanks for coming, Lapis. I owe ya!" Rattrap said.

Lapis smiled, "No prob, Rattrap." she gave the thumbs up as she flew with them to the hidden island to meet with Tigatron and Airazor.


Down on the island, Tigatron and Airazor are trapped in the crevice as the stone walls rumble towards them, Airazor gets off Tigatron's back and they are shocked.

"We've activated another one of this island's traps!" Tigatron stated. "Are you still damaged?"

"Yes, though my Beast Mode is still making repairs, I still cannot fly." she replied.

"Then we have only one but dangerous option. Tigatron, MAXIMIZE!" Tigatron went into robot mode and fired his quasar rifle at the boulders as he and Airazor saw that the tower glowed in anger.

"Now we must run!" Tigatron called out, as he returned to Beast Mode. They raced out between the closing walls just as the obelisk fired its beam in the spot they were originally standing in.

The four Predacons stared at the laser that shot out of the obelisk.

"Whoa! Did you sssssssee that?" DarkFanger hissed in shock.

"The Maximals, it fired on them!" Scorponok added.

"Then we must hurry, before it can recharge." Blackarachnia ordered.

"Got it!" Jasper agreed with her, as they bolted farther.


Just inside the cover-cloud, Optimus, Rattrap, Sunstone and Lapis made their way to the clearing and then they were astonished by it.

"There!" said Optimus, as Energon Buildup began to happen. "And about time too."

"I say it's time for this bird to make a landing." Rattrap said to Lapis and Sunstone.

"Agreed." said Sunstone, as she made sure Terrorsaur didn't pull any fast stuff. Rattrap jumped off Terrorsaur and landed on his feet while he switched back to Beast Mode. Optimus did the same, as they landed near Tigatron and Airazor. Sunstone defuses back to Garnet and Steven, and finally Lapis makes Terrorsaur collide with a tree branch.

"Talk about your bumpy flights, am I right?" Rattrap joked a little.

"Oh yeah." said Lapis, as she agreed with him.

Tigatron shook hands with Optimus, "It is good that you have come… The Predacons have almost reached the obelisk, we must stop them… But we must be careful to avoid the traps. Watch for that symbol!"

Garnet examines it. "Is it dangerous?"

"That marks the location of a trap." Tigatron pointed out.

Optimus then grabbed a large stone and threw it beneath an arch of stones that were piled up there and the symbol glowed and the arch fell apart and crushed the stone under the weight of it. "So I see," he said.

"In that case, we better avoid crossing those symbols." Garnet said.

"Right. And don't use energy weapons," Airazor warned. "This place gets ticked if you do. Boom!"

Garnet nodded, "Right, we must take precaution so we don't anger the obelisk."

But, Rattrap had a complaint. "Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute…" he said, getting what he said out loud. "Ya mean to tell me that whoever built this place went to all the trouble of makin' these traps, and then marked them down, and it won't let ya use energy weapons."

"What are you getting at, Rattrap?" Optimus wondered.

"I'm saying that this is not just any paradise…It's a puzzle!" Rattrap explained.

"A puzzle?" Lapis gasped. "Are you serious!?"

"Just think about it," Rattrap stated. "This whole place is designed to attract intelligent species and test them."

Steven and Garnet looked at each other. "Rattrap may have a point," Garnet stated. "Steven and I had experienced similar things through the years."

"Yeah." Steven denoted. "We have seen a number of things like that throughout our years of encountering our Crystals Gems and from other worlds."

Optimus was intrigued. "Intriguing."

"Ya, my point exactly!" Rattrap agreed with that. "And being a guinea pig is no long-term career gig. So I say we get the hell off this flyin' deathtrap!"

"No!" Tigatron shot a glare at him. "This is still a land of peace, I will protect it." He saw a faux butterfly land on his paw.

"Tigatron is right," Steven agreed with him. "Even if this flying island is pledged with traps, it's our job to maintain the peace within this land."

"This land won't be peaceful much longer. Look!" Optimus pointed to where the Predacons were at, and they were making a beeline to the obelisk making them all gasp.


Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Jasper and DarkFanger kept on racing, they began climbing up the hill the obelisk was on and they made their way to the entrance.

"At last, the power center must be inside." Blackarachnia said, feeling confident about this.

"Ssssssssoon, we ssssssshall have accessssssssssss to thisssssss weaponizsssssssed island." DarkFanger hissed, as he went on. "But, one thing, how do we get in there?"

"All we have to do now is blast our way in." Jasper said, and then relayed her idea. "But first, we need a distraction."

"We can't… If we use our energy weapons, it'll blast us." Scorponok panicked.

Jasper then said, "Then we'll need to create a diversion."

Blackarachnia notices Bluebird, Flamenix, Terrorsaur and Waspinator were all approaching and then, she went into robot mode, as did Scorponok and DarkFanger. "I've got this!" she taps the comm-link on her person and acts it out. "The flyers will try to take our triumph for themselves." she said. "I'll blow them out of the sky!"

The flyers all heard that and Terrorsaur was irritated, "Backstabbing bug! I'll vape you first!" he yelled, as he, Waspinator and Flamenix transformed. "TERRORIZE!" he yelled as he fired his weapons.

However, Bluebird saw the obelisk and was immediately frightened by this. "Wait, Terrorsaur don't—" Bluebird yelped. The Obelisk grows angrily as Terrorsaur did not listen to her and fired his blasters anyway, causing a hole to appear in the wall of the obelisk.

"Uh oh!" Flamenix gulped in fear.

The obelisk fired on the flyers and they all got hit by the laser, causing them to descend at an unsafe rate.

"Pterodactyl idiot!" Waspinator scowled in rage at him.

Good thing they weren't in the way of the blast. "Now before it can recharge!" Blackarachnia said. She then blasts open a hole inside the obelisk.

"Alright, let's go!" said Jasper, as they bolted into the tower.

Once Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Jasper and DarkFanger were inside, they saw the design of the energy core.

"WHOA!" DarkFanger said in awe at this.

The layout of the tower was definitely not Cybertronian or Crystal Gem technology.

"YES! Soon this flying island and all its power will be ours to control." Blackarachnia smirked evilly.


Meanwhile, Black Diamond was watching the whole thing. His wife, his son and their whole Shadow Empire crew saw it unfolding.

"They found a way inside while the laser was down!?" asked Black Diamond, as he was shocked to see that happening. "Impressive!"

Prince Obsidian saw how Blackarachnia looked on at the energy core and the way she stood. "Hmm, wow, Blackarachnia's got a nice figure." he wolf-whistled. "Even though she's a robot, I think she's smokin." he said, using modern era dialect, which was alright with his parents.

"Too true. Which is a good reason I would like her to use the power of this island and see how she fares." Black Diamond smirked with amusement

Tanzanite mused at her and furrowed her brow when looking at her. "I wonder if we could arrange a marriage between you and her, Obsidian." she said to her boy.

Hearing that made Obsidian smile a little bit. "Hmmm, you're right mother." he got a look at her face and imagined it looking a little different. "And with some adjustments, she'd be a welcome addition to the hierarchy as well as our militia," he added.

"You are correct, son." Black Diamond accepted that. "But for now, let's watch and see what she does with the island, as well as see if she turns on her comrades."

"Either way, this will be quite the ride." said Tanzanite, as she watched.


Back down on the flying island, Steven, Garnet, Lapis, Optimus, Rattrap and Tigatron are all running towards the hill.

"No! They've breached the monument!" yelled Steven.

Tigatron gasped in fright. "We can't allow them to win!"

Airazor moved her wings a little and said, "I think my wings have recovered!" as she smiled happily to know that.

Airazor and Lapis both took to the sky and headed in that direction.

"Aw man, I hate these glory charges–" Rattrap snarked, as he ran while avoiding any form of traps that might be in the way. He then caught up with Optimus who was running on all fours. "I guess that now's not the right time for a negotiated settlement, gorilla guy?"

"No! Battle ready, team! MAXIMIZE!" Optimus declared, as he, Tigatron, Airazor and Rattrap all converged into Robot mode and saw the bad guys near the hole.

"Garnet, let's get ready to fight." Steven suggested. "We need to fuse into Sunstone again."

"Right, let's do it!" Garnet agreed, as she and Steven fused into Sunstone once more.


Inside the Obelisk, Blackarachnia looked up and down at the energy core.

"YES! This island's weapons will give us Predacons more than enough power to conquer the universe, and co-lead as Lord Megatron's elite warriors." Blackarachnia said, as she went on. "We shall enslave the entire human race, capture all the Crystal Gems, then we'll destroy the Maximals and turn this miserable planet into our new Predacon fortress!" she added.

Scorponok nodded, "Now all we've gotta do is find the central control room!" he said.

"We'll have to split up." Jasper said, denoting that.

"Right, of coursssssssse." DarkFanger hissed, and slithered around a little bit as they all spread out.

"Just whatever you three do, don't let off any traps." Blackarachnia warned them. "One mistake could destroy us all!"

"Duly noted." Scorponok agreed, as he went to find an entrance.

As the four Predacons searched around the tower to see if the power center was anywhere in the structure and so far they had not yet.

"There's no telling what sort of trappings could be hiding here." Jasper said, as she and Scorponok wandered around the hallway.

What Jasper and Scorponok didn't notice was the symbol on the wall started glowing and then a hole opened up and it made Scorponok scream in shock. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"WHAT THE— Scorponok?" Jasper gasped, shocked by the sudden scream. She saw the hole he fell down, Jasper was stunned. "Holy crap! That's a deep hole right there!" she added.

Then she turned to her left and there was another mark on the wall. "Oh—" Jasper gulped, eyes wide. Suddenly a big hole opened up in the floor where she was at and she fell down it too while there was no telling where it led. "OHHHHHHH DAAAAAAAMN!" she yelped as she fell down the hole.

DarkFanger slithered around and couldn't find a thing, and then he noticed something was off. "Very sssssstrange.

Another mark began to glow and the Gem Predacon did not like the sound of that one bit. Suddenly, he turned around slowly and then, a whole bunch of knockout darts launched at him and he did his best to dodge them, even snickered only for a set of 10 darts to hit him, sending him into Stasis Lock.


Blackarachnia heard some noises in the area and looked around for her teammates. "Scorponok? Jasper? DarkFanger?" she called out, but there was no answer. As she suspected, they fell through some traps. "DAMN IT! The one time I needed those idiots, and they muck up by falling into the traps!" she slammed her claw against the wall.

"Looks like I'm on my own!" she hissed, but then grinned evilly. "Now… for power!"

Blackarachnia made her way up the stairs, and blasts opened the door. She looked around to see where the center was. "This must be the control room, but how do I acti— AAAAAAGH!" she screamed as she reached the center of the room, she stood in the circle and out came some stone rings from the floor around her. The symbols began moving in a pattern that was similar to the visual swipe from "Stargate" and she felt it crackle from the console into her. She slammed the flying weapon as she rose suspended in the center of the rings.

After a while, her body's color scheme began to change from gold, black and red to gold, red, black and dark silver. Her eyes had begun glowing red and such. "URRRAGH! YES! YES! I FEEL THE POWER! I HAVE CONTROL!" Blackaracnia exclaimed as her voice was deeper and more like a goddess of wrath, grinning like an utter madwoman. She gestures powerfully at the cover-cloud obscuring the view of the outside. "NOW… LET THERE BE— LIGHT!"

There was a crackle sound and the cover-cloud wisped away and vanished to show that it was nighttime outside as well as the horizon of the planet below in all its glory.

Flying towards the monument, Optimus gasped. "Uh, oh!"

"We're too late!" Sunstone panicked in horror.

The obelisk starts firing lightning at them, which they all dodged. Sunstone, Rattrap and Tigatron got out of the way of those blasts and took cover behind some rocks while Airazor and Lapis both opened fire on the monument.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ALL SPEED! TO BEACH CITY!" Blackarachnia ordered, in her godly voice.

The flying island took off at full speed, even while some of the Maximals and Crystal Gems were blasting at the Obelisk while it began to move towards the city. Optimus then used his communicator. "Rhinox! Code one emergency! Evacuate Maximal Base! Clear all units into the shelter!" he ordered. "SCRAMBLE! SCRAMBLE!"

Inside the Maximal Base, Rhinox, Pearl, Amethyst, Cheetor and Dinobot were already gathering equipment and Cheetor went to an intercom to get a message to the citizens and they all heard him out.

"Attention people of Beach City! This is Cheetor of the Maximals of planet Cybertron!" he started warning the people. "This is a Code One emergency! A flying island of alien origin is about to attack the city! All citizens drop what you're doing and evacuate to the Cybertron shelter at these coordinates! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

Bismuth and Peridot scramble to evacuate the citizens of Beach City and so did the other Crystal Gems that were allied with Steven.

Back inside the base, Pearl pulls up the lever and it shows the ETA of the flying island. "We only have less than 90 seconds, head to the shelter!" Pearl instructed as she made a beeline for the shelter.

Amethyst, Cheetor and Dinobot follow behind her towards the evacuation door where Rhinox opened it and went in with them to meet with the citizens.


Meanwhile on the flying island, Sunstone, Tigatron and Rattrap all continue to run towards the obelisk, while multiple animals race past them in panic. The three of them managed to cover behind a big rock, avoiding a lighting blast from the obelisk.

"This is very bad, we don't have time to waste, we have to take out the obelisk!" Sunstone said, feeling the need to stop it.

Tigatron went into Robot Mode and fired on the tower. "This is something that should not have happened," he said.

"Hey, you're getting no argument from me— LOOK OUT!" Rattrap yelped as he raced towards Tigatron to get out of the way. "AGHHH!"

A huge boulder was rolling right at him and that made Tigatron yell, "RATTRAP!" he called out.

"Hang on dude, I got ya!" Sunstone raced over to where the boulder was at.

"NO! You guys gotta get in there and take this thing out, or we're all scrapped." Rattrap urged.

"But we can't leave you behind, it goes against everything I stand for!" Tigatron said to him.

"Hey, you guys let the rat handle it! You just run!" Rattrap demanded.

"He's right, we don't have much time!" Sunstone said, running towards the obelisk with Tigatron.

"Alright! Listen here, you oversized thumbtack! Try a taste of this!" Rattrap called out, blasting his stasis rifle at the obelisk. Which glowed angrily again and fired a beam of light at Rattrap. "Ohhh, slag!" Rattrap gulped.

Fortunately for Rattrap, the blast was strong enough to free him from the boulder. "WHAOOO, YEAH!" He cheered.

In the sky, Optimus joined with Airazor and Lapis and saw Tigatron charging up the hill with Sunstone.

"Yes, do it Tigatron!" Optimus cheered, as he saw him and Sunstone bolt towards the obelisk, they charged up the hill and avoided any obstacles in their way.

Once Tigatron and Sunstone were both inside the monument, Sunstone defused back into Steven and Garnet and they looked around and saw that there were two holes in the floor, denoting someone had

They all looked at the obelisk and saw that it had numerous technology that was surrounding it. The design looked Crystal Gem in origin and yet, it also had the design of a different race.

"Garnet, how much power will we need to stop this obelisk?" said Steven, as he wanted to know.

Garnet scans the obelisk with her visor and begins looking for it. "Steven… We're gonna need to combine our blasts with Tigatron's rifle to cut the power flow." she relayed to them.

Blackarachnia looked down below at the overview of the city and once again spoke in her booming voice. "BEACH CITY IN RANGE…TEN! NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN!" she began the countdown to the annihilation.

Steven had a saddened look as he spoke to Tigatron. "Tigatron, are you gonna be alright with that?" he asked him.

As he waited to answer, Blackarachnia continued to countdown. "SIX! FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO!" she boomed, as she was getting ready to fire from the obelisk.

"May I be forgiven… For what I must do." said Tigatron, who looked to be on the verge of tears. "To answer your question Steven, I will be alright with that idea." as he wiped his tears away and aimed his rifle at the energy core.

Steven aimed his beam as did Garnet and they all fired in unison, *BRWONG-A-BOW-BOW* went the blasts as they hit the core.

It causes the power machinery to overload and erupt with power explosions, and Blackarachnia reacts to this as the stone circles begin to spark and explode. "WHATTTT!? NO! NOOOOO!" she roared in defeat.


Outside the monument, the Maximals see Tigatron, Steven and Garnet darting right out of the tower and away from the explosion.

"They did it!" Lapis exclaimed, with an elated smile on her face.

"YEAH!" Optimus cheered.

Optimus, Airazor and Lapis all flew down towards Steven, Garnet, Rattrap and Tigatron, "We managed to destroy the central core!" said Steven, as he reported it. "Let's get out of here!"

"You just said my favorite phrase!" Rattrap smirked.

Optimus carries Tigatron, Airazor strainily carries Rattrap, Lapis carries Steven and Garnet flies along with them as they manage to get away from the area.

The island trails past Beach City with smoke and explosions, it all falls apart with pieces of the island falling into the ocean, and some rumbled onto the land. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Blackarachnia, as her voice still sounded godlike.

The entire island crashes down into the same area where the Gemkaiju was defeated and it begins scattering some machine parts down the way and they even end up in some bushes near the area as well as practically filling a hole the monster made during the Maximals' battle with it.

Optimus then got in touch with the citizens of Beach City and the Students of Little Homeschool. "Attention citizens of Beach City and students of Little Homeschool, this is Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximals. The flying island is destroyed, you can come out of the shelter now. The coast is clear!" he announced.

The citizens and students all cheered in relief and excitement to know that Steven Universe and the Maximals saved the day once more. He then contacted B.C.R.A. headquarters. "General Matheson, this is Optimus Primal."

Just then, the voice of the general could be heard, "I read you, Optimus." he said. "I heard about the flying island. Anything we can do?"

"Some parts of the island were scattered." Optimus replied to the general. "Have your men gather some samples of it to analyze the remains and see what its origin is."

"Right away, Optimus," said General Matheson. "Over and out!" He turned the communicator off.

"Hey big bot, look at that!" Cheetor pointed out. They all followed Cheetor's outstretched paw and saw something.

The Obelisk's tip glows a bright blue color, it fires a blue beam, and it fires towards the sky and streaked upward towards a similar obelisk that was placed on the moon and it had the symbol of the Shadow Diamond empire on it and it ricocheted into what looked like a vortex in space.

"Whoa, dude!" Amethyst said in shock. "That was trippy!"

Pearl had a gobsmacked expression on her face. "What the heck do you think that was?"

"Some kind of signal?" Rhinox wondered.

"A message!" Tigatron stated. "We were given a paradise… All we had to do was live there in peace. But we proved unworthy of it."

"Yes, it's an old story!" Optimus said to everyone as he looked on. "Maybe we'll learn that lesson, someday!"

Steven was saddened by that, "I wish I could have seen this earlier. Then maybe turned it into a secondary home for the other Crystal Gems at Little Homeschool." he sighed.

"Don't worry Steven." Garnet places her hand on his shoulder in a reassuring way. "There will be another day to do that. As heroes of the universe, we'll restore peace and freedom to it." she said.

"You're right, Garnet!" Steven said, accepting the reassurance. "I really hope that happens."

Optimus nodded. "I hope so too, Steven."

Rattrap steps in with a remark. "Yeah, well pardon my pragmatism here in this deeply philosophical moment, but I'm a little more concerned with whoever got that message." he pointed out. "Cuz I can tell ya, after the damage that was done, they're not gonna be happy."

Optimus, Steven and Garnet looked at him and so did the others.

"He might be right," Steven said. "We might've angered a force more powerful than we could possibly imagine out there."

Garnet nodded in agreement with that. "Who or whatever they are, we shall be ready for them, should they try to do us harm!"

"What do you think they're gonna do?" Pearl asked Rhinox and the others.

"That, we're just gonna have to wait and see what happens next." Rhinox replied to her.


As the Maximals and Crystal Gems all looked down the horizon, they were unaware that Black Diamond was the one who sent the island to Earth as a gift from his 'friends' and when they saw the wreckage, he was a little disappointed and yet he laughed. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he cackled evilly so everyone could hear.

"So, the Maximals and Crystal Gems were successful in destroying the island!" said his wife.

"No matter, there are plenty of surprises out there my friends inserted." Black Diamond said, as he was more delighted and impressed.

Prince Obsidian looked on and saw that Blackarachnia was still alive, her eyes were back to normal, but she still had the changes that were done to her body and there was another change in her voice, "Ugh, what happened?" she asked herself. "Wait, I remember. Those Maximals and Crystal Gems destroyed the flying island!" she said, remembering everything and noticed the change in her voice. "Hey, what happened to my voice?" she asked herself. But she shrugged it off. "No matter. I better find the others!" she rushed to find where they were at.

"Hmmm, it seems her interaction with the obelisk has given her some new features." said Obsidian, as he saw how Blackarachnia's body looked now. "Hubba Hubba."

Black Diamond smirked darkly. "Ah, I see you've taken a liking to her, my son."

"Yes father, I plan to have Blackarachnia be my queen!" he said, making everyone stunned and amazed.

"Excellent," said Black Diamond, smirking.

Tanzanite also agreed to this. "We must make the preparations right away!" she said.

"At once, my dear!" said her husband, as he laughed evilly again. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

To Be Continued…


(2 Minutes to Midnight continues…)

Me: Well, that was a fun chapter, wouldn't you say gents?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Hell yeah! And with Phantom helping us out, it helped us out a lot.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: I'm glad I can help out.

Me: As am I. But, anyhow, this next chapter will be a hoot and a half, as a new ally joins the Maximals and Crystal Gems while the Predacons get used to Blackarachnia's new enhancements. Plus, a new Predacon is arriving as well.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: That's right, Wolf! The reason being is that there will be two stasis pods crash landing, with one of them landing in the woods of Beach City, and the second one landing near Predacon ground.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Nifty.

Me: Very nifty, and readers guess who the new Gem Maximal is?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: The first Gem Maximal is none other than longtime Autobot soldier… JETFIRE!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: YES! Jetfire's been reformatted into a Maximal who becomes a mythical creature.

Me: That's right everyone! Jetfire's beast mode is a Griffin.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Since we know that Griffins don't really exist, Jetfire will get half of his body form from a Crystal Gem that Steven has found. While the other half of his Gem Maximal body will be coming from a bald eagle, it'll look somewhat like Phantom's drawing of "Skybolt" expect it'll be better.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: And another half comes from a Masai Lion, similar to an adult Simba from Disney's animated Lion King movies.

Me: Exactly, however the new Predacon in the story is Inferno. And he is the one with some faulty programming. The reason I put Jetfire in it, is because it's a borrowed element from my own Transformers fic, Transformers: Animal Warriors, which has been on too long a hiatus.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: That's why the next chapter will be a must read chapter, because you will all need to see what will happen. Once Jetfire is reborn, he will show the Crystal Gems, the Maximals, the Predacons and everyone else in Beach City and Little Homeworld that the Autobot Legacy will live on forevermore.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Nice!

Me: You betcha! And not only that, but a new human ally will make themself known to the Maximals and Crystal Gems. Who is it, you'll know soon enough. But also, we won't be showing that chapter till January because we're preparing for the most favorite time of the year! CHRISTMAS! Right fellas?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: The Holidays are here for us all, Wolf! So that has been the last chapter we're posting for 2022, and we should be starting chapter 18 sometime after 2023 begins. So we hope that you all have a great holiday with your families and friends, and hopefully we'll meet with you, our fellow FanFiction readers, soon.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yeah!

Me: So, come 2023, stick around for Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts - Chapter 18: A Spider's Treacherous Game And The Return Of Jetfire!

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Until next time, we hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: See ya later, readers!

All Three: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Please read, review, follow, like, favorite and share. And remember, NO FLAMES!