Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Triple Changing. Enjoy the 2600-word chapter. I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does.
(At the end of Shadow zone)
Fuse returned through the gate, there should have been something on his mind. There was too much to have been dealt with as the Triple-Changer paused to think.
He would not have been done with for now. He had not been able to relax as he looked over to Optimus. He frowned as he thought of what the next move was.
"If there are more Triple-Changers? They will change the course of the war… There is only one Autobot besides me I have known that had been turned into a Triple-Changer." Fuse stated.
He paused, thinking of what to tell the Autobot Leader. He sighed and crossed his arms, knowing what he would tell them for now.
"Megatron has Blitzwing… Great, another giant loose cannon with less restraint." Arcee stated.
"Blitzwing is no lesser a danger than you might believe. He will be a challenge to overcome, one we may not be prepared for." Optimus stated to which Fuse hummed.
Fuse knew that Blitzwing was dangerous. He was a weapon like Fuse and one made to cause as much damage as possible now when it came down to such an issue now, there were a lot of things that needed to be done for now and for good.
Optimus stayed silent. He was too thrown for a loop by the appearance of a Triple-Changer clad in Decepticon Livery. It scared him very much at the time being.
The appearance of Blitzwing which complicated matters to the end, such a thing would only throw them further and further into nothing for now. Something about it all came down to it.
Arcee looked over to Fuse who had been too silent to have bid her goodbye. Such a thing only made her wish to have been done for now.
"So that entire thing was a distraction?" Arcee asked before she paused to think.
"Megatron wanted to show teeth. It was a show of force as well… He never operates without considering all the angles… And he knew I would show." Fuse stated.
"Agreed, Megatron deployed Blitzwing not only to secure an asset but assess his combat capabilities against us as well as determine how dangerous you are as an individual," Optimus stated.
"Frag… Ugh, I should not have shown up… I will frag him to scrap when I see him." Fuse said.
"Sure, go on a rampage against the Decepticons, that will work out well… We must work on stealth next time, going in guns blazing…" Arcee started to say.
"Is how I was built to roll. I fight, I am the big gun… It is what I was forged to be." Fuse said. "I'm not trying to rip the planet apart, I ain't a con," Fuse said before he turned away.
"Act like one," Arcee said as the two bots shared a glare over at one another.
"Don't compare me to one of those monsters," Fuse stated before it came down to it.
He knew himself; he knew how he would act… Even at the end of the day, there was too much for now. She did not want to think of it and he could not be too prouder for now.
He sighed to himself while looking off to the side, there was too much to have been dealt with for now… Even then? He did not want to crack his fingers, snapping his jaws against the roof of his mouth.
He had been green to Earth. He acted like a half-forged rookie who was looking for a fight. Perhaps it was for the best of how
Fuse had been silent for a moment as the Autobots mused about their next move. The Triple-Changer closed his optics which made him want to have been done.
"Optimus? I have discovered an Energon signal here… Breakdown was just seen in the area." Rachet stated as Bulkhead hummed.
"If there is a chance to remove a Decepticon from play, we must take it… Rachet? Open the ground bridge, and I and Bumblebee will investigate." Optimus ordered.
"And us?" Fuse asked, gesturing to Bulkhead, Arcee, and himself.
"I ask you wait, Fuse… Megatron is eager to destroy us. We will dismantle his operations as they are revealed, not before." Optimus stated.
Fuse said nothing but fell silent before he nodded and stepped aside. He sighed and shook his head.
"Another fragging Triple-Changer and we do not have Sandstorm. Frag it, we need an edge." Fuse said.
"What happened to following orders?" Arcee asked.
"Which one of us wanted to attack Arachnid at the mine without backup? Dangerous Decepticon hunter assassin who can dismantle an Autobot in seconds? Sure, why not attack recklessly?" Fuse stated.
"You don't know what she's done." Arcee hissed.
"And you do not know the scrap I have endured. I get it, you do not like me taking down every Con I see and I do not like you messing with me… I am a weapon, that is what Triple Changers are, we are soldiers forged purely for battle. Blitzwing keeps running around and Megatron will have a durable, powerful super soldier on his team." Fuse stated.
"Even a hothead like me knows a weapon like that ain't something to joke about," Fuse stated.
"And neither is Arachnid," Arcee stated.
"Then slag her. She is dangerous, highly mobile, stealthy… If she is not taken out? She is going to come back as a weapon." Fuse stated. "Only bonus is she seems to be killing cons as much as we are," Fuse added.
"She was never a fan of Megatron, only violence," Arcee stated.
"And yet you want to have the same flaws the cons do?" Fuse asked.
"What is that? Being a hotshot who just wants a fight?" Arcee asked.
"Fighting each other," Fuse stated. "You do not like me and I do not know if I like you… But I do not want to fight you, not as much as I want to fight the cons. I am willing to try teamwork even if I am not the biggest fan of it… But you do not know me and I do not know you…" Fuse stated.
"And?" Arcee asked.
"And I'm hoping I'm wrong and we ain't thickheaded enough to keep fighting each other and can work past it," Fuse said before swiveling his head to Rachet. "Doc, you keep saying you want to poke around and see how I tick? I have already been on an operating table before." Fuse stated.
"I should see if your Helix T-Cog still works properly," Rachet stated for a moment.
"Just don't hit anything vital… The last thing I need is a servo going wrong." Fuse stated. "I forgot locals were here… You soldiers?" Fuse asked.
"Nah, but we want to be," Miko said.
"Not everyone wants to be," Jack said.
"Takes bravery to be one, kid… And you are brave to take on cons at your side." Fuse stated.
He walked away as Arcee hummed, interested in while he seemed to be too interested in what was going on, there was chaos.
"Why do you and Fuse dislike each other?" Raf asked. "Maybe he's a bit cocky, but he is trying to fight the Decepticons," Raf stated.
"Because he's a maverick… I've seen plenty of Autobots who get cocky and throw their lives away fighting the Decepticons… It isn't fun and games." Arcee said.
"He's been asleep for a few hundred years… Maybe he still thinks we're winning." Jack said. "Plus? He is still talking about another Autobot…" Jack stated.
"Sandstorm… Don't know them." Arcee stated before she seemed to think of what was going on.
"Wrecker. He's a wrecker." Bulkhead stated. "Search and rescue expert… Last I heard? He was supposed to be holding off cons on our flank." Bulkhead stated.
"So, he's another Triple-Changer?" Arcee stated.
"I don't know, he was off planet when we last contacted him… But if he's alive? He's tough, he and the Wreckers could handle an entire army of cons." Bulkhead stated.
"Great, Bulk… An entire army of hotheads." Arcee stated.
"Better than nothing," Bulkhead stated.
(On the Nemesis)
Megatron was silent before he looked around the bridge of his warship. There was a lot more to have been dealing with and he had been too interested in what was going on as he paused to have thought.
Even then? He would not be willing to have been ready. The Triple-Changer was a soldier, one who could have understood war… Blitzwing was powerful but he was focused on beating his enemies rather than carrying out his next move.
Still? Weapons were useful, they could be used against their next soldier… Perhaps it would be better if something else came down to it.
There was a lot that needed to have been too easily swept aside. For him? This was something else to have been a challenge for the warlord.
He cracked his fingers and then crossed his arms across his chest while looking at the ground.
While he was silent? He had no real idea of the next move… Of what needed to be done.
"We have a lot more to do… And yet? Here I stand, almost as if I am surrounded by idiots." Megatron stated. "Besides you, Soundwave. It appears most soldiers of the Decepticon empire rely on brute force." Megatron stated.
He was silent for now and knew more and more about this sort of idea for now. This exhaustion? This boredom? He had been unwilling to see it go all the way down to the bone at the end of the day.
Such a thing only amused him. So many underlings and so many acted like it had meant something… Even then? He had been too thrown off by it, too unable to find anything denying irony in it.
"Is the other pod secure?" Megatron asked. "Two soldiers… Optimus has been lucky to secure one while I possess two… It is simply not his day." Megatron stated.
(With the Autobots)
Fuse remained in artificial stasis on the table, too unable to do more than relax… Even then? He had been unable to have moved a finger given the fact Rachet had him on the table to attempt to deal with his procedure purely and with all due haste.
The soldier was silent, too unsure, and too unable to have done much if anything to have interfered with the surgery. Still? He gave a clean bill of health.
"What is a Helix T-Cog anyway?" Jack asked to which Rachet sighed.
"A modified version of our own T-Cog. They are meant to be capable of two different transformations, each coded to a different part of biology… The process isn't something that can be replicated easily as T-Cogs almost entirely do not act like that." Rachet stated.
"Maybe, but his T-Cog isn't exactly that special… It doesn't take a lot to make it so you can scan more than one form." Bulkhead said.
"It does analyze each detail, store the information and be able to make full use of its abilities," Rachet stated. "His looks to be all right… However? His armor appears to have been damaged or… Primus." Rachet stated.
"That's a LOT of plasma scoring on parts of his armor," Bulkhead stated.
"And most of it looks like it repaired itself… Either he's been blasted with a thousand guns or they tried to modify his chassis during the procedure." Rachet stated.
"Why would they?" Bulkhead asked.
"Perhaps to make him more dangerous in combat… I am aware it was all a habit to have made better soldiers… But I had no idea it was made with all the possibility of creating a super soldier." Rachet stated.
"We both know how bad the war was," Bulkhead said.
"Yes, I suppose this was to be inevitable at the moment. I simply wish it was not to have been, I could not imagine the idea of such a thing to anyone when all of it was over." Rachet stated.
"You can't blame the soldiers for deciding to fight any way they could." He stated before he paused.
He could not hold back his shock. He knew the Autobots had wanted an advantage, they were butchered down to nothing during the war and even trying to do something as horrid as modifying one of their own seemed to be a chaotic soldier.
He was too interested in the next pain which he had been able to figure out as he came down to it… Such a thing would not be ended for tactics were used of varying amounts of chaos on the time being as he sighed.
"A Triple-Changer was something Optimus was against being deployed militarily… Fuse is performing exactly as Zeta would have wished, a weapon bred only for annihilating the Decepticons at the cost of themselves and willing to engage the Decepticons on any terrain." Rachet stated.
"Which is why he acts so hotheaded?" Arcee asked.
"No, that is perhaps some part of his personality core," Rachet stated. "But the desire to throw themselves into combat is part of what Zeta wished… A fearless weapon of war." Rachet stated before typing a few keys.
The computer beeped and Fuse opened his optics. He looked over the array of wires and diodes into his frame and slowly stood up, letting them detach.
"What happened to not touching anything vital?" Fuse asked before sighing. "Anything off, doc? If something was wrong with me? I wouldn't have gone to the battlefield." Fuse stated.
"You can never be too careful," Rachet stated.
"Fair enough… Where's Optimus? Are we carrying out another op?" Fuse questioned.
"Still on a mission and no," Rachet stated.
"Already up and just begging for a fight, he's fine," Arcee stated.
"Ok… Enough of this." Fuse said, stepping off the table and towards the smaller Autobot. "Spill, what's your problem with me? We've been fighting each other more than the bots." Fuse stated.
"Besides you being a loose cannon with no subtlety? Nothing." Arcee stated.
"I blend in with Earth's military forces and I am willing to follow orders. I was created to annihilate the Decepticon army and that is what I will do." Fuse stated.
"You sound like a Decepticon." Arcee spat, crossing her arms.
"I sound like a soldier fighting a war," Fuse stated. "What do you wish I do? Stand around? Letting the Decepticons operate unimpeded?" Fuse stated.
"I wish you would not rush in like you did the last two operations guns blazing and swooping around… We're not trying to make the humans notice." Arcee stated.
Fuse turned his head towards the kids and then back to her, crossing his trunk-like arms across his armored chest before raising an eyebrow.
"They already seem to," Fuse stated. "Maybe I ain't like the other bots here… I'm a soldier, a weapon. This is what I was created for, it is ALL I was created for." Fuse said before turning away.
"If winning the war means dying and making some risks for myself? So be it. I'll follow orders as best I can, I'll defend locals as well." Fuse stated. "But I am destroying the Decepticons, it's what they made me for… And I've seen too much carnage to just let what happened to me be for nothing." Fuse stated before walking away.
Arcee watched the Triple-Changer leave and sighed, realizing what was going on before long.
He would be dead within a week and their operations would be even worse than before.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter is delayed. This chapter is supposed to begin the leading up to Arcee and Fuse bonding in the next few episodes/chapters and show the flaws of Fuse being a triple-changing soldier and set up some character development. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will take place up to and during Crisscross. Until the 900–6500-word chapter, Lighting Wolf out!