SZ: Greetings…you thought we'd forgotten about the Cabal? hahahaha…WRONG!
GT: Yeah, so…anyone who complained in the recent chapter of GSE should be ashamed. Patience is a Virtue after be ready because your complaints mean we will delay in GSE about showing the Cabal there even more! Not even bothering to review too.
SZ: Indeed…also apologies for being a bit late in posting chapters…I personally have been busy with the Battle Network collection..and the new DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which…hoo man as if this game wasn't already great before.
Z0: We've been busy, and in regards to those without patience…dude…it's our story we'll tell it how we want and how we planned. We're not gonna rush to the next major story arc just 'cause you demanded like a brat. And we don't even get as much time to write as you think, at most a couple few hours a day…and even then we got stuff we want to do…or have to do.
SZ: Exactly..you can't rush these things people. These chapters take plenty of time..and planning ahead. Also we have other stories we need to update and/or work on, so we just want to enjoy the ride while we can and reach the infamous 100 chapters for GSE in time for its anniversary, so we hope you at least enjoy this side story…because hoo boy. Since it involves the Cabal…its gonna get dark fast.
Z0: Your welcome~ Hahaha…ah…yeah I made them go nuts in the focus chapter.
SZ: Yeh…as usual we own nothing aside from original content, so now...let's brass tacks folks!
Z0: Uh no tacks but I have this weaponized Nail Gun from Dead Island 2…*shoots the screen with electrified nails*
"...Fifty tests…and she cleared all of them in exactly 30 seconds…" Albedo whispered as he and Shockwave looked over some data in their lab, "To think…such a thing existed on Earth."
"Shockwave, Albedo…"
"..Lord Megatron, Lord Vilgax," Shockwave spoke as he and Albedo turned, seeing the two galactic overlords walking into the lab.
"This better be important…we were making plans," Vilgax growled.
"Yes, but…well it regards that girl that insane green-haired dolt brought in," Albedo informed, "...and it seems his claims on her strength is true."
"...explain," Megatron demanded.
"Observe," Shockwave replied as he pressed a button, causing the monitor to turn on to show the image of a fully armored Nu…facing off against a giant rock turtle monster.
The two looked at the screen as Nu began to dodged the incoming avalanche of boulders heading towards her, her blades cutting some in half each time as she flew around it. At first it seemed she was trying to run from it…but in truth, it was as if she was scanning it..for any strengths and potential weak points. Once she was high enough in the air, she held a hand up, causing multiple black and red energy swords to come out as they chipped away at parts of the rock turtle monster each time, mostly at the rocks on its back..and the underside of it.
"Normally a beast such as this would be impossible to beat without a drilling tool, but…" Albedo began as Nu stopped and raised another hand, making the giant rock turtle grunt out as it fell to its hands and knees as the gravity around it began to grow heavy, "She was able to use its own greatest strength against it."
"The beast hides its body within a strong stone shell, throwing off any hunters or to lure in any local prey," Shockwave added as he focused on the screen, "However…what would happen…" a loud crunch could be heard as the turtle coughed up a rain of dark-yellow blood before its head soon crashed into the ground, "If gravity is applied to the point…the stone protecting its body cause a 'cave in' to crush it from within?"
"Studying each of her tests…she takes ten to test whatever she's facing against, another ten to fully study it for weak spots, and one last ten seconds to deliver a winning strategy," Albedo listed.
"Most impressive." Vilgax stated, "She devastated your records."
"Yes…which is scary admittedly," Albedo muttered, "We tested her…this Nu-13 fifty times with different test subjects..including a few of the Insecticons."
"And?"
"She completed each one…all in exactly 30 seconds, Lord Megatron," Shockwave informed.
"In short…this Murakumo unit as Terumi called it…he was not kidding about her strength," Albedo finished, "However…we have noticed on error…her mutterings of this 'Ragna'..."
"Intell tells us this is another of Ben Tennyson's comrades in the new forces he has built up on Earth." Shockwave added, "It seems to be a deep rooted emotional attachment…almost to the point if someone were to say something about him in an ill light…"
"This...would be the result," Albedo finished as he pressed another button..showing a screen displaying a few dead and decapitated Decepticon grunts, "No hesitation or anything…just pure cold-blooded murder."
"So the Earthlings do have the potential to make something worthwhile," Megatron chuckled, "I like it's style."
"It will be useful, though clearly in terms of its own sense, this Ragna…while unknown, is clearly the unit's weak point." Vilgax spoke while observing Nu for signs of reaction, "So…it can hear us."
"It can?" Albedo blinked.
"When I said the name and in conjunction with the word Weakness…it twitched in this direction till it realized what I meant…and agreed." Vilgax explained, "But…this Ragna as they are named…is in the archives as dangerous and strong. When the time comes…this Nu…can have their free discretion to do as it pleases."
"It's doing something," Megatron noted.
Shockwave narrowed his optic as he saw an intricate seal appear behind the Murakumo unit…before the eyes and optic of Albedo and Shockwave widened as a gate appeared. Nu's 'wings' twitched before shooting off her and surrounded the beast, emsnaring it in a diamond of azure-colored energy. The gate spun before it opened, unleashing a massive astral broadsword at the rock beast, cleaving it in two…before it shattered into ashes along with the blade. Shockwave opened a drawing program and drew an exact copy of the seal.
"It's never done that before," Albedo whispered.
"I've cross-referenced the entirety of our archives. There is no language that solely matches the writing used in this," Shockwave informed, "It will take time to fully decode, but I managed to get a few words translated: 'Astral,' 'Azure,' 'Boundary,' and 'Destruction.'"
"Interesting…still...it's a shame," Albedo admitted, "Had this girl not been attached to this Ragna individual…she'd be the perfect soldier…"
"Hmm?"
"Given her reaction earlier, I have a theory…" Shockwave spoke as he pressed a button, showing a full-body display of Nu, "The way she is able to find out the weak points so fast…how she was able to detect where we are…I believe compared to the other 'Murakumo Units' as Terumi calls them…this one is outfitted with something akin to a super AI...programmed to fulfill their duty...yet also learn to adapt to its current target."
"...Interesting," Megatron whispered, holding a chin in thought as he focused on the image of Nu, "It's almost like a Protoform in a sense…waiting to be molded into something powerful if put in the right hands…"
"...What are you planning…?" Vilgax questioned.
"Just that this seems more…to my area of expertise," Megatron smirked.
Vilgax sighed, letting steam hiss from his mask, "Fine. I can't stand the sight of humans anyway." he jutted to Albedo, "Just letting him stay here makes me want to kill something…"
"I never asked for this vile face!" Albedo snapped.
"No…but you chose to mess with Tennyson regardless," Vilgax countered.
"And he will rue that day until the end of time once I've beaten him…" Albedo scowled.
"Of which…will never come to pass as he…is mine…" Vilgax growled out as his eyes glowed, only to dimmer as he calmed down, "...Speaking of whom…Megatron, about that plan we had…perhaps this will coincide what you have in mind…"
Within the testing chamber, Nu stood in the center as she focused on one part of the wall, her visor glowing a bit as in her view…she saw four separate energy signatures…with one of the larger ones hitting the smallest one. She then began to trail the largest figure as it began to move, moving towards the door meant for those Decepticon grunts to carry in anything dangerous. The door opened as Megatron soon stepped out, looking down at her with his glowing red optics.
"...Scanning," Nu whispered as she scanned Megatron, "...Complete. Megatron, leader of the extremist Cybertronian group known as the 'Decepticons'…threat level X."
"'Extremist' is a bit harsh now, isn't it, little one?" Megatron laughed, "Most often call the sensible ones…extreme? I believe the saying goes: Trying the same thing over and over again expecting a new result is the definition of Insanity~" he smirked, "Well I got tired of the same insanity…so I did something about it. I just knew one method when all others failed…kill everyone who got in my way."
"Mmm…It is necessary…" Nu whispered before she smiled a bit, "Especially…if they badmouth about Ragna…It is Nu's destiny…to kill Ragna and merge with him…"
"Merge? …Interesting." Megatron noted, "However…I take it that this 'Ragna' is not so keen on this Destiny?" he asked, "Well, that's a shame…Merging with you seems like it would offer something beyond understanding. But in the same sense, you are also part Organic, so I'm not sure this isn't a saying for something."
"It isn't…Nu and Ragna will die together…and merge as they fall into the Boundary," Nu informed as she hugged herself, "It is our destiny…to become the Black Beast…and destroy all."
"The Black Beast?" Megatron whispered, raising a brow.
"Yes…a being so strong…it wiped out half the world and left the rest uninhabitable outside of the mountains," Nu responded, "And knowing Nu and Ragna are part of its creation…makes Nu happy that we would be together forever…"
"...and why waste such potential?"
"?" Nu raised a brow as she looked up at him.
"As I understand it, humans have an interesting view of life and death. We Cybertronians are no different," Megatron explained, "If your destiny is to die together, doesn't that mean if not now…then it will happen eventually? Doesn't that mean that in the present, before your destiny arrives, you can enjoy the time to its fullest?"
"Enjoy to the fullest?" Nu repeated, tilting her head.
"Believe it or not, little one, even my kind has a grasp of the concept you speak of. But…we don't have such…melodramatic terms like your species use," Megatron explained, "Though as a warrior, such concepts were beyond me, as well as meaningless towards my desires. In our time, the concept was called Conjunx Endura, two beings bonded for all time, 'till they transcend to the Well of All Sparks. Charming, isn't it?"
"Conjunx Endura…" Nu repeated before nodding.
"If your Destiny is known…well…you already have a clearer view of your path then most, little one," Megatron went on, "But the path between now and Destiny, well…that is but open space. Whatever you do between then and now, that is what makes the end more interesting." he smirked, "You could rush it…but if in that path obstacles get in the way, then frustration and anger will overwhelm and halt your progress. Then…just don't run, and you can walk around the obstacles." Nu blinked at that as the metaphorical gears began turning in her mind, "Destiny will come. Nothing can change it one way or the other, but in the wait…there are infinite things you can do to pass the time~"
"...What….can Nu do…to pass this time?" Nu questioned, "...Will it…let Nu get the strength to kill her sisters?"
"If that is what you want, then grasp that power," Megatron held his hand out…and closed it as if crushing something, a dark look forming on his face, "Grasp the power to take what is yours, and don't let anyone get in your way. But patience is a good virtue in that path. If you rush in…you'll stumble and fall. Power must be tempered with wisdom. My enemies have taught me that, and I am alive…while most of my enemies are gone."
"Wisdom?"
"Wisdom and Knowledge are not the same, Small One, they are two sides of a coin. But with one…the other becomes stronger and with both…Power, even small amounts of it…can burn down entire worlds in your path," Megatron smirked as he turned and crouched down to offer his hand to Nu, "I can teach you. You're not very human; if anything…you look like a wonderful Decepticon~"
"...Decepticon…" Nu whispered, feeling his words permeate her head…seeing how...logical it was. She had the power…but lost to that golden knight from before…how he humiliated her in front of her precious Ragna. Then there were the other Murakumo units…her sisters…the ones that want to take her Ragna for themselves, "...What does Nu need to do…to become one?"
"You've already taken the first step," Megatron stated, moving one of his massive clawed fingers and tapping her arm as a purple glow came from the point of contact…and left Nu with the Symbol of the Decepticons marked on her, "For the next step…I have a special task for you…" he paused as a holographic warning poster appeared before the two, "My partner Vilgax and I have detected something…interesting…an energy source akin to Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix…and by lesser extent Albedo's shoddy copy."
=NOT SHODY!= Albedo argued from one of the speakers.
=Considering the…= Shockwave began.
=Zip it, you= Albedo grumbled.
"...and you need Nu…to locate the source of this energy?" Nu questioned.
"Correct…" he explained, "Ah…it's busy work, but I imagine it will be better than constant experiments. You'll be dealing with unknown variables, things simple experiments like what you've been performing will not be able to create."
"...Understood," Nu nodded, her visor scanning the wanted poster before it vanished, "Targets downloaded into database…will proceed to locate them…Megatron-sama."
"Excellent," Megatron spoke as he stood up, "Prove to me…that you are worthy of being a Decepticon."
"...Of course…" Nu nodded, her visor glowing before she took off into the air, flying through a hole in the testing chamber, "Beginning mission…"
"Ahh…Rotwood, your goat ate my bed again!"
"Do not be blaming Ivor for your leaving of the cans in your sleeping quarters, rounded bouncing ball brother of mine!"
"Ugh…another cycle…another pointless argument…"
"I keep telling you! I need the cans! They support my body in a way you just don't understand! Now how am I gonna sleep tonight?!"
"We're in space…there is no night…it's always night…"
"Well it's not like we can get a place to stay that isn't a floating rock in an asteroid belt…"
"Azmuth just had to pick a planet far away from anything for us…"
"Well, can ya blame him? We're not exactly what our species would consider…normal…"
=Would you guys can it back there? I'm trying to listen to the 'Net!=
"Hey, Reverb, I'd like to as much as the next guy, but tell Rotwood to get his crazy goat under control, first!"
"Silence, brother! One more insult to Ivor and you shall face the wrath of the farmer and have no Eels of Forgiveness until we arrive to Earth!"
"...Did he really just say 'Eels of Forgiveness?'"
To explain what's happening…a rather 'interesting' group of Aliens were seemingly conversing/arguing amongst themselves within a small hut..located on a large rock within an asteroid belt. The seemed to be a group of Ben's aliens-specifically the species of Cannonbolt, Echo-Echo, Swampfire, Spidermonkey, and Big Chill-but…they all seemed vastly different from their actual species counterparts. The two arguing, with one holding a goat in a spacesuit with an alien collar on its neck, were the Swampfire and Cannonbolt aliens, though the Cannonbolt was larger with the yellows of its plating gunmetal with bumps growing out of them while the Swampfire alien looked like he was made from an old tree with blue pods growing on his body and his head inside of a massive blue pod…while wearing overalls, holding a sheppard's crook and the goat.
"Hah…" the Big Chill, stronger looking with wings, mask, and antennae looking as if they were made of flames, sighed, "Why…Why am I the only one who developed some form of maturity? …Even the big lug when he was around just grunted and yelled…" he groaned.
"Hey, now…What about me, Frost?" the Spidermonkey alien asked…looking more like a big overgrown purple gorilla in a spacesuit with four openings on the waist area for purple bone-like structures to poke out of it as he sat at a nearby makeshift stone table with pieces of tech on it all pulled apart.
"Hmm…yes…and you make my job so much easier when these idiots start this song and dance every single cycle…" Frost sighed before turning and tossing a fireball at those who were arguing, encasing them up to their heads in ice, "Time out, the both of you…one more argument…I leave you outside…with the goat."
"Baaaa~"
"Silence, Ivor. You started this; you get involved," Frost groaned, "I need something to calm my head…" he walked over to what seemed to be a makeshift kitchen before jamming his hand into a rock and letting something molten spill out into a mug which he began drinking.
"You know all that molten metal after waking up is gonna wind you up," the Spidermonkey sighed, adjusting his glasses as he turned back to the table to work on a device on it.
"Yeah? Well, I need it. It soothes the pain of listening to the stupid on repeat," Frost groaned.
=Hey, hey, hey! The Stupid is a great band from Arfidos VII! No one shall make me say otherwise and none shall make me stop listening to their tunes on repeat!= the tall metallic blue and black Echo-Echo declared from the hammock nearby.
"Also this one," Frost motioned to the Echo-Echo.
=I heard that…=
"I think you were meant to," the Spidermonkey replied.
=...Just get back to growing your genetically grown bananas, Simon=
"I swear the moment one of those grows a face…I'm freezing them and chucking them out into space," Frost deadpanned.
"Hey, hey, hey. I make sure they don't develop faces or anything of the sort," Simon argued, "Not after Rotwood and his talk with me."
"Are you growing the crimes against natural bananas, big gorilla brother of mine?" Rotwood asked, his voice muffled by the ice.
"No speaking while you're frozen, Rotwood," Frost scolded.
"Anyways…no, I'm not making a genetically enhanced banana. I'm making a teleporter to get us off of this asteroid and closer to Earth," Simon explained.
=Oh finally…!= Reverb sighed in relief as he hopped out of his hammock =I can finally get my music on and updated my playlist…I miss Queen and the awesomeness that is The Beatles!=
"I'll give you that, you at least have good taste…which should be all our taste…" Frost muttered.
"Well, considering our origins, it's highly likely we do," Simon noted, one of the 'bones' on his body extending to reveal it to be a large spider leg that grabbed a tool just as it fell off the table and put it back in place before going back to its spot on his body.
"Which brings me back to my never ending question…if each of us are derived from some aspect of Ben's mind…" he pointed to the Swampfire, "What in all the name of the Milky Way…is he derived from?"
=Yeah I don't…get that either= Reverb admitted =I mean you got Ben's smarts, Simon…Frost got his no-nonsense personality, I got winning joking personalty, Pitstop got his laziness, the big guy…god rest his soul had Ben's anger, but Rotwood…farmer?=
"I still hypothesize he's the hard working aspect," Simon noted before several beeps went off from a device on the wall, "?! Proximity alert!"
"What?" Pitstop pondered, Rotwood finishing melting the ice on them both as Ivor licked the puddle.
"I sent out small drones to act as a proximity alert," Simon explained, tapping on his wrist and displaying a holographic screen, showing video feed of space, "They only go off if one detects anything with a hostile intent approaching this place."
"What?! Someone dares threaten the tree of a shepherd!?" Rotwood declared before he dug into the ground, pulling out a large wooden mace with the 'spikes' incredibly sharp thorns, "Rotwood will pay back their hostility tenfold with the warhammer of vengeance!"
"Okay this has to be whatever aspects were left over…" Frost sighed, "But let's keep ourselves on task. Let's observe what this is before we begin fighting. Last time…didn't go so well."
The group all paused at that before looking down. Pitstop sniffled while wiping a tear from his eye as Reverb shook his head solemnly. Rotwood grit his teeth as his free hand clenched itself in buried anger.
"...We won't let that happen…never again," Simon frowned as his multiple eyes narrowed.
"Then we play this smart ourselves…" Frost nodded, "We observe, and if I say it's too dangerous…we book it. Simon, I know you hate rush projects…but given the situation, we only need it to work once to save our skins…or alloys…" he looked at Reverb and Pitstop.
"I'll see what I can do," Simon replied, going back to his table.
=Is it approaching us?= Reverb asked.
"It's heading in this direction, yes," Simon replied, "Sector 3-4-Delta-Phi."
"Isn't that where that Galaluna place is?" Pitstop asked.
"That's the general direction, yes. It's the closest planet to our current location," Simon replied, "But we can't go there because of the Civil War."
"The fighting was meant to offer reason for no ship to fly within our sector 'cause that place is so crazy everyone is trying to ignore it," Frost sighed, "Lot of good it's doing us now. Maybe after this, we go bum on Azmuth's couch."
=No thank you= Reverb stated =I'd rather stay on Earth and be a DJ=
"Why not…Azmuth's entire home planet is mechanized, defended, and the moon is made of beings who can hijack and control technology," Frost argued.
=Because if they hear my jams, I'm worried the whole planet would croak=
"Rotwood…smack him for that pun…" Frost ordered.
"Indeed. That was offensive for even the saplings!" Rotwood declared as he put his warhammer on his head…before it blossomed into a hammer.
=...What is that?=
"The Hat of Discipline. Do you live underneath a boulder?!" Rotwood demanded before whacking Reverb with it, leaving him buried up to his neck in the ground, "And all is forgiven."
"This is why I am not confident in our abilities to defend ourselves…from what I recall…the person we branched from…was kicking our behinds…the big guy was the only one good at fighting," Frost sighed, "But…maybe Earth might not be a bad call. Ben might just be our only hope at a solitary life once more. Also…Asteroid steel…too rich for my taste."
"Told you," Simon smirked.
Before any of them could say anything else, something fast crashed right in the center of their hut, kicking up a massive dust cloud before the following tailwind caused it to quickly disperse…revealing the blur to be Nu-13 as she stood there. She slowly rose up, his visor glowing ominously.
=What in the…?= Reverb pondered.
"Targets found…" Nu whispered as she scanned the five, "...Sonorosian, Arachnechimp, Necrofrigian, Arburian Pelarota, Metahnosian…all hyper evolved past their species' current limits."
"...I don't like this…" Pitstop whispered with a frown, taking a step back.
"I feel as though a fearsome beast has come for us," Rotwood whispered, readying his warhammer as Ivor bleated.
"...Updating file. Sonorosian, Arachnechimp, Necrofrigian, Arburian Pelarota, Methanosian, and one genus Capra known as the 'Madurai Goat,'" Nu corrected.
=Yeah, I'm starting to not like this either= Reverb noted.
"Simon…"
"Almost done, almost done. I need twenty-five seconds," Simon replied.
"Twenty-five? Why that spec-oh…Rotwood…speak your deepest innermost thoughts!" Frost ordered.
"Wha…?= the others all blinked at how odd that sounded, even Nu blinked in surprise.
"What?" Rotwood blinked, utterly confused.
"Your farming, your random sayings…unload them all! I'm letting you speak your mind!" Frost explained.
=But everything he says is so mind-numbingly…oh= Reverb realized the idea.
"...Distraction ploy…" Nu whispered as her swords began to float up, "Targets found…proceeding to capture."
"Oh, she's onto us!" Pitstop yelped.
=Go on the offense!= Reverb called =Pitstop, ball!=
Pitstop quickly rolled up into his ball form, causing the bumps on his plating to shoot out and become actual spikes. Reverb deployed several discs from his body and aimed them at Pitstop, quickly unleashing a blast of noise that sent Pitstop rocketing at Nu, the speed of it managing to catch her off-guard to let Pitstop slam into her, sending her crashing through the wall of the makeshift hut.
"Well that works, too," Frost shrugged before exhaling a stream of fire…that turned into a giant chunk of ice around Nu, "Chances are that's a distraction at best."
"Twenty seconds," Simon counted down, attaching pieces together, deploying all four of his spider legs to help with the work.
"How did that only buy you five seconds!?" Frost snapped.
"These things take…!" Simon began before a cracking sound was heard, "?!"
=...There's no way…= Reverb began before the ice containing Nu shattered =?!=
"Oh this is gonna suck…" Pitstop whimpered.
"Listen here, Angel of Demise!" Rotwood declared, "You face today the sapling of a great tree farmer! Quake and quiver like a jellyfish for Rotwood shall grill your strudel until you cry like a teensy-weensy baby!"
"..." Nu floated there for a moment, "This unit…is not a member of the phylum Cnidaria."
"See…this is what I intended…" Frost muttered.
"Are you thick of the head, too-too dangerous death angel? Rotwood did not call you the weak and feeble jellyfish! Are you secretly a mountain sprite come to make mischief among us, hm?"
"This unit is a Murakumo Unit. My creation was within a Cauldron buried within a mountain."
"Then you admit you are a mountain sprite! Ivor, get the lemons!"
"Baaaa~"
"Son of a gun! Ivor! Rotwood told you to not be consuming the yellow lemons that allow deceptions to be exposed!"
"...You annoy me," Nu stated before holding her hand out, causing her blades to fly out as they sliced off each of Rotwood's limbs.
"...Oh, you are very clever, mountain sprite of death's embodiment," Rotwood noted in amusement before vines grew out and reattached his limbs, "But Rotwood is not unused to feeble cutting tricks! But you have besmirched Rotwood's honor with your tomfoolery of the desiccation of Rotwood's uniform!" he threw out several seeds, landing beneath Nu, "Prepare yourself for a merciless thrashing!"
Rotwood let out a blue smoke from his hands that washed over the seeds. Nu looked down in time for several vines to erupt from the seeds, quickly entangling her. A roar made her look up in time to see Rotwood slamming his warhammer down on her before it further entangled her. He smirked before stepping back as the 'wings' of Nu began to cut into the vines to try to get her out of them.
"Brother the Ape of Eight Limbs! Are we to being good for leaving now, yes?!" Rotwood shouted.
"Almost!" Simon replied, "Just another second and…" several beeps went off and he laughed, holding up a small radio-like device, "It's done! Everyone over here now!"
"Good! Let's hurry before…!" Pitstop began as he turned, only to tense as he barely avoided an incoming energy blade, "!?"
"Negative…" Nu whispered from inside her vine prison, multiple energy gates appearing as multiple swords began to seep out, "This unit will not let you escape…"
"I know you don't like invoking me…but Reverb…do the thing…" Frost turned to his brother with a serious expression.
=Eeeee~! I get to do the thing?!= Reverb squeed.
"For once, I don't care how loud you go…go as loud as you want…blow out your speakers…just do the Sonic Doom!" Frost ordered.
=Yay~= he deployed all his disks as they began multiplying and forming multiple rings in front of him before angling like a dome, =Sonic…DOOM!=
"Wha…" Nu only had a moment to process this before a deafening sound blast impacted her; and, with more force then expected, she was blasted away and sent stumbling along the ground, her hearing damaged to the point all she could hear was a horrible white noise, not to mention her body couldn't stand up no matter what she tried, her sense of balance was totally devastated.
"WHAT!?" Rotwood shouted suddenly, Nu not being the only one hearing horrible white noise in their ears, or whatever a giant sentient plant had.
Pitstop facepalmed, earmuffs on his head, "He forgot to put them on…or the goat ate them." Ivor, wearing his own pair, burped up a part of an earmuff, "Yep."
"Ivor! Bad boy! Those were Rotwood's!" the farmer complained, picking the goat up, "Ooh…Wait until we are on Earth, Ivor. You have called upon the wrath of the two shoe-beating for this!"
"The two shoe…j…just what in…Simon, get us going before I throttle Rotwood!" Pitstop called.
"Activating teleporter!" Simon declared, pushing a button on the device.
A sphere of green light shined from the device, quickly engulfing the group. In a flash of light, the sphere vanished, leaving just a twitching Nu as she tried to get back up.
"Energy signature…recorded…" Nu whispered, "Resuming pursuit once recovered."
"...I'll bite, where'd you send us, Simon?" Pitstop spoke as the five ultimates were now standing in the middle of the wrecked ruins of Incarcecon.
"I…honestly don't know," Simon admitted.
"WHAT?!= everyone exclaimed.
"A rush job meant that I couldn't pick a specific location. I was able to program in three things thought: distance, level of safety, and a moderate technological level that would let us make a craft to get us to Earth," Simon explained.
"Well…with all this damage, does seem like a good place to scrounge up parts to make a ship or another teleporter," Frost noted, "But it would also pay to know just where we are."
"Given the layout of what we've seen so far, it's likely the central systems of this place reside that way," Simon noted, pointing down a path.
"Meaning a chance of a command center," Frost noted, nodding, "Right. Rotwood, go look for the cafeteria."
"You think this place has a…"
"If something is this big, it's gotta have one, Pitstop," Frost replied.
"Fear not, dear chilly moth brother of mine!" Rotwood declared, tapping his cane on the ground as he saluted, "This sapling of a farmer will leave no stone unturn in pursuit of the realm of delights! Ivor!" he jumped onto the goat's back, "HIYAH!"
"BAAAAA!-!-!" Ivor bleated as he ran off, looking like he was having no effort carrying the larger alien on his back.
=...I worry for him= Reverb admitted.
"He fights and does as asked…Frankly, that's enough," Frost sighed, "But in any case, let's get to searching. Reverb, do the echo-location thing. Make sure we are alone. Last thing we need is to find another lost soul to take in like the goat."
=Roger, roger= Reverb replied, catching a cable tossed by Simon that was connected to his gauntlet.
He plugged it into the side of his head before producing several sound discs. He raised a hand up, middle finger and thumb pressed together. With a snap, the discs let out a pulse. A holographic map appeared above Simon's armored wrist. Reverb repeated it for six more times before bringing back his discs into his body. Simon looked over the map and nodded.
"There's no one on board except for us," Simon confirmed, "And my hypothesis was correct. The command center is that way. We'll be able to find out something by accessing the systems in there."
"Anything else to note, bro?" Pitstop asked.
"Damage…more damage than we've seen so far," Simon replied, "Focused in this quadrant over here." he pointed at one part of the map, "Multiple holes interconnecting levels of this structure."
"Hmm…call it a hunch…but I think Ben was here," Frost muttered, "Unless we know someone else who can fight that much and break everything in their path. But who could make him fight that hard? Even against us, he held back…and we actively tried to kill him."
=Yeah…Not…Not our best moment…= Reverb admitted.
"Sad to say, but the Big Brother had most of Ben's combat instincts and memories," Simon sighed out, "But you are right; I feel like I can sense Ben's presence. Weird as it sounds, we are part of him."
"Hey, I can take a look over at that part," Pitstop offered, "I can even tell Rotwood what we've gotten from this map you and Reverb made, Simon."
"That would be most helpful. We know how prideful he is about his sense of direction," Simon smiled.
=You better not think of taking a nap= Reverb warned.
"Yeah, I ain't snoozing until we know enough about the place," Pitstop assured, holding his large hands up in assurance before curling up and rolling off, 'Don't mean I'm not gonna take the comfiest pillow I can find for said nappage later.'
"Well, we're not about to get attacked at the moment, we can at least relax," Frost sighed, "Let's get some work done. Maybe we can actually leave this creepy place before it falls apart on us."
=Don't put that out there, Bro…Last thing we need is you tempting fate on us= Reverb sighed =Besides…this place is creepy enough as is…= he shuddered =Reminds me of this one human transmission I picked up of a guy in glasses and a pink mustache playing a game. I swear if I see a Xenomorph, I'm booking it=
"Now who's tempting fate," Frost muttered as they went off towards the command center.
=Hey, I'm serious…There was something off about that girl= Reverb stated =Also…I'm sure Simon noticed it, too…=
"Noticed what?"
=That Decepticon symbol on her arm=
"Decepticon?" Frost repeated, "Are you sure?"
"I saw it myself," Simon confirmed, "There's no mistaking their emblem, which brings up a question: what's an organic doing with the Decepticons? Are they really organic? Or did they develop some form of…Pretender technology that allows them to hide as organic beings?"
=Face it, we've been far too in the dark about things in the universe that we shoulda kept focus on= Reverb noted.
"If we're lucky, we'll learn something here then."
=We're Tennysons, Frost; we're Chaotic when it comes to Lady Luck=
A door ended up dented before falling inwards, revealing Ivor and Rotwood, the latter speaking up, "Hello~? Is this the room of sustenance, yes?" the two entered and noticed the rows upon rows of tables with attached seating, "Hmm…" he sniffed the air and nodded, "Ah yes. Rotwood knows the smell well." he patted Ivor on the head, "Excellent job, Ivor! We have found sustenance for our brothers!" he frowned, "There's likely mostly processed goods and not some fresh homegrown produce. But it shall have to do until we find a nice place that Rotwood may start making the efforts of labor!"
"Baaa~"
"Yes, yes, we can check for cans, Ivor," Rotwood assured as they got into the kitchen and blinked several times, seeing the myriad of gadgets, "Oh for grandfather's girth and mirth! Why must Rotwood deal with the technological doo-dads and hickeys?!" he walked up to a screen, "Hello~? Rotwood demands you show the sustenance!" he frowned as he began to poke at the screen, "Son of a gun, not even answerable to Rotwood's voice!" a clatter made him jump and spin around, producing a ball of blue flames before sighing in relief, seeing it was just Ivor eating an empty can, "Ivor, you adorable companion of mine, you scared Rotwood of several strips of his bark, yes." the screen beeped, earning Rotwood's attention, "Hello~? What is this? 'Meal times set up for…for…f-f-f-for…'" Rotwood stammered as he started to sweat while his blues and browns began to turn white, "BY GRANDMOTHER'S MYSTICAL MIGHT!" moments later, Ivor raced out of the cafeteria, carrying a panicking Rotwood, "BROTHERS! BROTHERS, EVACUATE THIS PLACE OF DAMNATION! THE HARBINGER OF THE GREEN SQUIDS RESIDES HERE AND WE SHALL BE DOOMED TO DEATH OF A THOUSAND WAYS BY HIS MIGHT IF WE ARE TO BE FOUND AND HE LEARNS OF OUR DISHONOR OF STEALING WHAT IS HIS! MAMAAAAAAA~!"
"...Yep…This is Ben's wrecking," Pitstop muttered, looking over one of the holes, seeing pieces of Diamondhead's shards about, "This level of wreckage…whoever he was fighting was not someone he could underestimate." he moved around it and looked at one of the damaged doors in the hallway that had been warmed and buckled in places, "Looks like he went into a fire-based form in here. Maybe NRG?" he took a step and one of the doors fell over, "?" he rolled over to it and peeked inside before blinking a few times, "A prison cell? ...Pretty big one, too…were they trying to keep Vilgax in here or something?" he shuddered, "That's a scary thought…"
=Ksssh! Ksssh!=
"Gah! What was that?!" Pitstop yelped, curling up into a ball.
=Hello? Is this working?=
"...Simon?" Pitstop pondered.
=Hmm…Appears to be a one-way system= Simon noted =Alright, well…Good news, Pitstop, Rotwood…Ivor…We've made it to the central control room of this place=
"I'm looking into the files they have at the moment while Reverb's looking at the cameras here."
=Wow. Rotwood looks like he's coming like a bat straight outta hell= Reverb noted, watching Rotwood and Ivor zipping around on a few cameras.
"Something must have spooked them," Frost muttered, "Brave as he is…he's a superstitious weirdo still…"
=Yeah, well…not sure if you can hear me, but..found a really creepy room= Pitstop spoke up from another feed =Looked like it would've held someone like Vilgax in it…=
=Vilgax?= Reverb repeated.
"Ah! Got something," Simon noted, "...Oh…Um…fellows? We're in Incarcecon."
"The massive space prison where there are only Galvanic Mechamorphs as the staff that only do cleaning and maintenance?" Frost asked.
=Whoa…So why's it emptier than the mind of a baked out hippie at Woodstock?= Reverb asked.
"It seems Azmuth built a second Incarcecon…so that this one could be converted into a solo prison for…" Simon gulped, "...for Vilgax."
=Oh, I hate it when I get right on things like this= Pitstop whimpered.
"Seems he was meant to be brought here by the Omni Team."
"Ben, Gwen, and Kevin?" Frost asked.
"No. Here's the list of people on assignment and I don't see Gwendolyn or Kevin anywhere on it," Simon replied, moving to the side to let Frost look at the monitor.
"Who's…Makoto Nanaya?" Frost pondered, looking at the first name beneath Ben's.
=Nice name= Reverb noted =Think she's from Japan or a planet that has a similar culture?=
"There's a few names like that. Tsubaki Yayoi, Mai Natsume…" Frost noted, "Rook Blanko."
"Sounds like a Revonaghander name," Simon noted, "They opened space travel there at last?"
"We've missed a lot," Frost noted, "Find any escape pods that may still be here, Simon. Reverb, where's Rotwood and the goat?"
=Well, Pitstop's in fetal position…=
"You know I meant Ivor."
=I know, just too easy to joke= Reverb chuckled =Looks like they fell into one of the holes…yep. They landed in the laundry room…aaaand Ivor's eating a bedsheet=
=Ivor! You will spoil your appetite with the linens! If you must snack, eat the cases of feather confinement=
"Oh for the…" Frost sighed before speaking up, "Rotwood!"
=Is that you, Great Nano?=
"No, it's Frost."
=Chilly Brother Frost-boy! We must flee! The many-tentacled he-devil that is Vilgax is…=
"Not here. He escaped before he could be properly stored here," Frost explained.
=It looks like he and Ben had an all out rumble that nearly tore this place apart. Guess he escaped after the fight. Didn't know he could fly through space still…Last I heard, Ben stripped him of all his crazy stolen powers and gear=
=Incompetent enforcers of the peace! Rotwood will be giving them the three-shoe beating for allowing the he-devil Vilgax to escape from eternal torment of unable to continue battles of glory and deceit!=
"Rotwood…focus. You, Ivor, and Pitstop get back to us so we can get off this creepy…and probably haunted place," Frost stated, making Rotwood freeze up at the word 'haunted.'
=HAUNTED?!= Pitstop squeaked.
=And Rotwood used the last of the salt for purifying our temporary abode on the asteroid! Ivor, back to the hall of messes! We must procure the salami and greased up glorfners to appease the spirits of the too-too violent killed!=
"...Right. I'll go meet him in the cafeteria," Frost sighed, "You guys get Pitstop to here pronto."
"Please hurry…this place is really creeping me out," Pitstop whispered, curled up as he shook like a leaf.
=Pitstop, we're the only ones here. Everything was set to be automated so no one had to stay here and deal with Vilgax= Simon explained.
"...y…yea…yeah…" Pitstop whispered as he uncurled himself, "Nobody here…but us…" he walked out before screaming, "OH WHAT THE?!"
=...Bro, it's just a broken drone= Reverb deadpanned as Pitstop slowly lowered his arms to look at a robot on the ground in pieces.
"S-Sorry…Thought it was a dead body…or a mannequin…" Pitstop shuddered, "Those things ain't natural…"
=Did you just say that while knowing you are a sentient being born from an Alien DNA altering device?= Reverb asked sarcastically, =Dude, we ain't natural…=
"Nooo…We're natural because we know our origins," Pitstop replied, "But those things…" he shuddered as he rolled off, "Yeah, not natural to me. Get me outta this place and over to you guys already!"
=Relax, big guy. You'll feel the low decibel beat I'm sending through this place with your metal shell. Just follow it to us, and if you take a wrong turn I'll guide ya=
"Y…yeah…" Pitstop nodded as he started to roll off, keeping a cautious eye out as he listened in on the sound.
=Just keep going straight. You'll reach the main corridor in a few. No stressing, big guy=
"Right…right…no stressing…" Pitstop repeated to himself, "I'm a bi~ig boy…I'm a…" a pipe nearby spewed out a bit of steam, "LITTLE BOY!" he screamed as he zipped off in ball mode, "GYAHAHAHAHA~!"
=Pit! Ah man! Dude sl-BZZT!=
"?!" Pitstop tensed as he skid to a halt, "...Reverb? ...Simon? ...Frost?" he nervously spoke, not hearing Reverb's voice anymore, leaving him by himself…in the long…dark…ominous hallway, "...I'm a big boy…I'm a big boy…I…" he tensed when he heard some metal scraping along the ground, making him turn to the source…and saw nothing, "...heh….heh heh….my mind must be getting to me…probably from lack of sleep…I swear Rotwood owes me a new bed f-" he began as he turned...into the gaze of a familiar glowing red visor, "?!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~!-!-!-!"
"Gh?!" Frost tensed, "Pitstop?" he looked up at the ceiling, "Simon! Reverb!"
=We lost track of Pitstop!= Reverb replied from another speaker =I was guiding him and suddenly the feed got shut off!=
=We're trying to reestablish the feed= Simon informed =Hurry and find Rotwood=
"Got it!" Frost nodded as he quickly phased into the floor, flying down the hallway as fast as possible before he stopped…seeing the mangled up remains of the hallway Pitstop was once in, "...Frostbites…don't tell me…" he moved over to one of the gashes, noting that it seemed to have been cut open...by a metal blade, "...she found us…"
=The Decepticon girl?!= Reverb asked.
=She must have piggybacked on my teleporter's frequency= Simon realized.
"...find Rotwood and any available escape pods...or hopefully a ship," Frost ordered as his eyes narrowed, "I'm going to look for Pitstop…and freeze that girl long enough for us to escape…"
=Dude, she broke out of your ice the first time…and you're hyper evolved!=
"I'm open to suggestions if you disagree with me…" he argued.
=Well I'm not but….seriously be careful, man. There's something…off about that chick= Reverb warned.
"Not much being careful can get us at the moment." Frost sighed before he flew off, 'But he's right…there's something off about that girl…and I don't like it.'
"...Mmm…Rotwood feels threatened again," Rotwood scowled, hiding behind a pilled set of boxes while holding his war hammer, "The Evil mountain sprite is here…Rotwood feels it."
"Baaa…"
"Ivor, shh! Rotwood need to keep sound at the quiet so Rotwood can deliver the Warhammer of Vengeance!" Rotwood barked before narrowing his eyes, "And he will too…nothing will deter my wrath, Ivor! Soon we will…Ivor?" he turned around…and saw no sign of the goat anywhere, "?! IVOR!"
Metal scrapping against metal soon caught his attention, making him turn as he had his weapon ready to strike. Silence soon fell onto the area once more…creating an almost eerie scene. No sound…no wind…no nothing. Before Rotwood could turn, an energy sword pierced through his leg, completely cutting it off as he nearly lost his balance, quickly turning to swing his mace at a shadowed figure, only to miss as another energy sword stabbed straight through his swinging arm, cutting it off as the hyper evolved Alien fell over.
"Analysis…Methanosian ability to regenerate…" Nu's voice whispered as she stepped out of teh shadows, "Solution..cauterize the limb before it can regenerate, cutting it off from recovering its severed limb."
"You fiendish mountain sprite! What have you done with Rotwood's Ivor?!" Rotwood demanded.
"With Arburian Pelarota…location classified," Nu stated.
"...And why is it in the silence of nothingness? You are to be taking Rotwood there, yes?"
"Once incapacitated, affirmative."
"Then why is go-go crazy mountain sprite not telling Rotwood since it is where you are taking him, hm?"
"Because your comrades will listen in on our location."
"You speak in lies, deceiver!" Rotwood snapped, "Fight me!"
"You are without an arm and leg."
"Rotwood still has a good arm and leg! Now fight me!"
"Addition to developing profile on Methanosians: they are tenacious and will continue to fight even while missing limbs. Now relocating Methanosian to classified location."
"Hold!"
"?"
"Where is the Sausage of Dominance that you must bequeath onto Rotwood?"
"...Explain."
"Were you grown beneath a rock and sprinkled with the litter of a cat's box, ignorant mountain sprite?! You have bested Rotwood, but you must deliver unto Rotwood the Sausage of Dominance to demand my submission to your might! To do so besmirches the honor of the one who gave you the mark of the deceptive ones that you bear upon your form! Even if they invade and dominante Rotwood's homeworld, the people will know and they will laugh and laugh even as they are decimated; for they will know they have had a great shame put upon them!"
"...Scanning," Nu whispered as her eyes scanned the area..before she went off in a blur, only to come back a few seconds later as she returned with a giant sausage, "Here…"
"Accursed mountain sprite, you take Rotwood for a buffoon! This is not the Sausage of Dominance! This is the Sausage of Slapstick! And you present it improperly to Rotwood as well!" Rotwood snapped.
"..." Nu looked around, "Unable to locate any other type of food known as 'sausage.'"
Rotwood grumbled under his breath and swiped the sausage with a regenerated arm before grabbing a pan nearby, "Imbecile! Watch Rotwood as he prepares the Sausage of Dominance! Then you may present it to Rotwood!"
"...When did the arms…?" Nu blinked a few times, utterly confused, before she was slapped upside by the sausage.
"Are you testing the patience that is Rotwood's?! Focus, wild mountain sprite, so that you may prepare it for others who are of Rotwood's people!" Rotwood scolded as he held the pan in his palm and ignited his flames under it and then tossing the sausage onto it, letting it simmer, "See? Now this is the Sausage of Dominance! You know it because it squeals like the naked pig who's belly was struck with the flat palm!"
"..." Nu slowly began to turn her head towards him, her visor glowing red as multiple energy gates began to pop up behind her.
"Go ahead, Mountain Sprite! Rotwood w-" Rotwood began before a plethora of energy swords began to bombard him, cutting each of his limbs while using a few to bind him to the floor. Some burnt vines attempted to reach out for the severed limbs, only for the energy swords to cut them off each time, "Oho! You think this ends this, FIGHT ME!"
"...This is the dumbest life form…I have ever seen…" Nu sighed before slapping the sausage in his face.
"And Rotwood submits because you gave Rotwood the right sausage this time."
"..." Nu took a deep breath, as her patience and fragile sanity was being tested greatly by this one alien.
"Well? What are you waiting for, mountain sprite?! Take Rotwood to his go-go ball brother and Ivor! And do not forget to bring the sausage so that you may slap them with it as well!"
"..." Nu just grabbed one of his stumps before she began to drag him off...before using one of her swords to slice apart a security camera.
=Ah geez…she got Rotwood, too= Reverb whispered.
"Hoo boy…That's not good," Simon cringed before a beep from the computer made him sigh in relief, "Oh thank goodness! There's one more escape shuttle still here."
=Yeah, that's great news. But the bad news is that we gotta find where she took Rotwood and Pitstop= Reverb reminded.
"Can you echolocate them?" Simon asked.
=Been trying since Pitstop went MIA= Reverb replied =Not picking up a thing=
"She might be using flight to stay off the ground," Simon guessed.
=Pretty sure echolocation travels through the air…= Reverb replied with a frown..
=Guys, what's the situation in there?= Frost asked.
"Rotwood's been captured along with Ivor."
=Oh great. Any good news?=
"We found an escape shuttle," Simon explained, "It's…er…probably best not to say over the lines in case she goes there and sets a trap."
=Agreed. I'll meet with you two=
=But where? If she's listening to this, then she knows where we'll meet= Reverb asked before blinking as Frost turned transparent on a screen and went through the floor…before coming out beside him, =...Oh right. How are you doing that again?=
"The defenses were retooled to work solely on Vilgax's race," Simon explained, looking at some schematics.
=Ahh…makes sense=
"Focus. Any sign of her or our brothers and the goat?" Frost asked, looking at the monitors.
"Nothing on the ones we have that are working," Simon noted with a grimace, "More than likely? She's keeping them in one of the feeds we don't have anymore."
=How would she even know which ones work and which don't?= Reverb asked, =Is she part machine?=
"Considering the emblem on her? There's a possibility she may very well be," Simon concurred.
=So wouldn't that make her techno-organic or something?=
Frost brought a hand to his face as he sighed in exasperation.
"Well if she is cybernetic to some extent it explains her abilities," Simon muttered, "What could we do with that knowledge?" he mused.
=...What do they have for weapons?= Reverb asked =There's gotta be a storage for them or something, right? In case the Galvanic Mechamorphs needed one for an emergency?=
"A weapons storage?" Simon pondered, typing at another computer, "Hmm…If they had the right tools, I could assemble a weapon that should short-circuit the machinery in her, maybe even render her unconscious for a period of time!"
"Good thinking," Frost agreed, "How fortified is this place?"
"Would take a To'kustar to bust down the doors to the command center," Simon replied.
"Simon, the moment you find the storage, I'll get the weapons for your gun. Both of you stay here. Reverb, keep using your echolocation to try and find that girl if you can't on the camera feeds," Frost ordered.
=You got it, Bro= Reverb replied with a thumbs up.
"Simon, we're getting whatever we can and working overtime."
"No pressure at all," Simon nodded with a thumbs up from his right foot while focusing on the schematics, "Got it! Fifth level Sector 2-7."
"Got it," Frost nodded before he phased through the floor once more..
=So how do you think the others are taking being prisoners?= Reverb asked.
"If I had to put it in words…probably making our Hunter wish she chased someone else down first…" Simon replied.
=You right…you right…= Rever nodded in admittance.
"Baa~!"
"Ivor! Stopping chewing on the bars…it will ruin your appetite," Rotwood stated...with energy guillotines holding him up against the walls of his prison cell to prevent his limbs from growing back.
"Did you really have to grab him first, lady?" Pitstop groaned, hanging upside down in his cell.
"Tactical…he would've attacked the moment I tried something with the Methanosian…" Nu replied, her visor glowing as she tried to pick up a signal.
"It is true! And why have you not slapped Ivor and Go-Go Roller brother of mine with the Sausage of Submission?!"
"Response: Because he fainted."
"I'm not proud of it…Ever since we became free, all my aggression just vanished," Pitstop sighed.
"Hmm…True, true. Freedom has allowed most of our brothers get to the soft and soggy noodle consistency of a soaked over-boiled baby carrot, yes," Rotwood agreed.
"Free?"
"Eh, that's a bit of a weird story. We kinda…came into being in the Ultimatrix and wanted out," Pitstop explained, "Our big brother, his soul be at peace, managed to take over Ben and then pull him into the thing! Then he jumped into a pit of fire and Azmuth came and we're out here now."
"...That…can't be the entire story."
"Is very true, mountain sprite," Rotwood spoke up, "Ahh…Rotwood misses very large bone-shooting eldest brother of ours." he grit his teeth with narrowed eyes, "Accursed blue-skinned hunter of no honor shall meet Rotwood's warhammer one day! There will be no Eels of Forgiveness for his transgressions nor that of his hunting hound of hell!"
"..." Nu looked at Pitstop.
"Yeah, he…he does that," Pitstop sighed, "You slowly get used to his way of talking."
"Query: How did he…develop this accent…?"
"We don't know…He…just started talking like this!" Pitstop declared as his own frustrations over this boiled up, "He talked normal for three days…then as soon as we all began developing personalities…he turns into this! And we still don't know how he got the goat! We took our eyes off him for a minute! Just sixty seconds exactly! And we now have a goat!"
"Baa~"
"No Ivor! Rotwood is too busy to reward you!"
"We don't know if he really understands it…they just talk to each other…" Pitstop sighed, "I miss the old planet…"
"...ignoring," Nu whispered before her visor beeped, prompting her to tap its side, "Nu-13, reporting Lord Megatron…"
=Have you located the targets?= Megatron questioned.
"Affirmative..captured hyper evolved Arburian Pelarota and Methanosian," Nu replied.
"Baa!"
"...and one goat."
"Baa~"
=What is a goat?=
"Earth animal."
=Hah…everything from that planet just sounds so stupid…but confirmation of hyper evolved aliens…continue working, I need to beat information out of the boy…Albedo!=
"Oh he's gonna get his butt beat…" Pitstop muttered.
"Why are you to being surprised? It is down-down moody Albedo Boy."
"Yeah…even with Ben's limited memories…that guy was so annoying…" Pitstop groaned, "Attacking in someone's sleep is just dirty…"
"Yes..very dishonorable," Rotwood nodded in agreement as Nu flew off and out of the room, "Now what to do?"
"Zzzz…"
"Son of a gun! You have found sleep whilst chained upside down upon the wall?! …Rotwood is impressed with brother go-go rolling brother Pitstop's persistence to find slumber…"
"Baaa…" Ivor bleated as he did his best to walk around in a circle…and fall over suddenly and begin snoring.
"Son of a gun, Ivor…"
=Okay….heads up, Frost. I think that crazy chick's on the move again= Reverb spoke into the radio as he kept a hand on the wall, =Still no luck on where the big guy and Rotwood are=
=Trust me I'd tell you first, and I've flown through most of the front half of this place by now…= Frost sighed =Simon, any luck finding that storage room?=
"Just about…I just need to enter a few more passwords and…" Simon began as his fingers were a blur on the keyboard, "Got it. It should be two floors below your current location."
=Directly below me?=
"Indeed."
=Alright. Both of you keep watch for her and I'll get the weapons=
"Affirmative, Frost/Gotcha, Bro= the two replied as they watched Frost turn transparent on one feed and phase through the floor.
"..." Simon sighed as the chair he sat on groaned from him relaxing a bit, a leg hand scratching the side of his head in frustration, "We should've trained, especially after that hunter appeared."
=Hindsight's twenty-twenty, Simon= Reverb noted, shaking his head =We didn't change the track we played and now we're having to deal with the broken record. Now we gotta put a new soundtrack on to follow the beats of=
"...True I suppose…" Simon whispered, getting up and walking over to the windows of the command center, a far off shooting star racing by, "...We didn't really have a view like this back there, did we?"
=Nope. The planet Azmuth took us to so we'd be at peace and live our own lives didn't really have a good view of anything. Not even a moon= Reverb scoffed =Never did get to enjoy singing Blue Moon of Kentucky without one. Did always rankle the big guy, though, so there was that=
"Just about everything rankled him, especially when something messed with one of us," Simon pointed out.
=Yeah= Reverb noted as he glanced away from the monitors towards Simon, the spacesuit on the evolved Arachnachimp hiding all but a tip of a scar on the back of him =If we ever see the guy again, I hope the big guy left a mark on him at least. Or put down the mutt=
"Who knows? Ben could've encountered him and already has him processed and in jail," Simon spoke, a small smile on his lips before seeing his reflection in the glass, "...He was the one who got me these."
=Hm?=
"When I started to develop issues with my eyes," Simon pointed out, "Our eldest went off the day he learned of it and when he came back in the middle of the night, he gave me these."
=That was honestly sweet of him=
"Even if he was mostly angry at things, he was always soft when it came to us," Simon nodded.
=...Yeah…Guess we took the big guy for granted…= Reverb whispered.
"Well we didn't expect things to happen as they did. In a way, we are still new to this world. Maybe we just have more to learn…about ourselves and the galaxy," Simon smirked.
=You sure Ben's smarts is all you got? …Something tells me you also got some of that good natured spirit that endears him to so many folks, too=
"Perhaps," Simon nodded as he watched another shooting star go by, "Ever since we started to develop ourselves mentally, I've always been a bit of a daredevil in learning. It's just that…I don't want to see the universe as it should be, but rather…I see it for what it could be."
=Nice words= Reverb noted before one of his discs floating about the room shook =?!=
"What's wrong?" Simon asked.
=Caught something= Reverb replied, floating over to the vibrating sound disc and making it duplicate several times =I think it's her…and she's heading our way!=
Simon's eyes widened before he deployed his extra legs and moved swiftly to the consoles, typing rapidly with all his fingers and legs, "I'm sealing the room!" several slams went off as the few doorways slammed shut followed by reinforced shutters covering the windows, leaving them in the darkness for a moment before emergency lights turned on, "The plating on the windows and the material the doors are made of could keep even a To'kustar out."
=Fingers crossed she's not as strong=
"Hopefully n-" Simon began before the lights began to flicker, "?!"
=...There's no way…= Reverb whispered as the lights suddenly died out =?!=
"She must be cutting off the power to the control center…" Simon theorized.
=How?! This place is built like a dang fortress!=
"It is…unless…" Simon began before a groaning sound could be heard, "!?"
The two slowly looked over at the metal doors, faintly hearing the sound of metal starting to bend…almost as if gravity itself was bending it. Soon, without warning, the door protecting the two suddenly crumbled, the glowing red visor of Nu glaring menacingly within the darkness as she lowered her hand.
=...She….she can control gravity, too? …Well sh…=Reverb began before he was suddenly sent flying into the wall, grunting as Nu's swords were embedded in his shoulders. He attempted to move his discs towards her, only for multiple energy swords to impale into them and stick them against the wall =Gh!=
"Reverb!" Simon gasped before growling, letting his lower jaw split in two before firing a blast of webbing from his mouth at her.
Nu's blades shot out, slicing into the webbing. Nu turned to him in time to see him grab one of her blades and roar, swinging it at her. She quickly made her other blades return and parry the swiped one before she swung a fist and knocked him away.
"Diagnostic: two ribs fractured from strike," Nu observed, "Arachnachimp incapacitated."
=Ugh…Great…nice going, ya overgrown monkey= Reverb groaned from his spot in the wall.
"I…" Simon grunted, "I'm not a monkey, Reverb…" he grinned as Nu paused in her moving towards him to look down, seeing a beeping device, "I'm a scientist."
He quickly moved his arms up and over his head while he closed his eyes. The beeping accelerated before a pulse went off from it, knocking Nu away along with several chairs and sent her into a console, breaking it on impact.
=Was that one of my discs?!= Reverb exclaimed as Simon ran over on his spider legs and began to pull the blades out.
"Hey, you're the one who bet it when we had that improv game night," Simon replied, getting one of Reverb's arm out, "Now let's…"
=No= Reverb replied, deploying a disc and forcing it into Simon's hands =Take this and find Frost. Get that gun of yours built and use this to find us=
"What? But Reverb…"
=No time!= Reverb replied, making another =Now GO!=
With that, a pulse went off from it, knocking Simon out of the command center. A metallic groan made Reverb look to see Nu getting back up, her visor glowing. He narrowed his eyes as he deployed another disc and made it multiply.
=Alright, girlie…I'm stuck in the wall with just one arm free to deploy as many sound discs as I want. You're all floaty with swords for wings and legs. So…let's groove=
"Okay…this should be the spot," Frost whispered as he landed in a fairly large storage room filled with various containers, "Now to grab the things Simon needs. Should be easy enough…amongst these many…" he began as he moved towards a box, only to stop for a moment as he felt something…something was definitely wrong, "...Reverb? Simon? You guys there? …Simon? …Reverb?" he frowned on hearing no response, "...Frostbite…They got grabbed, didn't they?" he asked mostly himself, he could only hope they were alright.
Shaking it off, Frost began searching through containers, groaning that he actually knew almost no alien languages as that was what was used on many of the labels. He found weapon after weapon, but his best guess was these were meant to prevent prisoner uprisings, riot suppression, and general nonlethal force to subdue. He found sound-based weapons, gas emitting weapons, even a gun that projected some psychedelic light show that honestly made him lose his ability to see for a good few seconds. Any one of these might have been useful, but…probably not long enough to save his brothers. Then he stopped, seeing one box with no words, just a unique symbol. It was the Decepticon insignia within a cancel sign. His eyes widened as he opened it and he pulled out what looked to be a rifle with a barrel in a U shape…almost like a magnet. He clicked it on as it hummed to life and lit up.
"Oh…Oh this should do," Frost noted with a small chuckle. He moved to leave before pausing and looking at a few of the other weapons, "Hmm…"
"Ah….ah….ah…" Simon panted as he leaned against the wall, hiding inside a broken down lab as the lights dimmed in and out, "Reverb…even you, too…" he whispered as he grabbed his shaking hand, his thumb causing a panel on it to pop open, letting a photo fall out of the hidden compartment, "..." he picked it up with a foot hand and looked at it, showing them all in a group photo with Simon smiling without his armor but with his sunglasses getting pat on the head by a grinning Ultimate Vaxasaurian, Frost off to the side, Reverb front and center waving happily…and Pitstop panicking as he was stopping Rotwood from throwing a boulder at the camera as Ivor ate some purple grass, "..." he let out an aggravated noise as he looked around, "...No. Not again."
The sound of metal scrapping could be heard, making him growl. He had a feeling…it was her again. That girl who sided with the Decepticons…who was able to take down 3 Ultimates so far. Last time they had the advantage as a group, but separate…she was able to pick them off one by one. Almost as if…she knew how to take each of them down separately. He narrowed his six eyes before pushing his glasses up back into their proper place.
"Well…if she wants to fight me…then a fight she'll get," Simon whispered, looking around before grinning at the scrap materials in the broken lab, seeing a few broken jetpacks and various tools, "..."
Several minutes went by before the door to the lab was crushed in an intense gravity field. Nu floated into the lab, her visor glowing as she scanned everything around her field of view. She spun around, seeing only a spinning lab chair. She spun around again, trying to locate Simon.
"Observation: Evolved Arachnachimps are faster than expected given their girth," Nu observed.
A scratching noise made her spin around again…before looking up at the corner to see Simon hanging in the corner of the ceiling, growling with his lips pulled back to show his teeth and his spider legs extended to help hold him in the spot. She deployed her blades and sent them at him, only for Simon to jump right at her before they could hit. Small wing-like attachments on his back flipped up and exposed several thrusters in them that quickly sprung to life. He let out a feral roar as he rocketed at her and slammed his fists down.
"GAH!" Frost yelped as the station rumbled, "What the…? That roar…and the shaking…Simon?" he quickly began to flew off, phasing through wall to wall before moving up a floor, coming up in time just as the area rumbled once more, "?!" He then tensed before he flew back, the wall near him giving way as Nu flew back from the enraged Simon, '?! Whoa…Guess Simon finally reached an end to his patience…'
Frost looked around before he began removing several items from the makeshift bandoliers that carried the tools and weapons he took. Nu groaned, getting up only to flinch when several grenades were dropped in front of her before exploding and obscuring her view with a thick layer of smoke. Simon paused in his attack to look at it in confusion before Frost appeared beside him, put a hand on his shoulder, and phased them through the floor and then three more floors under that. Once they were at the lowest floor on Incarcecon, Frost stopped and they became solid.
"You okay?" Frost asked.
"Rrrr…" Simon growled before shaking his head and putting his glasses back on, "Y-Yeah…That…That felt good…"
"New upgrades?" Frost asked, looking at the 'wings' on his back.
"Of course. I've even reinforced my armor, too," Simon rapped his torso armor.
"Good…I brought you toys." Frost removed one of the bandoliers of weapons and handed them to him, "Sonic and Light based weapons to subdue nonlethally." He explained, "I used up the gas grenades…but I doubt that will buy us more than a moment," He then pulled out the rifle, "This…This is the good one. Left in a box marked Anti-Decepticon. But…beats me how much charge it has being alone up there, best guess…one shot."
"Hmm…" Simon looked it over, "Sturdy, moderate weight for its function…" he chuckled, "This will do perfectly. Frost, this is an Edison Cannon, a high-impact artillery that utilizes internal electrical energy that is condensed and altered into a high powered electromagnetic pulse in the form of a bullet that can instantly fry any electronics that it hits! Looks to be capable of firing twenty rounds per second for sixty seconds with a 1.7 reload time between uses…if it were fully charged. But like you said, looks like the battery only has enough for one round."
"Point, Squeeze, Boom…We get out of here," Frost summarized simply.
"Exactly," Simon nodded as he pulled out Reverb's disc, "And Reverb gave me this to find the others. If she's keeping them together, this will lead us to not just Reverb, but them."
"Smart thinking, Reverb," Frost noted.
"There's also the matter of making sure the shot hits," Simon reminded.
"...I think I have a plan," Frost replied after a moment of thought.
"Oh?" Simon blinked before leaning over to Frost.
"Okay. This is…" Frost whispered, earning noises of agreement from Simon at times, "Got it?"
"Perfectly," Simon nodded.
=So it's not just a decal, but the real deal emblem and she's working with Megatron and Albedo?= Reverb asked, hung upside down in a straightjacket.
"Indeed, sonic brother Reverb-boy," Rotwood replied, "The mountain sprite is in league with the insidious metal titan Megatron and too-too prissy Albedo-boy."
=And you haven't bothered regening your limbs because…?=
"The mountain sprite slapped Rotwood with the Sausage of Submission. As such, Rotwood cannot do a thing until she does a faux pas," Rotwood shrugged his good shoulder.
=Sausage of…Okay, you have got to write a book about this or an audio file for me to listen to=
"Where did he even come up with all this…?" Pitstop asked, "He was ranting about it even while I was sleeping…"
='Cause of course you could sleep in this situation…=
"Don't knock it 'till ya try it."
=I don't have a biological need for sleep…nor does the walking Wickerman…=
"Doesn't stop ya from having it," Pitstop shrugged, "So…any idea what's going on?"
=Well, we should have company soon and not in the way we got here= Reverb noted =Simon's got a way to find us now, so he and Frost can plot a rescue=
"...We're doomed, ain't we?" Pitstop asked.
"Have faith in cold shoulder brother Frost-boy and smart simian Simon-boy!" Rotwood declared.
=Honestly, if anyone is dependable among us…it's them= Reverb added, =They are the only ones who can save us…'cause they are the only ones with brains. Why do you think we named Rotwood…Rotwood? …Nothing but rotten vegetable matter in his head=
"Nonsense! Rotwood grows the finest vegetables!"
=No, yeah, that's true…but the contents of your noggin…are drastically lacking. But hey, we don't keep you for your smarts, we keep you 'cause normally you hit stuff good= Reverb chuckled only to grunt, =Ah…it hurts to laugh…that girl is vindictive…=
"Did she slap you with the Sausage of Submission?"
=A…A sausage? Nope. She smacked me around with her sword wings, the swords on her legs, the sword at the end of her hair, the back of her hand, the palm of her hand, but no. No sausage=
"The imbecile! Does she not understand the teachings?!" Rotwood snapped, the two swearing they saw nostrils flaring on his face…and he didn't even have any, "She has broken a celery stalk on the back of a sea urchin!"
=SPEAK ENGLISH!=
"Technically that was…"
=Can you explain it?=
"...No…"
=THEN IT'S NOT ENGLISH!=
"The mountain sprite has insulted Rotwood and his honor with the denial of the sausage!" Rotwood declared, grabbing his stump of an arm and ripping it off, allowing a new, bulkier one to regrow before ripping the leg stump off along with his good leg and making new stronger legs and feet take their place, "CONSARN THAT MOUNTAIN SPRITE SHE-DEVIL!" he ripped off his good arm, grew another bulkier one, reached out with both, and ripped open his cell door with ease, "I CHALLENGE HER TO A DUEL!"
"Oh for…!= Pitstop and Reverb groaned…really wishing they could facepalm at the moment.
"Baa…" Ivor bleated, sounding just like the duo.
"...Targets sighted," Nu whispered as she flew down the hallway, making a sharp turn before flying down an empty elevator shaft, "Resuming pursuit…all for Lord Megatron…and Ragna…" she whispered before stopping, blinking behind her visor.
Before all this…happened, she had been tasked to defend the Cauldron underneath Kagutsuchi; but now…here she was in a world still unknown to her. But it still had her Ragna..the one person she always had on her mind…and her sisters were interfering with her fusing herself with him to create the Black Beast. Though Megatron…it threw a new variable into her thoughts. What…was this feeling new to her? Approval? ...No, she wanted that from her Ragna, but…it was different when it came to Megatron. It was a difficult to explain feeling, she felt understood, but it felt like that wasn't perfect either. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when her visor let out a signal, prompting her to float out of the elevator shaft as she looked to the side.
"...Hyper-Evolved Arachnichimp and Necrofriggian close by…Proceeding to capture," she whispered before she flew off to where Simon and Frost were possibly hiding. Soon, within a matter of moments, she found herself in a large storage room, her visor scanning the area for any life forms.
The sound of something falling soon caught her attention, prompting her to hold a hand out as an energy gate appeared and fired off a sword, causing it to pierce a large steel crate. She then flicked her wrist as another portal appeared next to her, firing out another energy sword as it pierced a metal crate just as it was about to fall over.
"Hypothesis: Hyper-evolved Necrofriggian is currently utilizing natural-born stealth capabilities," Nu noted, "At best..he is attempting to distract attention from the Hyper-evolved Arachnichimp…" her arm shot out as another energy sword slashed a falling crate.
'Frostbite…she almost got me that time,' Frost thought, hiding in his intangible state as he was hiding behind a metal crate, 'Girl's smart, too. Simon better do some good improv if she catches on where he is.' he then tensed up as he quickly flew out just as a large energy guillotine sliced the metal crate in half, the Necrofriggian flinching as the blade barely managed to cut up his leg.
"Found you," Nu whispered before holding her hands out before her, causing her energy gates to aim at where Frost was at as she began to unleash a rain of energy swords at him.
"Oh frostbite!" Frost exclaimed, phasing through the floor to avoid them, 'Those swords bypass my intangibility!' he thought before an energy sword pierced through the floor, making him tense as it was inches away from his face, '?!'
"You will not escape…" Nu whispered as her blades gripped the floor, tearing it open to try and attack Frost with more energy blades, only for him to fly up to avoid the incoming wave.
He quickly became tangible as he fired a wave of flames at her, only for her to float up just as the flames swept over the floor, encasing it in ice. A moment passed and the ice shattered by a barrage of energy swords, forcing him to fly out of the way. Nu growled in annoyance as she aimed again only to shriek as a loud sound wave hit her and caused intense pain to her. She tried to turn to the source only to be blasted by a fireball that quickly froze around her. She looked up at Frost as he held up another grenade.
"This one is marked red…those others were marked blue…wonder what that means?" Frost spoke, clicking it in order to prime it for detonation, "Let's find out." he dropped it and let it roll right next to her. He then went intangible and flew through the ceiling before a loud boom and horrible ringing filled the air, "Concussion grenade mixed with flashbang…ow~"
"E-Error…" Nu whispered, her visor sparking as the glow in it flickered.
"So she's not invincible afterall…good." Frost poked his head through to see what happened.
"Error…e…er…error…" Nu whispered as she twitched on the floor, trying to force herself up one moment before she fell.
"Now just stand still for a minute," Frost flew down as he formed a ball of fire in his hand before tossing it and freezing Nu's legs in place, "Perfect. Simon!"
"What…are…?" Nu grunted as she forced her visor up to be able to see again, only to blink as Simon aimed the borrowed Edison Rifle at her.
"Mmm…" Simon pulled the trigger as the weapon sparked with energy around its unique barrel before shooting off a condensed bullet of electromagnetic energy.
The moment the shot hit her, Nu began to convulse and scream as the energy crackled off her body. After several moments, she collapsed fully, her visor dimming fully. Frost made a stick of ice and poked her. After a few seconds, both sighed in relief.
"Incapacitated," Simon nodded, looking over the Edison Rifle, "...Know what? I'm keeping this. Matches the suit."
Frost chuckled, "Fair enough. Now let's find out brothers."
"Let's be expeditious about it. I don't want to gamble on this clearly cyborg girl…staying down as long as if she were a full Cybertronian," Simon spoke as he pulled out Reverb's sound disk, "Alright, little fella…lead us to our family."
The disc wobbled before hovering into the air and flew off. The two quickly flew/ran after it, leaving behind the fallen Murakumo Unit.
=I spy…=
"Is it gray…?"
=Yes=
"Is it my shell?"
=No=
"Is it the wall?"
=You win again, Pitstop=
"ROTWOOD WAS GOING TO SAY THAT!" Rotwood shouted.
"Hey, can't really do much in our predicament," Pitstop noted…as Rotwood was carrying his and Reverb's cell on his back with Ivor trotting alongside the evolved Methanosian.
"Baa~"
"What is it, Ivor?" Rotwood asked, dropping the cell.
=Ow," both groaned inside of it before Reverb's disc popped out of a grate.
"Ah! Is one of loud sonic spewing Reverb-boy's discs, yes?" Rotwood pondered, flipping the cell over.
=Ugh…Yeah, that's one of mine= Reverb replied, the disc spinning around them =And it's the one I gave Simon before I got caught, which means…=
Frost phased through the wall, carrying Simon, "Okay, who made him angry again?"
"The mountain sprite shall feel Rotwood's fury!" Rotwood declared.
=Apparently, she didn't slap us with a sausage when she caught us= Reverb explained as Simon walked over and began to pick the lock of the cell.
"And after Rotwood showed her how to not dishonor herself and her people!" Rotwood ranted.
"Well…you're idiots. But I already knew that to begin with," Frost sighed, "Alright. We tagged her with an Anti-Decepticon weapon…she should be down. Now we're getting out of here."
"Oh thank god…" Pitstop sighed in relief, "Further I'm away from that crazy girl, the better."
"Yeah, yeah," Frost sighed as he began untying Pitsop, while freezing the restraints on Reverb so he could break free.
=Whoo! Finally!= Reverb exclaimed in relief, flipping as he fell to the floor.
"Grab the dumb one…oh and Ivor." Frost ordered.
"You have bested the mountain sprite?" Rotwood asked before pulling them into a tight hug, "For joy! Rotwood will get the jug once we are in safety!"
Frost grunted, managing to phase through his hug, "Ugh…Reverb, Simon, please tell me you found a ship before she got in the place."
"We did. There's one left in the bay," Simon confirmed.
=Looked to be a transport ship for prisoners= Reverb added.
"Then let's get out of here before she reboots or something!" Frost stated, "I don't want to be in the same sector of space as her for a moment longer."
=Told ya there was something not right with that chick…=
"Yeah...I noticed when she targeted me while I was intangible...and managed to cut me while being intangible."
=She can do that?!=
"Yes…now move it…" Frost sighed, "Or I'm leaving without the last person to get on that shuttle."
"...I believe him…" Simon muttered as they all scrambled after the leaving Frost.
=Earth, here we come!= Reverb whooped.
Nu, in the meanwhile, groaned as her eyes slowly opened, her mind slowly waking up as her mind both literally and metaphorically rebooted to its full ability. However, the rest could not be said of her actual body, primarily from the neck down. Her visor closed down as it displayed static, but was able to show some blurry images after a moment.
"My body is…inactive…" she muttered, "Contact Lord Megatron…"
=Another Status report?= Megatron responded.
"Negative. The targets found a weapon that overloaded and shut down my body. It seems it was meant for Cybertronians…"
=An Edison Cannon…I never expected one of those things to be available to them…wait…how are you still active? Most Cybertronians would be catatonic for several cycles…I should have been getting this call in 72 Earth Hours=
"Hypothesis: organic components of my form could be acting as a filter."
=Perhaps= Megatron replied.
"Concern: I may be late in accomplishing my mission, my body is only slowly regaining motor functions. But I have already predicted their course of escape. Their destination is undoubtedly Earth. They seek the aid of the one they were spawned from…Ben Tennyson."
=It would make sense. If I recall correctly, Khyber the Huntsman was the one who took down one of them: an evolved Vaxasaurian. News has likely reached them of Tennyson's victory over him= Megatron noted =You've done well for your first assignment, Nu=
"?!"
=I will deploy Astrotrain to bring you back to base. Your recovery from a direct hit from the Edison Cannon will be looked over to see if it can be replicated in your fellow Decepticons. I expect a full report on these evolved aliens you've encountered. Names, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, personalities…everything you were able to ascertain=
"Understood."
=You're disappointed, aren't you?=
"...Yes…"
=Good. That shows you have the type of spirit I'm looking for. You'll get your chance next time, little one. Just don't forget this loss…and count the days till you can get revenge=
"...Understood, Lord Megatron…" Nu whispered as she managed to force herself up, "I will not…lose again…"
=That's a good response, atta girl~=
SZ:...Nu as a Decepticon….that's totally not a scary image to imagine…
GT: Surprised everyone with this, didn't we? No one expected the other Ultimates, did they?
Z0: It was a real random idea, but we stuck to the continuity we sort of set up and we will role with it.
SZ: Yup…and hey. We brought up the Cabal again at least…and the other Ultimate Aliens, so we hope you enjoyed that at least.
Z0: Hope you enjoyed this…we have the main story to return to.
SZ: Yup..and hopefully in time for the anniversary.
Z0: Only on choice…*turns to the coffee machine* Men…bring me the Blend I got from the pits of Hell…the one that glows crimson red and taunts you with your greatest fears.
GT: Oh no…Uh…Read and Review, folks!
Z0: *sips Hell Coffee* AAAAAAAAHHH! *turns full Hellspawn mode again*
SZ:...yeah I'm good, so…see 'yall next time!*plops on the couch as the screen was burnt into ashes*Zzz…