5- Monster.
Everything seemed normal around Earth's orbit, all was very peaceful. Until, out of nowhere, an unidentified object made its way to the planet. It seemed like some kind of meteorite, entering the atmosphere at high speed. The meteor was heading right to Mount Quena, in a remote area of the Johto region. It ended crash-landing right at the edge of a forest. Once the smoke and dust cleared, it revealed the crashed object wasn't a meteor, but some kind of cybertronian pod, but one very huge. Suddenly some streams of some kind of steam leaked from the pod, as a message appeared in a small screen located in one of its sides which showed 'Warning, containment system compromised. Emergency repairs required.' The message continued repeating itself until the pod stopped leaking steam. Then, an intense noise, like someone hitting a wall of metal very hard, was heard from within the pod. More noises sounded for a couple of minutes, until part of the pod's surface started to dent, from the inside to the outside: something was trying to get out. The dent continued to grow until the last hit made a hole from which emerged a metallic hand with claws on its fingers, followed by a loud and sinister roar which was heard around the area, scaring some of the local pokémon. Something new, big and probably mad had arrived to Earth. Meanwhile, on the Nemesis, Knock Out was walking back to the lab as he took a look around, viewing how the new troops performed their daily duties.
"Ah, it feels good to see things are going back to normally." He expressed relieved, well, until he entered the lab. "Almost."
With the changes on leadership, Shockblast was now the main authority coming to everything scientific. So, now he was the one in charge of the lab.
"I see you have taken yourself a few extra hours updating our lab." Knock Out observed.
"Actually, it took me just half a megacycle to update all equipment, but the supervision and improvement of our databanks is taken me more than expected. With Soundblaster still MIA, it requires more time to perform the same duties he was assigned." Shockblast answered working on a terminal.
Knock Out took a look to something new in the lab: three stasis pods, which he remembered seeing them in another place before. "Hey, aren't these…Don't tell you are planning to use some of those again. Didn't you learn what happened with the last one?"
"Oh, we did learn about it, Knock Out." Starscream answered, making Knock Out to turn and see him and Xiaxus enter the lab. "And as I was telling Xiaxus here, we may have found a way to ensure not making the same mistake with them. Now that we know what they are capable of, I'm sure they will be able to make themselves useful against our enemies."
"The Autobots may have a super-unit on their side, but an asset like that requires a lot of maintenance for proper functionality. And we all know Autobots don't make an exaggerated use of that kind of resources." Xiaxus supported.
"Unlike us." Knock Out ended.
In that moment, the lab's door opened and Shatter and Dropkick entered.
"General Xiaxus, our sensors have detected an unidentified object approaching Earth." Shatter reported as she showed it on a terminal.
"Nature?"
"Not clear yet, but it's definitely cybertronian."
"Shatter and I can drop down in just a few seconds, reach the crash site and check what kind of valuable object we can take back." Dropkick offered.
"Are you certainly going to accept a task of this level? Haha, please, I thought you guys were formed for more." Knock Out mocked.
"Watch your tone, medic! Unless you wanna see what we are capable of personally." Dropkick threatened pulling out one of his swords.
"Are you sure you want to?" The red Decepticon answered back, showing his buzz saws. "I don't bother making you a look change."
"Enough you two!" Starscream demanded. "Knock Out, while you certainly should remember how to address to specific personal, you got a point."
"Uh?" Dropkick asked confused.
"Really?" Knock Out said.
"What do you mean, general?" Shatter requested.
"As members of the DIS you are more suitable for higher-risk missions and of unpredictable conditions." Xiaxus clarified.
"Xiaxus's personal judgment regarding your specialties is most logical." Shockblast supported.
"And as such you can wield some authority within our ranks. Send a reconnaissance team to locate the crashed object. According to whatever they discover we'll see how to act next." Starscream commanded.
At the same, into the Autobot base of New Iacon, Dedenne was sneaking beneath a couch. But he looked nervous, looking everywhere for a safe exit. At the end he decided to move beneath a rack with a lamp above. Next, he moved under a swivel chair and next under the nearby desk. Looking where to move next, he spotted the edge of the floor, and beyond the command center, so he ran for it. But when he was about to reach it, a couple of hands caught him.
"Got you! You almost made it, but I managed to find you first." Bonnie said, showing to be the one who caught him.
"Dene." Dedenne lamented looking down.
"Oh, don't feel bad, Dedenne. You just need to improve by keep playing. And so, one day, you will be so good at hide-and-seek that not even I will be able to find you in time."
"Dene nene." The little pokémon said tickling her.
"Wow, look how this place looks now."
"Hi Moon."
"Looks like you kids have finally ended settling up your personal area." The female Autobot opined seeing the gang's personal place now more tidy than previous times.
"Yeah, it is." Bonnie said, but with a sad tone.
"Something bothers you? Why are you here alone playing with Dedenne?"
"The others are busy." Bonnie answered annoyed sitting on the couch putting her hands on her cheeks. "Ritchie, May, Serena and Dawn are practicing Z-Moves; Misty and Max are in her gym and Ash, Tracey, Iris and big brother are helping the others piecing together the pending duties of base."
"Yeah, I heard Clemont was giving Blaster and Fixit a hand with Teletraan-1, but the others too?"
"They said it's to let everything mounted for when we need to be ready if anything happens, and the sooner the better. And it's hard to have fun alone, even if is with Dedenne."
Moonracer couldn't avoid feeling bad for her friend.
"Moonracer, I need you to come see this." Ratchet called.
"What is going on, doctor?"
"Our scanners have detected a strange object entering Earth atmosphere." The Autobot medic said showing it on the terminal.
"What do you think it is? A meteor, perhaps?"
"Clearly improbably, since they usually burn right at the entry. But this seems to remain in one piece. I cannot say for certain, but my strongest theory is that it could be of cybertronian origin. Most probably some kind of safe-travel compartment."
"Like an escape pod? Like the one that brought Smokescreen?"
"According to my readings the size could match. Since most of our members are actually on Cybertron carrying out a special volunteered assignment and the rest are still installing our base's new defenses, I can only count with you for scouting."
"Inspecting a crashed suspecting object fallen from space? Sounds enough to keep me busy for a while." She said before looking back at Bonnie, which gave her an idea. "Do you mind if I take someone on this recon?"
Moments later, a ground bridge appeared in middle of Mount Quena, from which emerged Moonracer with Bonnie on her shoulder.
"Thanks for inviting us, Moon." Bonnie thanked.
"I couldn't let you die of boredom back there. Besides, I miss the times back when you begged me to let you join us on the field."
"Well, since this is merely scouting, it will be like a wall in the park."
Moon chuckled. "That if things don't turn messy. Come on, I will take you for a drive."
Moon put Bonnie on the floor, changed to her alt form and activated her holoform. Bonnie knew what that meant.
"Are you up for a personal ride, Dedenne?"
"Dedenne." The little pokémon nodded.
"Then let's go, Moon." She said mounting her.
The trio made their way driving around the mount. While the performed recon, Bonnie took the chance to admire the beauty of their surroundings, the clear water rivers and the pokémon which lived there.
"This place is beautiful. Maybe we could come back to make the touristic route."
"I don't think you can, Bonnie. From what Ratchet rode, it seems this place is so difficult to access that humans haven't try to approach." Moonracer shared.
"Oh. Well, better for us, no one will bother us to enjoy this pleasant trip."
"That's the spirit."
But what they didn't know is that they weren't the only outsiders there. Not far from there, inside the forest, a group of Furret was playing happily not aware that they were being stalked. Whatever was stalking them was hidden in the woods. The strange being decided to get closer, making a big stomp in the process. That alerted one of the Furret and chose to run away, followed by the others. Except one, which was distracted smelling a flower. From the perspective of the strange being, which vision was some kind of technological one, it showed advancing toward the little pokémon, alerting it from its presence and starting to get away, but the being approached it faster. The Furret tried its best to escape, but before it could reach the edge of the forest a giant metallic hand pushed it against the ground, catching it. The being only required two of the hand's fingers to grab the pokémon. The poor Furret only could shiver in fear as the being brought it closer, the only following thing was a sinister shriek. Moonracer and Bonnie were not close enough to hear it. Or maybe because they were too much distracted looking at something, now on top of the mount.
"What is this? Seems like the dry bed of a lake." Bonnie observed.
"It appears so. There was a lake here, but it seems for strange reasons it dried up."
"But what could dry up such a big lake?"
"Beats me, I don't know much about weather." Moon answered before she projected a hologram on her wrist which showed a map of the area, similar to how Shatter did. "According to this, the crash-site where the object landed is right at the other side of the mount."
"Wow, that's new." Bonnie admired.
"That's one of the upgrades Blaster has performed on us from what we recovered from that Decepticon transport ship. It should not take me that long."
"Oh, can I take the chance and take a look around? I wanna see what kinds of pokémon live here. That way I can entertain myself while you make your scouting, and Dedenne could make new friends. What do you say?"
"Nene." Dedenne agreed.
"Hmm. Alright Bonnie, you can go. But don't get out of the mount. I don't want to have to go looking for you just because you get lost. I would not be performing right as your guardian."
"Promise. We will not go too far." Bonnie swore before they split ways.
Bonnie and Dedenne decided to stop in a river next to the forest, where lots of pokémon used to come. What caught her attention the most was a big group of Ledian flying above them. She waved at them, making one to wave at them back. Suddenly, Dedenne's ears moved.
"What's wrong, Dedenne?"
"Denenne!"
Dedenne pointed to a part of the forest, from where moments later a stampede of many pokémon emerged, forcing the little girl to hid behind a tree nearby. It didn't take long for the stampede to end.
"What happened to those pokémon? It must have happened something really bad for them to run away like that." Bonnie wondered.
"Dene!"
Dedenne pointed right where the stampede came from, a part of the forest with some fallen trees and broken branches. Bonnie felt a little scary knowing it could be something sinister or dangerous inside there.
"I know Moon told us to not get into any trouble, but whatever scared those pokémon may be bad for us too. Maybe it was the Decepticon's doing, or maybe Predaking hiding. Or perhaps those pirates."
"Nene?"
Bonnie took a hard breath, and looking with determination went right to enter the woods, in search of whatever perturbed the harmony of the place. Meanwhile, Moonracer was continuing the search in vehicle mode. She found the trail caused by the crash landing.
"A trail, huh? Now it will be easy to find."
She accelerated, following the trail until she spotted at the distance what she was looking for.
"Bingo."
As she approached, the returned back to robot form.
"Now let's take a look and see if the doc was right."
Moonracer started checking the pod.
"Hmm, it looks like some kind of escape pod, but I didn't know it could make such big ones." She said as she inspected the size of the inside. "Whoever traveled into this thing was a huge one. But Bot or Con? I also don't see any emblem on the pod." She said checking all sides of the pod before continue checking the inside. "Strange, the structure looked like it was pressurized, sign that it was completely sealed. And these are…units for inducing cryostasis? These features don't match with a transport module, it seems more like…a containment unit. But for what exactly this was built to contain?"
But the most unexpected detail which caught her attention was a separated part of what seemed to be the door, now teared in pieces, which had something written on it.
"What is this? 'Past cannot be buried forever.'" She rode.
Next to the message was some markings like if it was made by some big claws. But what kinds of claws could leave a mark like that on cybertronian metal? Meanwhile, back with Bonnie, she was checking where the pokémon stampede came from. As she went into the woods, she found some disturbing signs: some trees were on the floor like something teared them from the ground, one was cut in half, but what gave Bonnie the creeps was another which showed some claw markings similar to which Moonracer found. Also she tripped on, and when she got up saw that the hole where she fell into was some kind of footprint, but a giant one. She wondered what kind of creature could leave a print like that? Before thinking for a probable blameworthy, she heard a loud grunt coming from a clear between the rubble. Once into the clear she found a Furret lying next to a bush, but it didn't look well: it had some serious scratches in all four legs.
Bonnie's eyes almost dropped some tears. "Oh poor thing. It needs help. But what can I do? Hey, hold on." She opened her bag and pulled out a potion. "Thanks a lot for having me carry this, big brother. Okay, little fella, don't worry. This will not hurt you."
She proceeded patiently to apply the spray to the injured pokémon. Miraculously, the medical item did its thing, curing the injures in no time. Like nothing happened, the Furret moved like normal and thanked Bonnie with some tickles.
Bonnie laughed. "Hey, that tickles. I guess you're welcome. But what hurt you?"
Suddenly, a sinister shriek came from behind her, which caused the Furret to get away. Bonnie turned to see what caused that sound, but saw nothing. Until a pair of giant metallic hands pushed aside two trees, revealing the responsible one of all the fuss. In front of Bonnie stood a giant cybertronian, but it possessed some weird details: its feet's fingers ended in sharp talons, the ones which left those marks in the floor; two huge arms with spikes coming from the elbows ended in six fingered hands; five pairs of long spikes on its back; but the most weird part was its head: instead of mouth presented four insect-like jaws, the top looked like some kind of crown-like crest but the most sinister aspect was that it had five eyes, one blue, one green, one yellow, one purple and the one of the center was red. Despite not showing any emblem on its body, Bonnie deduced that giving its appearance it was a Decepticon. The little girl didn't react when she put eyes on that monster, she was totally paralyzed by fear, which prevented her from escaping. Now was too late, because the monstrous cybertronian spotted her and approached for a closer look, which caused Dedenne to hide into Bonnie's bag while she simply backed until she was against a tree. The giant came closer, with all those eyes looking at her.
"What are you?" The cybertronian asked, speaking with a weird voice which sounded sinister, like if the talking one was a bug.
"I…I…I'm…B…Bo…Bonnie." She answered terrified.
The creature sniffed Bonnie, making her to close her eyes expecting being devoured. But fortunately for her, the being pouted in disgust before moving away from her.
"You smell disgusting." It said making its way out of the woods.
"Hey, just for you to know I took a shower this morning! Big brother ensured that." Bonnie defended offended.
She looked at the weird cybertronian's behavior, looking through the surroundings, like if it was looking for something.
"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked.
"I feel…hungry." It answered.
Bonnie started thinking. "Hum, since you are cybertronian, probably you are unable to eat like us. Anything organic. Perhaps something metal…" Then she gasped, remembering something she discovered when she and Moonracer were checking the top of the mount. "If you ask me, I think I know something which may satisfy you."
The cybertronian looked at her in confusion. At the same time…
"It took you a while, Moonracer. Have you found the crashed object?"
"I did, Ratchet, but it's not as you thought. I have inspected the pod and it doesn't look like an escape pod, or a relic's container. It looks more like a containment unit."
"A containment unit? Hmm, I certainly hope it isn't another scraplet lockup."
"It certainly isn't, but for something way bigger. For what I can see, maybe something bigger than Optimus or Galvatron. Maybe able to match big guys like Predaking or Grimlock. And that's not all: the pod's design doesn't match with either Autobots or Decepticons. It doesn't show which side it belongs to. But most of all: I believe whatever this pod was holding was strong enough to make its way through it, and now it's out there somewhere."
"Moonracer, if what you say it's true you must locate it before it draws the Decepticons' interest. We don't know what use they will have in mind for such a thing."
"Thank Primus that's not gonna be such a problem Ratch, it left quite a trail easy to follow. It shouldn't take me long to…Oh no."
"What is it?"
"Bonnie. She's out there. She isn't aware about what is currently wandering around."
Moonracer changed to vehicle form and drove the fastest she could, hoping to not reach too late. Fortunately for her, Bonnie was not actually in danger, since the new cybertronian seemed no longer interested on her or any of the pokémon. It followed the girl to a place of the dried lake, where there were remains of what seemed to be a human complex in the first steps of construction, now abandoned.
"I don't know what that's supposed to be, but it seems someone was here long ago. And let something unfinished." Bonnie observed.
"This will do." The strange cybertronian simply said approaching it.
It smelled again, this time getting a little interested on the metallic parts. It grabbed some bars of metal, approached them to its jaws and gave them a bit. Next, it swallowed completely the bars before it started to search between the rubble. Bonnie saw it now eating every metal thing of the structure, not leaving any trace behind.
"Wow, it seems to like eating metal." Bonnie opined as it finished eating. "So, how it was?"
"Not bad. But…it lacks flavor." It answered.
"Are you still hungry? I don't know what else you can eat."
"Wait? Do you smell that?"
Bonnie smelled the air a little, making her sneeze a little. "Nothing except pollen. Exactly what?"
The cybertronian seemed to lick its jaws like a hungry creature by the smelt. "Energon."
"Energon? You can smell energon too?"
The being nodded as it kept smelling. "It's near."
"There must an energon mine nearby, I guess."
"Hey you!" A new voice called.
And to make things worse today, Bonnie spotted at the distance an entire squadron of Vehicon flyers looking and advancing at them.
"Oh no. Watch out with those guys, they are bad news." Bonnie warned.
"Those ones?" The strange cybertronian asked, more interested than worried.
"Yeah, they are Decepticons: the evil ones. Come on, we can't fight them on our own. We gotta get away from them as far as we can." Bonnie insisted, but for her surprise the new cybertronian, rather than escaping, went right at the Decepticons.
"I don't run away from fights." It was all which it answered as it continued approaching them.
The Vehicon squad continued approaching until they saw the new cybertronian coming at them, so they stopped and aimed their weapons at it.
"Freeze! Identify yourself, are you with the Autobots or the Decepticons?" The squad leader demanded.
It simply chuckled. "Neither."
"That counts?" One of the Vehicons asked confused.
"Focus. We are here to investigate an object fallen from orbit, lead us there so we can report back and we will not harm you." The squad leader demanded.
"Why are you interested on it? Do you have intention to put me in chains again?" The strange cybertronian asked back with a little touch of anger.
"Hey, stop approaching! I warn you!"
"And what are you going to do, soldier? Shoot at me?"
"You asked for it. Blast it!"
All Vehicons fired a storm of lasers at the new cybertronian, which covered itself with its hands. Bonnie saw how they were riddling it with blaster shots, so she covered her eyes.
"Alright, that's enough." The squad leader ordered. "Surely he has already learned the lesson."
But they heard sinister laughter coming from the smoke, which when dissipated showed the cybertronian completely intact. "You wanna beat?"
"By the Allspark, how is that possible?"
The strange cybertronian extended its arms, opened its hands and from its fingers emerged some covering which turned them into huge sharp claws.
"My turn."
The huge cybertronian jumped high and was about to land in middle of the Vehicon squad, so they moved aside before it intended to strike with its claws. The claws ended stuck in the ground, so the Vehicons took the chance to fire again. The closest Con hit it on the head, but when he was about to do it again, its claws were now free again and countered with a quick slash which caught the Vehicon by surprise. The attack left some ugly marks on the Con's torso, leaking drops of energon. A few drops also fell from the cybertronian's claws, who surprisingly tasted one, making it to lick its jaws in response.
"Mmm, tasty."
Another Vehicon charged firing at it, but it simply pushed him aside before marching for the squad again with claws ready. The nearest Con was the first to receive a taste from its claws, being sent flying a few meters backwards, right before other dodged another strike before being kicked back by one of its big feet, which also left marks. Another Vehicon jumped from behind and tried to grab it from its neck, but that was a mistake: the creature managed to grab his arm with its jaws and pushed him against the ground, but the worst was still yet to come. Next, it grabbed him while he unexpectedly ripped the arm apart with its jaws. Bonnie witnessed everything, but the next thing horrified her more: instead of dropping the arm, it started to choke on it, eating it, until it swallowed it whole. That thing not only was fighting the Decepticons, it was also preying them. Before the injured Con could get up, the monstrous cybertronian stabbed its claws on his body, topping him off. It continued resisting the shots and attacking the Cons with its claws, cutting off the arm of another with another strike of its claws. One Vehicon attended to charge and fire both weapons in front, but that was a big mistake, because it saw it coming and prepared one of its hands for another strike. When it came, it pierced the Vehicon's body completely, being able to lift him in the air before releasing him with a simple move. Next, it jumped next to another, causing him to fall backwards, which took opportunity to grab him and smash him against the floor continues times, even against his pals, until he was completely broken-down. Other decided to change form and attack from the air, but the strange cybertronian saw him coming, so it jumped high enough and hit him with its claws, causing the Vehicon to crash-land, changing back to robot form. He tried to escape, but it caught him first stomping hard and crushing him. Now there was just the leader, and it was approaching him slowly, knowing he had nowhere to run.
"You still think you're tough? What do you feel now, huh? Do you feel fear, Decepticon? That's right, I can smell your fear." The enormous cybertronian intimidated as he approached him. Once it had him cornered, it grabbed him by both arms and lift him close enough to its jaws as it smelled him. "Optics, T-Cog, lots of fuses. So many snacks, so little time. I think I'll make room for dessert."
And with the Vehicon completely terrorized, the monster gave him the final blow with a huge bite on the head. It continued chocking until it teared off the head, now on its jaws, which started to consume. The cybertronian took a look around it, it managed to defeat all those Decepticons by its own, earning its right to feed. And it celebrated it with a loud roar to the now cloudy sky, so loud that caused Bonnie to cover her ears as she started to sneak away. The terrifying cybertronian started to consume the remains of its enemies, eating all the pieces which survived the fight, sometimes using its claws or jaws to tear apart the bodies into smaller pieces. Meanwhile Bonnie, now completely horrified and speechless, was running through the forest holding Dedenne in her arms. Now she understood why the wild pokémon acted that way. She knew what they Decepticons were capable of, but they never dispose of their enemies in such a savage way: breaking them in order to eat them later. And if that thing managed to survive an entire Vehicon squadron without a scratch and dispose of them in such brutal way, what could it do to Moonracer if it managed to find her? Once at the other side of the woods, she sat on a trunk to recover her breath. Dedenne saw the look of his friend, the fear visible on her eyes, so he climbed on her shoulder and cuddled her face, trying to cheer her up. And surprisingly succeeded, making appear a smile on her face.
"Thanks Dedenne, I really needed that. Hehehe, just like what Ratchet says." She thanked getting up. "We need to find Moonracer so we can get out of here."
"Bonnie!"
She heard the familiar voice of her friend and turned to see her coming in vehicle form, transforming and kneeling down to her height.
"Thank the Allspark you're alright." The female Autobot said in relief. "Get aboard and leave questions for later. I need to put you to safety."
"And we need to get out of here right now. This is a great mess up." Bonnie answered back.
"What are you talking about?"
"There's another cybertronian around here, but it isn't an ordinary one. I just witnessed how it defeated an entire squad of Cons with only its bare hands. And resisted everything they threw at it. And while it battled them, it ate all parts of their bodies."
"What?!" Moonracer asked in disbelief. "That…that is not possible. Cybertronians don't feed that way. Well, maybe some Dinobots and perhaps Predacons, but…"
"That doesn't matter. Moon, we need to return to base right now."
"Bonnie, calm down. We have faced lots of dangers before, we will get through this too. Fear nothing, I will not let that creep get close to you."
"I'm not worried about me, Moon. What terrifies me is what it could do to you! It's not interested in humans and pokémon, but other cybertronians!"
"What?"
But suddenly, the ground shook, like if something huge landed hard. And for their horror, when they turned back, they saw the monstrous cybertronian standing before them, looking at Moonracer with preying eyes.
"Well well, look what we have here." It snarled.
"Sweet Solus Prime." Moonracer expressed in disbelief.
"Moon, we need to get out of here, right now." Bonnie pleaded.
"You're a small one. You will be easy to process." It menaced preparing its jaws.
Before it could do anything, Moonracer give it a hard punch on the face, stunning it enough for her to kick it twice, forcing it to step back.
"Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm not tough." Moonracer challenged determined.
The creature shook its head to focus back. "Fine. This will make the hunt more interesting."
"Bonnie, get to safety. I'll handle it."
"Wait, Moon!"
Moonracer charged at her rival, the same as the abomination. It attempted to grab her with its hands, but she jumped first and kicked it on the face. Next, she landed on some upper rocks and stormed it with a rain of shots, but that didn't stop it, because it roared back before hitting the wall hard, causing a rockslide. Fortunately Moonracer managed to jump before it happened, and the creature had to cover itself from the rocks. After that, it searched for its opponent, but she wasn't anywhere.
"Looking for me?"
Moonracer called from behind it, right on its back, between its back spikes. It tried to reach for her, but her position kept her away from its hands, so she took the chance to pull out her blades and nail them into its back, causing it to roar in pain. Now it struggled more, trying to shake her off desperately, but she held her ground, continuing tormenting it. After getting done with nailing her blades, she activated her electric whip and coiled it around the being's neck, causing it greater torment.
"See Bonnie? Nothing I can't handle." Moon reassured her.
"That's enough!" The sinister cybertronian announced.
It continued struggling until it smashed its back against a rock wall, crushing the small Autobot.
She fell to the ground groaning a little. "Okay, I've felt that."
"My turn." The huge cybertronian said with intention to grab her.
Moonracer reacted before it could catch her and countered back with her blades, leaving a cut on the face of her adversary.
"You now have a proof for what will happen to you if you dare approach a lady like that." She warned.
"Ha, you call those little trinkets sharp appendages?" It mocked before it showed its claws. "These are sharp appendages."
"Wow, what a nails you have."
"Haha, and you haven't seen half of them."
The being tried to strike with the claws, but she dodged without haste and countered every time she could, which irritated her opponent. Bonnie and Dedenne saw the confrontation from their hiding place. Without wasting time, she pulled out the phone her brother gave her for emergencies to call base.
"Hello? Ratchet? Can anyone hear me there?"
"I'm here Bonnie."
"Uff, thank Arceus. I need you to send help here right away."
"Bonnie, what's going on? I'm detecting a little sensation of speed-up in your words." Fixit noticed.
"Are you troubled by something?" Ratchet asked.
"Moon needs help right now! She's facing a very dangerous opponent by her own! One she can't beat alone! You need to send Optimus here RIGHT NOW!"
"Ouch, who's squealing here?" Sideswipe asked entering the room.
"It sounds like Bonnie." Ritchie recognized.
"Where is she? Is she in trouble?" Clemont asked concerned.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out right here! But she isn't giving me enough details! But it seems to be urgent." Ratchet reported.
"Well, I hope it is not as dirty job as this one." Wheeljack opined pointing to a huge circular metallic box.
"Guys, is that what I think it is?" Tracey asked.
"Yeah. Our little secret, and not most pleasant, assignment on our home planet." Hot Rod confirmed.
"Hmm. And I think, also, the answer for our current situation." Ratchet thought before turning at the screen. "Bonnie, hand in there, help is on its way."
After inflicting it an ugly cut on the face, the strange cybertronian had enough: it roared loud before stomping into the ground really hard, causing a small quake which caught the Autobot off guard, making her to fall backwards, leaving her defenseless.
"Gotcha!" It celebrated grabbing her by the foot. She tried to resist grabbing a bush next to her, but she pulled it to hard that took it with her. The enormous cybertronian approached her to its jaws. "You don't look so tough now."
"And you shouldn't underestimate your opponents by size only." She responded by introducing the bush into its mouth.
That sudden move caused the monster to shake the head agitated, releasing Moonracer as it tried to get the bush out of its mouth. It regurgitated the plant and cleaned its jaws for any remains of it.
"Puaj, organic garbage." It cursed.
"You have weird gastronomic tastes." The female Autobot mocked.
But that provocation was a bad move, because it made the dangerous cybertronian to roar in fury, charge and tackle her. When she was on the floor, it stomped on her and started crushing her against the ground, causing her great pain. But before it could strike again, a whistle caught its attention, looking at Bonnie.
"Hey, you're hungry?! Come and get it!" She announced pointing to the same box the Autobots brought to their base, with a ground bridge closing behind it.
"Oh, now that's more like it." It accepted, releasing Moonracer and walking forward the item. It smelled it once it was near, and for what it smelled it proceeded to open it, tearing it with its claws. Once done, it put in one of its hands to grab whatever thing waiting for it inside. But then it sensed something biting its hand. "What in the world?"
Suddenly, a huge current of small metallic things flew out of the box and congregated, forming a swarm. Both Bonnie and Moonracer recognized what those creatures were.
"Are those…scraplets?!" Moon said alarmed.
"Moon, hide!" Bonnie yelled.
Fortunately, the scraplet swarm, way bigger than the one Team Prime faced in the first base, focused its attention of the bigger and scarier cybertronian, ready to consume it. The monstrous cybertronian attempted to face them, but the scraplets were many more and smaller that they swarmed it in no time, eating through all parts of its body. The pain inflicted made it to fall to its knees, allowing Bonnie to reunite with her Autobot guardian. Both friends saw how the scraplets seemed to take care of the monster, making them to forget how to handle them once they were done with it. But then, the strange cybertronian stood back on its feet, roared into the air, and surprisingly some kind of electric field covered its entire body. This electricity, which seemed to generate from its spark, neutralized the scraplets in contact with its body, making them fall onto the ground, but they didn't seem dead, more like simply paralyzed or in stasis. Once they were all removed from its body, the monster grabbed one still moving and approached it to its face. The scraplet struggled while it still tried to choke on its previous victim.
"Who's devouring who now?" The being laughed before it grabbed the scraplet with the jaws and swallowed it completely.
It continued eating the scraplets one by one. Bonnie and Moonracer were speechless.
"How it managed to survive an entire swarm of scraplets?" Moon asked in disbelief.
"I already told you it wasn't an ordinary one. But I didn't expect this either."
But that wasn't the only shocking surprise: as they witnessed how the strange cybertronian devoured the scraplets, they observed some changes on its body. The damaged parts grew back like if no injuries were inflicted: it regenerated.
"Not bad for a snack." It said once swallowed the last scraplet and turning its attention back to Moonracer. "Now for the dessert."
"No, please." Bonnie called getting in front of it. "Please don't hurt her, she's my best friend. We are not enemies, just like the pokémon. We all can live together in peace in this world, you just need to give it a chance."
Moonracer was touched by her friend's words.
"Friends? Friends are nothing but a simple weakness. One that fortunately I don't possess." The sinister cybertronian answered as it continued advancing toward the Autobot. "Allow me to release you from your binding."
During his answer, Bonnie noticed Dedenne on top of the weird cybertronian, who winked her an eye.
"Then you asked for it. Dedenne, Thunder Shock at full power!"
Dedenne performed his move, electrifying the big cybertronian and inflicting it great pain. The monster attempted to take him off, but thanks to his tiny size and that he hid on a very good hideout, Dedenne was out of the reach of the monster's hands, and the use of electricity will not work as well as with the scraplets. After a long time of torment, the monster collapsed on the floor. Dedenne came out safe and sound, reuniting with his trainer.
"Ah Dedenne, you did it. You saved us." Bonnie thanked stroking Dedenne with her cheeks.
"Looks like the tiny won today." Moonracer complimented.
Suddenly, they heard a couple of grunts coming from the collapsed cybertronian, ruining their celebration.
"Arg, come on." Bonnie groaned.
"Is there nothing powerful enough to knock him down?" Moon asked in disbelief.
They heard the monstrous cybertronian laugh sinisterly. "Many tried to take me down, and they failed. Many attempted to capture me, and they were no more. Many intended to extinguish my spark, and instead I extinguished theirs. They even opted to try to control me, but I'm indomitable. No matter how strong, how fast, how precise you hit me, or how smart your strategy is, I will always rise again. No matter what way you try, my spark will never extinguish. I…AM…UNSTOPPABLE!" It ended its speech with a roar.
"Come on Moon. Let's run away while we can." Bonnie suggested grabbing her guardian's hand.
Moon tried to get up, but she was still hurt from the being's stomping. "I'm sorry. I…I don't think I can. Safe yourselves."
"No way, Moon. We will not leave you."
"Denenne."
"How admirable, standing together till the end. I will enjoy tearing all of you apart. A shame I'm not doing it just for something I can eat, but you all have provoked me, and I don't forgive anyone. So, say goodbye." The sinister cybertronian declared, preparing its claws for the final blow.
Suddenly, a ground bridge appeared behind them, which stopped the monster from finishing them, and from within it, Optimus Prime came out. He launched a battle cry before kicking it hard on the chest, sending it backwards lots of meters. Before it could recover, Optimus inflicted three hard punches which sent it another few steps back.
"No Autobot, human or pokémon are going to be left defenseless. Specially against beings like you."
"Optimus, thank goodness." Bonnie said in relief.
"Just in time, Prime."
"Moonracer, you, Bonnie and Dedenne get out of here while I retain your raider. I will be right behind you."
"A Prime? It's been a while since I was in presence of one."
"Who are you, strange cybertronian? And what intentions have brought you to Earth?"
"I'm surprised no one has realized yet who I am. Don't tell me everyone has forgotten about me, specially after everything that happened thanks to me. And why I am on this planet, well, I guess destiny finally thought it was enough for me to be restrained, and granted me back the freedom I deserved. To do what I want." It answered as it stood up.
"You don't look as a Decepticon, and neither act like them. But your words speak like their ambitions. As long as they threat this world inhabitants, I will not allow you to complete them. I will ask you nicely just this one, stand down and we will treat you as kindly as we can."
The monster laughed. "The last Prime I met was not this kind, but I suspect that's not what you really want. I think you have planned to lock me into a cage! Or put me some chains! So no thanks. Besides, I cannot avoid it, it is my nature after all. Now show me what you got, it's being a while since I battled a Prime." It finished preparing its claws for battle.
"So be it."
"Come on!"
Optimus changed his hands for two axes and engaged the monstrous cybertronian, clashing his weapons with its claws. They struggled for a while until Optimus headbutted it by surprise, stunning it and allowing him to perform some hits on the legs, putting it on its knees, followed by a double kick backwards on its head. The sinister cybertronian roared back in fury and tried to strike with its claws, but Optimus used his jet-pack to dodge up and tackle it from behind. As it was getting up, Optimus performed a double slice, leaving two ugly marks on his opponent's chest. It seemed like it was about to leak energon, but it simply chuckled.
"Haven't you learn nothing? You cannot destroy me." It revealed as the cuts were surprisingly regenerated.
"By the Allspark. It cannot be. You…you are…?" Optimus started shocked.
"Yes. At last you have figured it out. And so, you know what comes next."
The monster attacked again, but Optimus reacted fast enough to evade the claws, which simply rubbed his battle mask, making some sparks. But it didn't finish: next it pushed him against the ground before stomping on him. It attempted to sink its claws on his chest, but Optimus ignited his jet pack engines at full power and managed to release himself, but his adversary managed to grab him by the wings and restrain him, until he threw him against a tree.
"Running away? Where's your honor? Fight like a Prime." The monster challenged approaching him.
Both opponents grabbed the hands of the other one and tried to push each other back. While they did that, the monster also tried to bite Optimus with its jaws, attempting to choke his face.
"Optimus, they are here. Move!" Elita shouted from the portal.
Optimus used all his strength and surprisingly grabbed the monster's jaws next time it tried to bite, dragged it by them circling around and pushing him back before transforming and driving at the ground bridge. The monstrous cybertronian got up immediately and went after him, prepared its claws and jumped high trying to reach Optimus first. The Autobot leader saw this through the rear-view, so he changed back to robot form, pulled out his gatling gun from the back and fired at it, forcing it to cover itself from the shots with its claws. That bought Optimus time enough to resume escape and reach the ground bridge. The monster landed almost at the entrance of the portal, jumped again and tried to strike Optimus again, but the portal disappeared before it touched floor. It ended with the claws inserted on the ground, until it pulled them out. Seeing its preys managed to escape, it left a furious roar to the air, the same time as some lighting form a nearby storm illuminated the sky. At the same time at base…
"Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed as he ran to hug his little sister. "Thank both Arceus and Primus you are back! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Don't tell me you have been traumatized?"
"I'm fine, big brother, really. After everything we have passed through that isn't enough to traumatize me. But I admit it has been very weird."
"What happened to you guys back there? You said you were facing some kind of non-ordinary cybertronian." Iris reminded.
"How is that?" Misty added.
"Well, not only because of its terrifying aspect." Bonnie started.
"Which I can say it surely creeps me out." Moonracer admitted while Ratchet examined her.
"But its most disturbing fact was when after disposing off the Decepticons, it ate their remains just like an Aron eats metal."
"Wait, what?" Max asked in disbelief.
"Say again?" Smokescreen added.
"It's true. That same happened when it miraculously managed to dispose of the scraplets." Moonracer confirmed.
"How can a single cybertronian, as big or tough as it is, survive an entire swarm of scraplets by its own?" Warpath asked in concern.
"It generated some kind of electric force field which protected its entire body and stunned them. It appears it came from its very spark."
"What? That's nonsense. There is no way any cybertronian can develop such unbelievable defense." Blaster argued.
"Well we saw it, with our very eyes."
"But the worse was that, when it started eating the scraplets, its wounds were miraculously healed." Bonnie continued.
"It was more like instant regeneration."
"A full regeneration of metal?" Elita asked in disbelief.
"Such marvelous healing properties are highly improbable. The cybertronian body requires additional help in order to achieve a complete reparation." Ratchet discussed.
"So we have a sinister cybertronian which treats its enemies as meal like a cannibal and with astonishing ability to regenerate completely all kinds of wounds." Tracey summarized.
"How that guy managed to achieve such evolutionary state?" May questioned.
"Because…it is not just any cybertronian."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked worried.
"You know something about it, Optimus?" Ash asked.
"After everything that Moonracer and Bonnie witnessed today, besides my ephemeral experience battling it, I think I now know exactly what this new threat is." The Autobot leader said before turning at the other leaders. "Dear, Ratchet, Magnus, do you remember those old stories Alpha Trion shared with us in the old days, long before the war periods?"
"I think I know where you are going with this. But dear, are you sure?" Elita started.
"Sir, you are not saying that…" Magnus started.
"But Optimus, that's just a myth. Simple tales without any base of confirmation." Ratchet objected.
"I believe after this day, those rumors are more than just a legend."
"What rumors?" Dawn asked.
"What are you talking about?" Ritchie followed.
"Is there something you know about this guy than we should?" Misty added.
"And why it sounds like a very bad thing?" Ash ended.
The Autobot leaders looked at the children and Elita sighed. "I guess there is no point in trying to deny it anymore."
"My greatest fear is the confirmation that today's attacker it may be no one else than the one known…as Protoform X." Optimus revealed, shocking everyone of Team Prime.
"What?! Are you not mounting-growing-" Fixit said starting to glitch as response, until he hit himself on the chest and stopped. "…joking?!"
"The very same?!" Seaspray shouted.
"But that's not possible." Hot Rod denied.
"I always thought it was just a scary story to motivate rookies to remain alert." Warpath opined.
"And I thought just one which adults used to tell to sparklings before shutting off." Arcee said.
"You gotta be kidding us!" Wheeljack defended.
"Hey, hello!" Max called, making everyone to turn at him. "We are new on this matter, so anyone can tell why is everyone so scared about this whatever X thing?"
"Protoform X, Max. And it's not just a scary story." Bumblebee corrected.
"It's an ancient dark myth of Cybertron." Smokescreen continued.
"How so?" Iris asked.
"According to legend, it takes back before the War for Cybertron commenced. In times of the Golden Age." Ratchet started to tell.
"It is said during that period, some cybertronian scientists worked on a top-secret project. No one really knows what purpose they had in mind." Optimus started to narrate.
"Some said they were performing some researches related to the spark of cybertronians." Elita added.
"I heard a version which told they were attempting to create a cybertronian which spark never extinguish." Blaster shared.
"Although none really knows of those investigations' true nature or what procedures went through, story tells that the project was something beyond any morality. That they were attempting to create the ultimate cybertronian life form." Optimus continued.
"For that they performed genetic experiments to combine the strongest attributes of the different sentient beings of our world. Such as the survival force of the Insecticons, the predatory instinct of a Predacon, among other things." Ratchet added.
"I heard in that part of the story that they even used a little piece of pure dark energon to create support between all the elements." Smokescreen added.
"So something like how Mewtwo was created?" Misty asked.
"No, something more sophisticated, speaking on scientific field of course." Fixit corrected.
"At the end, at the climax of their work, they managed to create a brand new cybertronian, one unlike our world had never seen before, the one which didn't originate from the Allspark. They named it Protoform X. When the new being awoken, the scientists though their job was a success, and couldn't wait to start studying it to comprehend what mysteries it may hold. However, they failed to notice that they newborn cybertronian was not a mindless being as they thought at first." Optimus narrated.
"Protoform X revealed to be a very unstable being, highly aggressive and extremely dangerous. It killed every and all of its creators and everyone who tried to control it, revealing what kind of being they gave life: an abomination." Elita continued.
"After destroying entirely its birthplace, the monster continued spreading panic, destruction and death wherever it walked, as fear and its legend started to spread around all Cybertron's territories. The security forces tried to stop it, but no matter what methods they used or many of their forces employed, Protoform X didn't yield. Not even the use of armed force was enough to stop it. But finally they managed to capture it, but they were not sure what to do with it. No matter how hard they tried, its spark never extinguished." Ultra Magnus told.
"At the end, because they couldn't destroy it, they chose to contain it, isolated it from the rest of the world, but there was no prison strong enough to hold it. So they locked it into a containment pod and expelled it off-world, hoping it wandered through the immensity of space for all eternity. But it seems it has not been like that." Optimus ended.
"And now that it is here on Earth, it confirms all the ancient rumors." Ratchet added.
"That's some scary story." Serena said trembling until Ash hug her.
"So, what are we gonna do now that we know what are we dealing with?" May demanded.
"With a guy like that? Ha, simple, we bomb it with lots of artillery from our ships until it's reduced to scrap." Warpath suggested.
"That thing may be tough outside, but what about the inside? How about we make it swallow a living grenade down its throat, and once in its stomach kaboom, farewell legend." Wheeljack came up with.
"Forget it. That thing may be able to heal its internal injures like it heals the outer ones." Moonracer objected.
"How about sending our big pal Omega Supreme to crush it? Surely it can't face such a powerful opponent." Ritchie invented.
"Why not? After all this is an emergency." Max supported.
"It has to have a weak point. All beings have one, no one is invincible. Galvatron and Unicron weren't so this Protoform X has to be as well."
"Clemont is right. There must be something it cannot endure." Iris supported.
"Well, it could have crushed Moon, but instead it went to check the scraplet trap. I also remember in our first encounter that it was very hungry." Bonnie remembered.
"That thing must be some kind of hypervore." Clemont deduced.
"A what?" Bonnie, Max and Sideswipe asked confused.
"It means a being with a very fast metabolism which forces it to constantly search for food." Ratchet explained.
"Which means it's always hungry." Blaster translated.
"Ah, maybe that's why it hadn't enough with the Decepticons." Bonnie understood.
"So X is always hungry. So what? That makes it more dangerous, urging it to get into a fight constantly." Arcee interpreted.
"But it seems it doesn't like eating anything nonmetal."
"Uf, I guess that means humans and pokémon are not in the menu." Dawn said in relief.
"Good for you, but the others here will still have to risk our chassis." Sideswipe complained.
"Even if were not as much in danger as you, that thing is still a threat to the entire world. What if it decides to search for metal things it enters into a town and demolishes buildings and fights authorities?" Ash reminded.
"Or if it tries to eat pure metal type pokémon? They could be still in its menu." Tracey added.
"The kids are right. Although it is improbable that the natives of this world represent importance enough to draw Protoform X' attention, it's still a great menace to everyone. One we must neutralize at all cost." Optimus decided.
"Okay, we know we have to take care of it, but how do we do it? It is obvious that if the legend is true, which it is now, we cannot destroy it. Its spark can't be extinguished." Hot Rod reminded.
"Maybe not by ordinary means. Perhaps some ways which are not yet been discovered." Ratchet theorized.
"We cannot confront it directly, but maybe we can outsmart it. Make a diversion and surprise it to catch it off guard." Ultra Magnus suggested.
"And then we could capture and lock it here."
"You're right, Elita. Unlike our previous times on this planet, now we are equipped with the necessary tools to contain any kind of threat. New Iacon may possess a containment room apt to hold it definitely." Optimus decided.
"You have one of those too?" Max asked.
"We also have a prison lock." Bee revealed.
"Sweet. Good riddance for that monster." May celebrated.
"How about locking it in a stasis pod? That's how it arrived to Earth, the way they contained it before expel it from Cybertron."
"That's a good idea, Moonracer. We will capture it, bring it here and lock it into one in the prison lock." Elita authorized.
But before the Autobots could act, back to Johto, Protoform X, seeing the raining sky while it consumed the last pieces of the Decepticons, decided to see what this planet had to offer to him. So he stood firm, and from his back appeared some kind of propeller which charged up and ignited. The cybertronian abomination took flight and continued his way until losing himself into the sky. Moments later, Team Prime appeared through a ground bridge in the same location with their special guns at hand. They searched the entire place, but found no trace of their fugitive.
"Base, we have searched the entire area. There is no sign of Protoform X." Bumblebee reported.
"What?" Ratchet said in disbelief.
"It got away?" Max asked.
"Who is possible to lost such big and monstrous cybertronian?" Misty asked.
"Beats me. But I can't find any trace of it. It appears it has left the area." Blaster analyzed on the computer. "The question is how?"
"So it could be anywhere right now."
"Fear nothing, Ash. We will search for it. And when we find it, we will make sure it doesn't harm anyone else." Optimus swore.
"That's not what troubles me. What I fear is that this kind of experience could repeat, like when it happened to me with Airachnid." Serena shared.
"Well, I think I have something for it." Blaster revealed as he gave the gang something with one of his tentacles.
"Uh? What are these?" Max asked curious.
"Hey, these are Pokétchs, like the one I have." Dawn recognized.
"These are not ordinary ones. I managed to perform some modifications, so now you can also make use of other functions, like a camera, a sensor radar capable of detecting energon signatures, but the best is that you can use them to contact us anytime. They also show us your actual location, allowing us to track you from within our base." Blaster explained.
"Consider them a gift from the pokémon rangers." Elita said smiling.
"Wow, how cool." Ash said putting it on his wrist.
"So now we can call you faster in case of emergencies." Iris deduced.
"Or also talk between us wherever we are." Serena added admiring her own.
"Those new additions will be of great use for you, specially now that new enemies could show up when we lest expect them." Optimus pronounced.
Speaking of said enemies, the Decepticons were still performing their usual duties, when Shatter and Dropkick entered the bridge.
"Generals, it's been a while since we sent that recognition team, and they still haven't reported back." Shatter told them.
"Even if they encountered with the Autobots they should at least said it. Something must have gone wrong." Dropkick insisted.
"Hum, yeah, you have a point there. This surely seems like a mystery." Starscream nodded.
"Indeed, old friend. This seems now like a suitable task for you." Xiaxus agreed before turning at them. "You two go and search for them. Check their last coordinates to see what happened down there."
Time later, the two Decepticons reached the zone, now in middle of a storm, transformed and landed.
"Urg, it had to be bad weather right now."
"Stop complaining, partner, and start searching." Shatter said to Dropkick as they turned on their lights.
The two Decepticons inspected the area for a while until they met back at the same.
"I got nothing, not a single trail or remains." Dropkick reported.
"This is weird: not tracks, not bodies behind, or proofs of battle. It's like if they disappeared into thin air."
"Vehicon can't do that. Right?"
"Of course not, this has to be another thing. If only we had a single proof to start."
The two Decepticons continued their way, not aware that right beneath their feet was a print of Protoform X, the only sign remaining of its previous presence. In middle of the stormy sky the only sounds were the thunders and rain, until other joined the chore of the storm: the roar of Protoform X. Planet Earth now had another monster to deal with.