36- Improvement.
In middle of nowhere, one vehicle was heading to an unknown destination. At the same time, inside some kind of hidden facility, someone was having a conversation with a Vehicon through a screen. Surprisingly that one was no one else than Protoform X, and the Vehicon he was talking to showed a different color scheme than the ones from the Decepticons used to have. It had to be one of the deserters, they were allied with him.
"Sir, we are putting the last touches to the equipment for your upgrade." The Vehicon reported.
"Excellent. Thought I am concerned how our constant supplies' acquiring may have attracted our enemies' attention enough. Check if security is active and ready for any unexpected guesses." Protoform X instructed.
"Yes sir."
Then the screen changed to the car driving outside. "Sir, I return with news."
"Ha, you managed to obtain the last advances on weaponry from your former allies."
"Better than that."
"Better?"
In that moment that car entered the same room X was, transformed, revealing to be another Vehicon deserter.
"It seems the Decepticons couldn't access the secrets of the MechTech the humans created. I had the foresight to salvage one of the pieces for study." He said bowing and showing him the piece. "From this, we can develop new weaponry advances, perhaps even use this technology against the Decepticons, Star Seekers and the Autobots."
"You…" X started, right before hitting the Vehicon. "Imbecile! The Decepticons are sure to have implemented a tracking system in order to catch who has been stealing from them! You could have lead them straight to me!" And smashed the piece.
"But, sir…" The Vehicon tried before X grabbed him by the neck.
"At least your life won't have been a total waste. I will enjoy devouring every part of you to satisfy my hunger." X declared preparing his jaws.
"Sir, no! Please!"
"Sir, we are under attack!" Another Vehicon reported through the screen, before it changed to an image of the entrance being swarmed by Decepticons.
"What?! No, not so soon! Sound the alarm! Everyone, get ready for combat! That includes you too, consider yourself lucky." He said dropping the one he was gonna eat.
"Alert! Decepticons detected infiltrating your location."
Just in that moment a hole was made on the ceiling and a two-wheeler Vehicon landed and crushed one deserter.
"I can see that." X confirmed. "What about my upgrades?"
"We haven't finished yet to install all the configurations you requested. And most of us have been forced to mobilize to contain the threat. You'll have to battle with what you got."
"I have done it lots of times. All hands, dispose of them!"
While his new troops tried to keep their former comrades at bay, X decided to eliminate them with his hunting skills, mostly sneaking behind them and attack by surprise, decapitating them with his jaws, or ambushing them with fast strikes with his claws. After a couple of uses, all Decepticons were eliminated, mostly thanks to X, who got complemented by the deserters.
"Those look to be all, now open the doors." X ordered.
"We need time to override the security protocols triggered by the attack." One deserter reported through com-link.
"Argh, scrap that! I'll do it myself!"
X approached the doors, kicked one part hard and used his hands to remove them out of the way.
"Done." He announced.
"Sir, this area is unstable. We need to evacuate immediately." One soldier advised.
"Everyone out, follow me!"
X and his troops ran down a passage, taking down every Con they found on the way, until he saw someone in the hall in front of them. Sandstorm came in his tank form, transformed and…
"Hey monster, catch!" He called firing a missile.
The projectile hit X so hard and unexpectedly that he was sent flying against a wall, breaking through it and falling a pair of floors down. Lots of rubble fell above him, burying him alive. Of course, that wasn't enough to knock him out, but still was mad.
"He will pay dearly for that." He swore pushing the rubble aside while he opened his com-link. "I though you told me its was a Decepticon attack, but those pirates are here as well."
"It looks that way sir, we are detecting lots of different signals, coming from Decepticons, Star Seekers, probably even Autobots." A deserter officer informed.
"Looks like everyone is after my head today. I'll make sure to be hard to catch."
X moved through some underground passages, probably maintenance routes.
"Sir, Decepticons have breached the upper levels!" One soldier reported.
"Hold them off or you'll answer to me!" X answered back while he continued moving. "I need to collect plutonium from the human stockpile. Its energy will power up my upgrades."
He continued until reaching some kind of missile silo, but before doing anything he received shots from higher levels.
"Cursed Decepticons." X cursed.
Seeing their opponent was bigger than expected, the Decepticons threw some grenades. But they didn't expect X to take them and throw them back, right when they were about to explode.
"That will teach them."
Once the coast was clear, Protoform X approached a missile, removed some of its case by force and pulled out a shining piece contained on its center.
"This plutonium is crude, but it will work." X said while he inserted it on an access of his body.
He was about to return where he came from when suddenly the access was blocked by lots of rubble, too much to dig himself out.
"Soldiers, find me an exit, now!" X demanded.
"Sensors indicate a ventilation network below you."
He saw the tunnel which led to it, but suddenly a Star Seeker heavy soldier blocked it, firing his heavy gun at X. He reacted fast, spitting some liquid which hit the pirates' optics, blinding him. Also, it seemed like he was in pain, so it could possible be another form of his poison. He took the chance and used his claws to cut a big engine, probably used for space shuttles, and crushing him with it.
"I hope it doesn't bother you if I borrow this." X mocked taking the pirate's heavy gun before entering the tunnel.
"Sir, we're being overrun!" One soldier reported.
"I have no interest in your excuses. Let our enemies fight against each other, lead them together so they change where to focus their attention."
Once he reached the end of the tunnel, he spotted more Decepticons waiting for him. He fired back with the heavy gun, eliminating them in no time.
"Everywhere I turn, if isn't pirates is those Decepticons. Perhaps I should practice with them my new toy."
After finishing with the stationed enemies, which were just a few, X opened one missile like the previous one and pulled out what he wanted.
"More plutonium." He said introducing it. "Troops, we no longer have a choice. It's time for me to upgrade myself at the same level as our enemies."
"Sir, the connection with the modifier station has been severe. You will have to manually begin the activation process. We'll send you the coordinates." One officer responded.
X followed the indications, forcing another door open, and meeting with some of his troops.
"Soldier, cover that door!" X instructed.
The deserter do what he asked, but was shot down immediately, forcing the doors to cover as well. The responsible ones: Star Seeker snipers firing from holes in the upper level.
"Snipers! Cowards with rifles." X cursed.
"Sir, the Star Seekers have us surrounded!" A soldier reported.
"Good. Keep them occupied, I have more important things to do."
X managed to sneak beneath where the snipers were positioned, evading their lines of fire.
"Direct me to the location of the modifier!" X requested.
"We'll lead you through the coordinates. Drive through the tunnels near the dry docks." The deserter officer guided.
As he continued, X ran into another group of soldiers battling.
"Sir, the Decepticons are pushing through!" One Vehicon shouted.
"Then push back, no one retreats!"
But the Decepticon attackers, stationed snipers, tanks and heavy soldiers, fired from well covered places.
"Get out here and fight, you cowards." Protoform X provoked.
Suddenly X thought on something: he spilled more liquid poison of his into the weapon's slot where munitions were inserted, and fired some kind of enhanced shots, which also dispersed the poison near where the shots impacted. That surprised the Decepticons, and let most of them affected when venom reached some important systems. That allowed X's soldiers to approach and finish them more easily.
"Thanks sir, we'll take it from here." The Vehicon deserter in charge saluted.
Finally X reached the tunnels. To spend less time on his way he decided to sprint as fast as he could, pushing everything that stood on his way.
"Sir, we are detecting several Star Seeker signals inside the tunnels. They are heading to your position." The officer reported.
"Then let them come. I will show those idiots the folly of their attempt."
As he expected, some Star Seeker foot soldiers and tanks approached him.
"Halt! This area is now under our control. Stand down and we will be merciful with you." One warned.
"Are you crazy?! That's Protoform X!" Other objected.
"Sweet Solus Prime! Open fire!"
"Ha, you fools! Don't think you can stand in my way!" X proclaimed.
X continued making his way through the tunnels, eliminating every opponent he found with his claws. Because none of them was tough or big as he, they didn't last more than 5 seconds. At the end, X finally reached his destination: in middle of a huge room there some kind of machine attached to a medical berth, probably where X was supposed to be upgraded.
"I'm here, at last." X communicated.
"There are some cryo-systems nearby which were supposed to keep the modifier in good shape in the meantime. Be careful not to use your claws near it, any crack could freeze you." The deserter officer instructed.
Protoform X headed for the door of the left, opened it forcibly and proceeded inside.
"The modifier is connect to the cryo-systems, as so to the lower basement. They must be deactivated first to unlock it. These tanks supply the coolant." The officer guided.
"I am too familiar with this kind of technology. My captors on Cybertron froze me in a similar way after capturing me." X recalled as he found the first tank, and started to compress it with his hands. Once it was done, some cracks appeared on some tubes, letting escape some white steam which emanated some cold effect, something that X noticed. "The temperature is dropping rapidly."
"Sir, be cautious of the cryo steam."
X had to move cautiously in order to avoid contact with the freezing steams, since he was very sensitive to cold. He managed to find the other tank, grabbed some explosive barrels nearby and threw them at it, destroying it. That caused more freezing steams to emerge all around the room, increasing the temperature's drooping.
"My circuitry is freezing!" X sensed.
"You must evacuate, sir."
X ran the fastest he could to the exit while frost started to form over his surface. Once he reached the doors, he closed and sealed them, to ensure no cold could sneak out. Suddenly, a whole squad of Star Seekers appeared out of nowhere, so X was forced to deal with them before proceeding to the next objective. As he confronted them, he noticed that after receiving some impacts, some cold containers of the room let out some cold steam as response, and gave him an idea of how to eliminate his adversaries faster. After disposing of one with his claws, he used the soldier's weapon and fired at the containers, releasing steam very close to the other pirates. No matter how big or strong they were, all Star Seekers who got contact with the steam suffered the same freezing effect, slowing them down. That gave X the advantage to eliminate them faster, tearing them apart with his claws more efficiently, probably thanks to the cold's weakening effects. To ensure being able to endure cold in the next room, X took precaution and eat some of the pirates remains, even those with a few frost on its surface. Surprisingly he found them sweet.
"How curious, the cold touche makes it more delicious. It must be like those cold and sweet things humans use to eat when it's hot." X opined as he proceeded into the next room.
The way to act was like before: find the tanks and destroy them. But this time the room was occupied by some Decepticons, who managed to reach first. X decided to not lose time engaging them one by one and focused on the tanks, so they would have to deal with the cold as well. After disposing of the second tank he ran to the exit, trapping the Cons inside to freeze alive after sealing the doors.
"Sir, lectures indicates that the modifier is online and ready for use. You have now enough power to install the upgrades on you." One of the deserter soldiers reported.
"At last. Mobilize all hands to my position and watch over me until the process is done. When I emerge I will have become something greater than when I was born." X proclaimed while he sat on the berth and initiated the process.
The modifier deployed some mechanical arms and other items which started to work on different parts of Protoform X's body. All the remaining deserter troops gathered around him while an energy shield appeared around the structure. More Decepticon troops tried to enter the chamber, making the renegade ones to respond firing back, holding back while more and more invaders arrived. Outside the facility, now in flames, Windblade was circling around. It appears the Autobots didn't have any role in the attack, at least not yet.
"Its a whole mess down there, it seems the Cons and the Star Seekers have assaulted that complex with a direct assault from different lines. Whoever or whatever is inside has caught both their attention, and I bet my wings they want to reach first."
"Understood, Windblade. Continue watching from safe distance, do not engage directly yet. Just bomb the surface to cause commotion on the inside, that would give us time enough to find a safe access to the inside. In order to figure out what they are searching for we must evade any direct confrontation." Optimus instructed by com-link.
"But what for when we arrive it is already too late?"
"Fear nothing, Hot Rod. I've already sent someone to the heat of battle, the only one of us who can face all of them by his own."
Back to the complex's inside, the room was full of bodies, both of Decepticons, the deserters and Star Seekers, it seemed that no one survive the battle. The only activity was the one from the platform, which shield disappeared, allowing Protoform X to get off. Not paying attention to what happened around him, he checked his body, feeling a little different. But before he could check if the process worked, he noticed some shakes, coming most from the door when he came. Then it was pushed down while some fire balls blinded X, preventing him from evading a direct hit from a metallic tail. While the flames dissipated, a figure jumped above them, revealing to be Predaking, who punched X on the face hard that he was pushed back to the floor.
"Protoform X, you are a hard one to find."
"I was wondering when you'd show up, Predacon. Being waiting for a rematch."
"Whatever you're up to, it ends here and now."
Predaking pulled out his sword and a shield and started to attack. X was forced to evade, block or grab the sword with both hands before pushing his opponent back. Predaking jumped and was about to strike again in the air when suddenly two apertures opened on X's shoulders and two turrets emerged and fired, surprising Predaking and pushing him back to the floor.
"What?!" The Predacon king exclaimed in surprise.
X realized what his opponent discovered and chuckled. "Yes, it worked."
"I didn't expect you to use guns, expected you prefer a most direct way of combat."
"That was before having access to the same kind of supplies. Now I'm dangerous as any other cybertronian. We are now, EQUAL!" X proclaimed laughing as his right hand changed to some kind of cannon divided in three parts, and his left hand transformed into another huge weapon. "Witness my new power!"
The weapon of X's left hand was some kind of heavy flamethrower which fired a small storm of fire, one which almost surpass Predaking's fire, but still forced him to use his shield to block it. Next X decided to try his right hand's weapon, launching a powerful shot of blue plasma which hit Predaking so hard that he was sent against a wall, dropping the shield in the process.
"Now let's see how you feel about my new plasma mortar without your precious shield!" X mocked as he was about to fire it again.
Without his shield Predaking was vulnerable against Protoform X's new weapons, so he was forced to run and evade the next plasma shot. X changed a bit the plasma mortar, adjusting its appearance, and fired a constant shot of plasma, trying to hit Predaking. The brave Predacon decided to use big pillars as cover and return fire with his own blasters, unfortunately X's armor was too tough for the shots Predaking could use at the moment. He decided to charge them at full power, but when he showed himself to fire, a laser beam came from X's mouth and hit him on the shoulder. The beam caused a bad looking injure, leaving a hole that showed it managed to penetrate his armor. While his opponent was overwhelmed by pain, X changed his flamethrower for some kind of projectile cannon, which fired some kind of grenades, but which behaved as missiles, and he tried different kinds of missiles (fire, electric, plasma, even cryo), bombing Predaking constantly. He spotted his shield on a certain distance, so he decided to push his luck and run for it, evading the projectiles. He reached it and used it to reflect some of the projectiles, but when he looked above it he found no trace of Protoform X. Then, he surprised him from behind firing an electric shot from some electromagnetic cannon instead of where the plasma weapon was. The electric effect left Predaking's mobility limited, which allowed X to hit him with precise punches and kicks. Predaking was the one now who ended lying in the floor, unable to move because of all what he went through, and at Protoform X's mercy.
He grabbed him by the neck. "I could devour your spark right now, Predacon. But fortunately for you, I'm after a bigger prey." He pressed a button on the central structure, which caused it to rise, revealing a secret passage heading down. "Goodbye, for now."
And X finished kicking Predaking into the passage, sending him to an unknown place. Meanwhile outside, the Autobots were trying to solve the whole mess.
"Keep it moving! We've gotta extinguish those fires!"
Ratchet arrived in vehicle form and transformed. "Elita, have you seen Predaking?"
"Not since he was sent inside the complex."
"Commander, the Decepticons and Star Seekers are starting to retreat, it seems they got already enough losses. We're pushing back the last ones."
"Understood Bumblebee."
"Elita, it looks to me the Predacon has decided to dive into the complex a little more. His signal goes down a deeper level." Windblade reported.
"That doesn't makes sense. Predaking headed for the heart of the complex to figure out who draw our enemies' attention. Something must have happened to him." Optimus suspected. "Predaking, this is Optimus Prime, do you read me?"
The fall led Predaking to some deep frozen caver beneath the complex. His body was leaking sparks from his injures while he tried to get back on his feet.
"Predaking, are you there?"
"Argh, I'm...still here, Prime. Just a little scratched." He responded hardly while he looked around him, until he stopped at something that caught his attention. "Prime, we have a problem: I think I have figured out Protoform X's plan. There's a large long creature with a huge mouth with teeth and a few appendages ended on buzz saws. It's coming out of cryo stasis."
"What, are you saying there's… a Driller beast?!" Ratchet asked in disbelief.
"A what?"
"It's one of Cybertron's largest wildlife. How did it get there?" Optimus explained.
"I have a fix on your coordinates, Predaking. Redirecting all the Autobots to you now." Blaster reported.
"Wait. I have the bad feeling if this being is released, it will unleash a huge amount of destruction on its way."
"And you are not mistaken, Drillers are said to be built to break havoc wherever they go." Elita revealed.
"Is there a way I can stop the thawing process?"
"Scanning...yes." Blaster announced. "There is a failsafe system that should keep it frozen, at least until reinforcements arrive. I'm activating it now."
Suddenly, a few cryo tanks emerged from the floor around Predaking.
"There you have, auxiliary tanks 1 and 2 activated. There should be a few more besides those." Blaster said.
"I see them." Predaking spotted. "3 and 4 online. Pleasant dreams."
Then, the whole place felt some shakes which also caused some rubble to fall from above.
"What in the…? What is going on up there?" Predaking asked.
"The Decepticons are bombing the complex, they are trying to bring the whole place down, alongside everything around it." Windblade warned.
"They are sending a message for their own ranks, a warning for anyone who thinks about deserting them." Ultra Magnus understood.
Unfortunately that also caused the system to suffer a few setbacks, preventing it to do its job. The ice around the colossal creature broke as it shook its head before looking at Predaking.
"Guys, are you getting these readings?" Fixit said through com-link.
"Too late, the creature is awake." Predaking informed.
"Power levels are spiking! Get out of there, Predaking!" Elita shouted.
"No! That monster must not be freed! I will stop it, here and now!"
One of the appendages of the Driller was more free so it was the first to be commanded by the creature, which used it to try to hit Predaking. But the Predacon was more agile than the creature expected and managed to jump and evade it, but it destroyed some of the tanks.
"It's destroying the failsafe backup! It's trying to break free!"
After evading the buzz saw again, Predaking changing both his hands for his blasters, charged them at full power and waited for the right moment to fire at it.
"It looks like it stung." Predaking noticed, seeing the flames let behind the blasters seemed to affect the appendage more than expected.
"It seems the long period it was frozen has affected the Driller's armor, weakening it." Ratchet communicated. "Your fire should be more than enough to inflict it serious damage."
"Good to know."
Unfortunately, the flames caused an increase of temperature which accelerated the thaw, releasing the Driller's other appendages.
"Fine, a more proper challenge for me." Predaking said before changing to dragon form.
The Driller attempted to strike again, but Predaking stepped aside in the last second and grabbed the appendage with his mouth. While having a grip on it, he infused his fire, starting to cut through the metal until it was tore apart. That caused the Driller to roar in pain, and hit the ceiling with its other three appendages to make rubble fall, trying to bury its opponent. It tried to hit him constantly, striking with its buzz saws, one after one, but the Predacon was fast enough to dodge all that, until he grabbed two and made them to hit each other, leaving just one more to deal with. He changed back to robot, seeing it ready to attack with it again, pulled out his sword, and when it attacked he dodged it closely and sliced through it fast and hard, eliminating another.
"Yes, now is the chance!" Predaking proclaimed transforming again, taking flight and firing a strong flamethrower around all the Driller's body. "What's the matter? Don't like fire?"
The fire all around the Driller's body started to melt some parts of its body, weakening the huge creature, which looked at Predaking opening its huge jaw.
"You're finished, beast!"
Predaking was about to give it the final blow when suddenly a hole appeared on the ceiling, and Protoform X descended with a big pole piece of metal which used to cut the Driller's head, killing the creature. The monstrous cybertronian emerged from the Driller's body covered in energon, roaring in victory.
At seeing what just happened, Predaking realized what was everything about. "You, you were after it...all this time, don't you? This is the reason why you came to this place."
"No, not exactly. This is just a bonus." X revealed, confusing Predaking.
"A bonus?"
"What I really wanted was to be at your same level, I didn't realize this was down here. But now I have the biggest meal in all my life, in part thanks to you."
While X started to enjoy his new meal, Predaking, seeing there was nothing else there to do, took flight through the hole X made and left. Time later, everyone was back at base discussing the recent events.
"So, X was after the Driller at the end?" Smokescreen asked.
"No, not exactly. I noticed it when I battled him. He has armed himself from head to toe, displayed a whole arsenal which caught me by surprise." Predaking revealed.
"Protoform X now uses guns?" Warpath asked in disbelief.
"That could explain all the missing supplies the Decepticons reported, he was amassing a stockpile for upgrading himself." Ratchet summarized.
"He has become more dangerous." Elita said.
"And now we know as well that his influence can spread among the minds of other cybertronians, with the deserters as proof." Optimus added.
"Well, from what I spotted last it seems they have been disposed off totally. I still can't believe that legendary freak is real." Windblade cheered.
"So we better be careful the next time we face that monster." Sunstreaker recalled.
"That's the only good point of this situation. With him busy consuming all the body mass of that Driller, much time will pass until we hear from Protoform X again. However, we should learn about this experience and not underestimate him, in order to not being caught again." Optimus concluded.