Hello, to any new readers and old ones that kept this story close to heart.

It's been a long while since I broached this subject. This Transformers story is one of my oldest of the franchise. I wrote it over a decade ago, I think. Then my life suffered a major shift and I deleted all my stories, back then. A decision that I came to regret.


PAST ATTEMPT

Years later, I thought I would rewrite and remake it – because though the original version was good, there were some plots in the second half that were rushed or poorly thought out – into something less TLDR. But alas, my life got so busy that I gave it up.


NOWADAYS

Now, I'm giving it another shot. Not because I feel like I can finish it, this time. But rather because I feel like I have to try. To make matters worse, I've been feeling depressed. My job is exhausting and unfulfilling. To quote a Megatron, 'my spark flickers when it once flared'. Matter of fact, lately I haven't written anything new. Was ready to throw in the towel and give up fanfiction for good.

So I'm trying to find hobbies and distractions. So I'm giving this a go and hopefully it will rignite my interest.


MOTIVATION FOR THIRD TRY

Now, what motivated me to bring this back and not another simpler project? A few months ago I stumbled upon a Tropedia webpage that divulged the original story. There I read about the list of tropes other people wrote about my work. To be honest, there were a handful of plot points that I myself had forgotten about! Regardless, seeing other people's perspective of it reawakened the will to write in me.

So I'm ready to try again.


BUT…

While I have motivation now and have already made the script for different arcs of the narrative, I'm quite busy, so don't expect frequent updates. Plus, since the old story was deleted with no backup, I have to start from scratch. And if my life becomes even more complicated, I might have to put the story on a long hiatus.

Therefore, I could use some help. If anyone is willing to become a beta-reader, suggest plots and stories or even help write down, it would be much appreciated.


Planet No-uk. Homeworld of the Ankzox species.

Unknown date.

"Come on!"

"I don't think this is a good idea, Basidi. The mothers and fathers forbade us from going near...it."

"Don't be such a spore, brother. He won't hurt us, so long as we bring him this." the boy, Basidi, produced from his clothing a sort of blue glowing crystal. The younger brother looked confused.

"A lightstone? What for?" lightstones were a natural occurrence in nature, but served no purpose other than decoration.

"Apparently he eats this stuff. Let's go, Omycota"

The two brothers, Basidi and Omycota, were members of a species of sentient mushrooms, Ankzox. Their civilization was rather young, still in the equivalent of what the Iron Age had been to humanity, so long ago. Like many such nubile alien civilizations, they were unaware of other worlds and life in the universe.

Until one day, a giant, strangely-shaped being made of metal descended from the sky. The being, claiming to be from another world, was seen as a god by the local folks. Yet, the 'god' refused to be worshiped or even to interact with the 'mortals'. So out of respect and mostly fear, the elders of the village decreed the metal god from the stars was to be left alone.

However that wouldn't stop some - from pilgrim zealots to glory-seeking warriors - to come and meet the divine being. All were turned away from the metal god, many without the chance to say a word to it. The one who was rumored to have gotten the most interaction with the metal titan was a traveling bard who claimed the being from the stars accepted a piece of lightstone the bard offered.

The two brothers sneaked out of the village. Basidi practically dragged Omycota when the younger sibling almost denounced them. The place they were going was the hill a few ways north from the village. Up on top was a rocky formation with a small cave. The being had taken its residence there and done very little else. Some of the superstitious folk said the titan would gradually become rock and that was how mountains were formed.

When the two brothers reached the place, Basidi began to understand why everyone was fearful of the giant. It was made of metal, though not shiny at all. The giant's skin(?) was covered in patches of rust, giving it a touch of decay to an already creepy appearance. Long fingers that ended in tips looked more like claws. And its face was the worst: a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and two crimson glowing eyes.

Basidi felt his brother shaking silently. Omycota was pulling at him, urging them to run away. And Basidi was about to turn around…

"And what do you want from me, Ankzox?" A raspy, dry voice that sounded bored asked.

Time froze for the two young organics. Omycota was as if a statue, while Basidi still made a few shaky movements. Looking down at the offering he brought, the older sibling swallowed his fear and approached the giant.

"G-greetings… Great One." he couldn't stop his tone from whimpering. "I have…I…"

The giant groaned in exasperation. "Say no more. Allow me to hazard a guess: you came here for an audience with the 'metal god from the stars'. And you even brought an offering that you heard would please me." the giant casted a glance at the glowing substance in the little alien's grasp.

Basidi nodded quickly. His vocal cords were unresponsive at the moment. The titan seemed frustrated for being proven right.

"I am not an animal who will be tamed because he is given treats! This area is so dry of energon nowadays that I will be moving on soon."

"Energon?" Omycota whispered, having remained hidden. Did he mean the lightstone?

He yelped when the giant addressed him. "You might as well come out, little organic. I will not harm you." with some hesitant prompting from his brother, the younger sibling stepped out.

The titan sighed tiredly. "Now I am being bothered by children. Go away. I have no patience for you, nor any interest in your insignificant gift."

"But…" Bayside pressed, Omycota silently begging him not to provoke the giant. A part of him wanted to follow his brother before the titan decided to step on him. And yet, he had come this far. Thinking quickly and desperately, he proclaimed. "I found this in a cave in the forest. The walls were covered in so much of it that I didn't even need a torch to see."

The giant became more invested in the children. "So you know of a stash of energon close by."

"Yes, if you mean lightstones." he looked at the blue crystal.

"Alright, you picked my interest. What do you want in exchange for the location?"

Basidi shouted before his courage left him. "Tell us about the stars!"

The giant blinked. "What is there to tell that is so special? Stars are just massive amounts of gas, pressed so tightly that it generates heat and light."

Basidi blinked back. "Gas? What's that?"

Omycota butted in. "I think that's a word for 'air'."

"So stars are just air on fire? That can't be right! The fathers said each star is the kingdom of a different god."

Omycota again intervened. "No. The elder says each star is the eye of a god. They each keep one eye on the mortal world and the other - that we can't see - in the divine realm."

The little debate over which elder figure was correct concerning the mysteries of the night sky was cut short by a frustrated growl of the metal titan.

"I'm surrounded by primitives!"

Basidi retorted in a brief moment of daringness. "You are bad at telling stories."

"As you are at listening to them, puny fungus."

Basidi didn't know what the insult meant and didn't care. "Then tell us an actual story. Something about battles and heroes and villains."

The giant turned to Omycota, who shuddered under the crimson gaze. "And you?"

"Uh…a r-real story, please."

The titan shrugged. "If that is your price, so be it. I will share with you a true story of great battles. A story about armies of light and legions of darkness. A story of two worlds coming together and destroying one another. A story in which all fell into the shadows and forgotten to time. Forgotten by all but myself.

"I know, for I was there…"


So this prologue was just a little introduction. Basidi and Omycota are two OCs that have no purpose of the narrative except to drive home the fact that what will happen in this story will become forgotten and irrelevant in the far, far, far, far future. As for the metal giant telling the story, its (obviously) a Cybertronian telling about the war after 8 billion freaking years.