Transformers 2: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Chapter 8: The Resistance
Earth Wars Trilogy
Somewhere in the nighttime skies, the Decepticon warship slowly flew through it, with the majority of the Decepticons having escaped from Zo-Zla-Halawa's wrath. Even though most of the Decepticons were able to escape, however, their one and only leader, Megatron, was not so lucky, as he was placed in Knockout's medical sickbay, on the large platform that held him as he lay on his back, in stasis, hooked up to life support and thawed out of the Dark Energon that previously enshrouded him.
While Knockout was examining Megatron, the door to his sickbay opened, revealing Starscream entering the facility with Skyquake and Dreadwing at his sides.
"Knockout, if you would be so kind as to report Lord Megatron's condition to myself and my subordinates…", Starscream said to the Decepticon medical officer.
"Well, given that he suffered a direct blast from that…Space Godzilla, I am honestly surprised he was able to even survive, let alone not be disintegrated", Knockout replied. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say that Lord Megatron was able to survive with the Dark Energon that already flows through his veins".
"And…do you think our master will survive the extent of his…injuries…?", Starscream asked in a tone of voice that made Skyquake and Dreadwing somewhat suspicious.
"To be honest, I really can't determine if Lord Megatron will survive or not. Quite frankly, I could see a possibility of him rising off that slab and walking again, just as much as I see his own spark fading away…", Knockout replied.
"Well, with Megatron out of the picture, temporarily, at least, and as his second in command, I will gladly assume the title of leader of the Decepticons in our illustrious leader's…unfortunate absence…", Starscream proclaimed. "And with a heavy spark in assuming the title as leader of the Decepticons, it would seem that this planet is lost to us".
"Starscream, do you mean to suggest that you are planning an exodus of this planet which we have worked so hard to call our own?", Dreadwing asked in an aggravated tone of voice.
"First of all, with Megatron in stasis, you will learn to address me as 'Lord Starscream'. Secondly, as unfortunate as it may be, with even Godzilla having been defeated and with Zo-Zla-Halawa intent on turning this planet into his own empire, the most prudent course of action would be to set course for another Energon-rich planet to conquer", Starscream said. "My apologies if that may be difficult for your mind to grasp".
"Starscream, while my twin and I will always hold respect for our one and only master, it does not change the fact that his mistake of aligning with Zo-Zla-Halawa is the reason why Earth is now in danger of being terraformed by an outside force", Skyquake said to Starscream, still holding no sense of respect for him. "And since we all actively participated in allowing our master to reach his goal, then we are all equally at fault for allowing this to happen, and neither Dreadwing nor I will choose to sit back and allow the result of our mistake to roam free and unsolved in such a way".
"Really…?", Starscream reacted, feeling antagonized. "Well then…Skyquake…what would you suggest we should do about it, in all your wisdom, if not even Godzilla was able to vanquish him for us?"
"While they are our sworn enemies, contrary to your lack of critical thinking, we may benefit from joining forces with the Autobots in order to defeat our shared enemy", Skyquake replied.
"Need I remind you, Skyquake, of two very important details?", Starscream sneered. "If Godzilla failed at defeating the Space Godzilla, what makes you think that even the combined power of us and the Autobots could do the trick? Further, and more importantly, need I remind you that as Megatron's first lieutenant, if our great leader were to perish or be out of commission for any reason, that I lead the Decepticons now! And both of you would do well to respect the chain of command established by our lord and master!"
"And you would do well to respect the severity of the situation and the fact that, since we are the ones at fault, we owe it to this planet to do what we can in remedying it immediately!", Skyquake yelled at his superior officer. "However, I should not be surprised that your simple mind would be held against that, for as evident with your treatment of prisoners, your lack of honor has always been why you have been so looked down upon…"
"Oh, I'm sorry but…in case you needed the reminder, honor does not win wars, honor does not aid us in our survival, honor does not serve as a good enough excuse to rush head-first into battle and get us all killed! Now, as the new leader of the Decepticons, you will do as I command and join us in leaving this pathetic planet!", Starscream yelled as loud as he could.
"That is it!", Skyquake yelled as loud as he could, as well. "I have had it with you and your pathetic, irritating, and pompous entitlements!", he yelled as he got closer to Starscream.
"I am your new lord and master, and I order you to bow before me!", Starscream shouted.
"Bow to this!", Skyquake shouted back as he punched Starscream away as hard as he could, sending the new Decepticon leader hurtling back into the one of the warship's walls.
"Gaaaaaaaaagh!", Starscream shouted as he was sent flying back.
"Grrr…", Skyquake growled at Knockout to intimidate him, knowing that he and Starscream shared similar attitudes.
Feeling intimidated, Knockout raised his forearms up, indicating that he was not about to challenge himself against Skyquake and Dreadwing's might.
"Come, Dreadwing, it is time we take matters into our own hands", Skyquake said to his brother.
"Indeed, Skyquake", Dreadwing agreed as he followed his brother out of the medical bay. "We will not be subjugated by this shameful, pompous scoundrel who calls himself our leader", he said, referring to Starscream as the two of them exited the room with the door closing behind them.
"Commander—Lord Starscream, are you…?", Knockout asked Starscream as he emerged from being slammed into the wall.
"I'm fine!", Starscream replied in a nasty tone before getting back on his feet. "If Skyquake and Dreadwing choose to get themselves killed by challenging Zo-Zla-Halawa with the Autobots, then that will be their burden. Now, if you excuse me, dear doctor, it is time that I address the troops…", he said just before exiting the medical bay.
Back on the surface of Earth, still in the nighttime sky, Zo-Zla-Halawa flew through the night, using his two large wings which violently protruded out of his back. Soon enough, the Great Eternal Enemy made landfall in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where both of his wings enveloped back into his body as his feet made contact with the ground. As soon as he landed, his mere presence alone sent the human populace in the area into mass panic, as all of them began screaming as they ran away from the giant space monster.
Zo-Zla-Halawa noticed as all the humans feared him, and in doing so, the Space Godzilla reveled in just how his mere presence alone caused all the insignificant life forms of Earth to run for their very lives. Needless to say, that just by looking at them, Zo-Zla-Halawa despised the human race as soon as he laid eyes on them, seeing them as nothing but inferior insects of species compared to the once great and powerful Titans that ruled over the Earth all those millennia ago. As he watched the pathetic humans run away, Zo-Zla-Halawa let out a sadistic smile on his face, showing all of his sharp, bloody teeth as he growled with malicious intent.
"SKREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARK!", Zo-Zla-Halawa roared as loud as he could as a way of showing that Earth was about to be returned to its rightful ruler.
In order to begin his extermination of the humans, Zo-Zla-Halawa's crystallized dorsal plates and shoulders glowed their bright pink again before he fired his purple stream of dark atomic breath all across the city, turning building after building into nothing but ash and creating more of the crystallized blood of Unicron emerging from the ground in their place, along with vaporizing a countless amount of humans in the process.
Shortly after Zo-Zla-Halawa initiated his attack, however, he was fired upon from behind by several fighter jets belonging to the Brazilian military, where he noticed them as he turned around to face them. The military jets continued firing at Zo-Zla-Halawa as they flew towards and around him, but Zo-Zla-Halawa was not even phased by the attacks. Even though they weren't doing any damage, Zo-Zla-Halawa was not going to allow any of these pathetic insects of a species to believe they could ever stand up to him. With this, the Space Godzilla easily dispatched all the fighter jets in a similar fashion Godzilla did, such as thrashing at them with his claws, swiping them into oblivion with his tail, and even destroying a few unlucky ones by biting down on the jets with his jaw. What separated him from Godzilla, however, was the fact that Zo-Zla-Halawa seemed to actively enjoy and revel in disposing of the humans, unlike Godzilla, who made it his mission to attack the humans out of his sense of justice.
Soon enough, all of the Brazilian military that attacked Zo-Zla-Halawa were eviscerated, and the evil Space Godzilla continued his seemingly endless wake of destruction in creating his new empire by destroying all the buildings around him in favor of more and more Dark Energon to add to his ever-growing kingdom of darkness. With Godzilla, the most powerful weapon the Earth had to offer being defeated and the Space Godzilla adding to his empire in Rio de Janeiro, it seemed that there was nothing that could hope to stand in the way of the Great Eternal Enemy now.
Meanwhile, however, back in Sonora, Mexico, Godzilla still lied dormant in the prison of Dark Energon Zo-Zla-Halawa had made for him, as the blue hue emanating from his dorsal plates continued to fade and fast, indicating that he was losing more and more of his power. Normally, in these situations, Godzilla, given how stubborn he is, would do everything he could to break out of the prison, but since he holds the power of the Primes, his one weakness is too much exposure to Dark Energon, and it was obvious he was being exposed to a lot of it right now.
However, a glimmer of hope came forth, for Godzilla's old friend and ally, Anguirus, came rushing onto the scene, with a facial expression indicating that he was worried about Godzilla.
"Gaaaaaaaaaoooo!", Anguirus roared as he rushed over to the Dark Energon imprisonment.
Sensing Godzilla's life force within the prison, along with it fading away, Anguirus quickly got to work by continuously bashing his head and horns into it, hoping to chip away at the prison so that Godzilla could be freed before he perished.
At the Autobot base in Pensacola, Florida, all nine members of Team Prime took time to regroup after having almost been killed by Zo-Zla-Halawa after their battle against the Decepticons, in which all of them gathered around Ratchet as he tried to track down the energy signatures of both Zo-Zla-Halawa and Godzilla.
"Ratchet, are you able to track Zo-Zla-Halawa's current location?", Optimus Prime asked his medic.
"Here", Ratchet said as he pointed at his monitor before zooming into Zo-Zla-Halawa's location, in which he and the rest of Team Prime saw as the Space Godzilla was relishing in annihilating the city of Rio de Janeiro and creating more and more of the blood of Unicron in the wake of his dark atomic breath. "By the AllSpark…", Ratchet reacted in horror.
"If that thing was easily able to defeat Godzilla, who was even stronger than he was before, what possible hope do we have of defeating him?", Arcee asked with a sense of anxiety in her voice.
"As much as I hate saying it, but I agree with Arcee", Ironhide added. "Even with that device Ratchet's working on, how do we know that's gonna be enough to the job for us?"
"While this situation may be more dire than any of us could have imagined, I still believe that we must place our faith in Godzilla", Optimus Prime said with confidence.
"Optimus, with all due respect, how do we even know Godzilla is still alive?", Arcee asked.
"Because I can sense his energy through the Matrix of Leadership", Optimus replied. "His life force is fading, but he is still alive. Ratchet, can you track his position?"
After giving a nod, Ratchet accessed his monitor again in order to track Godzilla's location in Sonora, Mexico, where his surveillance indicated that, while Godzilla was still imprisoned in the Dark Energon encapsulation, Anguirus had arrived on the scene in order to free him, who was actually making considerable progress in chipping away at the Dark Energon that held Godzilla within it.
"Alright, looks like Godzilla's got some help!", Bulkhead commented with joy.
"Yes, and hopefully, with Godzilla and Anguirus working together, their forces combined will be able to destroy Zo-Zla-Halawa once and for all", Optimus Prime proclaimed.
"There is one thing that still doesn't follow…", Prowl added into the conversation. "If Godzilla and Zo-Zla-Halawa are such ancient enemies, why would Zo-Zla-Halawa not just kill Godzilla when he had the chance?"
Optimus replied. "Given that Zo-Zla-Halawa was once an ordinary member of the Gojira species, until he became infused with the power of the blood of Unicron, it would stand to reason that, by imprisoning Godzilla and dangerously exposing him to the substance, Zo-Zla-Halawa's intention was to first, strip the power Godzilla had gained by Prima, and instead, turn him into another power-hungry Gojira with Dark Energon, just like Zo-Zla-Halawa, giving Godzilla a fate worse than death, where he would turn into the very thing that he hates the most…"
"Well, thankfully, with Anguirus working to free Godzilla from his prison, we shouldn't have to worry about that possibility. Just dealing with one power hungry Godzilla is stressful enough", Ratchet said. "What's the plan, Optimus?"
After taking a moment to process all his thoughts, Optimus Prime spoke his declaration of what to do next to the rest of his team. "Even though there is a strong chance this situation will solve itself with Godzilla and Anguirus joining forces, along with Ratchet's progress on the device to weaken Zo-Zla-Halawa, I am afraid we cannot afford to stand idly by as this Titan indulges himself in enslaving this planet as his own, destroying countless human lives in the process…", he began his speech. "While Anguirus will work in freeing Godzilla of his prison, and Ratchet with his device, I will take it upon myself to buy both of them some time by facing Zo-Zla-Halawa myself. Given just how massive and dangerous this threat is, I do not intend to give myself a choice in the matter, but for that same reason, if any of you choose not to partake in this mission, I assure you, that none of us will call you a coward".
After a brief moment of silence, the rest of the Autobots chose to speak up, where each of them knew there was no way they were going to allow Optimus Prime to face off against Zo-Zla-Halawa on his own.
"Prime, while I can't speak for the rest of the bots in the room here, you and I have been through thick and thin together, so there ain't no way I'm backing out on ya now", Ironhide said as he approached Optimus. "If you're gonna be kicking that knock-off's ass, you bet I'll be kicking it with ya".
"And if you're going, I'm going too, for both of you", Chromia added as she stood next to Ironhide.
"Well, I know I'm not just gonna sit on my behind while that damn thing's turning that city into his own little playground… Let's kick some Titan behind…", Bulkhead said before pounding his fists together. "You in, Jackie?"
"Come on, Bulk. Wouldn't miss it for the world!", Wheeljack said with a smile.
"Count me in, too", Arcee added, followed by Bumblebee giving some enthusiastic bleeps, indicating he would join Optimus as well.
"Optimus, while our probability of survival is significantly low, I will gladly join in putting a halt to this creature's path of destruction, for if you're all going to die, then I'll gladly die with you!", Prowl declared.
"Might be the first time you've actually said something and made me feel good, Prowl", Wheeljack said as a joke.
"Might be the first time I actually got some respect from you, Wheeljack", Prowl joked back.
"Then in that case, we will all face Zo-Zla-Halawa together!", Optimus Prime declared as he activated his battle mask. "There is no time to waste. Ratchet, activate the Ground Bridge to Rio de Janeiro!"
"Roger that, Optimus", Ratchet said with uneasy confidence as he went to access his monitor to do so. Before he could, however, he noticed a notification had popped up for him. "That's odd…"
"What is it?", Arcee asked.
"Don't tell me the Ground Bridge isn't even working…", Bulkhead thought out loud.
"No, it's a high-frequency signal…with an imbedded message…for me…", Ratchet said as he opened the message.
"Who is it, my friend?", Optimus Prime asked.
"It is from Skyquake and Dreadwing…and they wish to meet…", Ratchet replied…
Soon enough, the eight other members of Team Prime all exited through the Ground Bridge at a location enshrouded in rocky mountains. It was obvious that, wherever they were, it was in a different time zone than Florida or Rio de Janeiro, as it was not nighttime yet, along with the sky being cloudy and gray.
"Drop your weapons!", Bulkhead shouted as the Autobots transformed into their robot modes and aimed their blasters in front of them.
Then, through the fog in front of them, approached Skyquake and Dreadwing, walking next to each other, with neither of them seeming to hold any ill intent towards the Autobots, as they walked in a rather calm manner with neither one holding any of their weapons.
"That is not necessary, for we are not here to fight", Skyquake said to the Autobots.
"How do we know this isn't some sort of trick Screamie's got you up to…?", Wheeljack asked.
"To be fair, you do not, but be assured, neither one of us hold any form of allegiance towards Starscream…", Dreadwing sneered. "With Megatron now wounded and in a deep stasis, Starscream has assumed the role of leadership of the Decepticons, where he deemed an exodus of Earth would be the most prudent course of action, with Zo-Zla-Halawa now freed and unopposed. We, however, believed that working towards stopping him was the more honorable option".
"Why…?", Optimus Prime asked as he transformed his blasters back into his hands and retracted his battle mask.
"While our loyalty to Lord Megatron is without bounds, it does not change the fact that he made a severe error in judgement in having his faith placed in Zo-Zla-Halawa", Skyquake replied. "As such, neither my twin nor I are innocent in this matter, for as you recall, Prime, both of us aided in his quest to restore Zo-Zla-Halawa to his full power, causing the now potential destruction of this planet to take place".
Dreadwing continued. "It is because of that, that, we would feel as if we were doing a disservice by not remedying our mistake and turning coward and abandoning this planet, as Starscream had suggested. With that, Prime, we were hoping to establish a temporary alliance between us, so that we may do what we can in order to rectify what we have done".
"So, you are proposing an alliance between Autobot and Decepticon…", Optimus said to the two Seekers, trying to make sense of their peace.
"Indeed", Skyquake replied.
"And you are the only ones who have chosen to do so due to Starscream's differing ideals…", Optimus continued.
"Affirmative", Skyquake replied again.
"Don't ever trust a Con, Prime. We both know that Starscream's most likely putting 'em up to this", Ironhide suggested to Optimus with both his cannons still pointed at the Decepticons.
"I don't think so", Arcee disagreed as she transformed her blasters back into her forearms before taking a couple steps towards Skyquake and Dreadwing. "If there's anything I remember about you two, and if it's anything that I can relate to, it's that neither of you can stand Starscream. I still remember how both of you saved me from him killing me on the warship, before you started bickering with him…"
As soon as she said this, the rest of the Autobots all looked over at Arcee, now curious as to what had happened between Starscream and those two Decepticons that was making her trust them.
"Arcee, could you please elaborate?", Optimus asked in a calm manner.
"After Cliffjumper and I were wounded, and taken aboard the Decepticon warship, that's where Dreadwing took us to his twin and Starscream. He forced Cliffjumper into telling him the location of our base, and as soon as I tried to help, Starscream ordered one of his goons to wound me even more. He liked watching us struggle and suffer, but before I knew it, he…killed Cliffjumper in the most horrific way possible…by forcing him to bleed out and die…", Arcee explained as her tension seemed to increase with every word she spoke. "I couldn't do anything…except just cry out in pain…while Starscream watched… He tried to kill me, but Skyquake saved me, with both him and Dreadwing telling Starscream to back off", she then looked over at Dreadwing. "I still remember those words you told me when you took me to the prison, how you apologized for how Cliffjumper died, and how you told me I'd at least have a peaceful death, and how you hated Starscream, too…"
"While I did not expect you to believe me then, and nor do I expect you to believe me now, every word I said was genuine, and I can assure you, that both Skyquake and I wish we could have done more in not allowing you or Cliffjumper to suffer in the way that you did", Dreadwing said.
"I may not like either of you two, but if there's one thing I do know, it's that both of you saved me from Starscream while on the warship so you could preserve your honor, so if that's an indicator of anything, then that's gotta mean you meant what you said…", Arcee said to both Decepticons.
"Optimus, we are running out of time! You need to make a decision, and quickly!", a distressed Ratchet said to Optimus Prime over his com link.
After thinking for a few seconds, Optimus Prime knew what needed to be done.
"Autobots…stand down", Optimus Prime ordered his team, in which all of them transformed their weapons back into their hands and forearms and lowered their arms, with many having concerned expressions on their faces. "Given what Arcee has mentioned, along with what I already know of both of you, I know that you both place strong values on your senses of honor, and with that, your reasoning for choosing to aid us against Zo-Zla-Halawa is almost certainly genuine", he said as he approached Skyquake and Dreadwing and motioned his hand towards Skyquake, prompting the Decepticon for a handshake.
"Thank you, Optimus Prime", Skyquake said as he shook Optimus Prime's hand.
"And thank you for seeing past Starscream's cowardice and choosing to align with the greater good", Optimus Prime replied with half a smile on his face. "Ratchet, activate a Ground Bridge, for we are going to Rio de Janeiro…"
Hearing this, Ratchet used his technology to open a Ground Bridge for the Autobots and two Decepticons to Rio, in which Optimus took one look at both his Autobots and the Decepticons, where both parties gave looks that indicated they would do everything they could in order to aid in attacking the evil Space Godzilla.
"Remember, our mission here is not to defeat Zo-Zla-Halawa. All we need to do is hold him off long enough to buy the humans time to escape and so that Godzilla and Anguirus will take the fight to him and destroy Zo-Zla-Halawa, once and for all!", Optimus Prime declared in a speech. "But…if this will truly be the end for us, then know this: it has been an honor serving with you all. Autobots…Decepticons…", he activated his battle mask before letting out his signature battle cry: "Roll out!"