I'm back baby! Well, that was cringe, but seriously sorry for the long wait. Real life kicked in and I ended up caught up in. Honestly, I felt like a month since I last updated not eight. Also! I have edited chapters 1-9 to fix a couple of things here and there. Nothing too big but noticeable and embarrassing for me when I edited them. Either way here's an update but first reviews!
Blaze1992: That will be addressed but not in this chapter. Please be patient I promise it will be revealed. As for more magic, I'm aiming for a mix of fantasy and Sci-fi.
Trainman-Captain Writer: Any shorted version works, I'm not picky and thank you for your concern. Honestly my kinda keeps me really busy from November to April, after that I was trying to remember how I was going to set this chapter up.
DarkraizerGx1: I am planning to use some parts of the alternate universes to add into the story, but for dungeons I'm going to think on that.
Ryu Wolf: I honestly haven't heard of this transformer honestly. Looks like I'm lore diving later.
CallofRanger13: I might just do that.
The Hellbound: Yes, yes, and yes. Next omake incoming! And sorry for the wait again.
Greyblueflames98: As Hades once said. You are correct sir!
I own nothing!
Starscream prepared himself as he and Soundwave stood in the docking bay watching the Malice land. It was a couple of days since they made contact and now it was time for him to put on the best performance of his life. As the ship land he mused that it had been a while since he seen a scouting ship. They haven't had the need for one since all distance needed to travel was in short flying range or the Nemesis handled it. While they could in theory fly as far any ship in their ALT forms the amount of energon they would need was astronomical. Frigates, scouting ships, and others mitigated this at the cost of a thousandth of the energon required.
As the landing door open a figure walked down. She was large, nearly as large as Bulkhead. Her armor was mainly a dark mulberry on her upper torso, forearms, waist, and calves with the rest of her being a light purple with gold accents. Her mouth was covered by a gas mask like faceguard and a golden visor rested above her red optics. Red optics that were glaring right at Starscream. Despite feeling unsettled by the look the seeker kept his calm façade.
Turning his attention to the next figure was one he was familiar with. Makeshift, one of the few shifters left alive to his knowledge. They have done missions together in the past, the most notable one being the time they managed to upload a shell program in a group of Autobots, that was what lead Starscream onto the path of being Megatron's right hand. This was a fortunate turn of events, even if Strika wanted nothing to do with him, he still gains an ally.
The last figure to depart caused the seeker to panic! It was none other than Arcee!
"Autobot! Everyone ready your weapons!" Starscream ordered as he aimed his rockets.
"Hold your fire! This is not the Autobot Arcee. Take a second look." Strika called out. Her voice carried a strong sense of authority that made everyone stop.
Starscream paused as he studied the femme further. Now that he actually took more than a glance at her, he could see the differences. She was physically the same as the Autobot two-wheeler, which led to his mistake, but the coloring was wrong. Where Arcee was blue, she was black, where Arcee was black she was red, where Arcee was pink, she was orange. The femme simply gave an unnerving grin was her orange optics twinkled with mischief.
"You. You're not Arcee are you."
"Hehehhehehehe. Nope! The names Flamewar! So, are we going to fight? Will there be more drones? Can I burn something? I wanna burn something" The now identified Flamewar giggled. The vehicons all took a step back from her. Starscream merely turned to Strika hoping for an explanation.
"I will explain after you do." Strika answered.
"Very well." Starscream agreed, knowing that any confrontation will derail his plans. "Breakdown, please escort Makeshift and…Flamewar to the private quarters so they may settle in. Strika please fallow me and Soundwave towards the med bay as I explain the situation."
Strika nodded towards her two companions before following the seeker. Starscream started at the beginning. Megatron's return, the dark energon, the plan, it's complications, the Autobots interference, the space bridge explosion with Megatron being at the very center and what they thought was his death.
"You said you thought lord Megatron died. Had you not confirmed this?"
"We didn't even think to bother. Afterall he was at ground zero of a massive explosion that could have ripped the Nemesis apart. We didn't think anyone could survive that, but our lord proved his might to us once again." Starscream replied as the med bay door opened revealing Megatron. The warlord was in poor shape as Knockout was doing repairs throughout his body.
"Lord Megatron. Is he, will he be alright?" Strika asked, shocked to see the seemingly unbeatable leader in such a state. While yes, he has been bested in battle before but that was at the servos of prime and was never damage to this extent.
Knockout looked up from his work before returning to it. "By all rights he should be dead. The explosion being put to the side, his major operation systems are severely damaged and most worrisome is that his very spark chamber looked as if it was torn open." Knockout sighed as he massaged his optics. "And that's not counting whatever effects the dark energon had on him. We don't even know what it could do to a living cybertronian. I fear that our lord is in for a long road before he can come back to us."
"As you can see Strika, we are in a dangerous situation. As of right now the Autobots believe that our lord has perished. If they were to discover that's not the case, then it could put his life in danger."
"You believe they could get on the ship?"
"If all my time facing the Autobots taught me anything is they are resourceful as they come. So, until our lord recovers everyone on this ship must pretend that he perished."
"And catch the Autobots off guard when he makes his return." Strika mused. "I see now."
"Excellent. Soundwave you may return to your duties. Strika I have a couple of questions for you, mainly about that femme that looks like Arcee." Starscream ordered as Strika followed him down the hall.
"I am not surprised you wish to speak of her. What do you want to know?" Strika began.
"Let's start with the obvious and work our way from there. Who is she?" Starscream asked.
"She is a clone of Arcee." Strika replied. This caused the seeker to stop walking.
"A clone. You made a clone of her?" Starscream asked completely shocked.
"Not I. Shockwave."
"That makes sense." Starscream nodded. Shockwave created the cloning process for vehicons after all. "How did he manage that?"
"From what he told me, he captured her and another and took their CNA. The mech clone perished but Flamewar survived."
"I'm surprised he didn't simply install a shell program; he did create them after all." While Starscream remembers his experience using them. While he understands how they are installed he doesn't know how to create them. Something that annoyed the seeker since he would have slowly installed them throughout the crew to take over. Missed opportunities he lamented.
"I asked him that myself. Shockwave explained he was in a middle of an experiment and decided to use the lab material he had."
"Because it is logical." The seeker quoted. "If he succeeded, why did he not come with you?"
"According to him the cloning process isn't refined, while better than the vehicons you can see how Flamewar is different. Shockwave said he will join us once he completes the next part of his project."
"Did he say what that was?" Starscream asked.
"No, he simply stated it would be of great use to lord Megatron."
"A shame, it would be nice to know what he's up to and perhaps help speed things along." Starscream said as he cursed internally. Shockwave had more secrets than the seeker had lies.
"I will have Flamewar looked over by Knockout later. For now, I have a request of you Strika."
"A request?"
"Yes. As you have seen we are in dire straits. While I am in temporally leadership, I need a SIC."
"Why not have someone here be the SIC?"
"For several reasons. Breakdown is a warrior who respects strength above all else. While I can hold my own in a fight, I tend to use cunning instead of direct combat, because of this he has no respect for me. Knockout will need to tend to lord Megatron and making him the SIC would take him away from his duties."
"And Soundwave?"
"Soundwave, if there is one defining trait of him then it's his unwavering loyalty to Megatron. He is skilled and commands respect by simply walking into a room. Yet despite all this he was never made the SIC due to his preference of working in the shadows."
"I see."
"You, Strika on the other hand are both a skilled tactician yet pragmatic enough not to let petty opinions to misguide you. I need someone I can rely on until our lord recovers."
Stirka stood there for a moment thinking everything over. "Very well commander, I am at your service."
"Thank you. I will leave you to settle in before filling you on the details of your new position." Starscream thanked her. "You! Escort your new SIC to the private quarters." He ordered a vehicon before he walks away smiling, never once noticing the way Strika stared at his retreating form.
Artic
Bulkhead and Bumblebee held their arms up as cold winds battered them. They have been searching for a signal they picked up for over an hour now.
"Are we there yet?" Bumblebee called out.
"We're nearly there! The signal we picked up is just over that ridge."
Once they reached it, they saw something frozen beneath the ice. Something Cybertronian. They couldn't tell what it was due to the ice but what they did know was they couldn't let the cons get their hands on it.
A few hours later at the base Optimus and Ratchet was looking over the find as Arcee was getting ready for the expedition.
"Any idea what this could be Ratchet?" Optimus asked.
"No and until it thaws out, we can't examine it." The medic answered. "And we can't melt it manually or else we risk damaging whatever it is."
Before they could continue to discuss it the sounds of engines caught their attention. Driving into the base was Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper who as on strict medical restriction came in before the teens stepped out.
"Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?" Ratchet groan.
"It's Saturday, that means there's no school and we can spend the whole weekend here, with you." Miko taunted.
"I wasn't expecting Cliff to pick me up today. What's up Arcee?"
"My turn for exploration duty Jack."
"Dang, and it's a nice day for a ride. I was hoping we could go before practice today."
"Artic expedition Jack. I doubt even you could handle the cold Frosty."
"Fair enough."
"Can I come? I never seen snow before." Raf asked.
"Apologies Raf but the cold conditions are far too dangerous even for us." Optimus explain. "But I will bring you back a snowball." He added when he saw Raf's disappointed face.
"Remember once your badges flash blue system failure isn't likely it's imminent." Ratchet warned. Optimus nodded as he and Arcee walked through the ground bridge. Once it closed the controls began to spark alarming Ratchet.
"So, what now?" Miko asked.
"I'm going to examine the game store. I have been putting that off for a while now. After that we can spar or something." Jack said. Seeing Miko and Raf nod their head. It had been a few days since Jack showed everyone how the system worked. They agreed to wait and do some training before doing any dungeon crawls, although Raf was still a bit apprehensive. Opening the window Jack took a look.
[Welcome to the Game Store!]
[For using the Game Store for the first time you gained 2 Minor HP Recovery Potions.]
Jack rose an eyebrow at that but moved on. The interface was straight forward. There was a symbol for each tab to indicated what they were for, like a sword for weapons, a shield for armor, and a potion for aid items. The first thing he did was sell most of the gems from his inventory, since he didn't want to risk raising questions from any pawn shops they had been just sitting in his inventory.
[150 various gems sold!]
[+ $3,203]
Jack's mouth dropped open. Yeah, he was going back to Miner's folly and farm as many gemstones as he could. Moving on from his potential gold mine, pun not intended, he went over to the other tabs. The weapons tab was a bit of a mixed bag. It had a large selection, but a lot of the weapons required certain skills or stat requirements. Like the [Dagger of the Void] required a sneak skill of LVL 9, a blade mastery LVL 10 and shadow magic mastery of LVL10 to even use it. That wasn't even bringing up the price. The only thing he could afford and not clean him out completely were normal weapons.
"So." Jack began. "See anything you guys like?"
Miko look through the weapon selections.
"Hmm. A scythe? Too edgy. A sword? Too overdone. A club? Too caveman." Miko shook her head. "Nah, I'm all good Jack rabbit."
Rolling his eyes Jack looked over to Raf who was still looking. "I don't know. I never used a weapon before."
"Neither had I Raf. All I started with was a baseball bat and a knife. If the one you pick doesn't feel right, then you can try another. Oh, and pick a spell as well, you may need it." Jack encouraged. Raf nodded his head and turned back to the shop.
"How about these two?"
[Oak quarterstaff]
[Common quality]
[Durability 200/ 200]
[DMG type: Blunt]
[DMG Stats]
[75 DMG+ STR]
[Simple and affective this weapon had been the choice of many peasants, travelers and monks.]
[Spell Tome: Polarity Strike]
[Send out a blast of magnetic energy. If any small magnetic items are nearby will slam into the target as well.]
[50 Polar DMG]
[10 Blunt DMG per object attracted.]
[Max size of items: Golf Ball]
[Cost: 50 MP]
"Nice choice Raf." After spending five hundred he handed them to the little genius. "Now that that's over we can practice."
"And we'll be here to help." Bulkhead smiled.
"Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Come over here. I need your help." Ratchet called causing the two's shoulders to slump.
"Don't worry Bulk I'll watch the kids." Cliffjumper assured. "Alright you three, let's get you paired up and we can start this spar. Jack, Miko I want you two to spar first. Then Raf will spar with Miko, then with Jack. This way I can give you all some pointers and see where you can improve."
"If it's not a problem. I'm going to go explore the base and practice my new spell if that's okay?" Raf asked.
"Sure thing lil buddy. A little practice is all well and good just make sure you come back soon, okay?" Nodding Raf began to walk down the corridor.
"Okay you two get ready and stand apart facing each other." Cliff instructed.
Nodding their heads, the two got ready as a screen popped up in front of them.
[You have entered a spar.]
[All sparring partners HP is set to 10]
[All DMG is set to 1]
[All DOT DMG set to 0]
[Spar will end when all opponents' HP have reached zero]
"Well then that covers a good portion of the rules but here's the rest of them. You two can use all the skills you have, try not to go overboard though. If I say the fight's over it's over. Remember this is just to show us how you two can handle yourselves and where you need to improve. Cheap shots are allowed." Cliffjumper told them.
"Wait, really?" Jack asked.
"There's not really any rules for fightin out there. Sometimes you got to fight dirty. Best to learn how to do it and how to counter it here." Was the red mech's reasoning. Seeing the teen nod Cliff grinned. "Alright you two. Begin!"
Smirking Miko strum on her guitar sending out a magical fist the size of a dodgeball. Moving to the right Jack charged at the rocker, sending out frost darts at her. Seeing Miko dodged left Jack swung his cutlass at her. Only for Miko to duck down and swing her guitar at him. It was too late for Jack to dodge and he felt the instrument bash into his side. Miko followed this up with a forte fist but Jack was able to jump out of the way.
"First blood goes to Miko." Cliffjumper praised.
"You got to do better than that frosty." Miko teased. Despite his shock Jack began to grin. Up until now he only had to fight against mutated animals and the undead, neither of which were intelligent. Even old Pete had more rot than brains when he fought him. Now he was facing someone that's cunning. This was going to be fun.
Charging at her Jack threw a frost bomb. Seeing this Miko dodge but that was what Jack was hoping for. Quickly he created a small ice wall at her feet causing her to trip. With no way to avoid him this time Jack slammed his cutlass into her side.
"One-point Jack. Impressive planning." Cliffjumper commented. Miko glared at him for that before smirking. "So that's how it's going to be huh?"
"Yep." Jack said, popping the P for emphasis.
"Then let's do this!" Miko shouted sending another forte fist at Jack. While this was happening Bulkhead and Bumblebee was talking to Ratchet.
"You know just because Optimus isn't here doesn't mean you can boss us around." Bulkhead complained.
"This isn't the time Bulkhead; the ground bridge is down and if we don't get it back up then Optimus and Arcee will be stuck in the artic!" Ratchet quickly explain to the two's shock.
"What do we do?" Bee asked.
"Lift up that panel. I need to check the power cables to see what's the issue."
The Nemesis- war room
All around a large table sat seven figures. At the head of the table was Starscream. To his left sat Soundwave, Knockout and Breakdown. To his right sat Strika, Makeshift, and Flamewar.
"Now that we're all here, I would like to welcome our fellow Decepticons who has joined us." Starscream began.
Breakdown let out a snort in disgust. "Don't you mean Decepticons and Autobot." He said glaring at Flamerwar.
"Are you talking about me?" Flamewar asked.
"Do you see anyone else with a bot's face?"
"Ooh ooh is Makeshift doing his impression of Sentinel again. That's a riot. Wait Makeshift why didn't you tell me?!" She asks her travel companion who rolled his optics, having long gotten use to her personality.
"Why don't we just scrap this glitch already?" Breakdown asked before he had to jump back to avoid a small jet of fire.
"Careful big guy, after all. If you play with fire, you'll get burn." Flamewar threatened.
"Enough! Shockwave created her, that alone should mean she's on our side, besides Knockout examined her and gave her the green light." The seeker explained before turning to Flamewar. "And Flamewar don't go attacking our comrades, we are in dire straits at it is." Breakdown grunted as he glares at the clone while she merely grinned back.
"Now that's settled." Starscream continued. "Our newest members must be brought up to speed of how things are done on this planet. First and foremost is who we are facing. Soundwave." The spymaster nodded his head before six holograms of each of the Autobots activated.
"At this moment we know of six Autobots on Earth. Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper. There could be more, but none have been seen yet."
"Only six? Prime I can understand but I find it hard to believe that only six Autobots have been able to resist for so long." Strika asked.
"That's because of the human governments. The Autobots were able to ally themselves with them." Starscream explained.
"Then why not simply attack the humans? A few destroyed cities will change their minds." Makeshift asked.
"That's what I been wondering." Breakdown grunted.
"To put it simply, logistics. The Nemesis is not only our main base but our main energon storage and cloning facilities. A counterattack by the humans could severely damage if not destroy this ship." Starscream explained.
"Then why haven't they?" Strika asked. It didn't make sense to her to leave an enemy base fully operational.
"Most likely for the same cost reward scenario, our cloaking abilities, and with Prime's bleeding spark. He probably wants to keep the humans out of the war as much as possible." Starscream mused. That made sense for those who know of the prime. His compassion was as well-known as his combat prowess.
"Now back to the main point the six Autobots are to be captured or killed on sight. If you wish to know more about them, please refer to their dossiers. Now for the next point. Knockout, proceed."
"Thank you, Starscream. As all of you know Megatron is in critical condition. While I was able repair most of the damage, what I cannot undo is the damage caused by the dark energon. At this moment I have no idea what it has done to him."
"Do you really have no idea?" Strika asked.
"The best I have now are theories, but I dare not attempt anything until I have something more concrete. If I try anything, I could end up making things worst. So, to that end I require any and all dark energon samples found be brought to me for testing. Hopefully that will give me some way to cure our lord."
"Perhaps we should limit the amount of dark energon on board. We don't know how it would affect everyone on the ship." Starscream added.
"A fair point, it would be no good for Megatron if we all succumb to its affects as well." Knockout agreed. He was already planning containment and cleansing protocols when handling the vile substance so that will make his job a little easier.
"Good. Now unless anyone else have any questions, I believe this meeting is adjourned." The seeker spoke. With that everyone returned to their duties but as they left no one notice a gleam in Flamewar's optics.
Omega One- With Raf
As the cons were having their meeting Raf was exploring the base practicing his new spell. In all honestly the youngest of the teens was amazed by it. Never did he think that he would use magic but here he was. Casting it Raf watched as a couple screws and bolts flew around the orb before it struck the wall leaving a small but noticeable dent behind. It was then he heard skittering behind him. Turning around he didn't see anything but when he heard the noise behind him again, he turned around ready to blast whatever it was only to stop when he saw what it was.
Standing there staring at him was a creature about a foot in height with a large head and equally large optics. Its small body was held up by four insect-like legs. Skittering up to Raf it nuzzled its head into his hand.
"I didn't know the bots had a pet." Raf said before picking up a bolt. "Here, want to play fetch?" he asks before tossing it. The small creature caught it midair before it began to eat the bolt.
"Hey don't eat…that?" Raf began only to see the little creature was perfectly fine. "Huh, well I guess I should show you to the others" He said picking up the little creature, but what Raf didn't see was the sparking and destroy power cables around the corner.
Back with the spar Jack duck under another forte fist as he created an ice wall in front of him for cover. Taking a peek, he saw Miko keeping her distance, she was down to one point while he was down to three. Knowing she won't fall for the same tricks twice Jack had to get creative. Remembering something he saw in gym class Jack sent a frost bomb into the air above them. Seeing the attack Miko when on guard only for her eyes to widen as an ice spike to be sent her way. Dodging to the right she was caught off guard the frost darts hitting her ending the spar.
[Spar over!]
[Congratulations on winning! +100 XP!]
[For coming up with several tactics that work +2 WIS!]
"Alright you two did pretty good. Miko good work with catching Jack a few times. You were more limited, but you didn't let that stop you. For now, you need to work on your versatility. It you had more to work with you might have won." Cliffjumper critiqued.
"According to the grimoire I'll learn more spells once I get them all up to level five." Miko shrugged.
"How far are you to that?"
"Thanks to healing you healing harmony is at nine and that spar cause forte fist to be at level three. Terror tempo is still at level one since I don't have a target for that cause Jack is immune." She replied.
"Good, Jack you did well, those plans you came up with were clever and you showed that you have good control, but you underestimated Miko several times and got cocky. Trust me when I say that is a major mistake. If you hadn't you could have won the spar much faster."
"Yeah, I got overconfident."
"Don't worry when time and practice you two will be kicking tailpipe in no time." It was at this moment Raf came in with his new friend.
"Hey guys look at what I found."
"Rafael we don't have time to…ahhh!" Ratchet screamed out. The other bots turn to see the small creature and join the medic in activating their blasters.
"Hey hey what's with you guys?!" Miko asked as she and Jack got in front of Raf.
"Scraplet! Scraplet!" Bulkhead yelled out, optics wide in fear.
"What's a scraplet?" Raf asked.
"Only the most dangerous vermin to crawl upon the face of Cybertron." Ratchet answered.
"You guys are serious?" Jack chuckled as he uses observe on the little creature.
[Scraplet worker]
[Race: Scraplet]
[LVL: 5]
[Metal Eater]
[HP: 100/150]
[EP: 25/25]
[SP: 350/350]
[Con: 10]
[STR: 3]
[DEX: 25]
[INT: 5]
[WIS: 9]
[LCK: 5]
[One of the most dangerous and feared creatures known to Cybertronians, their ravenous hunger for anything metal is legendary. It has been known that entire planets were abandon due to known scraplet infestations.]
[Strong Jaw: You're no glass Joe with that kind of jaw! All bite attacks deal 50% more damage.]
[Cybertronian hunter: You are adept at hunting and killing all Cybertronian life. 100% more damage to beings coming from Cyberton or similar.]
The smile on Jack's face melted away as he looked at the description in front of him with wide eyes.
"Oh scrap." As if citing a spell, the scraplet optics opened, it looked at the humans completely docile but once it saw the bots its mouth opened revealing teeth that spun like a blender. It launched itself from Raf's arms and charged at the bots. They tried to shoot the vile vermin but the scraplet was able to dodge the blast before it was able to jump on to Bumblebee. It ate parts of his leg as it climbed up. The scout tried to grab it but the scraplet bit his hand forcing the bot to throw it. Getting up the scraplet shook its daze off and was about to continue its frenzy but Raf began to smash it with his new staff. He kept going until Jack caught his hand.
"Easy there killer, you got it." Seeing he was right Raf ran up to Bumblebee.
"Bee I'm so sorry! I didn't know."
"It's alright, Raf."
"Will he be okay?" Raf asked.
"Just a mesh wound. Easy to fix." Ratchet said.
"You see what I mean now? Scraplets can tear apart a cybertronian in mere moments." Bulkhead said as he looked around in panic.
"Well, it's dead now so problem solved." Miko said trying to cheer them up.
"No. With scraplets there's never just one." Ratchet said. As soon as he said that the lights flickered as a loud shrieking roar was heard throughout the base.
"W-what was that?" Raf asked.
"No. It can't be. Not here." Cliffjumper whispered.
"Cliffjumper, what is it? Do you know what that was?" Ratchet asked.
"Yeah, I know." The red mech hauntingly replied. "Back before the war I worked as a bounty hunter. One time I was tracking down a real piece of work named Frenzy, I tracked him down to some old moon base, but when I found him, he was being torn apart by what we heard. A scraplet queen."
"What!? That's. Are you sure?" Ratchet asked.
"I will never forget that sound Ratchet."
"How did it even get here?" Miko asked.
"I believe I know how." Ratchet said. Soon everyone was in the storage area where they set their artic find. It was now thawed out revealing what it was.
"A scraplet trap." Ratchet announced.
"An empty scraplet trap." Bulkhead whimpered.
"It must have been jettisoned to space eons ago and crash landed into the artic where they been frozen ever since." Ratchet theorized.
"Until we brought the thaw. How many could we be dealing with?" Jack asked.
"Judging by the size of the container may five hundred to a thousand but with the queen that number will only grow exponentially." Ratchet said.
The Nemesis
In a small room Flamewar sat on her berth reading her original's profile again. She didn't need to. Shockwave had a dossier on her but this one had info even the scientist didn't have! Arcee could turn invisible! She couldn't do that so it must be new, or did Shockwave decide that she didn't need it. Flamewar looked down at her nuzzles for her flame throwers. When she was stable Shockwave add several upgrades to her. He enhanced her strength, speed and added plasma flame throwers to make her a menace in close quarters. She let out a giggle. Ever since she came online, she wanted to meet her original and now she has the chance.
"Oh, big sis, were going to have a lot of fun." Flamewar muttered to herself.
The Artic
Climbing a cliff Optimus heard his alarm beep.
"Arcee, what is your status?"
{I'm at my limit. Think it's time to get out of the cold.} Nodding he contacted the base.
"Ratchet we require extraction. Ratchet come in." Only for him to receive static.
Omega One
"Optimus, do you read. Arcee come in." Ratchet groaned. "They got to the comms, if we don't stop this infestation soon then they will turn this base into a scrapheap."
"I say let them have it and bug out." Bulkhead said with Bumblebee nodding.
"Not an option, if we don't get the ground bridge operational soon then Optimus and Arcee will perish." That cause Jack's heart to nearly stop. Memories of him and Arcee just hanging out and going for drives were replaced with an image of her body frozen and lifeless as the snow buried her.
"That's not happening." He whispered to himself.
[New Quest: Of snow and scraplets]
[Scrapets have infested the base and damaged the ground bridge!]
[Objectives]
[Kill the scraplet queen!]
[Find what's wrong with the ground bridge and fix it!]
[Get Optimus and Arcee back to base!]
[Rewards]
[2,000 XP]
[One Random base upgrade]
[Failure.]
[Optimus and Arcee will freeze to death.]
[The rest of the Autobots will be eaten.]
[The Earth will be taken over by scraplets.]
[Y/N]
Pressing yes Jack turn back to the others.
"Besides it will only be a matter of time before they escape and start going after the nearest food source, meaning towns and cities." Cliffjumper pointed out.
"Bulkhead you never run." Miko said trying to encourage her friend.
"Miko you haven't seen these things devour a bot. I have, they go for the small juicy bits first eating them from the inside until there's nothing left. Not even the optics."
"Then we can take them." Jack spoke up.
"We're not made of metal, so they'll ignore us." Raf agreed.
"Typically, I find your fleshiness your least endearing trait but in these circumstances it is useful." Ratchet admitted.
"So, we pair up, I'll stay here and watch yours' and Cliffjumper's backs." Jack began.
"While we go on a bug hunt." Miko finished to Bulkhead and Bumblebee's woe.
In a hallway Miko was taking point with her guitar in hand while Bulkhead was providing light.
"This is where Raf found the first one right?" The wrecker asked nervously.
"Don't worry Bulk once we squish this bug things will be alright." Miko reassured him. It was at that moment the lights went out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Thankfully the lights turn back on as Miko turned to look at Bulkhead. "Did you just scream like a girl?" She asks amused. Bulkhead gave an embarrassed smile before a bunch of powerlines and wires collapsed on him and caused him to panic.
"Ahhh! Get them off! Get them off!"
"BULKHEAD! Chill! They're just wires!" Miko yelled out. Stopping he saw that Miko was right but before he could relax.
PLINK
A scraplet fell on him. Then another and another as they began to come down like rain before they began to eat the Autobot. Screaming Bulkhead tried to get them off of him, but it was no use there were just too many! Thinking quickly Miko strummed her guitar before firing off a terror tempo. A dark neon green wave blasted out before it collided with the swarm. All at once the scraplets began to shriek before flying down the corridors.
"Thanks, Miko." Bulkhead groaned out.
"Looks like I'm finally going to get that practice in huh?" Miko said trying to lighten the mood.
"Well, I'm ready to hear you jam." The wrecker smiled.
Meanwhile back in the main room Ratchet was getting frustrated. Even after recalibrating and adjusting everything he could think of the ground bridge still won't work! Seeing Ratchet was in no mood to talk Jack turns to Cliffjumper.
"So, Cliff, anything you can tell me about the scraplets and their queen."
"Welp, you seen most what a scraplet can do, the only thing it hadn't done yet was fly."
"They can fly?!" Jack said as he began to glance up.
"Yep, some scholars think it an adaptation to hunt anyone with a flight alt. As for the queen, it's far more dangerous than a regular scraplet. Nearly as big as a cybertronian in their alt form, they're not as strong but they don't need to be."
"Whys that?"
"Besides the swarm bringing them food the queen can unleash an EMP that can render any Cybertronian immobile, but not unconscious." Jack gulped as he heard that. Even if the bots surround the queen, they may not be able to stop her.
"How's it going with repairs Ratchet?" Cliff asks.
"Poorly, I don't understand what's wrong, everything should be working but it's not getting enough power."
"Could there be a leak?" Ratchet optics widen at the suggestion before looking over everything. "Of course, a leak in the energon pipe could easily lead to all these problems." Before he could see where a piece of metal fell between the three. Looking up they see a swarm of scraplets coming out of the vent shaft. The moment the metal vermin saw the Autobots they leaped into the air and began to fly down. Thinking quickly Jack sent out three frost bombs, it didn't matter if they were his slowest attack, with how many there are he was bound to hit one of them.
Sure, enough each one of his spells manage to hit and took out a few around them. Unfortunately, the sheer number of scraplets it may have been a mere drop from the ocean. Ratchet and Cliffjumper was doing their best to avoid being eaten yet soon they fell to the ground covered in scraplets.
"Ratchet! Break out the med kit we're leaking energon like crazy!" Bulkhead called out as he and Bumblebee were both leaking badly, but once they saw what was happening, they wish they stayed in the halls. Seeing fresh prey, the swarm began to fly towards them.
"Not happening scrapheads! Terror tempo! Forte Fist!" Miko yelled out as he sent out an eerie green wave at the mass of vermin. Parts of the swarm began to flee while the rest kept going. Seeing this Jack sent out more frost bombs while Miko kept sending wave after wave of terror tempo. Raf was doing his best to keep the bots safe by knocking off any scraplet on them. Soon the two managed to send the swarm packing.
[You have slain 137 scraplets]
[+ 1,370 XP!]
[Party member slain 73 scrapets]
[+ 146 XP!]
"Are you guys alright?" Jack asked.
"Our injuries our bad but manageable, but if we don't find and repair the energon leak Optimus and Arcee may soon perish." Ratchet groan out.
"Don't forget the queen, if we don't take her and the nest out, we're done for." Bumblebee coughed.
"Why don't we send them back to the artic, if it's deadly to you guys it's deadly to them." Raf asked.
"That would work, but with as long the queen is alive new scraplets will just take their place." Cliffjumper said.
"Then we have a plan. Miko, you think you can keep the bots safe while Raf and I take care of the leak?" Jack asked.
"Count on it, those bugs are going regret ever hearing the words rock and roll."
"Good, once we patch the leak Raf will come back to help while I deal with the queen." Jack said surprising the others.
"But Jack." Raf began but Jack didn't let him finish.
"We have to. Right know Optimus and Cee are running out of time. The sooner they're back here the better, preferably with a dead scraplet queen." Jack reasoned.
The Artic
Things weren't looking good for the two Autobots, when they couldn't get anyone over the comms, they had to find shelter. Thankfully they found a small cave, but it was only slowing the process.
"S-so, any idea what's happening at the base?" Arcee asked. She wasn't doing so well compared to the prime due to her smaller size.
"There could be numerous things that could have cause our predicament." Optimus replied. Multiple situations were running through his processor, some worse than others.
"Heh, how about a game? Who screwed up? No comms, so maybe Bulkhead trip over some cables. Big lug never was that graceful. Remember when we first came to Earth, and he walked into those powerlines. I never seen a bot dance like that." Arcee chuckle at the memory.
"Bulkhead may be a bit large for this world, but his strength and will is unquestionable." The prime said with conviction.
Omega One
"So, if. When we get the ground bridge up and running, do we bring Optimus and Arcee in or send the nest out?" Bulkhead said as Ratchet patched up another leak on him.
"If we bring the others back then it will only be serving the scraplets a new meal. Our only hope is to get them through the portal. With live bait I'm afraid" Ratchet answered before moving on to the next leak.
"How!? They already help themselves to everything and everyone here!"
"We'll think of something Bulk, until then we- Scrap! Here comes a swarm!" Cliffjumper yelled as a small swarm came rushing in.
"I got this." Miko smirked as she sent out another terror tempo causing the swarm to flee. "See no sweat."
Suddenly more swarms came from the two vents above and the hallway. "Okay, maybe a little sweat."
The other two teens were busy patching the leaks they found. Fortunately, the two found the leaks and were patching the last one.
"There, that should do it. You better head back while I look for the queen." Jack told Raf. Nodding his head, the youngest ran back to the command center leaving the gamer alone. Quickly running down the halls Jack began his search.
Now it I was a giant bug where would I be?" The base was large and the others were running out of time.
Okay think Jack. What would any animal need?" Food? The bots were the main course. Water? Does anyone from Cybertron drink anything? Shelter and space. Wait space, the back-storage area! It's were the bots put all the old and defunct military equipment, it has room and plenty of food for a metal eating vermin to nest!
Quickly running to the back of the base Jack soon found himself in front of the storage room door.
Correction in front of what used to be the storage room door. The once towering metal door was now chewed up scrap metal. Cautiously he stepped inside. Last time he was in here the bots help the teens moved some old furniture to make a small spot for them in the main room. Now though he could see the signs of the infestation. Old and broken military equipment was tossed over and mostly eaten, the bunkbeds were nothing more than scrap and cloth, and metal pipes and wires hung from the ceiling. Turning the place into a maze of scrap metal, and in the center of it all was the scraplet queen.
She was big, not nearly as big as amalgamation of corpses thankfully, but the size of a hummer. The main body looked similar to a larva with pilons sticking out of its back, six long insect-like legs were coming from her sides.
[Scraplet queen]
[Race: Scraplet]
[LVL: 19]
[Royal Metal Eater]
[HP: 600/600]
[EP: 500/500]
[SP: 750/750]
[Con: 200]
[STR: 150]
[DEX: 250]
[INT: 30]
[WIS: 25]
[LCK: 50]
[Every nest has a queen and the scraplets are no different. When the queen isn't laying more eggs she's eating anything metal her subjects bring her.]
[Strong Jaw: You're no glass Joe that that kind of jaw! All bite attacks deal 50% more damage.]
[Cybertronian hunter: You are adept at hunting and killing all Cybertronian life. 100% more damage to beings coming from Cyberton or similar.]
[Boss blessing: +100 HP, EP, and SP.]
The queen was busy eating what looked like an old computer with her back towards him. Taking his chance Jack sent out an ice spike before he created an ice wall in front of him. Once the ice spell struck the beast, she let out a pain screech before turning to its source. Once it saw the wall, she charged at it. Something Jack was hoping far as he watches her slam into it from his hiding spot.
[Scraplet queen]
[HP 400 /600]
This was his plan, whittle her down from hiding spots while staying hidden. He learned his lesson from his past fights, now he had a couple of plans to take this boss down. Most of which went out the window when the scraplet queen began to crackle with electricity, once she gathered enough electricity the queen unleashed a pulse that went out about three meters. Which would not have been a problem if one small side effect didn't happen. It wasn't something too big, just ELECTRIFING EVERY PIECE OF SCRAP AND TURNING IT INTO A LIVE CIRCUIT!
[- 30 HP!]
"AH SHIT!" Jack cursed as he felt the electricity course through him. Luckily, he manages to get away before he got hurt even worst, unluckily he caught the queen's attention.
"Scrap." Jack swore as he ran down the maze of electric scrap metal. He sent a couple of ice spikes at the queen in order take her out but with a screech a swarm of scraplets appeared in front of her blocking the hit with there bodies. "Great this is going to be a mix of plaguespreader and old Pete isn't it?" Jack thought to himself.
Meanwhile in the command room things weren't looking to good. Miko was firing off green wave after green wave but the problem was the scraplets kept on coming. It was too the point she couldn't even send a forte fist out unless she wanted one of the bots to be chomped. Speaking of which they weren't in good shape, the ambushes earlier and now the nearly overwhelming swarm were basically bleeding them dry, they could barely move let alone fight.
Seeing another swarm was attacking the bots Miko turned to help when one of the scraplets realized what was happening and tried to attack her. Charging right at the rocker the scraplet had its teeth bared ready to take a bite but right before it could.
"Polarity Strike!" A yellow bolt of energy struck it down before it could get to Miko.
"Raf! Thanks for the save!" Miko called out sending a terror tempo out.
"We fix the leaks! Jack went to take care of the queen. Hopefully he'll get it done soon!" Raf yelled as he bashed a scraplet.
Back with the gamer Jack was getting frustrated, every time he attacked the scraplet queen called more of her subjects and had them take the hit. When she wasn't doing that, she was charging her EMP blast and turning the place into an electrical nightmare. The only good thing was Jack was able to avoid her attacks, but he knew he was running out of time. Just like his luck it seems as he found himself at a dead end, turning around the queen was glaring at him hatefully as she approached. Thinking of something Jack looked up and saw one of the many pipes barely hanging from the ceiling.
Taking a chance, he sent out a frost bomb above it. Once the icy explosion detonated it freed the pipe from its bindings and fall right on top of the queen.
[Scraplet queen]
[HP 284 /600]
"That worked, now to try to finish this." Knowing the direct route would be fruitless, he began to concentrate as he focused on manipulating an ice wall spell. Soon enough an icy blue sigil appeared below the queen before several ice spikes erupted from the ground.
[Scraplet queen]
[HP 159 /600]
[New spell created: Ice Spike Eruption LVL 1 (0/100)]
[Create an eruption of ice spikes to impale your targets from the ground.]
[Cost: 70 MP]
[Damage: 125]
[Chance to freeze: 20%]
[Slows down target by 20%]
Enraged the queen began to charge another pulse, knowing he was still too close to her Jack took this chance and use his new spell again, which worked but as the queen suffered being impaled the electricity she was building up was released hitting Jack.
[Scraplet queen]
[HP 34 /600]
[- 100 HP!]
"That hurt." Jack groaned out, thankful that wasn't a full charge or else he probably be in worst shape. Looking up he saw that the queen was trying to stand up giving low screeches, Jack brought his hand up before firing off an ice spike, putting the beast out of its misery.
[You slain 68 Scraplets]
[+ 680 XP!]
[For using the area around you + 1 WIS]
[For creating a new spell + 1 WIS and INT]
[You slain the scraplet queen!]
[+ 3,000 XP!]
[For slaying this rare enemy please choose one of the following rewards!]
[Electron pulse: Let out a magnetic pulse of energy to damage and stun those around you.]
[Scrap whip: whip made from the pieces of the scraplet queen, due to this it is imbue with her electrical attacks.]
[Scraplet helm: A helmet that resembles a scraplet, while wearing it all cybertornians seeing this will feel fear.]
Jack was about to complain that this wasn't the time until he saw the rewards. Quickly he clicks the one he wanted but as he was about to leave.
SCRRRREEECCCCCHHHHHHHH!
It was then an unholy chorus of screeches permeated the base. It seems the scraplets know their queen was dead. He bolted to the others hoping he gets there in time.
If Miko was being honest to herself things we're getting pretty bad, yeah Raf being here with her was helping, A LOT. Honestly if he wasn't here Miko was sure the bots would be toast, but the damn bugs kept coming. Seriously just how many are in the base! They were keeping up until they all screeched and now it's like every single one came into the room.
"Guys! I killed the queen! Get them through the ground bridge!" Jack yelled as he got into the room. Hearing that Ratchet crawled to the computer and typed in the coordinates.
"Miko, do you have enough magic left to drive them through the portal?!" Jack yelled as he sent a couple of frost bombs out at the swarm.
"Maybe? I'm seriously running low here!" Miko as she was strumming her guitar.
"Raf catch! Use this and help me clear the room." Jack tosses the reward to Raf.
Catching it Raf looks down at the spell book and learned it, a moment later electricity was building up around him as he unleashed a much weaker version of the queen's pulse taking out the scraplets around him. Together the three were pushing the horde back. Jack was creating ice walls blocking any escape, Raf was guarding the bots keeping them safe while Miko was pushing them through the portal.
"Damn! Jack! I'm out of mana, pass me those potions!" As Jack tossed her a potion the scraplets knocked it away, cursing the two tried again with the same result. It seems like the pest were learning.
Seeing this Bulkhead slowly got up, catching the attention of the scraplets.
"Come…on…. Here's… the … main…course...! He got out as he began to hobble through the portal into the artic. Behind him the swarm began to fly after him thinking there would be fresh food, only to be met with sheer cold and winds.
Groaning Bulkhead looked up and smiled as he saw a still alive Optimus and Arcee limping towards him.
"I would invite you guys in, but the place is a mess." Bulkhead joked; happy this nightmare was over.
About ten minutes later all the Autobots were being looked over for their injuries.
"Status updates?" Ratchet asked.
"Energon transfer flow is steady." Raf called out.
"Everything is green over here!" Miko shouted.
Ratchet nodded as he continues to check the others.
"Perhaps you should rest as well old friend, it had been an ordeal for everyone today." Optimus said with his servo on Ratchet's shoulder.
"Thank you, Optimus, but we should be thankful that this happened on a Saturday." Ratchet said as he grinned at their human friends.
"I'm back from checking around the base, besides needing some serious repairs I didn't see a single scraplet." Jack said as he came from the hallways. It seems when the queen was killed all the scraplets did swarm together at the end. Speaking of which.
[Quest Complete: Of snow and scraplets]
[Scrapets have infested the base and damaged the ground bridge but you and the others were able to exterminate them and got Optimus and Arcee back alive!]
[Rewards]
[+2,000 XP]
[Base upgrade: Holo training room]
[You have slain 73 scraplets]
[+ 730 XP!]
[Your party members have slain 83 scraplets.]
[+ 166 XP!]
[You leveled up!]
[+ 5 AP!]
[Miner's resolve activated!]
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 18 (457/16,599)]
[HP: 838/838]
[MP: 874/874]
[SP: 838/838]
[CON: 41]
[STR: 55]
[DEX: 50 +3]
[INT: 43]
[WIS: 51]
[LCK: 38]
[AP: 20]
[For reaching 50 in Wisdom please pick one of these as a reward.]
[Danger sense: Sense danger around you and where it's coming from.]
[Shatter Sight: Locate the weak points of your enemies.]
[Harmonic Trance: Enter a mediative state to recover MP and SP.]
Looking over his options he quickly decided that the third option wasn't for him, he had the vanquisher perk after all. So that left him between two very good choices. On the one hand he could know when he's in danger and how to respond to it, the other hand knowing where to hit his target could be life or death. So, does he get the perk that helps him avoid trouble or the perk that helps him when he's in trouble.
In the end he chose shatter sight, between mobs, bosses, and the cons it's the best option.
EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!
Everyone turned to Miko who was freaking out!
"What is it? Scraplets?" Jack asked.
"Spider! Get it off! Get it off!" She squealed as he jumped around trying to get the spider off of her.
"Did she just scream like a girl?" Bulkhead asked.
"Well, I guess no spider dungeons for her." Jack commented, staring as Miko was rubbing her back on the ground.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 18 (457/16,599)]
[HP: 838/838]
[MP: 874/874]
[SP: 838/838]
[CON: 41]
[STR: 55]
[DEX: 50 +3]
[INT: 43]
[WIS: 51]
[LCK: 38]
[AP: 20]
[$ 7,094]
Omake
Holiday teasing or Arcee listens to Miko's advice. (Non-canon)
Miko was bored. Not a surprise given her love of action but that was the problem. There was no action to be had. Bulkhead was out on patrol, so no dune bashing. She just finished training with Jack who's now sparring with Raf, so sparring and video games were out. Normally she would simply shred on her guitar but Ratchet has been in extra cranky old man mode so that was out. So, to kill some time she decided to walk around the base. Unfortunately for her, it was just as boring as waiting around.
"Agh, what I wouldn't do for some fun around here." She groaned. Miko then perked up as she heard a sound. Getting closer it sounded like someone talking. Finally reaching a doorway Miko peeked inside. Her eyes widen. It was Arcee but in her nicee form looking into a mirror. She overheard about it when Ratchet and Arcee were talking about it, something about energon reserves, but she wasn't paying any attention at the time.
"Hmm, while I admit the form gives a lot of benefits it does cause Jack to get distracted a lot." Arcee muttered to herself. And just like that Miko gained a mischievous smirk.
"But do I really want to do that?"
"If you want to seduce him then yeah." Miko said revealing herself.
"Miko! How long were you there?" Arcee shouted.
"Long enough. So, are you going to seduce him or what?"
Arcee merely raised a ridge at her. "Wouldn't that be shallow?"
"Oh, it would be if you two only cared about looks but seeing as the two of you smile just by being near each other that won't be an issue."
"Then what's the point if he already likes me?"
"Oh, Arcee Arcee Arcee. Let me tell you something us earthlings called teasing." Miko grinned.
Halloween.
Jack was walking to Arcee's quarters, it was Halloween, and they were having a party to relax, and the femme was the only one who was missing. Adjusting his cape Jack gave a fanged smile. He was dress as count Dracula and honestly, he thought he pulled it off well.
"Maybe I was a vampire in some other life." He laughed to himself. Making it to Arcee's room he knocked on the door.
"Cee, are you in there? The others are waiting."
"Jack? Good. Can you come in? I need your opinion on something." Arcee replied. Shrugging the young gamer walked in… and froze. Arcee was in her Nicee form again but with a couple of changes. Her colors were swapped, blue was change for black, pink was orange, and black was purple. But that wasn't the only thing, she was also wearing a black robe that stopped just below her rear and had a smiling jack o' lantern on her chest. To top it all off, she had a black pointed hat that sat just above her eyes.
"Well partner, do you think I look bewitching?" Arcee smirked. Jack only stood there with his mouth hanging as his fake teeth fell out. The femme smile to herself thinking this was a great success.
Christmas
Jack groaned as he stretched as he got out of the shower, the last dungeon was not pleasant. Those slime golems were not to be underestimated.
"Miko really came through with her fire spells. Next time she can pick the plans for the day." Jack promised himself. Walking into his room he stopped dead in his tracks.
Arcee was laying on his bed on her side, one hand holding up her head as she smiled at him. Once again, she changed her color scheme, this time red, white, and green. Wrapped around her was a red ribbon covering her chest and waist that ended with a large bow on her chest.
"Well Jack, aren't you going to open your present?" she purred.
The teen simply stood there in complete shock as Arcee giggled to herself.
"Miko was right. This is fun." The two-wheeler thought to herself.
Easter
"Well, that was fun, not." Jack muttered. He just got out of school but right before he left Vince and his cronies tried to pick a fight with him. While he could easily beat them down Jack didn't want that kind of attention…and it would be wrong, so he had to run. It took five minutes before they gave up, but it was still frustrating. The cherry on top was Arcee couldn't pick him up due to a mission.
"Maybe some practice will get my mind off of things." He grumbled as he walked into the training room. Standing at the target range Jack began to cast some of his weaker spells.
"Hey Jack, working hard?" A familiar voice asked.
"Just getting some practice in Cee." He replied with is back to as he was still focusing on the target.
"And here we thought you would be up to some bunny business." That stopped Jack.
"Bunny business? Wait, we?" He said as he turned around. Only for his eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets. There standing was Arcee, but she wasn't alone as Flamewar was leaning on her shoulder in a nicee form as well. They were wearing bunny girl costumes as both of them swapped their color schemes with Arcee being pink and Flamewar being lavender.
"Well Jack Jack, what do you think? Aren't two bunnies better than one?" Flamewar giggled as she leaned down.
Jack just stood there staring at the two before promptly fainting.
"This was great sis! Does this mean I'm an Autobot now?" Flamewar asked.
"Sure, just know you'll be on probation."
"Ooo can you and Jack be my parole officers?" Flamewar asked excitedly.
"I think we can arrange that." Arcee smiled.
Finally done.
?: About time! You put my reveal off for months!
Yes Flamewar I did.
Flamewar: So are Strika like in this story.
Strika is a mix of her Beast Machines and animated. She is both brawn and brain. As for her voice It's either or. Honestly all her voice actors did great job for her. As for you you're a wildcard honestly, and your voice is Izzy from Total Drama.
Oh I'll need a bear costume!
What have I unleashed?