Hello all, and welcome back. With it being so close to Halloween, I wanted to give you a chapter full of both tricks and treats. I admit I struggled with this chapter in places mostly due to losing my notes for this chapter and indeed the rest of this story to a virus. However, I've been going over plans for this story for so long and we're close enough to the end that I should be able to manage without them. In any case, enjoy.
Miko and Sierra hurried down the halls of Fortress Maximus with Allison laughing her butt off behind them.
"Shut up, Allie!" Sierra exclaimed as they speedwalked.
After Jacks' catnip induced stint as a 'stoner kitty', he decided to enlist Vince to help get back at Miko. Vince, after hearing the idea, decided to go along with it to flirt with/be a little pit towards his girlfriend.
The two Maximals sparred during Drifts' latest training session as their girlfriends watched them move. They intentionally went as hard as they could, making a spectacle of themselves battling.
When Drift called a halt, the boys bowed to each other before turning to their girlfriends, showing off their toned technorganic bodies. When Miko commented that Jack really fought like an animal out there, he thanked her and called her 'Miko-chan' while giving her a smoldering look. Vince on the other hand commented that he nearly lost the bout because he was distracted by a beautiful face while giving Sierra a matching look.
The two became highly flustered and red faced. Unfortunately, their embarrassment was made worse when Sierras' Fireweed pods and Mikos' katanas deployed unintentionally. There was a beat of silence before the other Maximals began giggling as the girls excused themselves to the refreshers. (They'd sparred before the boys, thank you VERY much.)
"I can't believe you both got weapon boners!" Allison laughed as she brought up the rear. The similarity to the classic Buzz Lightyear 'Wing Boner' was uncanny, if not unexpected.
"We are NOT calling it that, it was a malfunction!" Miko denied as she forced her katanas back into position.
"Sure." Allison mocked them as they arrived at the refresher. "And I'm." She was cut off as the door opened to find someone already in it.
"Oh, hey girls." Slash the Dinobot greeted as she toweled herself off. She looked at Allison "Hey Allie, have a good workout?"
Allison knew her crush wasn't trying to look cute and sexy, but the way she held the towel put images in her head. Then to her mortification, her saber deployed, causing Sierra and Miko to give her matching smug looks. Slash looked at her.
"You okay Allison?" She asked.
"Yeah." Sierra smirked. "She just has a-"
"Malfunction! It was a malfunction."
"Okay?" Slash replied, not knowing what this was about. She tossed her towel in the cleansing rack. "Might want to have Ratchet look at that." With that she transformed into her raptor mode and took off. Allison looked at the other two femmes.
"Not. One. Word." She bit out as they began giggling.
Catching up to the other Dinobots, Slash heard Grimlock arguing with Ultra Magnus.
"If you want to have humans visit, fine." Grimlock growled. "But Dinobots will not join in."
"Grimlock, your teams' pictures are plastered all over the web." Magnus countered. "Behind Optimus and the Maximals, the Dinobots are the most researched team of Autobots."
"So, humans want gawk at us, and we take it?" He could already feel a neural short coming on.
"It's just a controlled meet and greet Grimlock. You introduce yourselves, transform, they take some pictures."
"It doesn't sound too bad boss." Sludge admitted.
"Sludge, its' a matter of pride." Slug hissed.
"Grimlock." Ultra Magnus began in his best authoritarian voice. "If I have to order the Dinobots to do this I will."
Anger surged through Grimlocks' spark. "If you order Dinobots around, then maybe me need to take care of 'commander'." With that Grimlock transformed into his Tyrannosaurus mode and began to advance on Magnus. As his mouth lit up with flames the other Dinobots jumped into action.
"Boss, NO!"
"Easy Grimlock!"
"Cool it!"
Snarl Transformed into his Stegosaurus mode and slammed his spiked tail into Grimlocks' side. The force managed to knock the Dinobot commander onto the ground and allow Sludge and Slug to jump on him to pin him down with Swoop and Slash restraining his head and tail respectfully.
"What in the pit is the matter with you Grimlock?" Ultra Magnus shouted. He knew the mech was disagreeable with authority figures, but this?
"As his attending physician." Snarl explained as he transformed. "I'm going to have to refuse to answer that." He replied. He turned and saw Grimlock stop struggling against the other Dinobots and transform. "Come on Grimm, we're taking you to med bay."
With that the six Dinobots took off, leaving a confused Ultra Magnus in their wake.
Roughly an hour later in the med bay, Ratchet was going over a scan of Grimlocks' brain. Looking up, he saw Grimlock sitting on a nearby berth. He'd taken off his mask for the examination and was looking at Ratchet with narrowed blue optics. It always surprised bots to find out that the Dinobot commander had an actual 'face'.
"Well doc?" He asked. "What damage?" Snarl had brought Ratchet up to speed on his condition, but to see the readout was something else.
"Bad." Ratchet replied solemnly. "From what I can see whatever Shockwave did to your brain is causing your mind to regress. Your memories and higher functions are slowly separating from your core consciousness."
Grimlock nodded. Shockwave had said as much when he was turning the original five Dinobots into what they are now. They had been the scientists' first attempt at creating beast machines, and he theorized that sentience was a hinderance to their effectiveness. A theory that he had tested on the most susceptible of the group. Their leader.
"How long me got?"
"I wish you'd come to me sooner Grimlock." Ratchet sighed. "I can slow it down but at this rate, you'll be fully feral in less than one Earth year."
At Grimlocks' nod, the other Dinobots all began to talk at once.
"There has to be something we can do!"
"Is brain or Mnemosurgery an option?"
"Boss, you can't just let Shockwave win!"
"ENOUGH!" Ratchet yelled. "We have no one here who can counteract shockwaves' work in time. As it stands, I think it'd take longer than Grimlock's got left to even develop a way to halt the separation."
"So that's why." Came a new voice from the med bay door. Turning the group saw Ultra Magnus standing at the entrance. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty. If he was correct, Grimlocks condition began to worsen after the Dinobots had sprung him from a Decepticon prison run by Shockwave and his experiments.
"Keep where I can see you Magnus." Ratchet growled. He was still sore over his files on the Maximals being used against them. He didn't want a repeat with the Dinobots.
"Not a problem." Magnus replied. He walked up to Grimlock. "I'm sorry for before, I didn't know."
"Me not want your pity." Grimlock snapped as he put his mask back on. He got off the berth and walked towards the door. "Me just want be alone for moment." He looked at Ratchet. "Anything else?"
"Try to avoid transforming." Ratchet answered. "Being in your beast mode seems to exacerbate your condition and accelerate the decline." Nodding, Grimlock walked out of the med bay.
A few minutes later the remaining Dinobots left the med bay and began conversing about what they'd just learned.
"We've got to find a way to fix this." Slash began. "Do you think Grimlock would be amenable to being reformatted into a Maximal?" Perhaps the reformatting could spare her commander from such a fate. "I'm sure Allie and I could convince Jack to do it."
"I doubt it." Snarl replied grimly. "From what I've read the process leaves the mind intact."
"And it's not like we can give Grimlock a new brain." Swoop groused.
"Maybe not." Sludge added, his optics going wide. "But maybe we can use our brains to fix his!" He exclaimed.
"What do you mean Sludge?" Slug asked. While not exactly stupid, Sludge did have a propensity for not thinking things through. The time that he brought half of Tigatron Stadium down on himself while chasing some Insecticons was proof of that. It took hours to dig him out of that mess.
As Sludge explained his idea the other Dinobots looks changed from skeptic to contemplative.
"I don't know Sludge." Snarl answered after a moment. "This sounds like a gamble, and a long shot at that."
"Speaking from experience, sometimes a long shot's your only shot." Swoop replied. There was a silence that stretched on for a few moments before Slash began speaking.
"If we're going to do this It'll have to be while the higher ups are busy." She began. "I can get us what we need undetected tonight, but we'll have to do it tomorrow during the meet and greet."
"And you will have to be the one to do it Slash." Sludge added. "Someone must be holding it to use it."
Slash frowned but nodded. As much as she wanted to be part of this, she knew that it would be better to have someone on standby in case of emergencies. Thank goodness both Prime and Magnus would both be busy tomorrow.
"Hey." Swoop called as he held his hand out. One by one each Dinobot put their hand on top of the others.
"Let's do this. For Grimlock." He finished as they all threw their hands up and left to do their jobs.
Atop a nearby mesa, Lockdown looked at Autobot City. Both he and his ship had been sitting in their position and watching the nearby base for days. The bounty hunter had several targets through two contracts. He'd been monitoring the base and waiting for the right moment, and it seemed that tomorrow would be his chance.
"Sleep well." He spoke quietly. "Tomorow shall be the last day you breath freely."
Optimus Prime was worried. He was standing by the main entrance to Autobot City awaiting the inspection team as well as welcoming the groups of people who would be touring the city. He'd asked Rodimus who the inspection team would be comprised of and the young diplomat had responded with a sour look and informed him that he'd been served a gag order. That was enough to put Optimus on edge.
As he finished explaining the rules of the tour to the last group of humans, Optimus heard what sounded like several large diesel engines in the distance. Turning to observe the newcomers, Optimus gave a start before deploying his gatling gun. Approaching the city were a large black SUV, six very familiar construction vehicles and a monster truck towing some kind of hovercraft on a trailer.
"All Autobots on high alert!" Optimus called into his coms. "Decepticons are approaching the city!" As the group stopped before him, a familiar man in shades and a suit exited the black SUV with a few other agents and fixed Prime with a cocky look.
"At ease big mac." Agent Simmons smugly stated while the Constructicons, Stranglehold and Octopunch transformed and formed up on him and his team. "We're just here to inspect these premises." Optimus was relieved when Drift and Hound arrived as backup.
"So, Sector Seven has allied themselves with the Decepticons now?" Optimus asked. This would not bode well. Simmons was prevented from answering when a space bridge portal opened and disgorged Rodimus and both Captain and Agent Fowler.
"Damn it Simmons." Fowler exclaimed. "You were supposed to let us come through to explain things first."
"Bill." Simmons greeted him with faux sincerity. "You're looking good, put on some weight I see." He chuckled at the federal agent turned Maximal. "Unfortunately, we had to move up our timetable a little bit, but since you're here, no harm no fowl."
"Careful Simmons." Rodimus warned. "One could misconstrue your meaning and cause and international incident." He looked at Optimus. "Sorry Prime, but I still had to work within the law." He looked at Simmons entourage. "I wasn't expecting Decepticons though.
"Correction." Scrapper said, stepping forward. "We, the Constructicons are officially citizens of the United States of America, thank you very much." Looking closer Optimus could see that their Decepticon insignias had been replaced with American flags.
"And we are being freelance now Prime." Stranglehold added, showing that he and Octopunch had also joined the Constructicons in Sector Seven. "We are to be joining inspection team as security."
Optimus looked Scrapper in the optic. "And what do you all get from this? It wasn't too long ago when those two," He began, motioning to Octopunch and Stranglehold. "Invaded our base and attempted to kill us all."
"What's your point?" Bonecrusher asked before being smacked upside the head by Mixmaster.
"I believe." Simmons interrupted. "That is our personal business." Franky, all the advanced weapons tech the Constructicons had given them already meant that America would remain a world leader for centuries to come.
"I also believe." Scrapper added. "That we have an inspection to begin." If the fleshlings wanted their obsolete tech that was fine with them. If they ended up waring with each other into an early extinction like they hoped, all the better.
"Indeed." Optimus replied frostily, retracting his gun. "Come along." With that the group began their inspection of Autobot city.
"Okay, easy!" Ultra Magnus called as Hoist and Bulkhead dragged a colossal (even by Cybertronian standards) stasis pod through the spacebridge. Since the early morning, he and a select group of assistants (and Whirl, because Magnus refused to let him around civilian humans unsupervised) had been using the newly upgraded spacebridge to retrieve the Autobots scattered across the cosmos using the coordinates from the golden disk. Then they would be given a selection of alt modes to choose from. It was tedious work, but Magnus was more than happy to do it.
"You want him with the other two Magnus?" Bulkhead asked. He was thankful that these three were the only bots to join the Ark from Gigantion.
"Affirmative Bulkhead." Magnus replied. "Blaster, reset the spacebridge with the next set of coordinates."
"You bet, no sweat." Blaster replied.
Ultra Magnus sighed. While he knew retrieving the other Autobots the same day as the human visits was risky, but it would help distract Optimus from the fact that G.B. Blackrock was here and working on Project: Cerebros. Hopefully he and Brainstorm would be able to make some headway while no one was watching. He was pulled back to reality with the arrival of a bluish green Jeep Gladiator, a green armored car and a powder blue Ferrari.
"Alright lad." The Gladiator spoke to Magnus as it transformed into the Wreckers old tactician and drill Seargent. "We have our camouflage." Kup finished as the armored car and Ferrari began transforming too.
"Sarge, Springy, great to see you guys again!" Bulkhead exclaimed as he embraced his fellow Wreckers, lifting them off the ground. Kup however was unamused.
"Put us down you big palooka." Kup groused as Bulkhead lowered them down. "If ya gotta crush something, crush Decepticons."
"Good to see you again too Bulk." The green and yellow mech next to Kup responded diplomatically.
"Happy to have you all here Springer." Ultra Magnus greeted. He went to greet the third bot but was beaten to it.
" 'samazinghowfastmillionsofyearsgowhenyou'reinsstasisbutI'mhereandreadytohelp." The blue mech greeted him.
"Happy to hear it Blurr." Magnus answered. "But could you slow it down a little? Not everyone here can understand." He was cut off by his comms. "Go for Magnus."
"Hey boss hoss." Blaster spoke. "We have the next coordinates ready, but we have a bigger problem."
"How so?" Ultra Magnus asked. He really hoped Brainstorm and Blackrock hadn't been discovered.
"Good news bad news and worse news." Blaster continued. "Good news is that the guided tours are going great, the bad news is that the inspectors have shown up."
"And the worse new?"
"It's headed by that Sector Seven dipstick, and he's being backed up by Decepticons."
"What!" Magnus yelled. He'd almost prefer that Project Cerebros were discovered to this. Then again, this could be salvageable.
"Want us to go crack some fender?" Bulkhead asked.
"Not just yet." Magnus began. "They don't know about the new arrivals yet." He looked at the trio.
"Kup, Springer, I need you to tail the inspectors at a distance. Use every trick you know to avoid detection." He began. "Blurr, if any of the team leaves something behind you are to retrieve and deliver it to me immediately."
"Right."
"On it."
"YoucancountonmeMagnusnoonecanmovefasterthanIcannobodynobodynobody." With that, Blurr sped from the room with Springer and Kup following behind him.
"Keep retrieving bots." Magnus said to Hoist and Bulkhead. "I'll go check on the other new arrivals. We may need them sooner rather than later." He left the room and headed to the staging area where his assistants (and Whirl) were helping the new bots pick out Earth alt modes.
Arriving in the staging area, he noticed that a scuffle had broken out.
"For crying out loud it was only a question." A short mech groused as he held a hand to a cracked visor.
"That was a horrible come on, and an insulting one at that!" A tall well-built femme yelled.
"Pipes, Strongarm, explain." Magnus ordered.
"I was just complementing your chest plating."
"By asking if I needed help buffing it, yeah right!"
"Enough!" Ultra Magnus yelled. "Pipes, go to med bay. Strongarm, stay and help me with the other new arrivals." Strongarm saluted him as pipes turned into a miniature diesel truck and took off.
"Sir, yes sir."
"Got to admit, she's cute when she's angry." A red and grey bot commented to his yellow and black twin.
"Sideswipe, be professional!" Strongarm reprimanded as Sideswipe held his hands up in surrender. The yellow bot leaned over and whispered to his twin.
"I don't know what you see in her." Sunstreaker whispered.
"I don't see anything in her."
"Suuure."
"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, knock it off." Magnus' optics however were drawn to an SUV that looked like it was straight out of Jurassic Park.
"Brawn, who told you that was an acceptable alt mode?" He got his answer from a giggling cyclopean Wrecker in the far corner.
"Whirl, stop trying to 'help'." Seconds later there was a deafening roar, and the entire base shook.
"What on Cybertron is that?"
Down in what had been dubbed the 'town square' of Autobot City, several groups of people were getting to know various Autobots and Maximals. Scattered around the edge of the square were the Protectobots who were intermittently combining into Defensor to rounds of applause from the visitors. Then there was Jetfire and Perceptor displaying various Cybertronian science experiments to the amazed guests. After them was Arcee, back in her role as a history teacher and giving her visitors lessons on the history of Cybertron. The most fun exhibit for many however was Blasters'. He was using his DJ booth to host a miniature dance party with Cybertronian music while helping Ultra Magnus with the retrieval project. Throw in the various food trucks and few merchandise vendors and it was beginning to feel like a convention.
And after all of them were the Maximals. Many younger humans gravitated towards them in part due to their beast modes. Between a lion, rhino, bird and a bat, it was something like a sentient petting zoo. Allison ended up being a major hit because of her unicorn alt mode. Albeit between the 'Bronies' and the few kids who tried to offer her sugar cubes, she finally opted to stay in bot mode.
"I swear if one more person calls me Twilight." She groused to her sister.
"I'll hit them with a seed snare." Sierra replied. She had been offering the guests literal freshly grown fruit to snack on. Unfortunately, few seemed to be interested in it.
"And I'll drop them in the trash compactor." Miko added. A couple of those bronies had acted very creepy.
"No Miko."
"Thank you Miko." Allison overruled her sister.
"No problem." Miko joked as she watched Jack become swarmed by elementary school kids. They were all happy to 'pet the kitty'. "I get the feeling that Bot Con is going to become a regular thing."
"Bot Con?"
"What else would you call it?" Miko replied.
Raf was laughing in his beast mode as Jack became a living jungle gym for the kids. However, his laughter was cut off as he felt that he was being watched. Looking to his left, he noticed a boy close to Jack and Mikos' age. He was filthy, but upon closer inspection, his eyes widened in recognition. Transforming, he called out to Jack.
"Leobolt, I need to check on something, I'll be back!" He lied.
"Alright Rhinox, we'll be here." Jack replied under the small mountain of children.
Raf calmly left the square with the human following him subtly. Once he was out of the direct line of sight he started to run. However, his pursuer caught up with him.
"Raf." The boy yelled, racing after him. "Raffy, stop!"
"GO AWAY!" Raf yelled as he turned back to face his brother. "I have nothing to say to any of you Enrique!"
"Raffy, please. Let me explain." Enrique Esquivel begged his kid brother.
"Explain what!" Raf continued to yell. "You all left me behind, abandoned me after ignoring me for years! And now what? You want to cash in on my so-called fame?" He finished, tears welling up in his eyes.
"You think I had a choice in the matter!" Enrique yelled back. "One night mama told us all to pack our things and make no mention of you. I honestly thought you were dead!"
There was an echoing silence that reigned for several moments before the sound of a roaring engine caught both Esquivels by surprise. Turning around, Raf noticed Goldbug racing towards them before transforming and standing between them.
"Raf, what the heck is going on?" He asked. Blaster had radioed him to check in on Raf in this hallway. The shouting drew his attention right to them. "And who is he."
"His name is Enrique Alonzo Alejandro Esquivel." Raf stated harshly. "One of my brothers." Goldbug nodded. He turned to Enrique.
"Alright Enrique, and why are you here?" He asked.
"After I saw the videos of you all on YouTube, I recognized Raffy." Enrique began. "Once I figured out who you were." He took a shuddering breath. "I confronted mama about it. She tried to deny it at first, but she finally admitted that some government granuja demanded that she have you declared dead, or he'd deport her and Papi and send us into foster care."
"Is she the least bit sorry about it?" Goldbug asked, voicing the question Raf was afraid to.
"Not as much as she could be." Enrique answered bitterly. "I wanted to find you and make up, to apologize for being a terrible brother. Mama threatened to throw me out of the family if I did." He left the sentence end on that ominous note.
"Then how'd you get here?" Goldbug asked.
"I essentially hiked and hitchhiked all the way here from Miami." He replied. "It took me a couple weeks to get here." Enrique sighed. "I just really wanted to see my brother."
Raf was pensive. While he was still mad at being abandoned by his family, it seemed that it wasn't a universal decision. And outside of the Maximals and Goldbug, he indeed had a brother that still loved him. He looked at Goldbug for advice.
"I can't tell you what to do." He whispered. "But he did leave your family to come find you." Raf was silent for a moment, then nodded before kneeling.
"Come here, hemano." Raf whispered, holding his arms open for Enrique. The two brothers embraced as Raf stood back up with Goldbug putting a reassuring hand on Rafs' shoulder.
The touching moment was interrupted by a loud roar and a deafening boom.
"Get Enrique to the safe zone with the other humans." Goldbug said. "I'll go see what that was."
Moments later the fortress began to shake.
Up in the security office. June was sitting with her grandsons watching the monitors. Without a head of security after Trailbreakers' death, Rattrap had taken over as security head temporarily. Heinrad usually worked with him although June guessed that this was for another reason.
This guess turned out to be accurate.
"Seriously you two, it's obvious you boys have been avoiding everyone lately." June argued from the ceiling. She was using her beast mode because in her mind, eight eyes were better than two. Mostly so that she could look both Kibo and Gary in the eye while still watching the monitors.
"We're not avoiding everyone grandma." Kibo argued back. "There's just been so much going on we keep missing them."
"For a Maximal that literally has all the time in the world, I doubt that." Sighing in exasperation, June dropped from the ceiling and transformed. "The real reason is your parents, isn't it?" Seeing both wince, June knew she'd hit the nail on the head.
"Grandma June." Rattrap began after a moment. "Neither of us knew our parents growing up. We know nothing about them."
"You're afraid of disappointing them?" She asked.
"How do you get to know someone you know all about, but never met?" Kibo replied.
"Gary, your father had an alcoholic mother and lost his father at a young age. Your mother was an adopted foster child." June countered. "Kibo, your mother came from a neglectful family and I'm pretty sure I inadvertently gave your father a guilt complex. I'm sure they'd be happy to know that their children are survivors too."
"Look." She continued. "I'm no Rung, but I think that getting to know them could help you heal from what you went through in your timeline." She put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Trust me."
Gary turned away to hide the tears in his eyes. Blinking them away, he looked at the monitor to see Grimlock approaching the other Dinobots. In the corner of the screen, he noticed Slash come into view with the Enigma of Combination.
"What are those five up too?" he asked as the screen changed to static. He got his answer in the form of a roar and a shaking sensation.
"Okay, now that's a problem."
Grimlock walked through the halls of Fortress Maximus with purpose. Yesterday he'd been told that he had what essentially amounted to what humans call Alzheimer's disease and only a year before he lost all cognizance. He'd been up half the night raging at his circumstance before finally accepting that this was it for him. Now, however, he had a harder question to ask.
How to convince your best friends in the galaxy to kill you before you're too far gone?
Sighing, he turned into the room the Dinobots used as their usual hangout spot. The black banner (a 'housewarming gift' from the Maximals) with red and yellow words reading 'When Dinobots Ruled the Galaxy' never failed to amuse him. Particularly after they'd watched Jurassic Park. Thankfully, four of the remaining Dinobots were present.
"Hey guys." Grimlock greeted, trying to hide his nerves. "Where Slash?"
"She just went to pick up some energon goodies." Snarl explained. "She should be along any moment."
"Good, good." Grimlock replied. Ah well, better get this over with. "About what Ratchet say yesterday." Slug cut him off.
"Actually, we had a thought about that." He interrupted. Sensing someone come up behind him, he saw that Slash had returned. However, in her hands were not energon goodies, but the Enigma of Combination.
"You'll thank us for this in a few Grimlock." Sludge said as the other Dinobots moved in close to him.
"Wait! NO!" Grimlock yelled but was bathed in the enigmas' light. As he, Sludge, Slug, Snarl and Swoop combined, he couldn't help but be angry that they'd pull something like this. To disregard his freedom of choice in his own destiny. He felt their minds trying to reach out for him. Unfortunately, the only thing he could feel was rage. Pure, white, unadulterated rage. Fury so strong that it overrode what the other Dinobots were trying to do.
As the new combiner finished assembling, he only had one thing on his mind. Rage. Rage against all that had harmed the Dinobots. Leaning back, he gave a deafening roar before demolishing the wall between him and freedom, inadvertently burying Slash in rubble.
"Volcanicus, Smash!"
Lockdown sat in a meditative state on his mesa. He knew that with the humans visiting the Autobots, today would be the day to retrieve his targets. A loud roar of rage from the city caused him to open his optics. It seemed that fortune had decided to favor him now. Standing up, he engaged his cloaking field to render himself invisible and began to head to the city.
"Time to go to work."
'Thus far,' Optimus thought as he led Simmons mixed human and Decepticon team through Autobot City. 'This has gone rather smoothly.' They had gone through a cursory walkthrough of the main body of Fortress Maximus, stopping at the communications center, the science lab as well as the branch of hab suites many of which would soon be filled. They'd even stopped briefly at Swerves' new bar. Simmons had been quite surprised that Cybertronians liked to throw a few back off duty as much as humans did.
"Now, for the last stop on our tour." Optimus spoke as he led them to where the visitors were meeting with some of his soldiers and the Maximals. "Is what our Maximals dubbed the 'Town Square' of Autobot City. Hopefully, in time, it can be a place where humans and Cybertronians can intermingle in peace permanently.
"Well, let's hope so." Simmons replied. "I've already seen proof that our peoples can work together peacefully." He said, referencing his Decepticons.
"Indeed." Drift interjected. He knew this man's history with the Maximals. "It is amazing what one can learn if one puts their bias aside."
"Drift." Optimus warned, silencing the swordsbot.
"That's fair all things considered." Simmons responded nonchalantly. He spied the Maximals at the far end of the square. "We'll make sure to avoid certain individuals." His mission was to ensure that the Autobots were no threat, not start a potential war...this time.
Before the group could journey down to the sound of a deafening roar and a loud crash that shook the area.
"Prime!" Simmons yelled. "What the hell was that!"
"I am unsure." Optimus responded. "I've never heard that here before."
The roar came again as the sounds of thunderous footfalls echoed closer and closer. Suddenly, around the corner came a gargantuan combiner. It was grey, red and gold and had a mad look in its' visor. Closer inspection revealed that the legs were comprised of Sludge and Snarl while Slug and Swoop made up its' arms. The chest, however, was unmistakable.
"Grimlock?" Optimus asked.
"The Dinobots?" Simmons asked. "Since when could they combine?" He asked looking at Scrapper.
"They can't."
"Sir!" Ultra Magnus called as he ran up to Optimus. Behind him, Kup, Blurr and Springer appeared.
"Those three are new." Simmons muttered to himself.
"Oh Grimlock, what did you do?" Ultra Magnus whispered.
Hearing the noise of the arrivals, Volcanicus turned and saw the group past the humans. Prime, who could've ended the war before it got to this point. Magnus, who tried to order him around like a pet. And finally, the Constructicons, the only ones who'd ever hurt him. Giving a roar, Volcanicus charged forth, paying no attention to who may be ground under foot.
"Burr, Cheetor, get all the humans to the shelter point, top speed." Ultra Magnus ordered. "Everyone else, try to detain the combiner until they're clear."
"On it."
"Humanevacuationcomingrightup."
As the two speedsters began moving the civilians in twos and threes a piece, the remaining Autobots and Maximals began alternating firing on Volcanicus to keep him distracted.
"Springer." Optimus called to the green and yellow mech as he drew his sword.
"Prime." Springer saluted back.
"Head back the way the combiner came and look for a smaller Dinobot named Slash. I didn't see her in that combiner."
"There's a sixth Dinobot now?" Springer asked. "Never mind, I'm on it." With that He transformed into a helicopter, his second alternate mode and took off in the indicated direction stopping only to dodge Volcanicus' hand.
"Stranglehold, Octopunch, assist with the evacuation. Build team standby to combine." Simmons called out.
"We told you not to call us that fleshling." Hook grumbled before transforming. Between the speedsters, Strangleholds' truck mode and Octopunches' tentacles, the few humans that didn't run yet were safely tucked away.
"Okay everyone." Simmons called out. "Two big bots against one are good odds, let's hit it!"
"Constructicons transform, phase two!"
"Protectobots combine!"
"Everyone else, let them have it!" Ultra Magnus ordered.
And like that, the battle began. Defensor and Devastator charged Volcanicus from both sides. Volcanicus, seeing Devastator attempt to throw a punch at him, grabbed his arm and heaved him into Defensor. While his back was turned the various bots and Maximals opened fire on his exposed back, further angering him. Reaching behind him, Volcanicus pulled out a silver sword with a burning orange blade and took a swipe at the bots, causing them to scatter.
"Blurr, Cheetor, we need a distraction." Optimus called.
"Yes sir!" Cheetor called. "Follow my lead!" He called to Blurr. The two took off and began to run in a circle around Volcanicus. Moments later the raging combiner was enveloped in a cyclone.
"Kidremindmetochallengeyoutoaracesometime!" Blurr called out.
Inside the cyclone, Volcanicus' sword was extinguished, but not his rage. He wanted to destroy those who hurt him, and that list was now growing exponentially. Drawing on his rage, Volcanicus let loose a burst of fire that dissipated the cyclone and sent the speedsters flying. Before he could think to pursue either of them, Devastator grabbed his sword arm in one hand and forced him to double over.
"Surrender, or face termination." Devastator ordered. This took everyone by surprise.
"Devastator can talk?" Optimus asked.
"Of course, they just had to upgrade the combiner tech." Simmons answered. According to Scrapper the combiner process they used was basic, and Megatron refused to let them upgrade it. "And I needed a combiner that could follow orders."
"You idiot!" Ultra Magnus yelled. "You took away Devastators' edge."
Magnus' words proved to be true as Volcanicus turned and kicked Devastators' leg hard enough to disengage Scrapper, the sudden separation causing the Constructicon leader to transform and begin convulsing on the ground. The effect on the rest of the combiner was obvious as well. With a fear Devastator hadn't known until recently, he tried to crawl away while spasming only for Volcanicus to grab his head and rip it off before throwing it at Defensor as it transformed back.
Sidestepping the transforming Mixmaster, Defensor barely got a shield up in time to stop Volcanicus' sword. The Protectobot combiner was given a reprieve by the remaining bots opening fire on Volcanicus' exposed back once again. Turning and giving a fresh roar of rage, the Dinobot combiner prepared to unleash another burst of flame before a stream of fire cut him off. A smaller combiner landed in between Volcanicus and his victims holding a large battle axe. A combiner that was familiar to the Maximals.
"I am unsure what your grievance is." Tripredacus began as he parried Volcanicus' sword whit his axe. "But there are better ways to go about it."
"What! Another one?" Simmons yelled.
Volcanicus gave a roar and let off another pulse of fire. Tripredacus retaliated with a trio of concentrated streams of his own. The two blazes met and held at a stalemate for a moment before Volcanicus' power began to override Tripredacus'. Before he could be fully overpowered however, a call came from Volcanicus' left-hand side.
"Magnaboss, Maximize!"
Surprised, Volcanicus turned to see who shouted only to be blasted across the square by a beam of greenish white energy from Magnaboss' sword. Off balance, he barely had time to dodge Defensor's' fist before Tripredacus and Magnaboss charged him. Dodging right, Volcanicus grabbed Tripredacus and winged him into Defensor's' head, causing both combiners to separate. Magnaboss slashed him with their sword only to be picked up by the other combiner and flung not just across the square, but across Autobot City as well.
"Arcee, go after them!" Optimus ordered. As she transformed and took off Prime heard two distinct calls amongst the battle.
"Botanica, Maximize!"
"Prepare to transform Autobot City."
Optimus' confusion at Ultra Magnus' order was overruled by numerous plant vines growing around the often-underestimated plant Maximal. Rapidly, the vines interwove and connected to form a pseudo suit of armor like the Apex Armor. The surprise grew as the suit grew to the size of Volcanicus, surprising the combiner as well.
Botanica smirked as she stared down Volcanicus. Across her plant suit, several fireweed pods emerged and sprayed sap across the combiner, further infuriating him. One lucky shot managed to get him in the visor, blinding him. Charging forth, Botanica managed to wrap her suits arms around Volcanicus as it seemingly turned inside out to envelop him. Falling backwards, she was caught by her boyfriend in his bat mode.
"Alright Garrison." Ultra Magnus called while Volcanicus' plant cocoon began to burn. Botanicas' little maneuver may have been unexpected, but not unappreciated. "Transform and hit it!" With that, the whole city began to shake again.
Feeling the ground shaking, Volcanicus let loose a pulse of heat that freed him from the cocoon. Hearing a loud whirring noise to his right, the combiner looked up to see that Fortress Maximus' left arm had been transformed and now towered over him. The sheer blank shock of such a sight stunned Volcanicus long enough for the arm to swing forward and backhand him, sending Volcanicus flying. Ultimately, he'd land several miles from the city before separating and falling unconscious.
"Did." Allie said, not quite believing what she saw. "Did he just get B-slapped?" She asked as the arm turned back into part of Autobot City.
"I may not know what a 'B-slap' is." Ultra Magnus replied with satisfaction. "But at least something stopped him. I'll send a team out to retrieve the Dinobots and." He fell short when he saw the look of anger and disappointment Optimus was giving him. "Then I have some explaining to do."
A few hours later, Optimus leaned against a hallway wall trying to clear his head. First and foremost were the Dinobots. Slash had admitted that they'd used the Enigma of Combination as a potential cure for Grimlocks' declining mental faculties. While the Dinobots had mostly recovered, not only was Grimlocks' condition unchanged, but he was also refusing to speak to them for the time being. Not that Optimus blamed him.
After them was Ultra Magnus and Garrison Blackrock. When he'd asked about Fortress Maximus transforming partially, they'd admitted that they'd been working on the titans' T-cog, but only to bring the bases' guns online without Rattrap and Teletraan-2 and that the arm activating was an accident. Honestly, Optimus didn't know whether to believe them or not.
Then there was the inspection team. They already knew of the schism in the Decepticons from Knockout and Starscream, they had no idea that so many had left. He now found himself in the awkward position of hoping Sector Seven kept recruiting the defectors.
At least the other human visitors were no worse for the wear after Volcanicus' rampage. Fortunately, Rodimus had managed to pass off the incident as a drill to the public, showing that the Autobots were capable of handling anything that threatened humankind. Simmons wasn't entirely convinced, but let it slide after Scourge got a little too close for his comfort. It had been satisfying seeing the man face down a dragon.
Optimus was drawn out of his musings by the arrival of Heinrad, Rattrap and Rafael in his beast mode. Surprisingly, a young human with a striking resemblance to Raf before he became a Maximal was riding on his back.
"Optimus, we've got a problem." Raf spoke as Enrique climbed down and he transformed.
"You mean this young man?" Prime asked.
"No, I'll explain my brother being here later." Raf began. "When I came too after Volcanicus threw us, I was alone."
This perturbed Optimus. What had happened to Jackson and Miko? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen them, or Arcee after the Volcanicus debacle.
"It's worse than that." Rattrap picked up where Raf left off. "When we left the security office, we saw Magnaboss flying past us. We followed Arcee to help them but when we got there, we all blacked out."
"I think I saw a shimmer before that." Heinrad added. "But when we woke up, Jack, Miko, June and Arcee were all missing."
G.B. Blackrock looked up at Brainstorm and Ultra Magnus. While they'd been able to pass the 'reflex test' for Project Cerebros off as an accident (albeit a well-timed accident) they weren't sure Optimus believed them. There were some other problems that needed to be worked out as well.
"We definitely need to tweak it some." Garrison said as he pulled a bloody handkerchief from his pocket. The mental stress from even using one of Fort Maxs' arms was enough for his nose to bleed profusely. He worried what prolonged use would do at this rate.
"I'll see what I can do." Brainstorm replied. "I still don't see why one of us can't control Maximus?" He asked.
"Because the technology is only compatible with humans." Ultra Magnus replied. "If we tried the same thing Mr. Blackrock did, we'd-"
"Be dying of spark failure, I know." Brainstorm groused. "We're trying to work with the titan, not outright control him."
"Right." Blackrock added. "It's not like my original Transtector. This isn't a cadaver; Maximus is a still living Cybertronian. We're just using my tech and my brain to bypass the damaged sections of his brain."
"In any case we need to be more subtle." Magnus continued. "I know the situation was dire today, but if we aren't careful, Project: Cerebros will be discovered before completion." He finished. He wanted to make sure that whenever Galvatron arrived to plant the dark energon seeder at Autobot City, there'd be a fully functional titan ready to meet him. Their conversation was cut off by a shout from Optimus a couple of halls away.
"What do you mean they're missing?!"
Agent Seymour Simmons of Sector Seven was having a strange day. It started off well enough with the inspection of the Autobots' new city. He'd rather enjoyed rubbing the fact that Primes' enemies were now his allies in the big robots' face. Then there was the surprise drill with the combining dinosaurs which, while impressive, showed a massive flaw with his allies combined form. The primary good thing that came from it was the knowledge that Prime was apparently amassing an army of his own. If he spun it right, it would bring them under more scrutiny and give him some new avenues to pursue.
He was pulled from his musings by the sound of thunderous footfalls. Looking up, he saw the big mac himself stomping towards him and his team. Flanking him were the gold muscle car and the big green bruiser. Bill and his son brought up the rear.
"Agent Simmons, you have lied to us." Optimus accused. "We allowed you and your team in here under false pretenses and you have abducted four of our own." He growled. Behind him, Goldbug, Bulkhead and both Maximals deployed their weapons.
"Hold up, HOLD UP!" Simmons shouted. "Who did we abduct according to you?"
"Quit lying slag head." Bulkhead yelled. "What did you do with Miko and Arcee?"
"Jackson and his mother are missing as well." Optimus added. "And with your divisions' history with the Maximals."
"Okay." Simmons yelled in exasperation. "As much as I'd love to get back at the beast bots for what happened last time, I'm not about to kidnap anyone with so many witnesses around."
"With so many Decepticons now swelling your ranks, I find that difficult to believe." Prime retorted.
"These are the only Decepticons we work with Prime." A woman in her late thirties with short dark hair interrupted, taking off her glasses. The sound of her voice drew Goldbugs' attention and his optics widened in recognition behind his visor.
"Watson, what are you doing?" Simmons spat.
"Charlie?"
"Goldbug." Agent Charlie Watson responded kindly. "Or should I say Bumblebee?"
"You knew these aliens all along?" Simmons yelled. "I'll have you court marshalled for this!"
"You never asked, sir." Charlie replied, giving her boss a cold look. "And consider this my resignation from Sector Seven." She turned back to the group. "I can assure you we had nothing to do with the disappearance of your group." The base intercom kicked on.
"Sir." Lightbright spoke. "Please come to security, we have something you need to see."
Moments later, the groups were standing in the central security hub with Goldbug and Raf standing protectively by Charlie and Enrique respectively. They wanted to make sure Simmons kept well away from the two of them. Joining them was Drift, mostly to provide additional security with so many Decepticons and a volatile human in the heart of Autobot City.
"I was going over the security footage during the Volcanicus drill." Lightbright half lied. She'd only gotten the memo about the cover story moments before she paged Optimus. "And while I didn't find footage of the abduction, I did find something of interest." She pulled up footage of June, Rattrap and Heinrad running after the falling Magnaboss, only for what looked like a shimmer to follow behind a few seconds later.
"Definitely not one of ours." Charlie informed, ignoring Simmons' evil look. "Can you run a spectrum filter over the video?" She asked.
"Psht, no problem." Lightbright replied as she rewound the video and activated the filter. This time the shimmer turned into a black and green colored figure with a hook in place of a right hand. "He's new."
"I recognize him." Drift growled, narrowing his optics. He'd never forget the bot that left him for dead.
"His name is-"
Lockdown followed the airplane's lights as they faded away into the night. Normally he wouldn't make deals with humans, but the fission core that they traded for his services was essential to upgrade his ship to be transwarp capable. He was thankful that part of his fee for Monstructor had been the schematics for a transwarp driver. Being able to arrive at a location before a bounty was an excellent advantage for any freelance peacekeeping agent. The capture of a single femme was more than a bargain for the component.
Turning to see that his remaining three captives were still unconscious, Lockdown began watching for his second client. He stood to make a substantial profit from this job and was looking forward to his payday. Minutes later, a long white ship shimmered into view as its' cloaking field shut down. As the ship set down, a side door opened and a white and yellow mech emerged. Lockdown greeted his client.
"Good evening Jhiaxus, I have the people you requested right here. You have my payment, yes?"
A/N: Yes, evil cliffhanger is evil, ha ha ha. I added the character Enrique Esquivel to give the Maximals a human member in a similar manner to how they were before becoming Maximals. I also wanted to give Raf a little closure about his family. I originally hadn't planned to use Charlie Watson from Bumblebee in this story, but the idea grew on me over time, and I'll explain her history with Bumblebee/Goldbug in this universe in a later chapter.
I decided to take the "Incredible Hulk" route for Volcanicus mostly because (if memory serves) it's how the character was originally portrayed. And with Grimlocks' condition, I figured it'd be within character.
On a side note. Shoutout in the next chapter to anyone who can guess which TF comics character I based my version of Lockdown on. Hint: He met a doctor and then got his own comic series. Unfortunately, he was never well known in the US.
See you.
Next Time: Specters from the past.