Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest chapter of Beast Wars prime. I'm not going to lie, this chapter fought me tooth and nail in places, and I'm surprised I got it out in my usual timeframe. In any case I hope it's to most everyone's' liking. Before we begin though, a special shoutout to EnkiduKingu on for successfully deducing something revealed in this chapter. Enjoy.
"Now, let me see if I have this right." Galvatron began as he watched Tarantulas modify and reassemble the wreckage of what he'd dubbed "Nemesis Prime" with the assistance of both Shockwave and several assembly arrays. "Unicron wishes to possess a carbon copy of Optimus Prime?"
"A copy that is incapable of feeling pain." Tarantulas clarified slightly. "And Nemesis Prime fits the bill perfectly." He cackled. "Or it will after my modifications are complete." He turned to face Galvatron as the assemblers continued their work.
"Modifications?" He asked.
"Well, the Primes' current body is far stronger than the one he had when this was made." Tarantulas explained. "So, to fight him now, Nemesis Prime needs some improvements of its' own."
"And the paint job?" Galvatron asked in a flat tone as he watched one assembler paint the red and blue body parts black teal and silver.
"Dramatic flair." The scientist exclaimed with a flourish as Galvatron rolled his optics. Tarantulas was such a Primadonna.
"How does he even plan to possess this abomination? It doesn't even have a spark to corrupt." Tarantulas laughed as he picked up a small cube from his work bench. Within the cube were several small energon spikes precariously close to a fragment of spark.
"Well, it just so happens that we have a half a spark to spare." He replied holding up the spark fragment that had once belonged to the Predacon Rampage. Turning back to the worktable Tarantulas held the cube over Nemesis Primes' chest, specifically the newly installed empty spark chamber. There was a brief second before the spark seemed to be sucked from the cube into the body.
"Hungry for life, eh?" Tarantulas laughed.
His laughter was cut short by a scream from Megatron. Tarantulas had recently decided to reinstall the tyrants' voice box with a 'mute' function. Primarily so he could enjoy the Decepticon conquerors' screams without listening to him yapping. Said conqueror was now undergoing an experimental procedure that would give his spark mitotic properties. The fact that the process was painful was only a boon for the deranged scientist.
"Oh, and how are we feeling today?" Tarantulas cackled with glee. Seeing Transmutate starring at the scene in horror, the scientist turned to her. "How much time do you think the big bad Megatron is going to buy you with his sacrifices?" He taunted. "Don't worry though, I have many games for you and I to play."
"You." Megatron growled during a brief lull in the pain. "Shall not touch herrraaahh." He began screaming again as the process continued. Transmutate looked on in horror as Megatron writhed on the table.
"It won't really matter in the end." Tarantulas laughed. "You'll be dead, and then I'll have my fun with her." Any further taunting was cut off as Transmutate started slamming her hands against the bars of her cage.
"Stop. Stop. Stop!" Transmutate cried out, hoping to spare her friend the pain. Tarantulas laughed mercilessly.
"Or what? "You gonna-" The scientist was cut off as a pulse of green energy erupted from the deformed femmes' mouth and slammed into his head, destroying part of it and sending him sailing across the room and into the wall.
"Well." Galvatron laughed as the Predacon scientists' head began to regenerate. "I think a restraining bolt is in order for that youngling. Yes."
"Yeah, yeah." Tarantulas grumbled once his voice box was restored. "I'll put it on my 'to do' list."
In the chaos, no one noticed that Shockwave had frozen up for a moment while Tarantulas' head was damaged. Or that his optic had flickered between red and blue during that moment before settling back to red.
Meanwhile in Autobot City, Chromedome was preparing to perform a Cortical Psychic Patch on the restrained Tankor. The restrained Vehicon general was growling at the mnemosurgeon with a glare. Rewind walked up to Chromedome.
"The equipment's ready Domey."
"Is my copilot?" Chromedome asked his Conjunx Endura. When he first brought up the idea of the patch, Rewind insisted on assisting him. To that end, Chromedome had a small improvement made to his body.
"And willing." Rewind quipped.
"And so is your doctor." Raf added. Admittedly 'doctor' was a bit of a stretch. With Ratchet off with Optimus at Vegas and Velocity helping First-Aid patch up the Wreckers and Protectobots after they were ambushed, Raf volunteered to quarterback the procedure. Nodding at the Maximal junior medic, Chromedome picked up the helmet before holding his hand out to Rewind.
"Shall we then?"
Nodding, Rewind leapt into the air and transformed into his data cassette mode and shrank until he fit in Chromedomes' hand. Taking Rewind between his thumb and forefinger he lifted him to the back of his head. A slot in the back of Chromedomes' head opened and Rewind slid into it.
"Not sure if I'll ever get used to that." Raf muttered to himself.
"Hopefully you'll never have to find out." Chromedome replied as he put the helmet connected to the patch on Tankor on and sat down. "Alright Rhinox." He continued, using Rafs' codename to show it was time to be serious. "We're going hot."
A visor of light formed over Chromedomes' optics from the helmet as he slipped into unconsciousness. A scant few moments later the mnemosurgeon jerked awake as the helmet shut off. Tankor growled smugly at the trio. Chromedome cursed quietly as he removed the helmet, allowing Rewind to eject.
"Domey, what happened?" Rewind asked as he transformed.
"I don't know." Chromedome growled. "I tried to access Tankors' memory core and suddenly we got booted out." Rhinox looked at the computer readout.
"It looks like there's some kind of firewall around his mind." The Maximal explained. "I can't describe it, but it's like it repels any type of Cybertronian data signature."
"Some kind of failsafe." Chromedome sighed. "It's blatantly obvious now that the Vehicon generals are no regular Cybertronians."
There was a moment of silence as this information sank in. Looking over to his left, Rhinox spotted the smaller helmet for the assembly.
"Maybe I could do it." Rhinox asked. "We aren't built like you guys are, so maybe I could slip through his firewall."
"Raf." Rewind began gently. "Mnemosurgery is not like normal medical work. There's a real risk of psychological cross contamination. If you inherit a memory where Tankor was injured badly, you could have a flashback and your body would traumatize itself, even though you've never been injured that way."
"I know it's risky, but do we have any other choice?" Rhinox asked. There was a moment of silence before Rewind went over to a console and retrieved an earpiece.
"Put this in and get ready." He explained. "We'll talk you through this and help keep you grounded in reality."
Moments later, Rhinox was ready for his first attempt with the Cortical Psychic Patch on his own.
"Alright, going hot." Chromedome called as Rhinoxs' vision was filled with white light. However, unlike with Chromedome, he didn't nod off to sleep. Eventually the white light coalesced into full surroundings. However, they weren't what he was expecting.
"Alright kiddo, what are you seeing?" Rewind asked.
"Christmas." Rhinox whispered. He was seeing Christmas morning six years ago. Looking down, he saw the bee plushie that he'd gotten that year as well as the teddy bear pajamas he'd worn that day. Looking back up he saw a younger Enrique unwrapping a soccer ball. "How did I end up in my memories?"
"It's a little-known method of fighting against mnemosurgeons." Chromedome explained. "Some skilled patients can actually pull up the surgeons' memories instead of their own."
"So what do I do from here?" Rhinox asked.
"Try to access another memory." Chromedome answered. "The technique can't be kept up for too long, and after that we'll see the memories we're." He was cut off by the sound distant explosions.
"What the pit was that?"
Outside Autobot City, Jetstorm and Thrust were preparing for their rescue mission. The methodology, however, was proving hard to agree on.
"We need to be smart about this Jetstorm." Thrust argued. "We can't just go charging in there without a plan."
"Thrust, really? It isn't like we don't regenerate from everything." Jetstorm countered, a scowl emoticon on her mask. "We hit 'em hard, fast and it'd be scorched earth. We have Tankor, and they have casualties to deal with."
"We don't know who's still here." Thrust replied. They'd registered the fact the space bridge was used but not who left with it. "For all we know, they have Optimus Prime and the Dinobots waiting for us."
"Again, we regenerate."
"No." Thrust growled as he turned to look at Autobot City. "We need subtlety if we're going to." He was cut off as Jetstorm transformed and immediately began an attack run. Giving a long-suffering sigh at her usual antics, Thrust transformed and sped off after Jetstorm.
"I honestly don't know what else I expected."
Back in Las Vegas, agent Simmons watched as the hostage rescue began without a hitch. Stranglehold had been able to take Tor-loco by the horns when he tried to charge the Decepticon and threw him through Vegas Vic to Simmons chagrin. When Sky-byte transformed and attempted to attack while Stranglehold was occupied, Octopunch caught him in his tentacles and threw him into the oncoming Infernus.
This gave his air unit time to combine into their own combiner mode, Sky Reign. While congress had balked at the requested budget, they were probably eating humble pie now. Simmons grinned as Sky Reign ripped the doors off each bus so that the hostages could make a run for it. This was going perfectly.
Too perfectly.
"Seymour." Survive began as he and agent Watson approached. "There is too little resistance, this is going to go fubar." He stated simply.
"Look traitor." Simmons growled. "The hostages are free, and we're about to begin storming the fortress. That's a win in my book." He turned to the Constructicons. "Merge and charge!" He yelled.
As the Constructicons merged into Devastator, Watson and Survive looked at each other before nodding. Simmons couldn't see past his own ego, and that would put everyone in danger.
Silently as possible, Survive deployed Wing Thing to begin scouting the area for the Autobots. He'd recently figured out how to share his drones' video feed with others, so he knew that Optimus and/or Ultra Magnus would be able to see what he was seeing in real time. Thankfully, the drone had some cloud cover from some approaching storm clouds.
This instinct proved to be correct seconds later. As Devastator caught up with Sky Reign, the six Horrorcons erupted from nearby buildings and just below the street. Matters were further complicated as the now empty buses exploded violently, damaging both combiners as well as Stranglehold and Octopunch.
"Aw crap." Simmons groaned. "Alright troops, move in, cover fire!" He yelled. Immediately, the human troops of Sector Seven moved to assist their Decepticon allies. "You too." Simmons growled at the assembled Maximals and Autobots.
"Let's go." Agent Watson ordered. "On the bright side Simmons, this worked for nearly an hour." She added. "That's a new record for you." As she walked away from the cursing special agent, Charlie put a hand to her ear and activated her own comms.
"Optimus, get ready to mobilize."
"Understood agent Watson."
Down on the Vegas strip, things were going from bad to worse. The sudden impact from the explosives had forced Sky Reign out of their combiner mode. To make matters worse, the human troops had arrived and were attempting to fire on the Horrorcons. The problem was that now the Decepticon members of Sector Seven were trying to avoid stepping on or injuring them. A problem that their opponents had no issue with.
"I love it!" Wildfly shrieked as she flattened another soldier. "It's like a game of 'Whack-A- Scraplet'."
"First one to a hundred wins!" Birdbrain squawked. "One, two, skip a few." He sang as he slashed at the approaching humans.
"Hey, watch it whippersnappers." Bristleback yelled as he dodged Wildfly and Birdbrains' antics. He slammed his tail into an overturned SUV, sending it rolling and the soldiers scrambling out of the way.
A little down the street, Scowl and Icepick were dealing with the renegade Decepticons. Octopunch had recovered from the explosion and was now attempting to fend off Icepick. The Horrorcon and Mayhem Attack Squadron member matching pincers against energy hook and tentacles.
"Back monster, fore I send ye back to the infernal depths."
"Do you talk like a pirate to compensate for something?" Icepick replied flatly. Octopunch answered by taking another swing at him with his hook.
Scowl on the other hand was having some difficulties with Stranglehold. Every time the Horrorcon went to yell, the strongbot would land a blow in his midsection, ruining his concentration.
"You are knowing what is being old expression." Stranglehold taunted. "Actions are being speaking louder than words." He gestured to his gargantuan arms for emphasis.
"Agree to disagree!" Scowl bellowed as he finally unleashed a sonic yell. The sound pulse did little though as it only knocked Stranglehold back a few feet while partially demolishing a wall behind him. Scowl looked on in shock, what did this con fuel up on? Liquid lead?
From his perch on top of Circus Circus, Slog watched the battle unfold. He hated to admit it, but the first part of Galvatrons' plan worked to perfection thus far. The first part was to draw whatever specialized forces capable of fighting them into the open, then neutralize them. And when the worlds' governments took their next logical step, they'd be able to spring the rest of the trap on them.
Looking behind where the battles were going on, Slog noticed a small group of Maximals and Autobots. One was using some form of super speed to retrieve injured troops while another healed them with some kind of webbing. Three other Maximals along with the Autobots were laying cover fire to keep the other Horrorcons off balance and give Devastator and the seeker clones time to get back up.
Taking a closer look at the one doing the healing, he realized she was one of the ones whom Monstructor tried to kill a few weeks ago. Moving from here to a blue and pink one, he realized he recognized her.
"Arcee?" Slog laughed to himself. "Well, I must say that it's an improvement. Ultimately futile, but an improvement."
His attention was drawn to a space bridge portal opening behind the group and over a dozen Autobots exiting it. Slog scowled; this could be a wrinkle.
"Galvatron, this is Slog." The Horrorcon commander began, activating his coms. "The bots have just arrived on scene, so i suggest you send in the clones."
"Agreed." Galvatron replied. "And I suggest you form Monstructor as well."
Slog rolled his eyes before leaping off the hotel, his rotund shell taking the brunt of the force. Time to instill some fear.
"Horrorcons, form Monstructor!"
From her station where she was healing the soldiers that Cheetor retrieved from the battlefield, Kumara felt a familiar wave of dread wash over the area. Looking up from her current patient, she noticed that the midmorning sun had dimmed so much it was like an eclipse was happening. She tensed as she realized that the sensation was familiar and looking up, she saw the reason why.
"Oh no, not that one." She whispered as the Horrorcons emerged from their shells and began to combine. The feeling of dread only increased as swarms of car, tank and jet drones seemed to pour out of the remaining buildings.
Through the dread however, a flicker of hope emerged at the sound of a familiar truck horn. Turning to look behind her, she saw Optimus Prime charging up the street in vehicle mode with the Dinobots and several other Autobots behind him. Not far from that were the outlines of several more airborne Autobots.
"Autobots, transform and attack!"
With that, the battle truly began.
From his modest home outside of Hollywood, movie director Turner Crayven watched the Vegas situation unfold. He couldn't help but sigh. He tried to ignore the scattered reports of Autobot and Decepticon activity over the last few decades, but the emergence of both the Autobots and Decepticons in the public eye meant he couldn't ignore the conflict much longer. This new situation clenched it.
"Guess it's time." He whispered to himself.
Picking up a garage door opener, he went out to the large garage in the back of his home that he'd had built when he bought it. Clicking the button, the door opened revealing a blue F-15 fighter jet. His ownership of it had caused a stir when he moved in, but he did have all the paperwork in order. Walking in and placing the opener on a workbench, Turner blinked out of existence as the jet began to taxi out of the garage.
"Once more into the breach." The Decepticon seeker Thundercracker alias Turner Crayven said as he ignited his thrustors and took off for Las Vegas. "Once more."
On the Vegas strip, Optimus Prime charged up the street towards Monstructor in his truck mode. He, like everyone else in the area, was feeling the oppressive aura the dark combiner was giving off. He wouldn't let it affect him though.
Transforming, Optimus slammed his foot down on a charging car drone, disabling it. Taking in the battlefield in front of him, he realized they had more than one obvious problem. Aside from Monstructor, they had both the swarming Vehicons as well as human soldiers who were either injured, or succumbing to the hopelessness that their aura was generating. Both were going to hamper their campaign to reclaim Las Vegas.
What they needed was a diversion.
"Brainstorm!" Optimus called as he began to open fire on a trio of advancing tank drones. Looking to his left, he saw Springer fly past him in helicopter mode to begin pursuing a jet drone. The roar of jet engines signaled the arrival of the Aerialbots along with Jetfire.
"Coming right up and thank you for not making a big deal about these guys." Brainstorm replied.
"Blurr!" Optimus continued, not commenting on the scientists' comment. "Assist Cheetor with evacuating the injured and afflicted. Get them to Kumara or Rung." He'd brought the Autobot psychiatrist after finding out about Monstructor and his aura of dread. Hopefully, he could get the humans back on their feet quickly.
"One'humanusexodus'comingupPrime!" The speedster called. In a matter of nanoseconds Blurr and Cheetor were evacuating the human operatives of Sector Seven.
"Incoming!" Brainstorm yelled as he flew over the battlefield. Dangling from his Cybertronian jet mode was what looked like a cross between a missile and a giant shock absorber. Releasing his payload, Brainstorm banked right and left to join the dogfight against the swarm of jet drones.
The strange missile embedded itself into the street and seemed to simply sit there for a moment before it exploded in a large puff of smoke. From the smoke, however, came many brightly colored pulses of light that began to wreak havoc. Among the smoke, Optimus could already hear the cries.
"Kremzeek."
"Kremzeek!"
"KREMZEEK!"
Optimus nodded as Brainstorms' bioelectric entities got to work. While he'd ordinarily agree with Rodimus on disposing of them, with the war picking up, he felt they were too viable a resource to waste. Seeing a red Kremzeek pop into a tank drone which then began to smoke ominously before catching fire along with a purple one entering a transformed car drone which began shooting everything in sight, Prime felt vindicated in his choice. He was also thankful that Brainstorm had provided a chemical shield to protect the Autobots from his creation.
Idly, Optimus hoped that things were still secure at Autobot City.
Unfortunately, in Autobot City, things were not as secure as Optimus Prime hoped. With most of the Autobots either injured or away at Las Vegas, the two Vehicon generals were making swift progress to where they sensed their third member. After Jetstorm blew a hole in the side of Fortress Maximus, she dove inside and transformed, Thrust catching up to her a moment later.
"Told ya!" Laughed, a smug emoticon on her mask.
"Don't even." Thrust growled. "Let's just get in, get Tankor, and go back."
Before either of them could take another step, twin sonic attacks slammed into them and forced them into a nearby wall. Shaking the momentary cobwebs from his head, Thrust turned to see most of the Maximals standing between them and where they sensed Tankor to be. In the lead on either side of Leobolt were Nightscream and Wingsaber holding Tonebot, which accounted for the sudden blast.
"Never seen deez guys before, so be careful." Rattrap whispered to Leobolt.
"I'm guessing you two aren't here to give yourselves up." The Maximal commander began. "But we will not allow you to continue your attack.
Wingsaber had an idea.
"However, if you tell us Galvatrons plans." She began, keeping Tonebot ready. "We could be persuaded to let you two leave with the big ugly guy you're probably looking for."
"As much as we'd like to be the poopers to Galvatrons' party." Jetstorm replied. "Our orders come from higher up." She pointed up with her right hand at that last statement, causing her opponents to look up as well. With her mask switching to a smirk, she deployed the gun in her left arm and opened fire on the Maximals, forcing them to scatter.
"Suckers!" Jetstorm laughed.
Regrouping, the Maximals returned fire on the Vehicons. Allison Sierra and Vince all fired on Thrust who stood there feeling nothing from the sound, sap, and shocks. Thrust shook his head.
"Ohh, ow, stop, that it tickles." He taunted in a monotone as the Maximals stopped attacking in shock. Deploying a small box with two metal probes on it, he aimed at the trio with a smirk. "My turn." With a thought, Thrust fired a concentrated gigawatt of electricity at the three maximals before they could even think, rendering them unconscious.
"Always knew we should've called you 'Shocky'." Jetstorm laughed before dodging one of Rattraps' wheel shields. "Woah, nice try." She taunted as she took in Leobolt, Rattrap, Wingsaber and Heinrad.
"Well, what do ya know?" She continued. "After this place we'll nearly have the whole set." Transforming into her jet mode, she charged the remaining Maximals. "Gotta catch 'em all."
"Heinrad, maximize!"
Right as she was about to collide, the foursome vanished in the blink of an eye only to reappear behind her. Transforming in her confusion, she felt a set of claws slash her back as several kunai impaled her as well before exploding, driving her to the floor.
"Nice trick." Jetstorm growled as her injuries regenerated. "Didn't expect someone with time powers." She finished, rising back up to glower at the Maximals with an annoyed look on her mask.
"Probably not expecting this either." Came a voice from behind her. Before she could fully turn to face this new threat, she was punched over the Maximals' heads and through a nearby wall. Her mask on the floor was the only sign that she'd been there.
Inside the Apex Armour, Enrique Esquivel was smiling ear to ear. When he realized that Raf would be helping interrogate Tankor, he snuck into Fortress Maximus' vault with Mikos' help and stole the Apex Armour. He swore he'd protect his little brother, and he meant it.
His good feeling was short lived, however. A dark energon hook impaled the armor's left arm as a chain connected to it was wrapped around the suit. Finally, Thrust stepped out from behind Enrique, his stun gun primed and aimed at the boys' head.
"Now." The Vehicon general began as Jetstorm flew back in, her skull face disturbing the Maximals that were still conscious. "You answer our questions, and you'll get this meat sack back unharmed. I assure you; my weapons' charge is strong enough to go through the entire suit and kill him instantly."
"To start with." Jetstorm took over, realigning the dark energon spikes in her mask with the holes in her skull. "Where is Optimus Prime?" She asked, sliding it back into place.
"He went to Vegas to fight Galvatron." Leobolt bit out. While he was angry at the circumstances, he wasn't going to risk Enriques' life.
"And Tankor?"
"He's in the med lab the next hall over."
"Very good." Thrust replied, taking a step back in the indicated direction. "We shall hang onto our bargaining chip until we are clear of the city, and then." He was cut off as the Apex Armour began to collapse in on itself while a flash of burgundy light the hallway.
"I've got him, let's go!" Wingsaber asked, having teleported Enrique out of the armor and into her arms.
Throwing the still shrinking Apex Armour at the Maximals, Thrust and Jetstorm took off towards where they sensed Tankor was.
Inside the lab, the trio doing the procedure were getting frustrated. They'd been at it for almost half an hour and the only thing they'd been able to get were Rhinoxs' memories. Now, with the sounds of battle so close, they were going to make one last attempt.
Opening his eyes, Rhinox found himself strapped to a table in some kind of lab. In a shodowy area of it were two others with canisters hanging over them. He could barely make out colored lights coming from the canisters.
"Chromedome, Rewind, I did it, I'm in!"
"Alright Raf, what do you see?" Chromedome asked.
"I'm in some kind of lab, I don't know what's going on."
"Ah, awake, are we?" A new voice called out. Looking to his left, he saw a purple and yellow Cybertronian with a green visor. Strangely enough, he had a handlebar coming out of his head, giving him the appearance of having horns. Raf attempted to speak but was unable to, albeit he found himself struggling against the restraints.
"I admit, finding you three when we raided Megatrons' lab was a stroke of luck I hadn't counted on." The stranger began. "But, one never looks a gift scraplet in the mouth." The sound of a door opening drew the strangers' attention and, on a platform, rolled the three bodies he recognized as the the Vehicon generals.
"I suggest you take a good look at that world." The stranger added as he admired the bodies. "A quick transplant, a quick bit of Shadow Play, and you'll be helping us lay waste to it soon enough."
Looking out the window, Raf saw not Cybertron like he'd been expecting, but Earth. Turning away from the window, he caught his reflection in the labs' reflective ceiling.
"No." Raf whispered in horror. "No, it can't be." Other memories were beginning to flash by now. Running from one of Soundwaves' tentacles, Wheeljacks' chest exploding outwards before being shot in the back. Nearby, Tankor was beginning to convulse wildly in his restraints, a similar look of horror on his face.
"Raf!" Rewind yelled. "Domey, I'm aborting the link." Before the cassette bot could shut the helmet down the lab door was blown off its frame.
"Everybody out on bad behavior." Jetstorm laughed as she shot Tankors' restraints, freeing him.
Stumbling away from the harness that held him, Tankor shook his head. Looking up, he saw Jetstorm and Thrust at the lab door. Visor widening in shock, he transformed into his tank mode and barreled past them out the door and down the hall, the patch helmet and cord still attached to him. The remaining two generals looked at each other in surprise.
"What did you monsters do to him?" Jetstorm yelled as she advanced on Chromedome and Rewind.
"Forget them, we need to go after Tankor!" Thrust yelled before transforming and following their colossal friend. Shooting the three of them one last dirty look, Jetstorm took off after Thrust.
In a corner of the lab, Raf was in total shock. He had no idea that Tankor was. He barely registered the other Maximals arrival with his brother in tow.
"Hermano?" Enrique asked as he walked up to his nearly catatonic brother.
Ultra Magnus came running toward the lab having just returned from the Wreckers' failed mission against the Combaticons.
"What happened?" He asked as he took in the scene before him.
"Jack was right on the money." Nightscream explained wearily, having just woken up. "The other generals sprung their buddy."
Raf nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack put a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw both him and Miko looking at him with concern. Eyes widening in further realization, he began to rock back and forth.
"Raf?" Miko asked gently. "What did you see?"
Back in Las Vegas, the tide seemed to be turning in the Autobots favor. With most of the human troops evacuated to a fallback location and the aptly named 'Kremzeeks' slowing the Vehicon drones down, the remaining Autobots could now rally against Galvatrons' forces. The unprotected Decepticon forces of Sector Seven had been forced to retreat once they learned the Kremzeeks couldn't distinguish between them and the Vehicons.
Grimlock was in his element with the other Dinobots. Riding on Slugs' back, he sliced one car Vehicon in half with his sword as the Triceratops ran headlong into a tank drone. Using the momentum from the impact, the Dinobot leader leapt into the air. Feeling Swoop gasp him by the shoulders, he allowed himself to be swung higher into the air, allowing him to shoot the wing off a jet drone. As gravity took hold of him again, he spun through the air to build up momentum before bringing his sword down through a tank drone, slicing it in half head to aft.
Feeling the vibrations through the ground, Grimlock turned to see Monstructor staring down at him.
"Ah, the supposedly fearless Dinobot leader." They began, sizing Grimlock up.
"Only fools fearless." Grimlock retorted. After reading the Maximals report from when they met Scourge and his Predacons, he knew that there was a good chance of running into the dark combiner here.
"True." Monstructor admitted as they attempted to stomp Grimlock only for him to dodge their foot. "And you are far from foolish. While you may not fear death, you do fear the path to it." The combiner sneered at the Dinobot. "We can feel your mind slipping away Grimlock." They taunted.
"You talk as if me no know that." The Dinobot commander growled, narrowing his optics behind his mask. "
"Oh, we know." Monstructor replied. "But how about we make your decline, a little more painful. For example, if we eliminated your main reason for holding on to your cognizance." They added, eyeing the other Dinobots. The sneer vanished from their face a moment later as Grimlock slashed their leg with his sword.
"You not touch them!" Grimlock yelled. Suddenly, he felt a ripple of fear through his mind. His first instinct was to transform, but he forced it down with difficulty. Monstructor sensed this through the pain of their injury.
"That's it." They grinned, increasing their aura a bit. "Give into the fear little mech."
As his emotions began to run out of control, Grimlock found his mind slipping away again. His final cohesive thought was of the other Dinobots and how to protect them. Knowing that this monster would hunt them down for fun ignited an ember of rage in Grimlock. An ember that rapidly grew into an inferno that rapidly overwhelmed his fear.
Giving a roar of anger, Grimlock transformed into his Tyrannosaurus mode before giving a bellow. The sudden loss of fear confused Monstructor, as did the crimson glow of Grimlocks' optics. And additional four bellows answered his as Slug, Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop charged towards their leader, the same red glow in their optics. Once assembled, the five gave a final roar before they began to contort and combine.
As Volcanicus finished assembling, he glared at Monstructor. The combiner felt nothing but fury at the ones who reveled in fear and death. It was a mindset that gave the dark combiner an inkling of fear themself as they sensed it. They were used to beings recoiling and running away from them, but this combiner seemed incapable of feeling anything other than anger.
"Well then." Monstructor said as they ignited their death touch. "Shall we?" Giving a roar of anger in response, Volcanicus suddenly erupted in flames, catching the dark combiners' hands in his own burning ones.
The battle had begun.
Volcanicus drove his foot into Monstructors' chest, smashing them through the hotel Circus Circus. As several tank drones retaliated by firing on him, he ducked and picked one up by the turret and threw it into a squadron of jet drones that had been coming in for a bomb run. The explosion from the collision caused most of them to explode midair.
Feeling a slight pain in his right leg, Volcanicus looked down to see Slogs' vacant pretender shell slashing at him with all it had. Giving the shell a negligent kick, he was happy to see it collide with the Predacon Stinkbomb before turning to swat Shriek out of the sky towards Jawbreaker. Hearing large footsteps behind him, Volcanicus barely turned in time to dodge a recovered Monstructors death touch. Grabbing their hand and punching them in the chest, Volcanicus flipped Monstructor over his shoulder and onto the street, flattening the remaining tank drones that had been attacking him. The Dinobot combiner then began to deliver blow after burning blow to the Horrorcon combiner.
Looking on at the warring combiners, Optimus couldn't help but worry. While with Volcanicus they may drive the Decepticons out of Las Vegas, he wondered if there would be any of Las Vegas left to save.
In his control center, Galvatron was watching the battle with increasing furor. The Autobots arrival he'd accounted for, but not one of his ultimate combiners being bested so easily. Where did the Dinobots pick up that trick?
Looking back at the screen, he spotted a pink and blue Maximal near Optimus Prime. Closer examination revealed her identity.
"Arcee!" Galvatron seethed at the sight of his twins' latest body. "So, you mock me further by taking a beast mode of your own?" Turning away from the screen, he opened a communication channel to Tarantulas.
"Tarantulas, it is time." He spoke as the scientist appeared on screen in his new lab. It had taken some convincing, but Tarantulas agreed to move his lab to one of the buildings near his command center to keep his experiments safe should they need Trypticon.
"I'd love to, gyah." Tarantulas replied as he dodged a green Kremzeek. "But these little pests are all over the place."
"Do I have to think of everything?" Galvatron grumbled to himself before addressing the spider again. "They seem to follow energy, reroute all power to the backup generator, they should follow."
"I'll have to, ouch, do that at the generator. They shorted out my remote access, OW!" Tarantulas yelped as a yellow Kremzeek bounced off his aft with a jolt.
"Very well." Galvatron answered, enjoying Tarantulas' pain immensely. "In the meantime, I shall use the spacebridge to remove the Dinobot combiner from play. Yes." He knew they'd need a big show of force to maneuver the worlds' governments into doing what he wanted them to, and there was no kill, like overkill. But first things first.
Back on the Vegas strip, Volcanicus had Monstructor pinned to the street with his foot as the weary combiner attempted to get back up. Drawing his sword, the Dinobot combiner prepared to drive it through their head before a spacebridge portal opened above him.
This spacebridge, however, was different. Once the portal opened a vacuum force appeared with it, sucking everything into it like an airplane cabin losing pressure at a high altitude. Vehicon drones, building debris and every other loose article on the street was being sucked up into the portal. Looking up at the portal, Optimus realized that he was looking at Cybertron from sub orbit. Suddenly, its' appearance and location made sense.
"Volcanicus! Run!" Prime yelled as he grabbed onto the wreckage of a nearby hotel to anchor himself. All around him, several Autobots and Maximals were anchoring themselves as best as possible. Unfortunately, the Dinobot combiner didn't hear him as he was lifted from the ground. Monstructor griped onto the street to avoid being pulled in as well. Giving one final roar of rage as he was pulled in, Volcanicus vanished through the portal before it winked out of existence.
"NO!" Slash screamed from where Kumara had anchored here to the ground with her webs. All those who knew the smallest Dinobot felt her pain but were more worried about Monstructor getting back up.
"Now." They growled as they stared down at their opponents. "Where were we?"
All around the street, the lights went out as the power was redirected. This had the unintended side effect of pulling the Kremzeeks along with it as they searched for more energy to feed on with all the bots on the strip being untouchable. Apparently dark energon didn't agree with them and the Autobots were all insulated against the Kremzeeks.
"Well, that's one less problem to." Monstructor began as a low hum began to echo across the area. The hum turned into a roar a moment before a blue and silver blur flew past the combiner, lowering a Mach five sonic boom on him, shattering every piece of glass in the area and forcing everyone else in the area to cover their ears and audio receptors.
As the blurr banked around, they could see it was an F-15 fighter jet. Instead of hitting the afterburner again, it cut its' engine. Flipping end over end in midair, the jet barreled towards Monstructor before reigniting its' engine and hitting the afterburner in the dark combiners face. The sudden pain and heat forced the Horrorcons out of their combiner mode and to the street. Pulling a loop the loop in midair, the jet transformed and landed near the Autobots.
The collective bots recognized the newcomer as a Decepticon seeker. He was a bit broader in the shoulders and had a different color scheme, but his resemblance to Starscream was uncanny. The seeker was especially familiar with Goldbug and agent Watson.
"You?" Goldbug exclaimed, stepping closer to Charlie.
"Me." Thundercracker confirmed.
"But we killed you." Charlie added, surprising most everyone in attendance.
"I got better." Thundercracker joked. "Skywarp didn't though." In truth, he'd only survived by shooting through the hull of the ship they tried to crush him with at the last minute and diving through the hole. He'd still been injured, and it'd taken him over a decade to fully recover, but in that time, he'd found his true calling in film but that was a story for another time.
Any further conversation was halted by the sound of transformation. Looking down the street, they saw the Predacons and Horrorcons retreating. The thing that drew their attention, however, was the fact that Galvatrons' base was transforming.
Rising slightly out of the Earth, a saurian pair of legs folded together and lifted most of the base up before it folded in on itself and flipped around to form a torso and reptilian head. A short pair of arms emerged as the front of the base shifted into a tail. Finally, twin cannons the size of office buildings came to rest on its shoulders. Taking a tentative step that shook the area, the fully transformed base gave a roar.
Trypticon had risen again.
"Ultra Magnus!" Optimus called into his comms. "We require reinforcements, Trypticon is active. Repeat, Trypticon IS active!"
"I'll send who I can." Ultra Magnus replied. "The other two Vehicon generals sprung Tankor and we have wounded from the wreckers last mission." He explained. "I'll attempt to get Fortress Maximus mobile, but even if we left now, we're over an hour away." While troops he could bridge in, Maximus was just too big to do so.
"Very well." Optimus replied.
"Autobots, hold the line!"
Over at the backup generator, Tarantulas was monitoring the containment of the Kremzeeks. Thankfully, the little pests hadn't overloaded it and once he had them contained it was only at forty percent capacity. The scientist had to admit, whoever had made these things was a genius on par with him. Turning to watch Trypticon advance on the Autobots, he couldn't help laughing. Maybe Optimus Prime would be dead before Unicron could possess Nemesis Prime.
An alarm from the generators' control panel caught Tarantulas' attention. Looking at the readout, the scientist balked. The generators' capacity was at eighty seven percent and rising rapidly. He wondered how that could be possible before it hit him. Did these things breed?
The alarm began sounding more urgently and Tarantulas saw that in the scant few seconds since he'd last looked at it, the capacity had hit one hundred seventeen percent. The metal of the machine began to groan as cracks began to appear in the shell. Looking down at the panel again, the scientist saw that capacity had hit one twenty-five before the words 'explosion imminent' lit up the screen. Tarantulas gave a sigh.
"Well, fu-." The Predacon scientists' curse was cut off as the generator exploded in a blinding flash of light. Being right next to it, Tarantulas' body was almost completely obliterated. The largest remaining parts (about the size of a human finger) landed several miles away. While he would regenerate within a few days with Unicrons' power, the effects of his temporary destruction would have drastic consequences for the war.
Within Tarantulas' lab, Megatron watched as Shockwave suddenly grasped at his head. Groaning, the cyclopean scientist reared his head back and screamed as his optic flashed between blue and red again as both emotions and autonomy returned to him for the first time in millions of years. Collapsing on all fours, Shockwave breathed heavily.
"My, my mind." He breathed. "What did that slag heap do to me?"
"Shockwave?" Megatron called out. Shockwave looked at Megatron with a single blue optic.
"I'm free." Shockwave replied astonished at the notion. Looking over at the finished Nemesis Prime, he shook his head. "We don't have much time." Grabbing a surgical table, he went over to Megatron and released him from the wall.
"What do you?" Megatron began before Shockwave cut him off as he laid him on the table.
"I'll explain later, right now I need to get you out of here."
"Bring Transmutate!" Megatron ordered.
"I was already planning to." Shockwave placated. Unlocking her cage, Shockwave watched as the deformed femme scrambled out and clambered onto the surgical table with Megatron. Seeing Megatron smile slightly at the younglings' safety, Shockwave chuckled warmly.
"Parenthood is a good look for you." Megatron glowered at Shockwave but didn't deny the accusation. As Shockwave pushed the two through the deserted halls, he started comparing a list of what he needed versus what they had room for in their escape vehicle. Entering the hangar, he spotted the ship they were going to escape with.
"Astrotrain?" Megatron asked as he saw the triple changer just sitting there in shuttle mode. He'd wondered what had happened to him as he wasn't a victim of the latest Predacon project.
"Another wrong I need to correct." Shockwave explained. Admittedly, he was thankful he'd been ordered to give him a transwarp drive before this. "I shall return in a few moments."
Returning to the lab with a couple of moving carts, Shockwave gathered all the parts and equipment he'd need for his next project. The restoration of Megatron. The process only took a few minutes since he'd organized the lab himself, but it felt like an eternity.
Just as he was about to leave, Shockwave spotted the damaged Skyboom Shield. Tarantulas never had been able to figure out how to restore it. Then again, he'd never asked him about it either.
"Why not." Shockwave muttered to himself. Grabbing the Prime relic, he hurried back to Astrotrain.
"Shockwave." Megatron asked when he returned. "Why can't Astrotrain speak?"
"Domestication." Shockwave answered simply. "A shadow play variant where one dents a patients' T-cog so they cannot transform and then cut away enough personality so that all their left with is enough to follow orders and feel pain if they resist. Tarantulas used it on beast bot test animals before the war."
Megatron looked genuinely sick.
"In any case." Shockwave continued as the hangar door opened. "We need to get as far from here as possible while Galvatron's distracted."
As Astrotrains' engines flared to life and fired, Shockwave put the coordinates for their first stop into navigation. They'd need to make a few transwarp jumps to keep Galvatron from following them later. However, as the triple changer exited the hangar, he noticed Trypticon was now engaged with a giant technicolor electric monster. Idly, Shockwave mused that they might have more time than he thought.
Optimus looked up in shock. As Trypticon had begun to bare down on them, something nearby exploded in a flash of light, releasing what looked like a giant multicolored Kremzeek. While not as tall as Trypticon, it seemed to be more muscular. An odd thing to say since it was made of many bioelectric entities. As the giant Kremzeek turned to look at Trypticon, Optimus noticed that its appearance was like a tie-dye kaleidoscope with various groups of Kremzeeks moving in packs by color.
"Kremzeek?" The giant called in a surprisingly deep voice. Trypticon replied with a roar before swinging his tail at it. To everyone's surprise, his tail glanced off Kremzeek and spasmed a moment before going limp. A second later a dark purple pulse spread through the tail, revitalizing it.
"Kremzeek!" It called as it charged Trypticon. The Decepticon colossus stepped aside, causing the bioelectric giant to trip and land on the ground. The orange hatch on Trypticons' snout opened, revealing a laser array. In his ship mode, this would've been the Nemesis' primary fusion cannon. In beast mode however, it was also Trypticons' primary weapon.
Giving a mighty roar, Trypticon unleashed a full power fusion blast at the amalgamated Kremzeek. However, rather than harm or dissipate it, the blast was being absorbed by it. And more alarmingly, Kremzeek seemed to be growing bigger. Realizing that his desired effect wasn't happening, Trypticon stopped firing as the bioelectric giant stood back up. Only now it was as tall as he was.
Roaring again, Trypticon tried a different approach by firing a barrage of missiles at Kremzeek, only for it to take off like a shot towards him. Infuriatingly, the missiles were short circuiting and detonating before impact, which was serving to only annoy Kremzeek.
Reactivating his comms, Optimus attempted to get a situation update from Ultra Magnus. To his surprise however, Rodimus hailed him on the emergency frequency.
"Optimus, do you read me? Optimus!" Rodimus yelled in a frenzy.
Optimus was confused. Rodimus was keeping the United Nations informed of the evolving situation. What could have gotten him into such a panic? He answered the Autobot diplomat.
"I read you Rodimus, what is wrong?"
"Optimus, I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't see reason." Rodimus began.
"Who wouldn't see reason?"
"A group of nations feel we can't handle Trypticon and they've decided on a nuclear option." He explained.
"You mean?!"
"There are over a dozen nuclear missiles headed for your location!"
In his control center, Galvatron listened in on the unencrypted frequency. While he couldn't raise either Tarantulas or Shockwave, he knew enough about spacebridges to pull this off. He couldn't help smiling. The foolish fleshlings had played right into his hands.
Glancing at his monitor observing the fight, he watched as the electrical giant ram into Trypticon and seemingly merge with him. Across the behemoth explosions began going off as he staggered back jerkily and transformed back into base mode. It really didn't matter to Galvatron though. With all the dark energon they'd pumped into him, Trypticon would be back on his feet in days. Unlike his opponent who wasn't emerging from him.
Hearing a proximity alert go off, Galvatron turned to his radar array. Coming right at his base were well over a dozen missiles, as promised. This would be easier than he thought.
"Computer, run program 'Catch and Release', now." He ordered.
On que, the computer analyzed the approach vector of each missile as well as its design. For such crude weaponry, this did not take very long. Next, a spacebridge portal opened in front of each one, the missile soaring right through it and into a prepared catch zone where drones would temporarily disarm the war head as well as the rocket engine in less than ten seconds. Galvatron laughed as the computer showed that the program was complete.
It was time to make his move.
On the Vegas strip, the Autobots were staring confused as the nuclear missiles disappeared from the sky. Before anyone could question what had happened, Galvatrons' voice came across every available frequency.
"Good day to you fleshlings." Galvatron began in his usual oily tone. "I am Galvatron, leader of the Decepticons with an ultimatum." Those who were getting the message through a video screen were now seeing spacebridge portals open over several world capitals. Washington D.C., Bejing, Paris, London, Tokyo, Moscow and most disturbingly to some, Baghdad all had portals over them.
"Your governments have taken a side in a war far older than your species." He continued. "However, I have no true quarrel with your kind, so I shall give you a warning. My Decepticons and I wish to end our war with as few human casualties as possible." Galvatron lied. Ultimately, he didn't care if the meat sacks lived or died.
"I shall make this simple." The Decepticon commander continued. "Should any country make a move against my forces, I shall drop a nuclear device that you've so lovingly provided into the very heart of every major country on the planet. This also includes giving aid to the Autobots. Yes." He finished, ending the transmission.
Arcee watched the video in shock. Galvatron had single handedly crippled the human's ability to help them through fear and intimidation. The worlds' governments would be watching each other to make sure they didn't receive any assistance. One thing Arcee could say about her brother, he knew how to manipulate people.
"Optimus?" Arcee asked the brooding Autobot leader. Above them, the sound of thunder echoed out and rain began to pour down.
"Autobots, return to base." He said solemnly.
As he and his men left what was once Las Vegas, agent Simmons couldn't help feeling that his career was over. He had failed to drive Galvatron out of the city, the latest in a string of failures in the last six months. Sector Sevens' name was effectively dirt now.
"Excuse me." Came a new voice. Looking up, Simmons saw the blue and silver Starscream clone looking at him. "I don't know if we've met, I'm Thundercracker, but I'm better known to you humans as Turner Crayven." He introduced himself.
"And?"
"I was wondering if you were in the market for a PR and Marketing counselor?"
"It's a nice thought." Simmons answered, barely registering that this ET was claiming to be a famous director. "But I don't think Sector Seven is going to be around after this."
"Yeah." Thundercracker admitted. "Your name does have a fair bit of bad press now, but I think a little rebranding could fix that. I even thought of a name you can use." He offered.
At first, Simmons wanted to tell Thundercracker to take a hike, but then, what did he have to lose? Might as well see if he could salvage any of his career at this point.
"Alright." He began. "What are you thinking?"
"Well, how about using tech to create vehicles that can transform instead of just copying Cybertronians?" Thundercracker replied, pulling a notepad from a compartment. "Cars, Trucks and Tanks that turn into planes, helicopters and weapons platforms might be more manageable, and they'd make a great toy line to help pay for your expenses."
"Toy line?"
"It worked for G.I. Joe."
"What name did you come up with?" Simmons asked. Thundercracker showed him the notepad he was using. He raised an eyebrow.
"Mobile Armored Strike Kommand?"
Meanwhile, far from both Vegas and Autobot city, in the wreckage of old Omega Outpost one. Tankor finally came to a stop after their escape. Transforming, he turned to look at the other two generals.
"What are we doing in this old mausoleum?" Jetstorm asked as she and Thrust transformed and Tankor removed the patch assembly. The jet general was caught off guard as he surged forward and slammed his fist into Jetstorms' head, rendering her unconscious.
"Tankor! What are you?" Thrust yelled before the tank general fired his cannon, driving him into a wall. As Thrust began to regenerate, Tankor let loose another savage blow to Thrusts' head, knocking him out too.
Looking at his unconscious friends and the ruined outpost, Tankor couldn't help feeling slightly nostalgic. It'd been thousands of years since they'd been here. It was where it all began for them, and in a sense where it all ended.
If only Wheeljack had escaped in their universe like he had in this one.
Looking back at Thrust and Jetstorm. No, at Jack and Miko. Rafael Esquivel gave a sigh and spoke properly for the first time in centuries.
"Don't worry guys." He whispered, picking up the patch equipment. "I'll find us a way out of this."
In the lab facility in his Vegas fortress, the stormy weather seemed to reflect Galvatrons' temper. Tarantulas had been blown up with the backup generator and would be unavailable for the next few days while he regenerated. His momentary destruction had also allowed Shockwave to slip his Mnemosurgical bonds and escape with both Megatron and the Skyboom Shield. To make matters worse, he still hadn't heard from his Vehicon generals.
"THEN I BELIEVE IT IS TIME FOR ME TO CLAIM MY HOST." Unicrons' voice echoed in Galvatrons' mind. "AND FOR YOU TO BEGIN THE NEXT STAGE OF YOUR PLAN."
"Master." Galvatron began, fighting back the surge of annoyance of having to call anyone that. "I do not know how to facilitate such a possession. And with Tarantulas indisposed."
"YOU NEED ONLY STAND BEFORE THE VESSEL." Unicron answered.
Nodding, Galvatron stood before the inert form of Nemesis Prime. Looking down, he saw his chest hull open, exposing the Dark Matrix of Conquest. For a moment, he considered ripping it out while it was exposed, but a surge of pain at the thought curtailed it. Looking back up, he noticed that Nemesis' chest hull was open too, exposing the half spark from Rampage.
There was a loud crash of thunder before a beam of violet energy surged from the dark matrix into Nemesis Prime, consuming and corrupting the spark half and causing the body to convulse on the slab it was bolted to. Part way through the process, a pulse of energy erupted from the beam, destroying the lights and plunging the lab into semidarkness lit only by the energy of the dark matrix. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in a moment, the beam stopped and both chests slammed shut, plunging the room into full darkness. Breathing heavily, Galvatron looked up at the sound of metal straining and breaking. Then, a pair of purple glowing optics shined through the darkness.
"Master?" Galvatron asked. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the lab, revealing the black teal and silver of Nemesis Primes' new form. While he retained the overall look of Optimus Prime, his new body was more angular. He had a missile pod on each shoulder now and his arms were more streamlined and capped with twin wrist mounted blasters that seemed to be made from his vehicle modes' exhaust pipes.
"Indeed." Nemesis Prime spoke with a deep growl. Reaching out with his powers, Nemesis found what had happened with his generals.
"I see." He continued as the labs' lights came back online. "Initiating Mnemosurgical wipe of the last few hours on Thrust Jetstorm and Tankor, and reboot." He ordered before turning to Galvatron. "Prepare a spacebridge to retrieve them."
"I you expect me to take orders like that just because you have a body now." Galvatron was cut off as Nemesis Prime deployed a blade from his left wrist and held it under his chin.
"You shall do as I ask, my anti-prime." He threatened, pressing the tip of the blade ever so slightly into Galvatrons' neck. After holding it there a moment, Nemesis Prime removed it before stepping over to the remains of a Vehicon who'd perished in the reformatting chamber.
"Always remember Galvatron." He said, never taking his optic from him. "You exist and have power because I desire it." With a swift motion, he stabbed the cadaver through the jaw with the tip exiting just past the top of the head. "And should I cease to desire it." With another swift motion, Nemesis Prime ripped the Vehicons' face clean off. "You shall cease to be."
Seeing the Vehicon face land on the floor in front of him, Galvatron felt a surge of fear run through his spark that waged war with his fury at being little more than a servant. Ultimately, the fear won by a narrow margin. Turning to the spacebridge controls, he activated the portal.
"Understood, master."
Back in the ruins of the Autobot outpost, Raf removed the cord for the Cortical Psychic Patch from Miko. He had spent the better part of the last half an hour installing what was called a Treppan Trigger in both her and Jack and tying it to their repressed memories. Once they awoke, all he'd have to do is say the code words and they would have their memories back and from there, they could make their escape.
This was not to be, however.
Suddenly, a surging heat erupted in the back of Rafs' mind. Looking at Jack and Miko, he could see them convulsing on the ground. Feeling his recovered memories slipping away, he turned his fusion cannon to a blank stretch of wall and fired. Desperately, he tried to finish his work but, in the end, he collapsed before he could.
Moments later, Thrust, Jetstorm and Tankor rose up off the floor.
"Ohh, what happened?" Thrust asked as he looked around. "How'd we get here?"
"Wherever here is." Jetstorm added, looking at Tankor. "And where'd you come from?" Last she knew, the Autobots still had him.
The large Vehicon gave a shrug accompanied by a growling noise. He couldn't help it, but he felt like he was forgetting something important.
"Thrust, Jetstorm, Tankor." Galvatron called through their comms as a spacebridge portal opened. "Return to base at once."
"Yeah, yeah prune puss, we're coming." Jetstorm replied before entering the portal alongside the other two. None of them realized what had transpired, or the clue they left behind.
In an emergency Decepticon bunker deep in the Amazon rainforest, Shockwave had finally finished unloading Astrotrain and setting up a makeshift labratory. Now, he was working on something on a nearby table.
"So." Megatron asked from the table he rested on. "You've been Tarantulas' puppet since before the war, and he's been using us to further Unicrons' goals?"
"And with him out of the picture." Shockwave continued in reply. "I have a chance to help you derail his plans."
"How?" Megatron asked.
"Well, first a new body for you." Shockwave began as he continued his work. "Then, restoring Astrotrain. I should be able to use what that spider did to you to your advantage." he explained.
"You mean the spark mitosis experiment."
"Was a success, and I know how to utilize it." Shockwave finished, turning around, he revealed that he'd removed his gun arm at the elbow and replaced it with a Vehicon arm and hand. "However, it'll be easier with two hands." Nodding, Megatron looked Shockwave in the optic.
"Then let us not waste time. You may begin."
A/N: How do you like them apples? I did say there'd be some unlikely heroes here.
I long planned for Thrust Jetstorm and Tankor to be Jack Miko and Raf from another universe. In their universe, they and Wheeljack never made it out of Darkmount in chapter 2 and eventually they were found and had their sparks extracted by Sideways in that universe (I only have him as a cameo character in this story) and placed into their current bodies.
Nemesis Primes' upgraded form in this story is a modified version of the Legacy Scourge toy with a dash of Armada Optimus in the wrist blasters. He will have a trailer he can combine with, but that won't be until the next chapter. And I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist having him do a Bayverse face rip. I figured it fit him better than Optimus. Note: for all intents and purposes, Nemesis Prime and Unicron are one and the same.
Thundercracker in this story was a late addition, heavily inspired by his IDW story, to help move the human element of the story along. However, while the rebranded Sector Seven/ the future M.A.S.K. may appear in future chapters, I will not write any stories about them.
That said, as I've written this, I've realized that there's a lot more side stories and backstories than I realized. (Bit of a problem with an ensemble cast) While I'd love to explore things more in story, it would add more chapters that take away from the main plot. The solution? Take a page out of IDWs' book.
Coming soon: Spotlight Prime (working title) A series of small stories that take place in the Beast Wars Prime universe. Ex. Bumblebee meeting Charlie Watson, the histories between Drift and Lockdown as well as Onslaught and Kup and more.
Until then, please, fave follow and review.
Next time: Family secrets finally revealed.