The Autobots backed away as the warlord approached them. "Megatron?" Bee gasped. "You skewered Buckethead with a giant saber and managed to miss his Spark?" Smokescreen asked.
"Bee killed you." Chromia said. "How are you still alive?" Arcee asked. "And where'd you score the upgrade?" Bulkhead asked.
"Megatron cannot answer you at this moment. Though I can inform you, with utmost authority, that he owes his new lease on life to me, Unicron. And I will not be so easy to deliver into oblivion." Unicron said and created two cannons on his servos from Dark Energon and fired.
The Autobots shot back, and Unicron returned fire, forcing the heroes to retreat behind the throne. Bee shot Unicron from above. In his mind, the Chaos Bringer said, "Bothersome pest!"
"That pest is the very one who robbed me of my Spark, and I now possess the power to return the favor!" Megatron said. "You possess nothing! It is I who possess all that you were and ever will be!" Unicron snapped.
The Chaos Bringer kept shooting, and Bee and Smokescreen hid with the Autobots. "We need to retreat!" Chromia said. "The only way out is down." Smokescreen said. "We can't call for a Ground-Bridge until we put some space between Unicron and us." Bulkhead said.
"Behold my infinite might!" Unicron said as his cannon disappeared and he created a spear made of Dark Energon.
The Chaos Bringer threw the spear at the throne. The Autobots thought they were safe until the spear started beeping. "Let's roll." Bee said.
They all retreated from the throne, transformed, and drove past Unicron. Bee transformed as they fell from the ledge and shot a structure below them, revealing a tunnel. Unicron roared, then transformed and followed.
"Come on, chief. We're out of time." Wheeljack said as Optimus got closer to the Allspark, as did the plasma storm. Meteors began to be shredder apart by the plasma storm.
The Autobots drove through a tunnel, and a door opened. "Stop!" Chromia yelled as they transformed near the ledge. They were right above a smelting pit. "A smelting pit?" Bulkhead questioned. "Cybertron's been dormant for thousands of years, but that's still burning?" Arcee asked. "Ratchet, we need a Ground-Bridge." Bee said.
They were all blown away by a shot from Unicron. Bulkhead grabbed the ledge and held Arcee, Chromia, and Smokescreen. Unicron snickered as he circled around them.
"Optimus, if we don't get out of here right now. Optimus!" Wheeljack yelled. He then saw Optimus returning with the Allspark. "That's why he's Prime." The white Wrecker said.
The hatch lowered, and Optimus boarded the ship when a meteor collided with it. "Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" Wheeljack asked. "Wheeljack, set a course for Cybertron." Optimus said. "Hang onto your hubcaps." Wheeljack said.
The ship jetted away from the asteroid belt as the plasma storm swallowed it. "That's the future of life on Cybertron, huh? I kinda figured it'd be bigger." Wheeljack said.
"Hold tight!" Bulkhead strained as he tried to lift the others up. Bee saw Unicron approaching them. He transformed and created two scythes out of Dark Energon. He swung both at Bee but missed. The black and yellow Autobot shot the Chaos Bringer. Unicron grunted in pain and kept swinging his weapons.
Bee shot back until Unicron thrusted a scythe into the ground. The ledge started cracking apart from the hit and the weight. The ledge gave out, and the Autobots yelled as they fell towards the smelting pit. "No!" Bee cried and rushed towards the ledge. He saw a Ground-Bridge open and swallowed all the Autobots before they could touch the pit.
"Servant of Prime, you will now join your brethren!" Unicron declared. "You got that right." Bee said and tipped off the ledge. Unicron ran towards the edge and saw Bee enter the portal before it closed. Unicron roared. "I am weak!" He growled.
"But our merciless attack drove the Autobots into submission. They fled for their very Sparks!" Megatron said. "A victory over unworthy opponents, especially one that did not result in their demise, is far from an achievement. Clearly, our improved state is not enough to accomplish the deed for which I have come. For that, I shall require a much greater instrument of destruction." Unicron said.
"How is this happening? I mean, we put out a call inviting refugees back to Cybertron and Unicron's the first in line?" Arcee asked. "Not to mention those Predacons." Bulkhead added. "What have we come home to?" Cyclonus asked. "What are we supposed to call him, huh? Megacron? Unitron?" Smokescreen asked.
"Really? That's your biggest issue right now?" Chromia asked. "Right, right. All right, good. So what's the game plan?" Smokescreen asked.
Bee approached a terminal. "While Unicron may now inhabit a mortal form, he is still a god, and thus, cannot be defeated by customary means." Ratchet said.
"Optimus? Wheeljack? This is Bumblebee. We have an urgent situation." Bee said. "Bumblebee, this is Optimus Prime. Proceed." Optimus said. "Optimus, can you hear me? Come in, please. Wheeljack, do you read?" Bee asked. "That hit we took did some damage. Receiver's operational, but we can't transmit." Wheeljack reported.
"Nothing." Bee said. "You have your voice back. Now is not the time to go radio silent. Optimus, in the event that you can hear us, Unicron has found his way back to Cybertron. Repeat, the Chaos Bringer is here on our soil in possession of Megatron's body." Arcee said. "Wheeljack, ensure that the light-speed drive is still fully operational." Optimus said.
"So what now? I mean, besides hoping Optimus got the message." Bulkhead said. "We figure out why Unicron's here." Arcee said. "And what he wants." Bee added.
"The Big U could have taken Earth and possessed Elsa behind our backs. Why come back to Cybertron?" Wheeljack asked. "There would be only one reason, Wheeljack." Optimus said.
"To destroy the Spark of his arch enemy, Primus." Ratchet said. "But that's the core of our planet." Cyclonus said. "It isn't fair. How many more times do we have to save a world? Have to fight for the survival of our home?" Arcee asked.
"Regrettably, the struggle between creation and destruction is an eternal one, and the battle lines which separate the two run through the very Spark of Cybertron. Good and evil. Order and chaos. One victorious, one vanquished. Each forming the core of their own separate worlds. Cybertron and Earth, and now the darkness has followed us all the way home." Ratchet explained.
Predaking roared as he soared through the sky and spotted something on the ground. He transformed and examined claw marks. "Tracks. The Autobot spoke the truth. Other Predacons do exist, though it seems they took flight here. Locating my new brethren will be a futile endeavor. Unless I allow them to locate me." Predaking said, then transformed and released a stream of fire into the sky.
To be continued...