A camera drone was flying high over Cybertropolis, monitoring current events...
Dozens of tank drones were trundling towards a statue of Optimus Prime, which held replicas of the Voyager Golden Records in its' hands.
The drones targeted the statue and began blasting it to smithereens, erasing all traces of its existence.
They then began shooting at Blackarachnia, who had witnessed the entire spectacle. She ran to the other Maximals, awaiting Rattrap's return from a crucial mission.
"Are you sure this was worth it?!" Aurora asked Primal Prime.
"The Cybertron Archives have backup records for EVERY Transformer on the planet; If there's ANY clue to the missing population, Rattrap will find it there!" Primal replied.
"He'd better find it quickly; we're getting swarmed out here!" Blackarachnia hissed.
Rattrap emerged from the archive building as the tank drones began blasting at the entrance; he seemed worried!
Dodging and weaving through the cannon fire, Rattrap reported to Primal.
"There's zero, zip, and LOTS of nothin' in there, Boss Monkey! Every file's been wiped clean!" Rattrap announced.
"WHAT?!" Primal asked in rage. Rattrap could only shrug.
Primal confronted the tanks, roaring furiously.
Absorbing the blast energy with his forearm shields, Primal Prime unleashed an almighty energy pulse at the tank drones, destroying them! He then reverted to beast mode, the rage of the situation overpowering him.
"TARANTULAS! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Primal shouted.
Watching through his spy drone, Tarantulas cackled.
"History begins today, Primal Prime..." he hissed.
"Four million years of Cybertronian civilisation is now merely a rumour..." Tarantulas chuckled. He then turned to one of his servant drones. "What is the status of my purge?" Tarantulas asked.
"My readings indicate that ALL organic elements have been cleansed from your otherwise flawless form, my liege," the drone reported.
Tarantulas sighed in relief.
"You need not concern yourself with the possibility of a repeat of that unfortunate incident..." the drone reassured him, showing a recording of Tarantulas transforming into spider mode.
Primal was still furious about how the mission was going...
"EVERYONE, FALL BACK!" he commanded.
Aurora had linked her swords together to form a boomerang. "We can still hold them off!" she announced defiantly, throwing the improvised boomerang.
"Blackarachnia, Shadow, and Cheetor, FALL BACK!" Primal ordered. The trio was preoccupied with battle.
Suddenly, three cannon blasts knocked the three Transformers out!
As they hit the ground, each experienced a vision of a silhouetted figure calling their name...
They awoke to find themselves each being carried by another member of the Maximal team as they fled from battle.
"We didn't go offline, did we?" Blackarachnia asked Aurora, who was carrying her.
"Not yet, not if we can help it, anyway!" Aurora answered confidently.
As the group ran, the tank drones shot multiple rounds of ammunition, causing structures to collapse around them! Eventually, a large building tilted over and crushed the Vehicon drones.
Tarantulas was seething...
The control suit disconnected as, yet again, he transformed into his spider alt mode...
"YOU CALL THIS, "CURED"?!" he yelled.
The servant drone tapped at a touchscreen.
"There appear to be random residual bio-"
Tarantulas hurled a monitor at the drone with a strand of energy web, which it dodged...
Transforming back into robot mode, Tarantulas reconnected with the control suit.
"How is this possible?! My Vehicon battle drones are pinnacles of technological perfection; they possess superior firepower and manoeuvrability, yet they are continuously thwarted by a small pack of lowly beasts... Why?!" Tarantulas queried.
"Free will, perhaps?" the servant drone proposed. Tarantulas scowled, making the drone flinch. He then paused to consider the drone's idea.
"Hmm... Interesting notion. I suppose desperate times call for drastic measures, don't they?" Tarantulas said with a smirk.
Eight canisters erupted from the floor, each revealed to contain a single Spark...
Underground, Primal Prime was still seething...
"WE WERE SLOPPY OUT THERE TODAY! YOU WERE UNFOCUSED, RECKLESS, AND INSUBORDINATE! ONE MORE MISSION LIKE THAT, AND WE MAY AS WELL SURRENDER TO TARANTULAS!" the ape roared.
"Sheesh, "Good-Bye" Zen Master, and "Hello" Taskmaster..." Rattrap whispered.
Shadow, Cheetor, and Blackarachnia were all in their humanoid forms, still experiencing visions of the silhouetted figures from before...
"BLACKARACHNIA, CHEETOR, AND SHADOW, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?! I *TOLD* YOU TO TRANSFORM!" Primal boomed.
"Hey, if *I* had the option of stayin' in robot mode, I would, too!" Rattrap stated.
"YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?! WE ARE CYBERTRON'S ONLY HOPE!" Primal Prime yelled, experiencing painful energy from his core. "I failed my people once... I refuse to let them down again," he said as he walked away.
"What crawled up his exhaust port and died?" Rattrap asked. Aurora made haste to follow her leader.
"Primal, wait up!"
"He's got a lot on his mind, Rattrap..." Blackarachnia stated.
"Speakin' of which, why are you three so set on staying in robot mode?" Rattrap asked. The three other Transformers in the room looked at each other and realised they were in the same boat...
"We have our reasons..." they said simultaneously.
Ascending upon a strand of energy web, Shadow, Cheetor, and Blackarachnia quietly made their way to an area resembling an airport...
Suddenly, a sewer entrance opened nearby, revealing Rattrap had followed them!
"Hello, my chums!" Rattrap greeted them cheekily.
"Rattrap?! How'd-" Shadow was cut off by the rodent explaining.
"Next time, you should try the sewers; it ain't easy on the old olfactory sensor, but it's a lot faster..." he explained.
"Noted; now get lost, cheese-lips..." Shadow growled. Rattrap shook his head.
"Nuh-uh; nothin' doing until you guys tell me what you're doing at the Central Spaceport, 'Kay?" Rattrap reasoned.
"Just back off, Rattrap; we HAVE our reasons..." Cheetor snarled.
"Give me one good reason to not rat you out to Primal, then..." Rattrap hissed.
Hearing a noise in the wind, Blackarachnia looked around...
"Would you settle for eight?!" she asked in concern.
Revving full-tilt towards the quartet of "Beast Machines" were eight different Vehicons!
There were two jets, two tanks, a racecar, a motorcycle, a digging machine, and some form of a spaceship!
"Eight mindless drones... This shouldn't be a problem!" Cheetor said with a smirk as the leading jet transformed.
The Vehicons looked at one another and... Chuckled?!
"There are only three things wrong with that theory, kitty-cat. One: We're not drones..." the first jet spoke with venom.
"Two: We're NOT mindless!" the second jet stated.
"And finally, three... A "PROBLEM" is what we make best..." the digging machine said as it revved up.
The remaining Vehicons transformed into their robot modes and began firing their respective weapons at the "Beast Machines"...
The quartet of beasts ran for their lives as the blasts came within inches of their ankles!
Deciding that they weren't getting anywhere with mere blasts, the Vehicons transformed via custom command codes.
"Jetstorm, AFTERBURN!"
"Spy Streak, SONIC BOOM!"
"Tankor, PULVERIZE!"
"Blastcharge, ANNIHILATE!
"Mirage, ACCELERATE!"
"Thrust, Overdrive..."
"Scavenger, EVISCERATE!"
"Megabolt, CONQUER!"
Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Shadow all transformed back into beast mode to make evasion a little easier...
As the quartet of beasts fled, Jetstorm decided a colour commentary was called for...
"This is Captain Jetstorm speaking; please feel free to run about the tarmac and FLEE FOR YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE LIVES!" he quipped as he fired upon Blackarachnia.
Cheetor, meanwhile, had stumbled into Spy Streak's path...
"Goin' my way, speedy?" she asked with a wink.
Shadow and Rattrap were running from Blastcharge and Scavenger.
"Nothin' like cosy workin' conditions to get ya motivated!" Rattrap said sarcastically.
As Scavenger followed Shadow, she began singing to herself.
"The itsy-bitsy panther ran down the tarmac; down came the digger and broke the panther's back!" she giggled.
As Rattrap hid from Blastcharge, he was unaware of Tankor obsessively blasting away at the stacks of vehicle parts he was hidden within until...
"Tankor will DESTROY little rat-thing!" he shouted as Rattrap was exposed.
"Not if Blastcharge does first!" the opposing tank yelled, firing three missiles.
The two tanks began blasting obsessively at Rattrap, not letting up for a second!
This caused numerous piles of spaceship parts to fall down around them, trapping the armoured Vehicons temporarily.
Blackarachnia was still being hunted by Jetstorm, his firepower missing every time he shot!
She launched an energy web, intending to flee to a nearby building; instead, she hit Jetstorm...
"Fasten your seatbelt, spider-woman; there'll be a little turbulence on THIS flight!" Jetstorm chuckled.
The Vehicon jet started barrel-rolling, weaving, and loopy-looping to disorient Blackarachnia!
Suddenly, the arachnid was separated from her assailant by an errant blast from Megabolt! Rattrap was being pursued by Mirage, while Cheetor and Shadow ran from Thrust!
All met in the centre of the spaceport, where Rattrap started letting them have an earful.
"Whatever you three came here to find, it'd better be important!" he seethed. The Vehicons started closing in on the Maximals, shooting relentlessly at the quartet...
"Y'know what, we can fight later; for now, we run!" Rattrap shouted.
The Maximals hid in nearby pipes, evading the Vehicons for the moment...
The Vehicons met in the centre, arguing about who was at fault.
"Enough! The mission given to us was to exterminate any Maximal we found! We need to find them again, that's all..." Megabolt explained.
"Great idea, Megs; so glad you decided to take credit!" Jetstorm shouted. "Everyone! Activate your scanners!" he commanded.
As the Vehicons and Maximals, on opposite sides of the pipes, crept along, Jetstorm and the Vehicons received worrying alerts from their internal computers...
"Zero Maximal signatures detected," they announced. The Vehicons looked confused.
"Say what?" Jetstorm whispered to himself, clearly stumped.
The Maximals had arrived at Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Shadow's destination...
"So, give me a clue what you're lookin' for; is it bigger than a disc? Is it smaller than a mainframe? What exactly IS it?" Rattrap asked.
"You know those memory lapses we've been having since getting to Cybertron?" Blackarachnia queried.
"Well, we've been getting little flashes!" Shadow added.
"Just fragments, mind you. And, for whatever reason, we only get them in robot mode!" Cheetor finished.
The quartet reached a data terminal. The arachnid and felines transformed with Blackarachnia accessing the computer...
"We're in luck! Tarantulas hasn't deleted the Aerospace Records!" Blackarachnia said gleefully.
"So... What does THAT get us?" Rattrap asked.
Cheetor rolled his eyes.
"Our ship, duh!" Shadow replied with a smirk.
"Maximal signatures detected!"
"Finally!" Jetstorm shouted as he picked up on the three Maximal signals.
"According to the records, we were shot down by the planet's automated defence systems!" Blackarachnia said.
"They blew us out of the sky?!" Rattrap asked.
"Yep... Stranding all twelve of us!" Shadow replied.
"Why, those lousy- TWELVE?! Uh, can you even COUNT?! If there were twelve of us, why can't we remember the other SIX?!" Rattrap retorted. The other three Maximals had another flash...
"Locate Autobot shuttle Omega-Delta," Blackarachnia ordered. A hologram showed the entire spaceport, then zoomed in on the shuttle's location...
"Eh, wouldn't it be easier to search for 'em at Baggage Claim?" Rattrap joked.
"The ship's internal backup memory will tell us EVERYTHING we need to know, cheddar-breath!" Shadow sighed.
The image of the shuttle's location was soon lost as the holo-viewer powered down unexpectedly...
A blast from behind the group caught their attention as Jetstorm barged in and transformed!
"Well, well, well; it would seem that your situation and location are the same: TERMINAL!" Jetstorm growled.
"All right, ladies and gentle bots; let's barbeque some beasts!" Megabolt said as he entered.
As the four Maximals ran from Jetstorm and Megabolt, Blackarachnia launched web shurikens at them, which, on impact, encased the Vehicons in energy webs!
Tankor, Blastcharge, and the other Vehicons burst in through another wall, brandishing their respective weapons! The quartet of Maximals ran for it, with Blackrachnia laying down several energy web-based traps to catch the Vehicons off guard!
Tankor came up behind her, catching HER off guard! Blackarachnia used her Electro-Web to knock him out, rendering him offline temporarily...
As the quartet ran out of the warehouse they'd been in, Rattrap couldn't help complaining...
"You three are gonna get us ALL slagged!"
Coming to a window lined with bars, Blackarachnia wrenched the poles free from the opening with brute force.
"Uh... Now, where are we goin'?" Rattrap asked.
"To find our ship, duh!" Shadow replied, shoving the rodent down the path.
"Hey, if you three wanna crash your hard drives on a wild goose chase, be my guest; I'm goin' to leave while the leavin' is good!" Rattrap said.
"Like we NEED some useless rodent slowing us down, anyway..." Blackarachnia muttered.
"HEY! I resemble that remark..." Ratterap whined.
As Rattrap ran back the other way, he heard Jetstorm's voice.
"There we go; Maximal signatures have been detected..." he said smoothly.
Rattrap gulped.
"Don't shoot, please; I surrender..." he mumbled, putting his hands up.
"Spider-babe and her kit-kat friends are at position twelve; Jetstorm, Afterburn..." Jetstorm announced to Spy Streak and Scavenger.
"Spy Streak, Sonic Boom!"
"Scavenger, Eviscerate!"
The other Vehicons came up and also transformed.
As the Vehicons left, Rattrap was puzzled.
"Webs and the cat duo must be halfway across the compound by now... How'd the Evil Eight nail THEM but miss me?" Rattrap queried to himself. Then, a bright spark hit him.
"Unless... Beast mode, ROBOT mode... That's got to be it! Those gas-guzzlers can't scan us when we're in beast mode!" he realised.
"We'll see how USELESS this rodent is, won't we?" Rattrap whispered as he chased after the Vehicons.
"Jetstorm to Tarantulas, the spider and the kitty-cats are headed for their old ship; don't worry, though, they'll be cold slag before they get there!" Jetstorm announced to his leader via the commlink.
The three Maximals had finally reached their objective...
However, they were being watched.
"Hmm... Looking for backup memories, are we? Careful, Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Shadow; you never know who or what you'll find there..." Tarantulas chuckled. He then turned on his commlink.
"Vehicons, cancel the attack!"
The eight Vehicon Generals stopped in their tracks.
"Say what?" Jetstorm asked.
"Allow the arachnid and felines to access the computers; When they do, *I* will access their core processors and learn the locations of their various hiding spots..." Tarantulas explained.
Rattrap had been listening from underground.
"Oh, man! I have to stop those three!" Rattrap realised.
Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Shadow were wearing VR headsets that would give them access to the computers.
"Download memory backup files to our core processors..." they said as one.
"Access their core processors..." Tarantulas said with a smirk.
Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Shadow had recovered the memory of those they'd lost, including...
"Snowstalker!" Cheetor gasped.
"Raptrix..." Shadow said tearfully.
"Silverbolt?" Blackarachnia asked herself. "Where did you go?"
At that exact moment, the feed was cut. Pulling off the headsets, the trio saw Rattrap gnawing on the wires!
"Easy, easy, easy; I had to do it, guys! Tarantulas was pokin' around in your heads!" Rattrap explained.
"In other words..." Cheetor began.
"The computers made backups of our current memories!" Blackarachnia finished.
"Oh, man... We gotta delete them before the eight-legged tyrant gets ahold of them!" Shadow realised.
"Ahh, the Maximals' primary base; excellent... Identify the location," Tarantulas ordered.
All at once, Blackarachnia and the cat duo trashed their respective computers, overloading their circuits!
"AGH! Vehicons, destroy those Maximals, once and for all!" Tarantulas ordered via the commlink.
"Music to my ears, boss!" Jetstorm replied.
"You guys overloaded the circuits; LET'S VAMOS!" Rattrap announced.
As they ran, Rattrap had some advice:
"Stick to beast mode; the Vehicons won't be able to scan you, then!"
The door to the warehouse opened, revealing all eight Vehicons!
"...Unless, of course, they're standing right in front of us..." Rattrap groaned.
The Vehicons transformed into robot mode, readying their weapons...
Suddenly, Primal Prime and Aurora burst in through the glass ceiling!
They began exchanging and deflecting fire with the Vehicons when Primal noticed the Autobot shuttle was about to blow up!
"Everybody out, NOW!" he shouted, engaging his flight pack. Primal picked up Rattrap while Aurora carried Blackarachnia, and Cheetor and Shadow jumped for it.
Everyone was thrown clear of the explosion; when they landed, Rattrap had four words for his leader:
"This wasn't my idea..." he hissed.
"That may be the case, but that was our ship! We've lost it for good. There's no clue how we got here! No clue as to what happened while we were offline! And for what? FOR WHAT?!" Primal roared.
"Primal!" Aurora shouted, seeing where this was going.
Primal Prime reverted to beast mode, his anger overwhelming him again.
"It's all right; don't get your bananas in a bunch..." Aurora reassured him.
"We did find out," Rattrap started before Blackarachnia cut him off.
"Now isn't a good time, cheese-lips..." she stated.
"Tarantulas decimated this planet because of me... Do you think I could bare to lose any of you?!" Primal asked.
The others looked ashamed.
"Back to base, everybody..." Primal Prime quietly ordered, gaining an expression of determination.
"We will stop Tarantulas, no matter the cost..."