Rhinox and the Diagnostic Drone approached the Oracle's location...
"Sire, Tarantulas will be very suspicious of your absence... Not to mention mine!" the Drone advised.
"I have an important task that requires both of us to be here..." Rhinox told the Drone. Upon noticing flames up ahead, the Drone shivered.
"Does it involve smelting?" it groaned. Reaching an arm into the "Flames", Rhinox revealed the truth...
"Behold! The Oracle..." Rhinox said as the flames dissolved into a holographic display...
Trekking further along, Rhinox continued his history lesson.
"The old Autobot data tracks refer to a powerful sphere-shaped computer called Vector Sigma," Rhinox explained. The Diagnostic Drone quirked its eyebrows.
"And you believe the Oracle to be this... Vector Sigma?" it asked.
"Precisely!" Rhinox replied. "The data tracks also mention a key that powered the computer; it had the power to turn organic matter into technological matter!" Rhinox added. "Primal Prime and Tarantulas have no idea of its power..." he growled.
Attempting to jump into the Oracle, Rhinox was zapped and thrown back several metres...
"Sadly, it would seem you don't, either, master..." the Diagnostic Drone sighed.
"This unit does not contain a receptive Spark; access is denied," the Oracle declared.
"That's a shame," the Diagnostic Drone sighed. "It seems we need a "Receptive" Spark..." it guessed. Rhinox smirked evilly.
"Or perhaps..." he began, grabbing the Drone's left arm. "...Someone that has no Spark at all!" he yelled, throwing the Diagnostic Drone into the Oracle.
"I see where THIS is going..." the Diagnostic Drone admitted with a gulp.
"FIND THE KEY!" Rhinox ordered.
Inside the Oracle, the Diagnostic Drone was met with abundant data; none was relevant...
"This is beyond comprehension!" the Drone shouted as it came face to face with Vector Sigma...
"Interfacing with the Vector Sigma core..." the Oracle announced. The Diagnostic Drone downloaded the necessary data before being ejected from the Oracle!
Landing with a thump in front of Rhinox, the Drone groaned in a daze.
"The key, drone! WHERE IS IT?!" Rhinox demanded. The Diagnostic Drone began uploading the data to its master's core processor...
"This nothing more than computer code!" Rhinox complained. Suddenly, the code formed the key's shape...
"Indeed," the Diagnostic Drone stated. "It's computer code that controls the Key to Vector Sigma!" It explained.
Placing the code in Rhinox's cannon, the Diagnostic Drone watched as the Oracle emitted a beam that solidified the key!
Rhinox chuckled.
"Now it must be tested!" he announced.
Nightscream was examining another fossilised skull.
"This was YOUR world once... What happened? Did you get wiped out by a natural disaster, or did some robot decide you weren't worthy of this planet?" he growled to the skull.
"Hey, bat boy, are you gonna help us?!" Rattrap complained.
"Or will you continue playing "Alas; poor Yorick!" all Solar Cycle?!" Dinobot added as he and the rodent attempted to drive a drill into the ground.
"Guess who's joining the drill team?" Nightscream said with sarcasm as he joined the pair.
"Do you think we'll find ANY water on this barren rock?" Raptrix complained to Primal Prime. The ape sighed; reformatting Dinobot and his sister in quick succession had been tiring...
"It wasn't always barren," Primal explained, pointing to the fossils. "There must be SOME way to return organic life to Cybertron!" he added.
"Are we felines the only ones who think this is a total waste of time?" Aurora sighed in unison with her family.
"I suppose it's only natural for cats to be so restless... Still, I wish SHE would trust in the Oracle!" Primal complained to Rattrap, just loud enough for Aurora to hear.
"Tarantulas has been quiet lately; you'd think Prime would want to know what he's up to!" Aurora said to Rattrap, continuing the apparent game of "Telephone Rat".
"Aurora's still young; she needs to learn that not all problems are solved with conflict! Victory can be achieved in more subtle ways..." Primal argued.
"Hey, Chopperface, wanna trade places?" Rattrap whispered to Dinobot.
Dinobot shook his head.
"And be between them? I shall pass..." he hissed.
The ground suddenly started shaking as the drill was pulled up; odd green-blue liquid leaked from the hole!
"Paydirt!" Rattrap cheered. "We've struck... Goop?!" he asked in confusion.
The "Goop" flowed into the ground, making plants sprout all over!
"Did someone open a can of "Instant Jungle"?!" Raptrix asked, chuckling uncomfortably.
Primal Prime smiled.
"The Oracle's vision is coming true!" he reasoned. "Cybertron's organic core is returning life to our world..." he explained.
"TOO BAD IT WON'T LAST!" Rhinox announced as he sped in, his tank mode's engine revving at full bore.
Transforming, Rhinox was confronted by the Maximals...
"I am transformed!" all but Primal Prime announced, converting to their robot modes.
"Stand down!" the Maximal leader ordered. He then turned to Rhinox/Tankor...
"What do you want, Rhinox?" the Maximal leader asked with venom.
"The name is TANKOR!" Rhinox/Tankor decreed, having made up his mind on the matter...
"Your Spark chamber still holds the essence of our old friend, though..." Primal said wistfully.
"You enjoy history, Primal Prime; ever heard of the Key to Vector Sigma?" Tankor asked. Primal nodded.
"It's an old Autobot legend..." the ape supposed. Tankor chuckled sinisterly.
"Guess again... It is cold, HARD REALITY!" he shouted, lowering his cannon into place to reveal the artifact.
Firing through the key, Tankor converted the nearby plants into techno-matter!
"The Key to Vector Sigma is MINE! I now have the power to transform organics into technological perfection! Shall I begin with YOU, old friend?" Tankor asked Primal Prime, charging up his cannon...
"Is this one of those "Subtle" victories?" Aurora whispered to herself as Tankor cackled.
"NO!" Nightscream shouted, transforming and rushing between the Vehicon and the Maximal Leader...
Nightscream gasped and groaned as he was struck by the key's blast...
"Oh, no..." Primal Prime said in horror, watching as Nightscream began phasing back and forth between techno-organic and pure technology...
"Who wants to be next?" Tankor asked menacingly.
As Nightscream made physical contact with a vine on the ground, Primal Prime observed something shocking...
"He's contagious!" the Maximal leader noticed as the vine, too, became technological...
"Primal... Help me!" Nightscream pleaded.
"Tarantulas was right; organics do not BELONG on this planet! But where he FAILED to eliminate you, *I* will succeed!" Tankor declared.
"Eliminate THIS, motor-mouth!" Rattrap shouted as he and Dinobot went to tackle the Vehicon. They bounced off his armour plating...
"Have you been... Reinforced?" Dinobot asked in a daze before fainting.
"ENOUGH!" Primal Prime declared. "I am transformed!" he stated, converting into his robot mode.
"You are a fool, Primal Prime!" Tankor said. "You, the Maximals, and Tarantulas are destined to fail! ALL ORGANICS WILL FALL BEFORE ME!" he decreed. Suddenly, Tankor's circuits began short-circuiting!
"I'm... OVERLOADING!" he yelled.
Tankor fell to his back, shorted out; the other Maximals transformed back to beast mode...
Suddenly, a quintet of Tank Drones burst through the cave wall! The Diagnostic Drone was with them...
"Initiate the evacuation sequence!" the Diagnostic Drone ordered as the Tank Drones opened fire.
As the Tank Drones began moving Tankor's body, Aurora transformed and charged forward, intent on finishing this...
"Aurora, don't! Nightscream needs our help!" Primal Prime ordered/advised. Aurora doubled back and transformed, still a little bitter about the situation.
Watching as Nightscream writhed in pain, still phasing between techno-organic and pure techno-matter, the other Maximals were concerned...
"What do we do?!" Blackarachnia asked as she approached the youth.
"No! Stay away from me; I'm a walking plague!" Nightscream announced, getting up and taking a few steps back.
As he phased yet again to techno-matter, Nightscream grew agitated.
"What're you all looking at?!" he asked aggressively.
Phasing back to techno-organic, he whimpered.
"Please, don't hurt me..." he snivelled.
Back to techno-matter:
"Come any closer, and I'll rip out your circuits!"
Turning to Blackarachnia, Primal Prime gave her a silent nod. The she-spider fired a webline and created a net, suspending Nightscream off the ground...
"He's being transformed into pure techno-matter," Primal Prime explained as the net and the beam it was secured to turned technological. "If this keeps up, it could corrupt his core processor, shutting him down for good..."
"What'd Rhinox DO to him?!" Cheetor asked. Blackarachnia turned to the youth.
"Nightscream, listen to me; we want to help you, but you NEED to stay calm!" she advised.
"YOU STAY CALM!" Nightscream barked. "Just go away, please?!" he requested.
Noticing the liquid organic matter on the ground, Dinobot had an idea...
"I wonder... She-spider; lower the bat into the liquid. I believe it may cure him..." he assumed. Shrugging, Blackarachnia fired another webline and opened the net, sending Nightscream plummeting into the organic ooze...
"Dinobot, are you insane?!" Primal Prime asked. The raptor shook his head and snickered.
"Negative; the ooze enhances his organic nature, like the trees," Dinobot said. As Nightscream emerged from the ooze, he began admiring the "Cure"... For about five seconds.
Painfully shifting back to techno-matter, he groaned.
"'Tis only a temporary solution, however; we will require much more of it for a permanent fix..." Dinobot explained.
"Fat chance with the drill scrapped!" Raptrix said, noticing that the tank drones had destroyed the equipment.
"Rattrap, scan for Tankor's signature," Primal Prime requested.
"On it, Boss Monkey! I am transformed!" Rattrap announced, converting to robot mode and lowering his visor.
"There's no time for that!" Aurora protested.
"Once we find the source of his power, we can reverse its effects!" Primal explained.
"We've gotta get the driller back online!" Aurora argued.
"We don't NEED temporary solutions!" Primal argued further.
Scanning, Rattrap sighed in exasperation. "It's no good; I can't pick up Tankor's energy signature!" he announced, transforming into beast mode.
Primal attempted a Spark probe.
"I can't contact his Spark, either; I fear Rhinox may be offline for good..." he admitted.
"The drill's at least three Solar Cycles from being anywhere NEAR online!" Cheetor groaned as he and Snowstalker surveyed the damage.
"Wait a nano... Remember those Mole Drones?" Aurora asked. Primal Prime growled.
"Not with Tarantulas controlling them!" he objected.
"We could use one to drill down to Cybertron's organic core!" Aurora pleaded.
"We'll stay with Nightscream," Shadow and Blackarachnia told the others.
"We are in..." Dinobot said, turning to his sister and Rattrap.
"It's his only hope, Big Bot," Cheetor told his leader.
"It might be the planet's only hope..." Snowstalker added.
At the Citadel, the Diagnostic Drone presented Tarantulas with Tankor's offline shell...
"What happened?" Tarantulas asked with a sigh.
"I shall commence an analysis now, sire..." the Drone replied, scanning the body.
In Cybertropolis, Aurora led the mission to claim a Mole Drone for the Maximals...
Coming to an intersection, the snow leopard held up a paw to stop her comrades behind her.
"Whoa!" she whispered, observing a Mole Drone entering a building...
"We've found them..." Aurora commented.
As they walked towards the building's entrance, the septet of Maximals were suddenly illuminated by bright lights!
It was a group of Cycle Drones. They had laid in wait for an ambush!
"Split up!" Aurora advised, going with her parents in one direction as Primal Prime went with Dinobot, Raptrix, and Rattrap in the other.
The Cycle Drones also split up, performing a pincer movement to try and trap the Maximals...
"I am transformed!" the Cat Clan announced, converting into their robot forms.
"I am transformed!" the remaining Maximals announced (Minus Rattrap), following suit.
The group simultaneously jumped as the Cycle Drones rushed in, making the motorheads collide and explode!
Hanging from an overhead ledge, Rattrap couldn't help commenting:
"If Unicron's Spawn or the Vehicon Generals try to control THOSE Drones... All they'll get is a "Busy" signal..." he chuckled.
"Let's adopt a Mole, Maximals!" Aurora said, grinning.
Viewing the situation on multiple monitors, Tarantulas sneered.
"Fortunately, the fate of MY world is independent of drones!" he announced, forcing energy into the power grid.
As the streets of Cybertropolis were brightly illuminated, Tarantulas chuckled sinisterly.
"Welcome to my NEW Cybertropolis... It's been WAITING for you!" the Unicronian declared, cackling as the streets began shifting and merging...
"You should feel honoured..." the spider decreed, smirking as the Maximals ran for their lives.
"...I've chosen YOU to test the power of my new and improved Cybertropolis!"
"Can't we take the oral exam?" Rattrap whined as he and the other Maximals fled.
Tarantulas cackled more maniacally as a building almost crushed the Maximals, his face displayed on the building's wall...
Primal Prime leapt for the visage of his enemy, crashing through the glass!
"What?!" Tarantulas gasped.
The other Maximals followed their commander, flying through the open pane...
The group was confronted by several Moles, each one lighting up...
"Have you lost it?!" Rattrap complained to his leader. "Let's pick a Mole and scram while the scrammin's good!" he shouted.
The Mole's mouths opened, revealing blaster barrels...
The Moles opened fire on the Maximals, chasing down their prey!
"Rattrap, interface with the warehouse controls and override Tarantulas's commands!" Primal Prime ordered. Aurora growled.
"Forget the warehouse! Plug into a Mole so we can control it!" she snarled.
"I'M still in command, here!" Primal announced. Aurora hissed.
"Do you WANT to make it out alive?!" she asked aggressively.
Rattrap groaned. "I'm starting to miss being the useless one..." he whined to Dinobot and Raptrix as the building lifted off its base.
Back in the Maximal base, Nightscream was still writhing in pain as the metamorphosis into pure techno-matter progressed...
"Take it easy, kiddo; we managed to scrounge up more organic goop!" Blackarachnia announced as she and Shadow walked in with two canisters of the substance.
"NO!" Nightscream shrieked, whirling around and rushing at the pair.
Shadow and Blackarachnia dropped their canisters in fright, running as Nightscream chased them!
Nightscream crashed upwards through the ceiling, trying to get to the surface!
"We can't have him running loose!" Shadow said.
"You think *I* don't know that?!" Blackarachnia replied.
They chased after their troubled ally, but the pair couldn't keep up!
"Nightscream, get back here before you-"
Suddenly, the bat looped around and crashed into his comrades, infecting them...
Aurora and her family ran from a mass of blaster rounds. In contrast, the others attempted to get behind the Mole Drones.
Suddenly, the building they were in lifted off the ground!
A beam above Aurora began to fall...
"Aurora, look out!" Cheetor warned. It was too late; the beam fell onto the snow leopard and knocked her unconscious.
Pulling a metal panel off the floor, Primal Prime made his way to Aurora.
"I am... TRANSFORMED!" Rattrap announced as he, Dinobot, and Raptrix got behind the Mole Drones. Using their leader's makeshift ramp, the trio landed upon the back of a Mole and Rattrap plugged into it...
The Mole Drone began trying to shake the trio of Maximals off, bucking about like a wild Bronco!
"Take it easy, ya big lug!" Raptrix complained.
"Yes; our ally merely wishes to calm you down!" Dinobot added.
"Let's put this to bed..." Tarantulas hissed from the Citadel, commanding the building to tilt over...
As the building's thrusters made it tip, numerous Mole Drones fell out! Primal Prime, Cheetor, and Snowstalker grabbed Aurora before she, too, fell.
As Primal and the Cat Clan began losing their grip on the building, Rattrap's voice rang out!
"All aboard! The "Veloci-Rat Express" is leaving the station!" the rodent announced.
As Aurora regained consciousness, she lost her grip on the other's hands! The others allowed themselves to fall, transforming to beast mode as they did.
The building they'd been in also fell; it plummeted towards the Maximals as they gained a grip on the Mole Drone...
Upon contact with the ground, the Mole Drone's drill started up; it dug its way underground mere seconds before the building hit the surface!
Tarantulas seemed unusually calm about this development...
"Cheer up, Grandness! WE'LL track down the "Livestock" in no time!" Jetstorm announced to his master.
Tarantulas chuckled deviously. "Do not bother, my minions; I already have an agent among the Maximals..." the spider snickered, gesturing to a monitor. The Mole Drone's schematics were displayed on it...
The Maximals made it to their cavern base. As the Maximals looked around, there was no sign of Blackarachnia, Shadow, OR Nightscream!
"Where are the others?" Raptrix asked.
"Webs?! 'Shade?! Are you guys still here with the kid?!" Aurora shouted; there was no answer...
"We'll find them; in the meantime, Rattrap should stay here and start drilling... Unless SOMEONE has a better idea?" Primal Prime said, steering his gaze to the snow leopard. Blaster shots went off behind the group; the Mole Drone had been turning to aim at the Maximals the whole time!
Running for the stalactites to give them some cover, the Maximals realised what was going on...
"Tarantulas is back in the driver's seat, it would seem!" Dinobot announced.
"Get it offline ASAP!" Primal ordered. Crazed laughing came in from overhead; it was the missing members of the Maximal group!
"Oh, boy; this just gets better as it progresses!" Raptrix announced with sarcasm.
"Contain them! I'll handle the Mole!" Primal ordered of the others. Cheetor and Snowstalker frowned as their daughter spoke up.
"But-"
"WOULD YOU AT LEAST *TRY* DOING IT MY WAY?!" Primal asked in exasperation as he rushed for the Mole Drone.
Jumping atop the mindless adversary, Primal Prime accidentally pushed one of its joysticks forward! The Mole drilled into the ground, taking the Maximal commander with it!
"How are we supposed to contain these three without TOUCHING them?!" Rattrap complained as Blackarachnia loomed over him and Dinobot. Shadow chased Raptrix while Nightscream took off after Cheetor, Snowstalker, and Aurora.
"Bokito glossed over THAT part, didn't he?!" Aurora snarled.
Cat Fam, look out!" Rattrap announced; the three felines were headed straight for a pile of fossils!
Cheetor and Snowstalker stopped in time, but Aurora was trapped under a reptilian skull. Nightscream landed and began hissing at the snow leopard.
"Let's not get all wound up, kid!" Snowstalker shouted as she and her partner blocked the bat's path.
Raptrix was still running from Shadow.
"Didn't your mother teach you that if a lady says "No", it means "GET LOST"?!" the female raptor complained. Jumping, Raptrix hid behind her brother and Rattrap, who were STILL wincing under Blackarachnia's feral gaze...
"Easy, Webs; no touching on the first date, remember?" Rattrap asked in a half-joking manner.
The ground suddenly rumbled...
Goop rushed out of the hole Primal Prime had accidentally dug, flooding the cavern!
As the goop rained over them and Primal landed among his subordinates, the infected Maximals and plants were cured, phasing to their proper forms!
"Is everybody okay?" Primal Prime asked. As Shadow regained his senses, he smirked.
"No problems here, King Julien!" he chuckled.
"I'm good... Thanks for asking!" Nightscream sighed in relief.
"Ohh... That was a nightmare..." Blackarachnia groaned.
Aurora snarled venomously...
"It's lucky that Mister Teeny finally came to his senses and helped bring back that Mole..." she said with a hiss. Primal Prime growled viciously.
"That Mole nearly destroyed everyone and everyTHING we've fought for..." the ape reminded her.
Rattrap was in the middle of this argument...
"Like Tankor would've been more cooperative?!" Aurora growled back.
"Hey! Need I remind you two that I'm NOT a Ham Radio?! If you've got something to say to each other, do it without the middle-mouse, okay?!" Rattrap explained, finally having had enough of the in-fighting.
"Look, you've gotta start respecting me. I'm NOT a kid anymore! I've been proving that since the whole thing with Transmutate back on Earth!" Aurora reasoned, rolling her eyes.
Primal Prime frowned. "Do you truly believe this team NEEDS two leaders?" he asked.
"Whatever..." Aurora growled under her breath, turning away.
"I'm glad THAT'S settled..." Nightscream whispered to Cheetor.
"It isn't, not if I know MY daughter..." he replied. Snowstalker nodded.
"Yeah, some problems aren't that simple," she added.
Meanwhile, the Diagnostic Drone followed a small convoy of Tank Drones that carried Tankor's "Body"...
"Leave us," the Diagnostic Drone requested. As the Tank Drones left, the Diagnostic Drone turned to a figure in the shadows...
"Your plan has come to fruition without a hitch," the Diagnostic Drone explained to the figure. "Everyone, from Primal Prime to Tarantulas, believes you have expired..."
The figure revealed itself as the REAL Tankor, the offline body being little more than a holographic substitute...
"Excellent..." Tankor said with a sly grin as he sawed the cannon off his duplicate. "I can implement my agenda without interference now that I, and I alone, hold the key to a new Cybertron..." he assumed as the Key to Vector Sigma was reflected in his optic sensors...