Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, The Owl House or their characters.
In some kind of dark void, the Collector was seen floating in the very center of it with his eyes closed. The cosmic child slowly began to open his eyes and saw there was nothing around him but complete darkness around him.
"Okay, this place is no fun at all." The Collector said to himself with a bored look. "Time for me to leave and have some fun with that weirdo from earlier. I'm sure King will like to have some fun with him."
The Collector snapped his fingers in an attempt to leave the dark void, but nothing happened. This confused the cosmic child as he continued snapping his fingers and still nothing that would let him leave happened.
"What's going on?! This should be super easy!" The Collector complained. "I'm supposed to be back in my bed, right now!"
"Juvenile fool." A very intimidating voice said, causing the Collector to jump a bit once he heard it.
The space child turned around and gasped in fright to see the ginormous form of Unicron towering over him with an intimidating glare.
"You believe that your power alone is enough to triumph over mine?" Unicron questioned while scowling at the Collector. "I possess far more experience in harnessing the cosmos than you ever shall."
"W-What? Why're you saying that stuff in a very scary way?" The Collector asked, feeling timid at the moment. "If this is a game, then I don't like it."
"This is not a pathetic game, fool! This is a mere step in the great plan I have for this entire world's inevitable fate!" Unicron announced firmly.
"Excuse me, mister horn-head, but I found the Boiling Isles first! You can't just take it away from me!" The Collector retorted with a glare.
Suddenly, Unicron's eyes flashed angrily and generated a huge amount of dark energy in his left hand before the Collector became enveloped in purple energy and was pulled straight into the Chaos Bringer's giant palm.
"Have you truly been this low-minded and worthless since the beginning of the universe?! I do not seek to make this world into a mere toy! I wish to wipe it from the face of existence!" Unicron declared sternly.
"G-G-Get rid of it?! But…you can always just fix it, right?" The Collector asked while trying to hide the fear he was gaining from Unicron's intimidating tone. "People and dolls can be fixed, so why not a whole world?"
"Of all the frail, pathetic insects that have ever been spawned in the universe, I had never met one so naïve and feeble-minded as you! You truly do not have any knowledge of how all life can be destroyed in any world, do you?!" Unicron demanded in pure rage, making the Collector even more scared than before.
"I-I…don't like h-how you're…saying all that scary stuff." The Collector stuttered.
"If words cannot make you see the reality of how all sentient beings are destined to perish, then I shall simply make you witness it for all eternity!" Unicron stated before surrounding the Collector with large purple flames around his hand.
"Hey, stop! I don't like this at all!" The Collector pleaded fearfully.
"What comes next…shall be far worse for you!" Unicron said in sinisterness, slowly folding his hand into a fist with the Collector still in it.
"No! Please stop! NOOOOOOO!" The Collector screamed before he was fully engulfed, while Unicron continued to be surrounded by his evil dark energy.
(Linebreak)
In the real world at the Collector's room, Unicron opened his eyes to see he was still in the slimy-metal body he obtained after annihilating Belos and looked down to see the Collector's body still laying on the bed with his eyes glowing purple.
"This foolish child shall be an obstacle no longer for me. Even though he resembles those cosmic entities I wiped out eons ago, he shall suffer the same fate soon. However…I sense another great source of power somewhere within this structure." Unicron said to himself. "It is almost as great as the power of a Prime."
The Chaos Bringer then focused his energy and made his spiritual form exit his body before phasing through the Archives walls, eventually arriving at the forest sanctuary the Clawthornes were in. Unicron's spiritual form looked around the sanctuary and soon he saw Eda, King and Lilith having a conversation about what to do about the Collector, making sure he was hidden amongst the trees. In front of the Clawthornes was a paper drawing of King defeating the Collector.
"Alright, King, according to these uh…borrowed books, Titan magic can actually cancel out the Collector's. And that's why his predecessors…well, uh…" Lilith said, unsure how to finish her sentence due to how it would affect King.
"Wiped out all the Titans?" King finished with a sad look.
"The important thing is that there's hope to defeat him. Maybe even trap him again!" Lilith stated hopefully as Unicron continued to listen in secret, taking in this information.
"No! We can't do that!" King protested.
"Well, why not?" Eda questioned.
"'Cause it didn't work. If we want things to go back to normal, the Collector needs to be stopped for good! I think I know a more permanent solution." King explained before using a calmer and reasonable tone. "The Collector is just a little kid. A scary powerful one, but also…sad and alone. I don't know, this whole time I was scared of making him mad, but I think I can relate to him."
Eda smiled proudly at King while listening to him, glad that he's grown so much since the day she took the little Titan in.
"Let me talk to him, immortal being to semi-immortal being. It's worth a try if no more people get hurt." King told his adoptive mother and aunt.
"Oh, you're growing up too fast for me, kiddo." Eda said kindly, kneeling towards King to hug him and kiss him on the forehead.
Unicron scowled disgustingly at the display of love in front of him and he vanished from the sanctuary before returning to his physical body in the Collector's room.
"Another creature of great power that shows weak sympathy for more lowly parasites." Unicron mocked before turning to the still-comatose Collector. "But it matters not. In the end, chaos shall prevail."
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, the battle of New Hexside between the Autobots, Hexside Squad and students against the Decepticons was still raging on fiercely. Arcee used her wrist blades to block Starscream's claws and kicked him into a large boulder. Starscream growled angrily as he got up and fired a wrist missile at Arcee, who knocked it away with a spin-kick.
"Clever move, Arcee. But cleverness only gets you so far!" Starscream stated firmly.
"Let's put that to the test, Starscream!" Arcee replied before leaping at the air commander and delivered a blade swipe to him.
Starscream was unfazed by Arcee's swift attack and attempted to slash her with his claws, only for Cliffjumper to suddenly tackle him from the left side and delivered a powerful punch to his face that sent him crashing through the ground.
"What would you do without me?" Cliffjumper asked with a jokingly smile.
"Probably be handling twice the work we usually do." Arcee quipped before the two Autobot partners engaged their enemy again.
Bulkhead and Breakdown charged at each other with their respective hammer-like weapons and collided them against each other with all their strength, creating a powerful shock wave that caused them to skid back. Breakdown fired his shoulder cannon and Bulkhead is able to slightly avoid the first three shots before he was shot in the right shoulder by the fourth one. Shrugging off the hit like it was nothing, Bulkhead rushed towards his rival and grabbed Breakdown's shoulder cannon before tearing it off and throwing it far away.
"No more fancy toys! Let's just do this like real bots!" Bulkhead declared, smashing his fists together.
"Fine by me!" Breakdown retorted as they both engaged in a fist fight.
Wheeljack flipped backwards to avoid a blade attack from Wildrider and then thrusted his left foot into the blade-wielding Decepticon's face. Wildrider growled in frustration as he tried attacking his rival with both his blades, but Wheeljack clashed his own swords against them and pushed Wildrider back.
"Honestly, Wildrider, you're becoming way too predictable in these little fights we have!" Wheeljack proclaimed, smirking behind his mask. "I can see everything you're gonna do before you even do it!"
However, Wildrider surprised the swordsman Wrecker by swiftly firing his blaster and causing him deflect it with a sword swipe, only for Wildrider to then grab him by the arm and toss him over his shoulder onto the ground.
"Did you see that coming?" Wildrider asked mockingly, raising his left blade to deliver the finishing blow.
But then, a pair of familiar sickles blocked Wildrider's weapons and Seaspray shoved the blade-wielding Decepticon into the wall of Hexside.
"Well, you totally didn't see that coming!" Seaspray replied as he helped Wheeljack back on his feet.
"Thanks for the quick save, Sprays. Let's knock him down a few pegs!" Wheeljack stated.
"Got it!" Seaspray agreed before they both held up their weapons and charged at Wildrider.
Mattholomule summoned a giant rock wall to protect himself and the Hexside students from Shockwave, who fired his arm cannon multiple times at the wall and made it gain some damage cracks. Eventually, Shockwave fired a very powerful blast that destroyed the rock wall and the students all looked on in fear.
"It was illogical to belive that any of you adolescent organics could have any hope in surpassing the greater properties of Cybertronian technology." Shockwave said, aiming his cannon at the students.
"Well, maybe you could not vaporise us so we can get to learn about it more? We do go to a school, after all." Emira replied with a nervous grin.
"That scenario shall never come to pass." Shockwave answered before a familiar blue robotic hand phased through his chest and shoved his cannon to the wrong direction, making his laser shot miss.
Shockwave quickly turned around to see Smokescreen behind him with the Phase Shifter activated and the Autobot rookie used a quick uppercut to send him crashing through the forest's trees.
"Next time, watch your back with that big eye of yours!" Smokescreen called out.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Smokey." Skara agreed as she appeared beside her Autobot guardian.
"Man, you giant robots are the coolest!" Viney remarked.
"If I could move my hand, I'd give you a high-five!" Edric added, wobbling his way forward in his body cast.
"From the looks of it, you should probably forget about that." Smokescreen replied.
However, Shockwave emerged out of the forest in his vehicle mode and began firing his cannon at Smokescreen and the students. They all got out of the way as Skara fired some energy arrows from her mini harp, which bounced off Shockwave's armor as the one-eyed scientist transformed and attempted to stomp his foot on Skara. The Bard Witch girl rolled out of the way as Jazz immediately showed up from the left and fired his duel blasters rapidly, causing Shockwave to endure them and swat Jazz away with his cannon arm. Before Shockwave could fire again, some blaster shots were fired out of nowhere and they made the one-eyed scientist stumble back a bit before it as revealed the shots came from Bumblebee.
"Nice plan running straight at the dangerous Decepticon scientist, Jazz." Bumblebee told his teammate sarcastically.
"Okay, should've seen that one coming a mile away." Jazz groaned painfully as Smokescreen helped him back up. "You okay with sharing some of the beatdown with us , Smokey?"
"Don't mind at all." Smokescreen answered.
"How's about you two let join in!" Mattholomule replied, standing with the other students to join the battle.
"Nice to know you kids have got some guts." Jazz complimented.
"Let's see if your logic can help you out of this one, Shockwave!" Bumblebee said tauntingly.
"Logic is not a weapon of war. It is simply a key part of your inevitable defeat." Shockwave proclaimed, charging his cannon once again and firing.
At the same time, Ironhide was firing his two cannons at Dropkick, who was airborne in his helicopter form, and the blue Triple Changer avoided the shots before shooting his front turret at his Autobot enemy. Ironhide quickly rolled out of the way of the bullets as Knock Out also deflected them with his buzz saw blade, but Dropkick was still high in the air to avoid their attacks.
"Wish that slagging coward would just come down here and fight us with fists!" Ironhide scowled in frustration.
"Actually, I've known Dropkick to get a bit agitated when he's either annoyed or taunted by pretty much anyone." Knock Out replied, shielding his head. "That could work for us."
"Worth a shot! Hey, Decepti-creep! What're you doing all the way up in the sky like that? Too scared of getting that slag-ugly face of yours beaten up?!" Ironhide questioned tauntingly. "Guess that makes you the weakest Con I've met!"
"WHAT?! You want me to come down and run you down like a flimsy piece of scrap?! Fine by me!" Dropkick yelled in anger before he transformed into his car form, only to quickly realise the mistake he just made. "Oh SCRAAAAAAP!"
And just like that, Dropkick ended up crashing all the way down into the ground and remained in a dust-filled crater while groaning painfully.
"Wow. That actually did work." Ironhide admitted, a bit surprised.
"Told you so." Knock Out replied.
"Ugh, that idiot!" Shatter scowled annoyingly as she clashed her own blade against Dreadwing's sword.
Dreadwing pushed back against the female Decepticon and Shatter managed to narrowly avoid a sword swipe from the former Decepticon captain. Shatter then brought out her blaster and prepared to fire it at close range, only for Dreadwing to quickly redirect her arm and made her shot a tree instead. Jetfire flew down from behind and delivered a powerful spin kick to Shatter that sent her crashing to the ground near her partner.
"She really should try some new tactics for once." Jetfire commented.
"Agreed. And start being a more competent partner." Dreadwing added.
The Dinobots had already transformed into their dinosaur forms and were battling fiercely against the Insecticons. Swoop dive-bombed directly at Sharpshot as the stag beetle Insecticon leaped over him and fired an electric beam from his hands, causing Swoop to avoid it in midair. Slug charged at Sharpshot from behind and tackled him with his horns, only for Sharpshot to quickly recover and transform into his insect form before locking his two front jaw pinchers with Slug's horns in a power struggle. Swoop attempted to attack Sharpshot from behind again, but he instantly tossed Slug at the pterodactyl Dinobot and caused them both to crash against each other.
"You Dinobots should think more quickly before acting!" Sharpshot called out mockingly.
"Think quickly to this!" A voice replied before Sharpshot got smacked by Snarl's spikey tail.
Sharpshot flew straight threw the air and Swoop managed to quickly recover from his crash with Slug before flying towards the stag beetle Insecticon and grabbing him with his talons, dragging him through the ground and into a nearby boulder.
"Good timing there, Snarl!" Swoop remarked.
"Thanks. I'm pretty much tired of dealing with these bugs." Snarl replied.
"That makes two of us." Slug said in agreement.
Not far away from where they were, Sludge raised his front feet up and prepared to bring them down on Kickback, who avoided the stomping attack by leaping high into the air and then landed on Sludge's back before relentlessly jabbing him with his large appendages. Just as Sludge was beginning to fall from Kickback's assault, Grimlock suddenly slammed his powerful jaws onto the grasshopper Insecticon and tossed him around viciously.
"Hey, stop it! It! It!" Kickback cried out, feeling great pain from Grimlock's deadly teeth. "Get your stupid jaws off me, you big slagging Dinobot!"
"As you wish!" Grimlock replied before slamming Kickback right into the ground and then flung him away with his tail. "Stupid Insecticons."
"They never learn when to stop battling those who can easily crush them." Sludge added.
In front of Hexside, Ratchet was currently placing some of the more injured students behind a barricade to keep them safe from any stray blaster shots so they could work on recovering.
"I'm not an expert when it comes to organic medication, but I can still buy all of you time to treat yourselves the best you can." Ratchet said to the students, who all smiled in response.
And at the very center of this destructive battle, Optimus and Galvatron had their blades clashed against each other while the two old foes glared hardly. Galvatron attempted to swing his new chained mace at Optimus, only for Ultra Magnus to grab it and pull Galvatron back as Optimus took this opportunity to deliver a powerful punch to his old enemy's face. Elita then leaped over her love interest and kicked Galvatron three times before Ultra Magnus shot him at close range. Skidding against the ground on his feet, Galvatron aimed his cannon at the Autobot leaders and fired a powerful shot at them before Optimus pulled out the Star Saber and deflected it.
"I see you've kept your precious blade with you, Prime." Galvatron said with a scowl.
"And you are without your Dark Star Saber, Galvatron." Optimus replied.
"That would leave you at a disadvantage." Ultra Magnus proclaimed. "The best choice for you to make is to have your forces stand down."
"Oh, you may be very wrong about that." Galvatron told him, grinning sinisterly before his eyes started to glow purple.
Some Dark Energon flames radiated off of Galvatron's body and he then slammed his hands into the ground, causing the dark energy to spread across the field towards where everyone else currently was. As the Hexside students continued to use their magic against the Decepticons, the Dark Energon in the ground suddenly made their magic get powered down and they could no longer use it, much to all of their shock.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Emira asked in disbelief.
"My magic's just stopped working for no reason!" A Bard student exclaimed.
"This has never happened before!" Jerbo added fearfully.
"So you still possess control over the Dark Energon within you." Elita said, glaring directly at Galvatron.
"Indeed. Did you truly believe I had lost that ability when Unicron took possession of my deceased figure?" Galvatron questioned with an evil smirk as dark energy emitted from his left palm. "While he did not take what is rightfully mine, he did help me learn some new tricks."
That was when the Decepticon leader formed a large energy sword made entirely out of Dark Energon and pointed it at his enemies.
"That's a neat trick." Jazz admitted quietly.
"Decepticons, finish them off now!" Galvatron ordered as he and his followers once again attacked all of their foes, now having a bigger advantage with the student's magic disabled.
In the middle of the battle, Luz, Amity, Vee, Camila and Fowler ran through the forest while avoiding some stray blasts from the Decepticons. They eventually made it to a deep trench in the ground and heard all the explosions, clashing weapons, shouts of pain or fear and destruction of the entire field. All of this was really bringing a lot of stress to Luz as things were beginning to take a very bad turn for her and her friends.
"I-I can't believe it! Everything was going well at first, but now it's all going terrible! How could this all happen without me even seeing it?!" Luz asked in despair before dropping to her knees and hugging her hat to her chest.
"Hey, none of this is your fault, batata." Amity reassured, placing a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.
"Isn't it? I should've known the Decepticons would follow us all the way here after we foiled them so many times, but I was more focused on trying to save Eda and King and stop the Collector to do just that!" Luz stated sadly. "I was starting to think I wouldn't make anymore mistakes when I got the chance to meet Optimus and the other Autobots, but now…"
"Luz, who cares if you slightly messed up earlier? It's not like we all hate you for it." Vee told her.
"None of us expected the Cons to show up and start making a ruckus before we could get a chance to zap into that giant skull." Fowler added.
Camila knew that her daughter needed all the emotional support she could get at this moment and walked up to Luz, kneeling down to her while Amity signalled Vee and Fowler to step back so they would have some space.
"They're right, Mija. You shouldn't be doubting yourself after everything you've been through with the Autobots. Besides, don't you think I've ever messed up before?" Camila questioned as Luz remained silent in response. "Okay, well once I scheduled my wisdom tooth surgery the day before my wedding day. Oh, and there was the time I got road rage and didn't realise I was cursing out your new principal for you. And you know, I sold energy drinks for a pyramid scheme for three years!"
"Did she seriously do all that?" Fowler asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She never told me." Vee answered, shrugging at him.
"And of course, I was convinced we should move to Gravesfield to be closer to that fancy hospital. And you know how that ended." Camila continued as she and Luz started to develop tears in their eyes due to this fact bringing up bad memories of when they lost a special member of their family, only for them to get temporarily started by a missile flying over their heads and exploding on the other side. "And worst of all, I didn't stand up for you when you needed me most…I forgot about the astro oath."
"…The what?" Luz questioned, confused by what her mother said.
"Is that some kind of normal human saying or just an outdated moto?" Amity asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The astro oath is a promise, made between Captain Avery and his family to love and protect each other just as they are. Through supernovas and solar winds."
"Mom…are you a secret nerd?" Luz asked while smiling a bit as Stringbean floated onto her shoulder.
"I think I just found another reason to consider you my new mother." Amity commented, impressed.
"I had a hard time growing up. I was afraid you would, too." Camila said sincerely, placing her hand on her daughter's cheek as a single tear rolled down it. "My biggest mistake was trying to protect you by changing this beautiful good witch into something she wasn't."
"Well…we both learned our lessons, didn't we?" Luz replied, smiling softly to show she was feeling better thanks to her mother's words.
"Absolutely." Vee said kindly as Stringbean hissed in agreement.
"So why don't you start being a good witch by helping all of us take out these Decepticon jerks, once and for all?" Amity suggested with a confident look.
"Well, Galvatron's already made our magic useless with his Dark Energon. The only thing that can help us turn the tables is a miracle." Luz admitted.
"Well, it ain't like one's just gonna fall outta the sky." Fowler added with a frown.
But then, a very familiar screech sounded out throughout the forest area and everyone heard it, causing them to stop the battle for now.
"Uh, did anyone else just hear that?" Wheeljack asked.
"Sure did. And it didn't sound friendly." Viney replied worriedly.
"Actually, we've heard that super loud screech before." Skara admitted.
"Please don't tell me…" Arcee began to say.
That was when a large shadow appeared over the area and everyone looked up to see that flying above them all was Predaking in his beast form.
"Predaking." Grimlock muttered.
"Looks like he followed us all the way to the Isles, too." Slug said.
"Scrap." Starscream whimpered in fear.
Predaking flew down to the surface and transformed into his robot form before landing in front of Optimus, Ultra Magnus and Elita, glaring directly at Galvatron.
"If you have come to finally claim revenge for your fallen brethren, Predaking, then you should wait until our current objective is buisness." Optimus told the Predacon leader.
"That is no longer my goal in this matter." Predaking replied. "After what all of us went through back on our planet, I believe it is best to simply focus on moments that assure a better future."
"You really mean that?" Elita asked in surprise.
"It is something that Grimlock helped me understand." Predaking answered before turning his attention back to Galvatron. "You and your organic allies have already done enough. Now it is our turn."
The Autobot leaders knew that Predaking was perfectly capable of holding his own and they backed away, leaving enough room for Galvatron and Predaking.
"I must say it is a surprise to see you in his world, Predaking. Come to claim it as a homeland for your Predacon subjects?" Galvatron asked.
"I am not here to claim new worlds, Galvatron." Predaking answered before bearing his claws dangerously. "But to settle scores."
That was when SkyLynx, Darksteel, Ripclaw and Backbite landed on the ground and they transformed into their robot forms, ready to battle the Decepticons while the Autobots and Witches slowly stepped away to avoid getting caught in the middle.
"This just got a lot intense." Luz said in concern.
(Linebreak)
In the caves underground, Willow was still struggling to control her magic as she looked for any sign of her friends.
"Gus? Hunter? Boscha?" Willow asked worriedly before hearing some muffled and turned to see Gus waving his hand out of the vines he was trapped in. "Gus!"
She tried desperately to pull Gus out, but he wouldn't budge and more vines started to grow around Willow. Hunter and Boscha were struggling to free themselves from the vines around them as they looked at Willow trying her hardest to fix the problem.
"I can do this. I can do this." Willow muttered as she tried to use a spell circle, only to make more vines appear and she yelped in a panic.
"What in Titan's name is going on in that grass-filled head of hers?!" Boscha asked in frustration, pushing herself against the vines and managing to pry her arms free.
"I can do this, I can do this…" Willow stammered while continuing to tear at the vines, only to sadly stop as the vines slowly consumed her and she sobbed to herself. "I can't do this. I can't control my own magic. I can't help my friends. Oh, why have I been trying to be someone different?"
Both Hunter and Boscha started to look on in sympathetic sadness for the Plant Witch girl, now realising that she's bottling up so much feelings of doubt for herself and lots more. But more so, Boscha feels like she's one of the reasons Willow's doubting herself now.
"Boscha was right from the beginning. I'll always just be…Half-A-Witch Willow." Willow said in complete sadness with tears streaming down her face.
Hearing that caused something deep inside Boscha to snap and she yelled out with all her might before tearing her way out the vines completely and bringing out a potion bottle that she tossed at the vines Willow was trapped in. The potion exploded upon impact and Boscha managed to catch Willow before they landed in front of a cave wall, with the Plant witch girl looking surprised at Boscha's livid face.
"ARE YOU JOKING RIGHT NOW?!" Boscha questioned in furiousness.
"W-What…?" Willow asked, quite startled by her outburst.
"I saw you do a ton of unbelievable things when we were in the Human Realm! You beated three Cons with that giant metal suit, you held your own against that Predaking brute for a time, and you even killed a giant robot bug in an instant! All I ever did was assist with my Grudgby and Potion-making skills! Don't you dare say that you're still a Half-A-Witch after all that!" Boscha scolded firmly. "If I called you that in the past, then obviously…I was an absolute idiot!"
Willow remained silent after listening to everything her former bully was saying right now, feeling some sort of comfort in all that harsh yelling as if Boscha was actually saying she's one of the best Witch's ever. Hunter eventually walked out the vines that Boscha tore through and rushed towards the two girls.
"Boscha's right, you didn't do anything wrong. You're one of the greatest people I've ever known and you really mean a lot to me." Hunter told his friend in sincerity. "Just please, don't call yourself that ever again."
Willow sniffled sadly as she started developing more tears in her eyes, looking just about ready to cry.
"You've been holding in a lot, haven't you?" Hunter asked sympathetically, with Willow not knowing what to say.
"Willow!" Gus called out as the others turned to see him barely peeking his head out the vines. "Reliable people need someone to rely on, too! Just let it out! We'll be fine!"
"You should listen to them both. I'm not gonna snitch." Boscha added.
"Don't you remember what Arcee said to you all those days ago?" Hunter asked, causing Willow to widen her eyes in realisation.
"Closing yourself off from feeling…won't help anyone." Willow said sadly before she ended up crying her heart out at last. "I miss my dads!"
The cave then started to shake apart and loads of rocks collapsed down around the four students as a small illusion of Gus appeared on Willow's head.
"Hey!" The Gus illusion called while pointing at the real one.
Hunter quickly brought out his Witch staff and grabbed Willow and Boscha before they flashed towards Gus, reaching his hand and then flashing themselves straight up to the open hole above. Willow, Gus, Hunter and Boscha made it out the hole and tumbled down a rocky hill, landing on the ground below and staying still for a bit.
"Let's never…do that again." Boscha said, breathing heavily.
"Agreed." Gus added.
"Hey, Boscha? What you said to me back there…I appreciate it." Willow said kindly.
"Isn't that what a friend would do?" Boscha asked with a smile, causing the Plant Witch girl to smile back.
Just then, the group heard a powerful explosion from nearby and they saw it coming from near Hexside while also hearing distant screeching.
"Okay, looks like we've missed out on a lot." Willow admitted.
"You have no idea." Hunter replied worriedly.
(Linebreak)
At the battlefield site, Darksteel grabbed Breakdown's incoming hammer and then pulled right out of its place before slashing his claw against the muscular Decepticon's chest, sending him crashing away. Wildrider attempted to deliver a sneak attack from behind, but Darksteel instantly avoided him and knocked him straight through the ground.
"I don't know why we bothered taking orders from you weaklings." Darksteel sneered.
Starscream fired a wrist missile at SkyLynx, who caught it with his bare hand and threw it away before transforming into his Predacon form and charging a Starscream. The Decepticon air commander transformed and attempted to fly away, only for SkyLynx to grab him by the end with his jaws and slammed him back down, causing Starscream to transform back as SkyLynx pinned him down.
"I knew we should've disposed of you beasts before we left Cybertron!" Starscream scowled angrily.
"That was a mistake. The last one you'll ever make!" SkyLynx retorted before tossing him away like a weightless piece of paper.
Shockwave avoided an incoming claw attack from Ripclaw and fired his arm cannon, which didn't do much damage to her tough body. Ripclaw then used her giant claw to grab hold of Shockwave's head and she raised him up before slamming him through a nearby tree that snapped in half upon his impact. With Shockwave laying down weakly, Ripclaw turned around to see Dropkick charging at her and he thrusted his wrist blade straight at her torso, only for her giant claw to stop it and then snap it in half. Dropkick ended up falling back in shock as Ripclaw held the other half of his blade.
"Is this…the best you can do?" Ripclaw asked tauntingly.
"I'll show you what I can do!" Dropkick stated as he prepared to fire his blaster at the female Predacon.
Ripclaw acted quickly by stepping to the side and avoiding the blaster shot before nailing him right in the face with her giant claw. Shatter suddenly jumped onto the female Predacon's back and delivered multiple blows, until Ripclaw threw her off.
"You two are the biggest pests I've ever dealt with." Ripclaw said in annoyance.
Sharpshot fired an electric blast at Backbite and the Predacon used his wings to block it before striking the Insecticon many times with his claws and throwing him away by his log mandible jaws. Kickback attempted to land a killing blow from the left, only for Backbite to grab one of his extra limbs and tear it straight off while the grasshopper Insecticon screamed at the sight of it. Backbite smacked Kickback with his torn off limb and then sent him flying.
"Puny bugs." Backbite muttered.
At the back of all the ferocious fighting, the Autobots and Hexside students all watched the Predacons smack around the Decepticons.
"Wow! Those things are crazy strong!" Viney exclaimed.
"Good thing those Preds are on our side." Cliffjumper said in relief.
"For now." Wheeljack replied.
"Well at this rate, Predaking and his buddies will finish the Cons for us!" Skara remarked.
"At this rate, it might be that way." Seaspray replied.
Galvatron and Predaking locked hands against each other and they both struggled to push themselves back with all of their strength.
"You may have acquired a new form, but it still doesn't stand up to the might of a Predacon!" Predaking proclaimed.
"That may be true, but there is another element that may change that!" Galvatron retorted before his body started glowing purple again.
The Dark Energon within his body started coursing through his arms and they started to weaken Predaking before Galvatron unleashed a burst of evil energy that blew the Predacon leader away.
"That didn't last long." Bulkhead muttered nervously.
Galvatron turned his attention to the other Predacons and formed a Dark Energon cannon in his hand before shooting the Predacons with it, allowing the Decepticons to start gaining the upper hand.
"That Dark Energon's starting to cause too much problems for us!" Amity stated.
"Isn't there some way to get rid of it?!" Mattholomule asked in a panic.
"Unfortunately, there aren't many known weaknesses for Dark Energon." Ratchet replied as they watched Galvatron beat up Predaking with the evil energy still flowing through him.
"But if we don't do something, Predaking and his friends are gonna be destroyed!" Vee stated worriedly, not wanting the Predacons to perish.
"Hey, Grim. Why don't we try using that thing we brought with us now?" Swoop asked his team leader.
"What thing?" Bumblebee questioned as he and everyone else overheard him.
"I guess we don't really have a choice now." Grimlock sighed before reaching to his back, which opened up and he took out the same Cybertronian item with a glowing bright-red sphere in the center.
"Okay…I've got no idea what that is." Edric said simply.
"None of us do." Emira added.
The Autobots, however, become very shocked by seeing the item that Grimlock held.
"Grimlock, where did you get that?" Elita asked.
"We found it in Lockdown's vault. It was pretty hard to find in that storage area, so it must've been important." Snarl said.
"It's a whole lot more important than you can think." Smokescreen replied, staring at the object in amazement.
"What even is it?" Luz questioned.
"The Enigma of Combination." Optimus answered.
"Can't believe Lockdown was keeping this fancy toy locked up in his rig." Jazz commented.
"What does this Enigma thing do exactly?" Camila asked curiously.
"The Enigma of Combination is one of the most legendary Cybertronian artefacts ever created. Built by Nexus Prime of the original Thirteen, it is said to be able to grant a specific group of Cybertronians the ability to transform into a single large Combiner bot." Ratchet explained.
"Combiner? That's something we've never heard of." Skara admitted.
"Yes well, the Decepticons are usually the ones who have Combiners on their side." Knock Out replied. "I should know from experience."
"So, this thing can make any group of you transform into an even bigger Cybertronians?" Vee asked.
"That's perfect! Let's use this Enigma thing and we'll have a super sized robotic fighter on our side!" Viney stated enthusiastically.
"It's not that simple. Only certain special groups of Cybertronians can receive the ability." Arcee replied.
"And the only special group of Bots we had were the Aerialbots, who aren't kinda here right now." Jazz admitted.
But then, the Enigma started to glowing a bit while in Grimlock's hands and the Dinobots gathered near it when they saw this.
"What's going on with this thing?" Sludge asked.
"No idea, but I'm starting to get a funny feeling." Swoop replied, looking at his hands.
"It's like this thing is…callings for us." Slug admitted.
Suddenly, the Enigma shot out a bright beam that made contact with Grimlock and it travelled to the other Dinobots.
"Wow! What's happening?!" Snarl asked in shock.
"Whatever it is, I'm liking it!" Swoop remarked.
"The Enigma's energy is being transferred into all five of you!" Ratchet told the Dinobots amazingly. "It's chosen you as the newest Combiner faction!"
"Us?!" Sludge repeated.
The beam of energy soon faded away and the Enigma folded itself up to no longer reveal the glowing orb, laying motionlessly in Grimlock's hands.
"What's happened now?" Grimlock asked.
"Now you and your team possess the ability of combination, Grimlock." Optimus told him. "This power may be new to you, but I have faith that you shall be able to master it."
"Right now would be a very good time to use it!" Luz stated, gesturing to the Predacons loosing their battle against the Decepticons.
Grimlock looked at his fellow Dinobots, who looked on determinedly to show they were willing to give combining a try. Grimlock then growled in determination and stepped forward with his team.
"Let's hope this will be worth the effort." Grimlock said. "Dinobots…let's combine!"
The Dinobots transformed into their dinosaur forms and Snarl and Sludge tan forward before they jumped up and transformed into a pair of legs. Grimlock leaped over them and instantly transformed into a torso before connecting with Snarl and Sludge. Slug ran up the right side of the body and transformed into an arm, connecting to the torso's right side before Swoop flew straight in and transformed into another arm that connected to the left torso side. At the battle, Galvatron grabbed Predaking by his throat and pointed a Dark Energon blade at him.
"Following us to this wasteland of a world has become your last mistake, Predaking." Galvatron proclaimed with a grin. "Any last words?"
"You…will still lose." Predaking muttered in defiance.
But before Galvatron could strike, a bright blue flash blinded the area and caused all the fighting to cease. When it faded, Galvatron and Predaking looked in astonishment at the sight of a gigantic Autobot who was coloured he same as the Dinobots with spikes on his knuckles, a bright blue visor, sharp teeth patterns on his mouthplate and a pair of yellow horns on his forehead. The Dinobot Combiner stomped forward and created loud thuds on the ground as he turned his attention to the Decepticons, who were all in shock at the sight of him.
"Sweet motherboard of Primus." Wildrider gasped.
"Is that a…Dinobot Combiner?" Starscream asked while shivering in fear.
"It is beyond what I logically could have expected from them." Shockwave whispered.
"Who cares?! It can still be destroyed like everything else!" Sharpshot shouted before firing a bolt of lightning at the Combiner.
But when the lightning made contact, the Dinobot Combiner barely flinched at the feeling as he snarled menacingly at his attackers, while the Predacons regrouped and watched in silence.
"Volcanicus….DESTROY DECEPTICONS!" The Dinobot Combiner, Volcanicus, yelled out before roaring fiercely and charging straight at the Decepticons.
"SCRAP THIS!" Breakdown exclaimed fearfully as he, Starscream and Wildrider ran away from the Combiner
"Stop running, you fools! Stand and fight!" Galvatron stated before firing his cannon at Volcanicus, who powered through all of the shots and threw his giant fist at the Decepticon leader.
As Galvatron was sent crashing through numerous trees, Shockwave started to back up and fired his cannon at Volcanicus, only for the Dinobot Combiner to be unfazed by this act.
"Puny Shockwave. Volcanicus have enough of you!" Volcanicus stated, stomping his foot down and generating a powerful wave that blew Shockwave away.
Shatter and Dropkick transformed into their jet and helicopter forms as they flew around Volcanicus and fired their turrets at him. Volcanicus was able to withstand the attacks and swung his hands at the two Decepticons before eventually grabbing Shatter and throwing her at Dropkick, causing them to crash onto the ground hard. Volcanicus then brought out a ginormous sword that was similar to Grimlock's and he menacingly walked towards Sharpshot and Kickback with it.
"Do we run for our lives? Lives? Lives?" Kickback asked timidly.
"What do you think?! Of course!" Sharpshot retorted before the two Insecticons transformed and flew away.
"There's a time and place for everything, and this is the time to make sure we don't get scrapped!" Dropkick proclaimed before he and Shatter transformed and drove after their comrades.
"For once, we agree!" Shatter added.
Shockwave stood back up and he stared at Volcanicus in complete silence, shocked by how the Dinobots achieved the ability to become a Combiner and also impressed by how much greatness his old experiments have shown.
"It appears even logic can be unpredictable." Shockwave said to himself before he transformed, driving straight away.
Galvatron was the only Decepticon left as he stood up and glared straight at Volcanicus, who towered over the Decepticon leader.
"Volcanicus always wanted to squish Decepticon leader. Now Volcanicus do just that!" Volcanicus stated, holding up his sword.
"The only thing you shall do is fall by my power!" Galvatron declared, forming a Dark Energon sickle and attacking Volcanicus as they both clashed their weapons.
As the Autobots and Hexside students all watched the scene in amazement of Volcanicus' incredible power, Willow, Gus, Hunter and Boscha then showed up from the bushes behind.
"Hey! We're back!" Gus announced, earning everyone's attention.
"About time!" Jazz replied.
"Nice to see you all finally showed up!" Boscha told the Autobots.
"So, what did we miss?" Willow asked before she and the others noticed Volcanicus clashing his sword against Galvatron's Dark Energon weapons.
"Apparently, a lot." Hunter admitted with his eyes wide open in shock.
"Yeah, Grimlock found this special Cybertronian relic in Lockdown's ship and he used it to make him and the Dinobots form into a huge Combiner." Amity explained.
"He's even given Galvatron a run for his money." Fowler commented.
Volcanicus used his free arm to deflect Galvatron's Dark Energon sickle and swung his sword down at him, causing Galvatron to jump back and then shoot his arm cannon in Volcanicus' face. The Dinobot Combiner rubbed his face while groaning in frustration as he attempted to attack Galvatron with many powerful punches or sword swings, but the Decepticon leader countered all of his attacks.
"Your attacks are far too primitive and reckless! But I should expect nothing less from a Combiner of savage Dinobots!" Galvatron insulted as he punched away Volcanicus' right arm and then flip-kicked him in the face.
"Volcanicus not savage! Volcanicus is king!" Volcanicus retorted angrily, charging at his foe for another sword attack.
Galvatron anticipated this and created a Dark Energon hammer to bat his foe's sword in the opposite direction before slamming the hammer straight into Volcanicus and making him fly back, barley stopping himself while skidding his feet on the ground.
"Why won't Galvatron just let Volcanicus win?!" Volcanicus asked in total frustration.
"Because not even a Combiner can stand up to the might of Dark Energon!" Galvatron retorted, preparing to fire his arm cannon once again.
But suddenly, a blue energy wave was fired from the side and Galvatron barely dodged it before seeing Optimus was joining the battle with the Star Saber.
"One fist may not be enough, but nothing is unstoppable when we are united as one!" Optimus declared as the other Autobots joined the battle.
"Volcanicus didn't need Autobots' help!" Volcanicus proclaimed.
"Yeah, it totally looked like you didn't." Smokescreen replied sarcastically.
"But I believe some assistance would help help you stand a better chance." Dreadwing said.
"Fine. Volcanicus let you all join." Volcanicus muttered as they all got into a fighting stance.
"Very well. No more games! No more holding back!" Galvatron stated with a heated glare. "This ends here and now!"
"It does not have to be like this, Galvatron." Optimus said reasonably. "We can still build the future together."
"I'll build it myself, after I tear down everyone in my way!" Galvatron retorted before charging at the Autobots, who engaged him in battle as well.
The Hexside students all watched the Autobots being able to hold their own against Galvatron and his Dark Energon before Luz remembered something.
"Wait! This is our chance to use the teleportation spell and get into the Titan's Skull!" Luz told her friends.
"Then we better start doing it, now!" Gus replied as the Hexside Squad started using their Witch staffs to draw the correct Glyph combos on the ground.
"We're gonna stay here to keep up the battle down here!" Vee told her adoptive sister, her main friends and mother determinedly. "You six get to the Archives and stop Belos and the Collector, once and for all!"
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Amity asked.
"Do you seriously have that much doubt about us, Mittens?" Emira questioned with a sly smile.
"Just so you know, we're gonna be talking with that Cliffjumper friend of yours when this is over." Edric told his sister. "We wanna hear what you two did in the Human Realm."
"Just don't share any embarrassing stories with him." Amity warned firmly.
"Whatever you say." Emira replied, giggling in a bed mischievous manner.
As they kept on drawing with the memory pictures Luz gave them for instructions, the Hispanic girl turned to Optimus as he quickly gave her a supportive smile and nod which made her do the same. Luz and her friends managed to finally finish drawing the teleportation spell and they all gathered in the middle of it with Camila.
"Okay, wish us luck!" Luz stated sincerely.
"Don't get yourselves killed or turned into a puppet." Fowler replied with a salute.
"And Gus, there's something I need you to know." Skara told the Illusionist Witch boy, sounding a bit shy.
"What is it?" Gus asked before Skara suddenly gave him a quick kiss on his mouth, much to everyone's astonishment.
When Skara pulled away, Gus was left utterly speechless by what she just did and his whole face turned bright red.
"You're the best Illusion master I've known. It's what I love most about you." Skara said passionately.
"Uhhhhh…wicked." Gus mumbled, managing to put on a small smile.
"Totally called it." Willow whispered as she and the girls giggled at the sight.
Galvatron could see that Luz and her friends were preparing to activate the spell and he knocked away Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Ironhide and Dreadwing as they were holding him away with their relentless attacks.
"NO!" Galvatron yelled, knocking his enemies away and firing his cannon at the students.
"Luz!" Arcee called out.
The Hispanic girl saw the laser shot coming and gasped shockingly before slamming her palm down on the ground, causing the giant combo Glyph to glow brightly and then consume her, the Hexside Squad and Camila in a huge light as the laser shot made contact with the ground they stood on. When the light faded away, everyone saw that the Hexside Squad had vanished and in their place was a smoking crater.
"Did they make it?" Vee asked worriedly.
"Knowing those kids, they definitely did." Fowler assured.
"If not, we're all doomed." Mattholomule said, earning a bunch of looks from everyone else.
Galvatron growled in annoyance before Optimus punched him back and fired his blaster at close range, sending his enemy back a few feet. Volcanicus then grabbed Galvatron in his giant hand and the Dinobot Combiner slammed him across the ground before throwing him down hard.
"Puny Decepticon." Volcanicus scoffed as the Decepticon leader slowly got back up.
"That human girl and her friends may have escaped, but I can still reduce the rest of you to ash!" Galvatron declared, generating dark energy in his hand.
"You should know by now, Galvatron, that outcome has never been intended." Optimus told him, preparing to once again battle his old foe alongside his allies.
"The only thing I know is that you are destined to grovel before me!" Galvatron retorted, aiming his arm cannon and powering it up.
But before the battle could continue any further, everyone began to hear a soaring noise from the distance and they turned to see a distant object flying their way.
"Okay, what's that?" Jetfire asked.
"That isn't another one of you guys?" Viney questioned the Autobots.
"Definitely not." Bulkhead replied.
"Hold on. That kinda looks like…" Jazz started to say, growing very nervous.
The flying object then made it to Hexside and it transformed, landing in between the two sides and revealing to be Soundwave.
"Soundwave?!" Bumblebee asked in astonishment.
"What the slag's he doing here?!" Seaspray questioned. "The kids said they sent him to that Shadowzone place!"
"We thought we did!" Boscha replied shockingly.
"Volcanicus not care how no-face Decepticon get back! Volcanicus just want to smash him!" Volcanicus stated.
"If this guy's with that Galvatron jerk, he's going down!" Mattholomule added.
"Uh…don't you think it's weird that he isn't attacking us right now?" Knock Out asked as Soundwave was just standing between them and Galvatron.
"I know Soundwave's the silent type, but he's never been this still like a statue." Cliffjumper admitted.
Galvatron started to approach his most loyal follower and Soundwave turned his attention to him.
"Soundwave, where have you been this entire time?" Galvatron questioned. "We had lost contact with you back on the Nemesis."
Soundwave reached his fingers towards under his head and pressed on some circuitry before he suddenly made the sounds of a throat clearing.
"Forgive me, Lord Galvatron. I had recently been imprisoned in the alternate reality that Starscream described and my only opportunity to escape it was when you all walked through the dimensional gateway to this realm." Soundwave explained, much to the surprise of the Autobots.
"Seriously?! He's speaking again, now?!" Wheeljack asked in disbelief.
"I'm honestly used to him being quiet." Arcee muttered with her arms crossed.
"I still say we take him and Galvatron out!" Ironhide proclaimed.
"Soundwave would have already attacked us if he wished to resume what the Decepticons started." Ultra Magnus said reasonably.
"Ultra Magnus is right. He must know something we don't." Ratchet assumed.
Optimus had the same theory as he began approaching Galvatron and Soundwave.
"Soundwave, you say that you arrived in the Boiling Isles through the Shadowzone?" Optimus asked.
"Indeed. It came to my conclusion that anything existing between a shadow-formed reality and the physical reality are capable of existing together when passing through a rift towards an entirely different world." Soundwave explained. "In fact, the Predacons and I are not the only ones who followed you here."
"Are you saying there is one more in this world who followed us from Cybertron?" Galvatron asked.
"Indeed, my liege. I have been silent for most of my existence, but I cannot remain mute in this time of desperation." Soundwave replied firmly. "We once again find ourselves pitted against a force more powerful than his Collector being. And unless we put aside our differences forever and light our darkest hour together, there won't be a future for any of us or the entire universe."
Optimus, Galvatron and everyone else could tell that Soundwave was very serious about what he had discovered while they were busy fighting each other. They certainly needed to hear him out and discover what this great danger he discovered was.
"We are listening." Optimus said.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Luz, her friends and Camila opened their eyes to see they were now standing in the Titan's skull itself and above them was the Collector's auditorium.
"We…we made it!" Gus cheered.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe that actually worked!" Willow remarked as she and Amity cheered in happiness.
"We really got beamed up, eh O'Bailey?" Camila asked playfully, making Gus and Hunter gasp at the fact she was a Cosmic Frontiers fan.
"Beam us up! Beam us up! Beam us up!" The two boys chanted.
"It's really great that we made it this far." Luz told the group with a smile as she looked in a different direction. "Let's just hope Optimus, Arcee, Vee and everyone else will be okay while we're finishing the fight here."
"They said it themselves, Luz. They can handle whatever happens." Amity reassured as Stringbean hissed in agreement with the Abomination Witch girl.
"You're right. We've just got to have faith." Luz replied kindly.
Willow then walked up to Hunter by his side, earning his attention.
"Thanks for what you and Boscha said back there. You mean a lot to me, too." Willow told him with a sweet smile, locking her finger with his and making the blonde Witch boy tear up.
"Cool. Happy to help." Hunter whispered.
Stringbean floated over to Luz and turned into her staff form for her owner to hold.
"Can't wait for Eda and King to meet the Autobots." Luz said. "Although, Eda might get jealous about Arcee pretty much being my third mother figure. Along with Optimus since he's entrusted me with a lot of things."
"Definitely. And King will wanna have a big battle with Predaking, too." Amity assumed. "Do you think Hooty will try to eat the Insecticons since they're technically bugs?"
"Let's hope not." Luz replied with an awkward giggle.
"Hey, we've dealt with tons of dangerous things back on Earth. I'm sure we can handle the Collector, as well." Gus assured confidently.
But unknown to the Hexside Squad, Unicron was seen spying on them from above the Titan skull with the Collector floating beside him as the cosmic child's eyes glowed purple, showing he was under Unicron's control.
"So, the human creature known as Luz Noceda has finally arrived. It sickens me to think that the one known as Belos was foiled by such a pathetic and weak being." Unicron said with a hateful glare. "She has made a truly foolish mistake in coming to this world. Not only will Optimus Prime, Megatron and all of their followers perish here, but that young parasite and everyone she cares for will share the exact same fate. This time, I shall make no mistakes. I shall not hold anything back. This is the moment where I shall finally take my revenge and spread my power of darkness and chaos to every single corner of the cosmos."
The Chaos Bringer's eyes glowed purple and he held up a ginormous purple flame in his palm before snuffing it out by simply closing his palm tightly, showing how serious he was about achieving victory over all his enemies.
"And so…I shall begin…again." Unicron whispered darkly.
Next time, will our heroes light their darkest hour or submit to evil?
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