Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-6

Ultra Magnus was now in a cell, in the same restraints as Megatron. He glared at everyone that visited him. Soon, everyone gathered in the brig. “Erm, isn’t there an occupancy limit?” asked Megatron.

“Megatron, we’re letting you out of the cell,” said Optimus.

“WHAT?!” roared Ultra Magnus.

“You’re still keeping your inhibitor chips,” continued Optimus, “so you won’t access your offensive systems.”

“…I’m having a hard time following your logic,” muttered Megatron as the restraints released him and his cell opened.

“Because I need you free for what’s about to be said. Jazz, you’re up.” Jazz’s hand then moved towards his visor. Windblade then grabbed his hand.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Windblade, please,” replied Jazz. Windblade looked at Jazz for a few seconds, then released his arm. Jazz then placed his hand over his visor and removed it. His optics were offline…then they slowly switched on…revealing a RED color. Ultra Magnus goggled in horror.

“…Optimus Prime, how long did you know…?!” he snarled.

“A few years after I met him,” answered Optimus. “Before you go on your tirade, Jazz has a little story about his life.”

“These optic lenses,” began Jazz, “they were grafted onto me at birth. My parents were devout Decepticons, even calling the Decepticon belief system Decepticonism. They wanted me to be a good little Decepticon. …They were abusive as scrap and I kept running away from that house. I found my way to the police, kept hiding from them when they suggested taking me back home, then they got the hint and arrested my parents on child-abuse charges. I found myself at an orphanage and was adopted by an Autobot couple. I soon learned love and tried desperately to get my optic lenses to be changed to blue. …My birth parents were too thorough. If any other doctor tried to surgically remove them, I’d lose my sight. So, my new parents gave me my visor. After becoming friends with him, I showed Orion my real eyes.”

“I still remember my comment to this day,” remarked Optimus. “I said ‘Your optics are as red as my armor! Cool!’ He then told me the story and I told him I was glad he got out of that situation, otherwise, I wouldn’t have a best friend like him.”

“But…but he’s…I mean, he’s a…!” Ultra Magnus still couldn’t understand.

“If that’s wracking your brains, then drink this in, Boy!” snarled Windblade as Jazz put his visor back on. “You know Arcanus Pax, your father?”

“What about him?” asked Ultra Magnus.

“Yes, you said you knew his greatest secret,” remarked Optimus. “What is it?”

“Did you know that Arcanus wasn’t his real name?” asked Windblade.

“See?!” interjected Megatron. “I WASN’T lying back then!”

“Oh, shut up,” grunted Optimus.

“So you DO know, good.” Windblade then mustered her courage. “Arcanus Pax’s real name…was Treadshot.” Everyone was stunned.

“…Treadshot?” asked Jazz. “As in the most notorious Decepticon Assassin?!”

“But…but that’s…no! You’re lying!” snarled Ultra Magnus.

“I think I know your father’s past more than you, Dion,” said Windblade. “Like Jazz said, Treadshot Pax was an assassin, notorious even among the Decepticons.”

“Pax? He’s always been a Pax?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, for a family famous for breeding Autobots, the Pax Family had its black sheep. Treadshot was one of them. He was still loved, just that the arguments usually centered around his beliefs. …The instant the Praxian Occupation happened; he broke with the Decepticons. Sure, he initially helped the Decepticons build the internment camps, but he found a manifest that had his wife and daughter as occupants. He tried everything…but he found them in a mass grave.” Optimus’ optics widened.

“He was married before and…lost them at the hands of his own team?”

“And there was no one else he felt he could blame but himself. …But he DID find out who gave the order to put them in that camp, Lugnut! Every chance he got, he helped break prisoners out of the camps, all to make Lugnut look bad. It all came to a head when Lugnut’s personal camp lost over 75% of its prisoners.”

“Hold on, our lives was saved by Treadshot of all bots?!” asked Prowl.

“I know. It was then that he changed his name to Arcanus and turned to sorcery to try and heal what he believed to be a scarred soul.”

“If he tried to save himself and atone, I’m sure he became a great mage,” mused Pyra Magna.

“This whole story is a lie!” roared Ultra Magnus. “My father was always a good mech! A paragon of honor and virtue!”

“He was paid to take out Autobots!” argued Windblade. “He and I shared a Cortical Psychic Patch so he could confirm his story to me!” Ultra Magnus then gave an unearthly howl and broke his restraints! He ignored the pain of his inhibitor chips, broke down the cell door, and leapt onto Windblade, slamming her against a wall.

“MY FATHER WAS NOT A DECEPTICON!”

“CYBER KEY POWER!” invoked Windblade. Her Cyber Key inserted itself between her wings and released a hand-fan from the helmet. She combined it with her sword, spun her wings’ rotors, and swung the sword at Ultra Magnus while firing twin tornados at him, knocking him into the wall opposite of her. She got up panting, using her sword to steady herself, and barely noticed Ratchet tending to Ultra Magnus. Her eldest son…then started crying. Megatron, after seeing the whole thing and giving only a few seconds of silence, chuckled, then laughed, then went into hysterics.

“OH, THIS IS JUST TOO RICH!” he cackled. “Ultra Magnus: Deceptiphobe par excellence, yet he’s the son of Treadshot! Oh, Primus! You know, you always said that the spawn of Decepticons will follow their parents’ programming! Well, by that logic, you and Optimus should be joining me! Ah, but you don’t FEEL like a Decepticon! You don’t detect that bit of programming! Oh, what’s a Deceptiphobe to do when his own logic is turned against him?! Brother, you should see your face right now!” Megatron laughed again, using a nearby console to steady himself. “Whoa, never laughed so hard…feeling a bit light-headed.” Optimus then stood over Ultra Magnus.

“Dion Pax,” he snarled, “your actions proved Bumblebee’s reasoning for invoking the Crisis Act on you. I regret what I must do, but I have no choice. I won’t have a second in command who’s so emotionally compromised and so rock-brained. I won’t even have a soldier like that. Do you have any words before you’re relieved of your position and duties as a soldier?”

“…No, Sir,” answered Ultra Magnus.

“Then, as Prime, I hereby strip you of your title of Magnus and strip you of the Autobrand!” Optimus then tore the Autobot symbol off of the former Ultra Magnus, Dion Pax. “Once you’re repaired, you’ll be returning to Cybertron.”

“Optimus, I…!”

“Be quiet! At the moment, I have nothing more to say to you! Prowl, confine him to quarters and retrieve the Magnus Hammer.”

“Yes, sir.” As Prowl obeyed, Optimus knelt to his mother.

“Mom, I…”

“You did what you had to as Prime,” interrupted Windblade. “To be frank, I would have done the same.”

“…It still stings.”

“Yeah…it does.” Windblade switched her optics off and began crying. Optimus hugged her and did the same. Megatron, for once, stayed respectfully silent.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-5

Two weeks had passed, and the alliance terms had been fully established. One Autobot and one Decepticon would switch places and work in the other faction’s main base. Right now, Galvatron had swapped with Jazz and was walking down the corridor to Optimus’ office. He rang the door chime. “Enter,” came Optimus’ voice. Galvatron stepped in. “Ah, Galvatron. What can I do for you?”

“I need your help,” answered Galvatron.

“What’s up?”

“…I tried to explain the situation to Ultra Magnus.”

“And?”

“…He’s considering a double fratricide with both me and Megatron as the victims.” Optimus growled.

“Did Megatron say anything recently to him? Maybe I should talk with him.”

“Absolutely not!” gulped Galvatron. “His current attitude is to cover up the fact that you intimidate him!”

“…Me?” Galvatron then realized his mistake.

“Don’t tell Megatron I told you.” Optimus couldn’t help but laugh.

I intimidate Megatron, huh?!” The Prime couldn’t stop laughing for a bit.

“You find it funny that I was scared of you, huh?” remarked Galvatron. Optimus cleared his throat, forcing himself to stop laughing.

“Of course not!” He couldn’t help a grin. Galvatron gave a knowing grin in response.

“Come on, I worked under you in my timeline. I know how you work.” Optimus then regained control of his composure.

“Look, we’re not talking about me and Megatron, we’re talking about you and Ultra Magnus. I sympathize with him slightly, but as far as I’m concerned, you being here is totally acceptable.”

“…You got Blaster here, right?” Optimus’ optics flickered at the sudden change in topic.

“…Yeah, why?”

“Just wanted to know.” Optimus then fully blinked, something most Cybertronians don’t do.

“O…kaaaayy.”


Windblade and Yoketron were practicing with their swords. Yoketron’s husband, Stormfront, observed the sparring session and sensed, with remarkable accuracy, that Windblade’s head wasn’t in the game. Yoketron’s verbal instruction confirmed it. “Windblade, you’re becoming predictable. A Cyber-ninja MUST use the unorthodox.”

“You say that, Sensei, but you’re not controlling my central line,” remarked Windblade.

“Allow me to fix that.” Yoketron swept his leg under hers and tripped her up. Windblade activated the propellers on her wings to keep her from hitting the ground and giving her the chance to block the downswing, then shoving him backwards, giving some distance. “Very good, you adapt well. However, running your mouth like that, not gonna lie, felt like Optimus during his first few days under my tutelage.”

“Got it from someone, I guess.” Windblade charged and swung wildly. Yoketron blocked and dodged the blows.

“You’re holding your sword too tightly!” Yoketron then slammed a fist into Windblade’s face, forcing her to hold the sword with one hand. That gave Yoketron the opportunity to knock his opponent’s weapon out of her hands. “Now, too lightly.”

“Yame!” called Stormfront as he got up. Yoketron then got out a first-aid kit to help Windblade’s face as it leaked Energon. “Something’s on your mind, Windblade,” remarked Stormfront as he approached the two.

“…It’s Ultra Magnus,” answered Windblade. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s getting a little…intense with our Decepticon visitors.”

“He’s got raging Deceptiphobia,” summed up Yoketron.

“That’s the phrase.”

“Has he always had it?”

“Not on this scale! And if he finds out about my husband’s origins, who knows what’s gonna happen!”

“…I don’t believe I know Arcanus’ story,” said Stormfront.

“Well, you see…”

“Any Autobots, please, someone help Bumblebee! He’s making his way towards Ultra Magnus’ position!” called Teletraan.

“Is Ultra Magnus alone?” asked Windblade.

“Nope! He’s about to kill Megatron by the look of things!”


Ultra Magnus was just wailing on the unarmed Megatron. The inhibitor chips in the Decepticon’s body meant that he couldn’t access any offense-based systems. After slamming his fists into Megatron for a good minute, Ultra Magnus stopped. “Come on,” panted Megatron, “we’re just getting started!”

“What is the purpose of your surrender?” asked Ultra Magnus. Megatron snarled, getting angry that the same question was being repeated.

“I already told you, Unicron’s a greater threat!” Ultra Magnus then resumed ragdolling Megatron. He then stopped after another minute. By now, Megatron’s wires were exposed, his armor had dents and tears, and he was leaking Energon.

“What is the purpose of your surrender?”

“Are you deaf or just being stupid?! Unicron is bigger than any petty grudge you may have with me!” Ultra Magnus raised his hand…

“CYBER KEY POWER!” shouted Bumblebee’s voice. The yellow Autobot’s Cyber-stingers then slammed into Ultra Magnus’ back and shocked him hard. A red jet with large propeller fans in the wings then slammed into Ultra Magnus and propelled him into the mountainside.

“WINDBLADE, TRANSFORM!” The jet’s fuselage and cockpit folded onto the top as arms and legs unfolded from the bottom and the head popped out between the arms. Windblade then drew her sword and leveled it at her eldest son. Bumblebee kept one of his stingers trained on Ultra Magnus while he called for Ratchet. “Dion Pax, what in Primus’ name are you DOING?!” demanded Windblade.

“Getting information out of Megatron,” replied Ultra Magnus.

“What you were doing,” hissed Bumblebee, “was breaking protocol left, right, and center!” Ratchet finally arrived and began tending to Megatron so he could be moved.

“He stays here!” called Ultra Magnus.

“Belay that!” called Bumblebee. “Ultra Magnus isn’t right in the head!” Ratchet obeyed Bumblebee and continued his work.

“Sergeant Bumblebee, you’re out of line!” Bumblebee refused to let himself be cowed.

“Ultra Magnus, I can’t follow your orders if you’re acting this way.”

“You cannot be serious!”

“Megatron surrendered himself to us as our prisoner! He’s entitled to certain rights, one of them being that he’s free from being tortured!”

“You are actually spouting protocol at me right now!”

“In the stories I’ve heard from bots your mother’s age, we NEVER inflicted harm on others unless all other options were exhausted!”

“You heard right,” supplied Windblade. “We do NOT resort to torture unless there’s no other choice! It’s what separates us from the Decepticons.”

“Is this REALLY the time for one of your lectures?!” Ultra Magnus got up and towered over her. “You didn’t see Megatron throw Optimus to the sand during our first encounter, did you?! Well I did! Did you ever receive reports that Megatron turned an inhabitant of this planet against his will to use as a weapon of conquest?! I did! As far as I’m concerned, that walking corpse is a monster using Megatronus’ image!”

“You need to calm it down!” Windblade kept her face stoic against her out-of-control eldest son.

“Calm is the last thing we need! Calm is what cost us all a normal childhood! Megatron admitted to conquering this world once Unicron was dealt with! You really think he’ll honor it for that long?! We’re squandering our time trying to unite with people who are totally different from us and have no concept of peace! We need to take this opportunity to strike the Decepticons hard and NOW! Precisely where it hurts!”

“That’s gonna provoke retaliation!” argued Bumblebee. “And, on top of that, it’ll make Unicron’s job of hunting Optimus easier! I’m not willing to go that far!”

“You went that far when your mother died! I seem to recall that Cliffjumper’s an Eradicon now! After your mother died, you two tried desperately to bring her back using Energon Alchemy!”

“And it backfired. Remember that bit of the story? You said so yourself, Cliffjumper’s an Eradicon and I have Crystal Mail right now.” Bumblebee took off the armor surrounding his arm and showed off an arm made of blue-white crystal. Megatron, having heard the whole thing, arched an eyebrow.

“…Your brother’s an Eradicon?” he asked. “Then that makes him a liability.”

“…I’m aware,” muttered Bumblebee. “Which is why he’s been doing all sorts of meditative techniques to keep himself from falling into Unicron’s thrall.”

“You had the courage to do what’s right once!” snarled Ultra Magnus. “It looks like Mobius made you soft! You never pounded the Decepticons to scrap when you had the chance, and you’ve had numerous chances!”

“Because I believe myself to be better than that. Ultra Magnus, I didn’t want to do this, but I have no choice. I had to ask most of the Autobots while Prime didn’t know, but I had to have their support in case you went too far. You are too unstable to be in command a second longer. By the authority vested in me by my fellow Autobots, I hereby invoke the Crisis Act and relieve you of command!”

“MUTINY!” roared Ultra Magnus. “Mother, arrest him!” Windblade then brought out stasis cuffs…and slapped them onto Ultra Magnus’ wrists. “WHA…?!”

“I’m sorry, son, but you’re too dangerous to be in any command position right now. Teletraan, Ground Bridge right to the brig.”

“Prowl’s waiting by a cell,” reported Teletraan. “He’s got the whole story.” A Ground Bridge then opened for everyone.

“…You know, I never thought I’d see the Crisis Act invoked in my lifetime, much less against my older brother,” smirked Megatron.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-4

The resulting four weeks were quite…interesting to say the least. With Megatron as a prisoner, Optimus wasn’t sure how to feel. He decided to visit him. He entered the cell and found Megatron restrained to the wall. “Megatron,” he greeted.

“Prime.” Megatron’s return greeting left a silence.

“So,” asked Optimus, “how’s this gonna play out? Are we gonna spend the next hour posturing, or are we gonna rise to the occasion and have a civilized conversation?” Megatron scoffed.

“‘Rise to the occasion’? What is this, a summit meeting? I’m bolted to the wall, riddled with inhibitor chips, and all I need do is cross my fingers at you before I face termination by electric restraints! Hardly an ideal position to have a frank exchange of ideas!”

“Fair point.” Optimus then undid Megatron’s restraints and pulled out a pair of chairs. “Take a seat.”

“So,” said Megatron as he sat down, “what does my little brother want to talk about?”

“You surrendered after you made your proposal. Why?”

“Didn’t we just have this conversation?”

“No, we went through the motions. One provoked, the other reacted; same as always.”

“What happened to the Decepticons? Who’s taken my place for now?” Megatron was deflecting the issue.

“Megatron…”

“Please don’t tell me it’s Eggman!” Genuine worry crossed the Decepticon Lord’s face.

“Megatronus! …Look, forget the factions outside, all right? Right now, it’s just you, me, and a conversation we’ve put off for five years.”

“I don’t know about your end, but I’ve been preoccupied enough to almost forget this. You know, what with the war, the continual keeping of my house in order, the pain I cause the fleshlings. Pit, sometimes I have to scrape blood off my hands.”

“Megatron, do you even realize what you’re saying?!” protested Optimus. “Everything, every word you’re uttering, it’s all steeped in hate!”

“I’ve learned to hate when I was in my room while we grew up together. Oddly enough, I have an Autobot to thank for it, an Autobot with friends in high places who taught me all about violence and its application. Calm yourself, it isn’t you. No…it’s our dear Dion. You’ve heard him utter his usual Anti-Decepticon rhetoric, haven’t you?” Optimus looked away. “…Ashamed, are we? Well, after five years of conflict against a faction I once supported, I live to hate it! Hate sustains me! There are moments where I wonder if I feel anything else anymore. Lust, rage, ambition, I wonder if I’ve moved beyond them. In fact, over the past five years, I’ve realized there are two constants, hate…and you.” Optimus snorted.

“I’m surprised you can find a difference between the two.”

“Optimus, let me clarify something; I don’t hate you. Don’t get me wrong; I hate what you represent, and I hate the obstacles you’ve put in my way; but I understand why you’re trying to stop me. I forgive you that much. But there’s a question I need answered. Do you hate me? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you say that.”

“…Yes…No…I don’t know.” Optimus ran his hands down his face. “I don’t know how I feel about you. Hate feels too simple for me, too…easy. It might sustain you, Megatron, but makes me feel…less.”

“…Were you always this sanctimonious and I was just blind,” snarled Megatron, “or was it something you worked at when you got the Matrix?! Behold, the infallible Optimus Prime! Wise for his age, charismatic for a guy who had others fill in for him during boring meetings, compassionate for a bot in his late adolescence! A red, white, and blue paragon of virtue! How tiring that must be! The insecurity, the loneliness, the agonizing self-doubt!”

“You’re talking like you know me.”

“I’d be a pretty terrible brother if I didn’t. I know you better than anyone else and it terrifies you.”

“What terrifies me, Megatron,” Optimus was in a correcting mood, “is the sheer monotony of the past five years, even with Unicron thrown into the mix these past four weeks. It’s just you and me, trading blows, making threats, going through the motions while everything we care about crumbles. And it isn’t just today where you can find a similar situation. Our species’ whole history is an exercise in galactic fratricide. A race-wide cry for help. Is it any wonder the Galactic Council turned its back on us during the climax of the previous war? Can you really look me in the optics and say that you’re surprised that the universe, at large, still fears us? Entire civilizations rose and fell in the time it took us to get nowhere at all.”

“Ah, but the rules of the game are different now, Optimus” replied Megatron. “Our war is actually picking up speed where the previous one stagnated. I remember back in the day when whole centuries would go by without a single shot being fired. Both Autobots and Decepticons spent millennia preparing for battles that were over in a matter of minutes.”

“And for what?!” asked Optimus. “Really, answer me, for what?! We’re doing the exact same thing as our forefathers did from where I stand! Before this whole mess went down, I fought to stop you, simple as that! But you…what IS it you’re fighting for, Megatron? I thought I knew, but…” The Prime sighed. “…Okay, let’s play ‘What If’ for a cycle here. What if you HADN’T surrendered and Unicron wasn’t part of the equation? Let’s say the Decepticons won this war, what does victory look like?”

“Control over that which would destroy us. Optimus, trillions of races have learned about how our biology works. In victory, we wouldn’t forget that there are races that want revenge.”

“A mechanical master race. Technoism.”

“Something along those lines.”

“…No,” denied Optimus, “that describes the Decepticons, not you. Let’s still play ‘What If’. I’m dead, the Autobots are no more, Cybertron is yours, countless planets are brought under your sway, the Decepticon Empire is resplendent, and you sit in the center of it all, what then?”

“The real work begins. Repopulation, a true rebirth of the Cybertronian race! A new Golden Age, one that would put the previous one to shame! Imagine it, a civilization free of conflict, all needs are met! No want, no unhappiness, no dissent, peace through tyranny!”

“And autonomy, personal responsibility, and free will? Where are they in this brave new world of yours?”

“They’re a passing thought.” Optimus considered his words.

“…You know, in some respects, we’re the same. Peace, prosperity, happiness, I want them too, I just don’t see them as something to be imposed.”

“Don’t you DARE put yourself on my level!” growled Megatron. “I am a visionary! I spoke out! I resisted the weight of the police state Cybertron had become! Tell me, what were you doing outside of a few paltry speeches?! The High Council carved up the Decepticons according to rank! It felt like functionism, dictation of life at Xitran levels, the levels Shockwave and Soundwave experienced! It was social engineering of the losers in the most LITERAL sense! Someone had to say ‘no’! Someone had to say ‘enough’! and I was the only Autobot to have had the ball-bearings to do so! ‘Freedom is the right of all sentient beings’, where in the Pit were you as hundreds of Decepticons lost their jobs and thousands became Empties?!”

“I’m not the Transformer I was before this war began,” said Optimus. “Do you remember when we first fought face to face alone?”

“The Battle of Westopolis.”

“Westopolis. G.U.N. lost 200 soldiers when they assisted the Autobots. You cost them an army, you cost me allies.”

“You cost me an arm, you and that axe of yours,” growled Megatron.

“In any case, no, it was Seaside Hill. It was just as the war was picking up.” Megatron’s optics flickered as confusion crossed his features.

“You either have a better memory than I do, or I made a bigger impression on you.”

“If it wasn’t for that battle, I wouldn’t have taken you half as seriously as I do now.”

“They all stopped to watch us, didn’t they?” asked Megatron. “In Westopolis. My Decepticons, your Autobots and G.U.N., they all stopped to watch us fight!”

“Which one?” More optic flickering from Megatron came from Optimus’ question.

“…Pardon?”

“Which arm did I take?”

“My cannon arm, you always go for that, not that I wouldn’t have done the same.”

“All I remember is you throwing me into the air, then slamming your fist down onto me as I was over a tower spire,” recalled Optimus. “It took Ratchet six weeks to fix me up and six more to get me fully resuscitated.”

“It didn’t kill you though, nothing ever does.”

“Westopolis was nothing compared to the beatings you’ve given me over the past five years.”

“Such as?” invited Megatron.

“The Battle of Green Hill Zone,” replied Optimus. “You tore half my head off with your mace. Or the Sunset Park Zone Campaign when you…”

“When I threw you onto the tracks with a rather large train highballing towards you,” finished Megatron.

“They practically had to find all the pieces judging on the trajectories alone! And don’t even get me started on Mazuri!”

“You want to play this game with me, Optimus?! The Red Mountain Offensive! You used a sharpened rock to split me in two from shoulder to crotch! Shoulder! To! Crotch! You missed my Spark by centimeters! And what about Emerald Coast?! The then base of operations for the Radniks?! That sentient explosive, aptly named ‘Bomb’, was powerful enough to reduce me to cinders! They had to shovel me into the CR Chamber! And on the subject of Green Hill Zone, you toppled at least three of those stone loops onto me while I was in alt-mode! My t-cog jammed, and my holo-form went offline! I was a normal tank for a full month!” The two brothers then chuckled softly, recalling the battles.

“We can end it here,” offered Optimus. “Seriously, we could end it all here and now. I don’t care what’s going on outside this cell. What it all comes down to, Megatron, is us. We could end this war with a simple handshake.” Megatron gave no response. “…They want to see you dead; you know.”

“What about you?”

“I just want to know why you’ve surrendered.”

“Does it matter?”

“I think it does.”

“We’ll see, Optimus, we’ll see.” Megatron got up and allowed Optimus to fasten the restraints to the wall.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-3

Once all the newcomers were familiar with their surroundings and the troops and allies, everyone, Autobot and organic alike, gathered in the conference room. Optimus opened the meeting with a solemn face. “Guys, I didn’t want to tell you this, but this kind of news can’t be put off forever. Heck, my taking an hour to decide after I heard this information was probably too long. Chip, tell us what you told me about the Emeralds.”

“What’s to tell?” asked Sonic. “We used the Emeralds against Unicron when we knew him as Dark Gaia.”

“Not specifically,” corrected Chip. “Sonic, the Emeralds were only used to put Mobius back together every time Unicron tried to break out. They weren’t the ACTUAL weapons that stopped him. They only served to give us an edge.”

“But…but I beat him as Super Sonic!”

“You weakened him, yes, but it wasn’t a permanent defeat for him.”

“Then why did we hunt for the damn things in the first place?!” snarled Ultra Magnus.

“To keep them out of harm’s way,” answered Prowl. “Whoever has them will have to make sure Unicron doesn’t drain them.”

“And I spoke with the Primes,” supplied Optimus. “Unfortunately, the Allspark didn’t even scratch Unicron’s paint job when they battled him. The only thing that stopped him was a trio of Matrix-powered weapons. I presume everyone knows about the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the Requiem Blaster?”

“The Three Powers, I believe they’re named,” recalled Arcee.

“Bingo. They could channel the energy of the Matrix into something that could really bring the hurt on Unicron. The Matrix, by itself, can do that, but the Primes needed an edge. And so, with the Fallen’s intel, they figured out how to craft such an edge. Solus Prime created the Three Powers and they made an all-powerful weapon in their combined state, the Hydra Cannon.”

“Prime, didn’t you use something that looked like the Star Saber against Nemesis Prime when he made you go cuckoo?” asked Grimlock.

“That version was just a manifestation of the Star Saber’s build plans. After they beat Unicron, the Primes destroyed the Three Powers. Solus, being one of the three brains of the bunch, kept the plans hidden within the Matrix.”

“So let’s bring the plans out and build them again!” replied Jazz.

“The Three Powers,” replied Pyra Magna, “can only be constructed with the Creation Lathe and the Forge of Solus Prime, according to Camien legend.”

“Solus confirmed that little bit of legend,” supplied Optimus. “So, if we want the weapons, we need the Forge and Lathe. Prowl, be honest, can we afford another scavenger hunt?”

“Not one on the scale I calculate,” answered Prowl. “Looks like our best bet is work with the Decepti…”

“Prowl, we DON’T need the Decepticons!” snarled Ultra Magnus.

“Boy, hush up!” snapped Windblade. Everyone turned to Windblade as Ultra Magnus subsided. Optimus sighed.

“That’s what Soleanna Pax really looks like,” he explained. Everyone then yelped in surprise.

“You mean…you…your mother is a…!” stammered Pyra Magna.

“Yes, she’s a Camien.”

“…Chromia, you’re not reacting!”

“Because I was the one who hooked her up with her husband and convinced them to use a civilian name,” explained Chromia.

“Er, I hate to interrupt the exposition dump and unforeseen twists,” called Teletraan, “but Megatron’s outside!”

“What?!” yelped Windblade.

“Destroy him! We can’t…!” ordered Ultra Magnus.

“Hang on!” interrupted Optimus. “This might be a great opportunity! We can get him and the Decepticons to join us against Unicron!”

“Optimus, don’t be so…!”

“Teletraan, keep the guns trained on him if he does something funny, but don’t fire unless I give the command!”

“Optimus, for all we know, he’s aligned himself with Unicron!”

“Now you’re just making up theories! Teletraan, my orders stand!” The conference room then emptied, and everyone gathered in the command center as Optimus allowed two-way communication. He then put on a stoic face and exited the base through the front door, approaching Megatron. Megatron smirked.

“You know, this reminds me of the initial stand-off of our last encounter,” he chuckled. “If memory serves, you were desperately attempting to keep the Chaos Emerald from me and critically wound me.”

“That option remains very much in play,” replied Optimus as he pointed to the guns trained on Megatron. Megatron nodded in acknowledgement.

“I would expect nothing less from one of, no, THE greatest Prime in existence. However, I have a proposal.” He paused impressively. “…The Autobots are cordially invited to join my faction against our shared enemy, Unicron the Chaos Bringer!” At that moment, Ultra Magnus’ voice came through the external comms.

“ABSURD! Unicron is evil incarnate! If you were to take any side, why would it be ours?!”

“Because Megatron’s pride would never allow anyone other than himself to rule the universe,” replied Optimus.

“You know me all too well, Optimus!” chuckled Megatron. Bumblebee’s voice then came through.

“You’ve got Eggman to make you an army of robots to your specifications! Why come to us?!”

“Because this particular endeavor, young Bumblebee,” explained Megatron, “requires something beyond the realm of my command; the power of a Prime.”

“Then we don’t need you!” scoffed Ultra Magnus.

“On the contrary, Optimus may be the only one to defeat Unicron, but I remain the only one who can guide you to him. Unicron’s life-blood runs through me. I learned this ability last night. Only I can hear his thoughts, anticipate his movements! Optimus, our past alliances, Autobot, Decepticon, no longer matter! Not while Unicron lives!”

“THE PAST ALWAYS MATTERS!” roared Ultra Magnus.

“A truce between Autobot and Decepticon,” mused Optimus. “…You know, we were just entertaining that notion. I don’t suppose you know about the effectiveness of the Allspark and Chaos Emeralds against the Chaos-Bringer.”

“As I said, I learned how to access his thoughts,” answered Megatron. “He’s frighteningly unconcerned about them.”

“With that in mind, how long do you expect us to believe our alliance will last?”

“Only as long as is mutually beneficial.”

“And when our proposed shared mission is complete?”

“I will conquer this world…my way!”

“…Brutal honesty from a Decepticon,” came Windblade’s voice, causing Megatron’s optics to widen. “I just never thought that Decepticon would be my own son!”

“…Mother?!”

“Like you, I got some new troops,” explained Optimus.

“But…our MOTHER?!”

“She knew.”

“Aligning with the lesser of two evils,” growled Ultra Magnus, returning the discussion to its original point, “is STILL siding with evil!”

“Besides, I’ve faced Unicron before when he was just Dark Gaia!” called Sonic.

“My dear hero of Mobius,” scoffed Megatron, “do you think you’ve witnessed the full power of Unicron when he just had Dark Gaia Monsters?! Those foot soldiers were nothing more than a taste! Unicron has yet to fully awaken! With each passing moment, the Bringer of Chaos evolves, calling followers to his fold, raw materials for his body, and mutating Mobius from the inside-out! What the Terrorcons have shown us during our encounters with them is nothing more than a prelude of the utter devastation his rising will wreak upon this world!”

“Like the Decepticons did with Cybertron all those millions of years ago?!” shouted Hot Rod.

“Make no mistake, my Velocitronian friend! With me at the helm, there WILL be a planet for the Decepticons to rule!”

“Even if we agree,” remarked Shadow, “Unicron’s all the way down at the center of the planet! How are we supposed to get there, drive?!”

“Shadow, you possess one means of transport,” replied Optimus, “then there’s the Ground Bridge…”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” cut in Ratchet.

“Ratchet’s right!” agreed Tails. “Ground-bridging near a Space Bridge apparatus and Chaos Controlling inside a moving trailer’s bad enough…but plotting a blind jump near a Hyper-energy organism of that caliber?!”

“Besides, direct exposure to that much Dark Energon will debilitate you!” continued Ratchet. “You haven’t built up an immunity like Megatron appears to have!”

“Yet another strong argument for soliciting my guidance,” replied Megatron. Optimus raised an eyebrow.

“…You can provide Unicron’s exact coordinates?”

“If you transport us to this planet’s core, I can lead you directly into Unicron’s Anti-spark, the very heart of his darkness!”

“Optimus, even if we survive the trip,” interrupted Rouge, “you said so yourself that the Three Powers are gone! All you have is the Matrix!” Optimus appeared to consider his options.

“…Perhaps that’s all we need,” he surmised. “The Three Powers were meant to damage his body and the Matrix was designed to hurt his Anti-spark. The way I see it, without a physical body of his own, Unicron’s actually more vulnerable.”

“It WAS the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago,” confirmed Megatron, “the very reason he would seek to destroy you.”

“It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron’s Anti-spark would return him to stasis.”

“Hold on,” interrupted Amy, “if everything goes right, Unicron’s just gonna stay down there?!”

“Yeah, can’t we syphon him out or something?” asked Sonic.

“If we tried, then my creator, the original Gaia, would have to let herself succumb to darkness in order to keep balance,” explained Chip. “I can’t die or lose my power…outside of external interference, so Gaia would have to be the new Dark Gaia instead of the master of both light AND dark as she was. Unicron’s now a part of Mobius. Always has been and always must be.”

“I still say allying with Megatron is a bad idea!” growled Ultra Magnus.

“Look, if I surrendered and let myself be your prisoner,” asked Megatron as he took out his mace and Cyber-key, “would you consider my offer?” He then let them and the fusion cannon fall to the ground. Optimus looked at Megatron, highly perplexed, then made his decision.

“Prowl, get a pair of stasis cuffs out here. Megatron is our prisoner.” Megatron smirked. He got them.

“You can always be relied upon to listen to reason, Optimus.” There was a silence before Prowl stepped outside and approached the two. Megatron held his hands out and Prowl slapped the cuffs onto him. The two Autobots then led Megatron into the base and he got a good look at everyone. “So, you people make the magic happen. …Quaint.”

“I believe there’s a maximum-security cell with your name on it,” remarked Prowl. He led the Decepticon Lord towards the brig.

“You’re being played!” growled Ultra Magnus.

“Perhaps, but we need to defeat Unicron,” answered Optimus. “Besides, he’s still our brother.” Ultra Magnus snarled before leaving. The command center emptied, leaving only Optimus by the main monitor.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-2

The day finally came as Optimus’ reinforcements stepped through the Space Bridge portal. The first arrival, a pink femme with a white helmet, then folded her arms as she looked around the base. “Okay, where’s Bumblebee?” she asked in a tone of exasperation. “I have a feeling he destroyed his crystal-mail again.”

“He’s in the Repair Bay, Ms. Arcee,” answered Ratchet. “Nothing major, just needs someone else to knock some sense into him since he’s starting to become numb to me.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” declared the femme, Arcee. She followed Ratchet to the Repair Bay. A red version of Soundwave with a set of antennae on each side of the head then looked around.

“Swanky,” he whistled.

“Welcome to Mobius, Blaster,” greeted Optimus. “In all honesty, with Soundwave here, we should have contacted you earlier.”

“Soundwave, huh?” quizzed Blaster. “You held out against him for a long time. No worries, me and my partners can handle him.”

“Quick question, do your Mini-cons have Sparks now, or are they still drones?”

“…Heck of a question to ask, but, yeah, they’ve got Sparks.”

“Splendid. Shockwave told me about Xitra and mentioned you as a survivor of that disaster.”

“Shockwave’s alive too?!”

“We’ll fill you in, Blaster. Strongarm, Prowl, get him set up with Teletraan 1.”

“Yes, Sir,” replied the two law-bots. As they led Blaster to the Server Room, a pair of Mechs approached Optimus. One had a helmet that evoked a Samurai and the other was a heavy-set bot. The Prime bowed to them.

“It’s great to see you again, Sensei Yoketron and Master Stormfront.”

“Always a pleasure to see you, Sir,” returned the bot with the Samurai helmet, Yoketron, Grandmaster of the Autobot Cyber-ninja Corps.

“No need for that, Sensei,” assured Optimus. “We’re in a real fix and I think many of us could use your wisdom.”

“Yes, I heard about Makeshift’s return.”

“Gotta say, I could have SWORN we vaporized that little Scraplet!” muttered Stormfront.

“Well, we have a chance to do so again,” promised Optimus. “Jazz, mind showing them to their quarters?”

“Wouldn’t mind at all,” answered Jazz. He led Yoketron and Stormfront down the hall. The last trooper was a red jet femme with a white face and red eye makeup and lips.

“Windblade, reporting for duty!” greeted the Femme.

“Great to see you again,” sighed Optimus. The two then hugged, earning some looks of confusion.

“Er, Prime,” began Hot Rod, “that’s a famous heroine you’re hugging.”

“Famous? I thought you would say notorious,” chuckled Windblade. She then looked at Optimus. “Where’s Dion?”

“Currently confined to quarters,” answered Optimus. “He’s not right in the head as of now.”

“I knew he had a thing against the Cons, but blinding Deceptiphobia? No, I need to talk some sense into your brother.”

“This way, please.” Optimus led the femme down the hall.


As the new arrivals got themselves familiarized, Megatron slumbered. After a bit of deliberation, the three new ships were renamed. Megatron’s personal ship was now christened as the Decimator, Metal Sonic’s ship was called the Revenge, and Eggman’s ship was now named the Whale Shark. They all agreed that the combined form will be called the Fatal Consequence. It was because the argument was so long and drawn out that Megatron felt the need to have a stasis nap. He drank a bit of Energon that was laced with a purple cloud and fell asleep. However, his sleep was marked by a rather dark dream. He found himself walking through a black void. He could feel the ground, but not see it. “…Where is my subconscious taking me?” he muttered to himself.

“Megatron…” rumbled a voice.

“Hm?” quizzed the Decepticon leader.

“Megatron…” repeated the voice.

“Hello?” called Megatron.

“Welcome, Megatron,” answered the voice.

“Who said that?!” Megatron’s patience was being tested.

“I…am Unicron.”

“Show yourself!” Megatron’s demand was met with a massive circular maw shining light onto him.

“I have summoned you here for a purpose,” explained the maw. By now, Megatron had some proof that it WAS Unicron.

“Nobody summons Megatron!” he scoffed.

“Then it pleases me to be the first,” chuckled Unicron.

“State your business.”

“This is my command,” Megatron frowned at this, “you are to destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. It is the one thing…the ONLY thing…that can stand in my way.”

“You have more than just that bauble standing against you! There are two more weapons in Cybertronian possession!”

“You exaggerate.”

“The point is that the Allspark and Chaos Emeralds are weapon enough to defeat you!”

“No, the point is you are a fool! Neither of them were the weapons that cast me out!” Megatron arched an eyebrow at that. “It was those which were powered by the Matrix. Destroy it for me.”

“Why should I? What’s in it for me?” A pause followed the question as Unicron tried to process Megatron’s demand. He always considered the Transformers to be ants to squash and no one ever listens to the demands of ants.

“…Your bargaining posture is highly dubious, but very well. I will provide you with a new body and new troops to command.”

“…And?”

“And nothing! …You belong to me now.” Megatron stared at the maw…then growled.

“I belong to NOBODY!”

“…Perhaps…I misjudged you.” The light then turned red and pulled Megatron into the maw! “Proceed…on your way to oblivion!” Megatron screamed as he tried to hold onto the invisible ground, but he was taken into the maw! The teeth slammed shut…and Megatron woke up in a sweat and took in his new surroundings.

“Megatron!” called a voice. Megatron turned his head to see Knock-out, then he recognized his surroundings as the Repair Bay. The Decepticon Lord steadied his breathing and attempted to get up. “Lay back down!” barked Knock-out. “I’m trying to suss out what happened to make you move so violently.”

“Wh…?”

I brought you here,” explained another voice. Megatron tilted his head forward to see Galvatron. “Looks like you had a rather nasty nightmare.”

“The bluu…of Uni…” Megatron tried to explain himself. Knock-out then guessed what happened.

“Dark Energon?!” he cried.

“Megatron, don’t tell me you drank any!” snarled Galvatron.

“A drop,” answered Megatron once he got full control of his mouth-brain functions. “I laced my nightly ration with a single drop of that stuff …I saw things!”

“You fool!” growled Galvatron. “Unicron will know that we’re on to him!”

“He ordered me to destroy the Matrix as it’s the only thing that can stop him,” continued Megatron. “He appeared to be unconcerned about the Allspark and Chaos Emeralds, saying that they weren’t what cast him out.”

“…But…but they’re the only possible weapons!” protested Galvatron. “They HAVE to be acceptable substitutes in the absence of the Three Powers!”

“Galvatron, I hate to admit it, but I don’t think they’ll have any effect on Unicron.” The future version of Megatron then slumped to the floor in disbelief.

“Then…my journey here…was for nothing?!”

“It looks like the only option we have left…is to establish an alliance with the Autobots.”

“My Lord, are you crazy?!” protested Knock-out. “If we side with the Autobots, then we’ll undo the Decepticon Empire’s goals!”

“And if we don’t, then we undo the fabric of the universe! Believe it or not, the Decepticon Empire is few in this matter! I hate to quote from Star Trek, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!”

“My Lord!”

“My decision is final! We must ally ourselves with the Autobots!” By that point, Galvatron had slunk off and walked alone…before a grin appeared on his face.

“Silver, you psychokinetic genius!” he whispered. “Your scheme is working! We could potentially restore the Three Powers any day now!” He then pulled out a communicator. “Galvatron to Rodimus! Galvatron to Rodimus, come in!”

Categories
The Three Realms The Three Realms Cast

Arsha and her Lovers Height Comparison

I was fiddling around and discovered how to remove backgrounds in Word one time, then I layered the images, altered the heights, and combined them into one. So, from shortest to tallest, we have Malnar, Falnii, Lardeth, Arsha and Foresna at roughly the same height, and Gorfanth.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 13: Clearing the Air)

TMC 13-1

There was a long period of waiting for the new troops to arrive, so Optimus took this time to become better acquainted with Silver and Chip. Sonic was eager to show Chip off. “He helped me out a lot when the planet was split apart,” he explained to the young Prime.

“Well, now I’m REALLY eager to meet him!” replied Optimus. They soon met Chip in the Server Room.

“Hey, Chip!” called Sonic.

“Good to see you again, Sonic!” returned Chip. The little creature then flew around Optimus. “Wow! The Autobots are huge! Look at those hands! And those feet! What’s your name?”

“I’m Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. I understand you’re a herald of sorts?”

“As Light Gaia, that IS what I do,” answered Chip. “I’m the messenger of light, hope, and rebirth, made to oppose Dark Gaia, Unicron, in your language.”

“What’s your connection to him anyway?” asked Sonic.

“Long ago, my creator, Gaia, encountered Unicron when he was drifting through space. They fought and Gaia was almost beaten until she gathered rocks and minerals from space and created the planet to keep Unicron imprisoned. She created me to be his jailor. Every millions of years, Unicron would try to escape, and I would keep him tethered to the planet using the Seven Lights of the Earth, the Chaos Emeralds. This has always been the way…until his servants arrived.”

“The Terrorcons,” remarked Optimus.

“Exactly. Unicron has a plan to transfer his essence into another body, but he needs his servants to gather an enormous amount of power to give him the energy needed to jump into the game after the transfer.”

“The Chaos Emeralds and the Allspark,” guessed Sonic.

“Actually, it was a case of either/or. The Allspark is the most powerful choice.”

“So the Chaos Emeralds were a backup?” asked Optimus.

“They were, now he has to rely on a large amount of Dark Energon.”

“Where’s he gonna find that?”

“Could someone explain Dark Energon to me?” asked Sonic. “I’ve only heard it mentioned by you guys. Is it that purple crystal Cliffjumper sometimes makes?”

“It is,” confirmed Optimus. “It’s a powerful substance that can corrupt living beings with its use.”

“So, not a good idea for a super-fuel,” remarked Sonic.

“Not even the Decepticons want to use it. The only one permitted to even be near it is the Decepticon Lord. They always carry a badge of it on their person as a counter to the Energon crystal within the Matrix.”

“It’s also known as Unicron’s blood,” supplied Chip. Sonic’s eyes went wide.

“But if Unicron’s at the center of…wait, if it’s his blood, why hasn’t it spread all over the planet?”

“Because I’ve been tempering the spread,” answered Chip. “But, I can’t get it all whenever he wakes up. There’s always some that I’ve missed.”

“And over millions of years, it will grow,” realized Optimus. “Unicron may have enough already.”

“And he needs bodies to make his own,” continued Chip. “Seven Normals and six Specials, so he’s been boasting. I hate to say it, but he’s gotten the seven Normals during the battles that ended your first war. Plucked them straight from the Auto-troopers.”

“So where do the six Specials come into play?” asked Optimus.

“Straxus found them among the Decepticons and told them that Megatron asked for them.”

“Oh no!” gulped Sonic.

“Now we REALLY need to discuss terms of a truce with the Cons!” declared Optimus. “Who knows what deeds they’re plotting!”


Over on the Decepticon Moon Base, Megatron and Metal Sonic followed Eggman into the bowels of the moon. “Doctor, what could be so important that you needed to interrupt my strategy meeting with Galvatron?” asked Megatron.

“And I have duties to perform as well,” remarked Metal Sonic.

“Look,” replied Eggman, “it’s clear that the Autobots have a slight advantage over us when it comes to starships. They’ve got the Ark, the Blue Typhoon, and the Fang as well as an orbital station with enough power to devastate the planet if some lunatic decides to do so. We’ve got a moon base with no means of turning its weapons onto the Space Colony ARK and we only have Scarship and the Nemesis.”

“So, what do you intend to do about it?” asked Megatron. Eggman grinned, then they arrived at a door. Eggman keyed in a code on a number pad and the door opened to reveal a hangar.

“Behold, my pet project!” he cackled. The hangar held three ships! One was purple and had massive drills on the nose cone and wings, the second looked like a starship from Star Trek, and the third evoked an Athenian Trireme. Megatron and Metal Sonic stared in amazement.

“…Okay, this IS worth my time!” said Megatron.

“And that’s not all!” continued Eggman. “They can combine to form a more massive ship! You guys wanna see the bridges?” Megatron and Metal Sonic nodded furiously. “I thought so!” The three were then caught up in a teleporter beam and appeared inside the bridge of the drill-ship. “This baby is a Fortress-class ship, designed to go into planets and come up from under cities and capable of Warp 11!” They then appeared in the Egg-sterprise bridge. “Here is the Federation-class starship, designed for speed and quick attacks with a maximum of Warp 13!” They then arrived on the bridge of the giant space trireme. “And this is my Carrier-class ship, modeled after my old Egg Carrier. This baby’s got weapons out the wazoo and has a maximum speed of Warp 12! Now, each ship is designed with a specific Captain in mind. Megatron, I know how much you love explosions and weapons, so I’m giving the Carrier-class ship to you. Metal Sonic, like your copy, you have a need for speed, so I’m letting you command the Federation-class ship. That leaves me with the Fortress-class ship as I prefer to make a slight show of things.”

“Slight?” asked Megatron. He then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter! With the Blood-bringer, the Hellfire, and the Sonic Boom, we’ll have an advantage over the Autobots once we take care of Unicron!”

“…The what?” asked Metal Sonic.

“That’s what we’re naming the ships,” explained Megatron.

“Just a minute!” protested Eggman. “Hold your horses, you shape-changing shyster! Who gave you the authority to name MY ships?! I designed them! I’ll do the naming!”

“Hold on, you already have names for the ships?”

“Of course! The Carrier-class is the Megatron II, the Federation-class is the Metal Sonic II, and the Fortress-class is the XL Super Ultra Eggman Deluxe Xtreme!”

“NO! NO! NO!” shouted Metal Sonic.

“Metal Sonic speaks for me!” snarled Megatron as he got up in Eggman’s face. “Why should we have dull names while you have words like Super, Ultra, Deluxe, and Extreme?! Did you even spell ‘Extreme’ in the correct manner?!”

“What’s the idea?!” continued Metal Sonic. “If the ships are meant for us, then we should name them ourselves!”

“Well, excuuuuuuse me, Princess!” snapped Eggman. “I thought I was doing you a favor by naming them for you!”

“Perhaps you should have ASKED us during the design phase!” growled Megatron.

“All right! ALL RIGHT! Don’t get snippy! I’ve got some second and third choices here! What about Slifer, Ra, Obelisk?”

“I don’t even play poker, much less a convoluted children’s card game.”

“Rock, paper, scissors?”

“Are you serious?!” asked Metal Sonic.

“Erm, Eeny, Meeny, Miny! X, Y, Z? How does Egg, Egger, and Eggiest grab ya? That could work!” As Eggman spouted asinine names, Megatron ran his hand down his face and Metal Sonic banged his head against the wall.

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 12: Seven Lights of the Earth)

TMC 12-10

While people were being healed, the team commanders met with Optimus. In light of Ultra Magnus’ actions in Apotos, Hot Rod was taking his place. “So. Let me sum up what happened,” sighed Optimus. “We have no Chaos Emeralds, the Terrorcons have no Chaos Emeralds, and the Decepticons have all seven. We’ve got people with more than a few injuries, two of them being children, and Megatron is currently laughing up his sleeves with only minimal damage to his forces. Did I miss anything?”

“Well, we got new friends,” remarked Strongarm.

“So do the Cons,” reminded Topaz.

“Yeah, there IS that,” recalled Optimus. “Okay, since my own mission was as bad as everyone else’s, I can’t really assign blame on any one bot. I can only conclude that we were all overconfident after successfully getting the Allspark.”

“Yeah, that’s a safe assessment,” agreed Hot Rod.

“Still, the playing field is now even for both sides,” declared Optimus. “With both factions in possession of weapons that could potentially harm Unicron, we can try to open a dialogue with Megatron.”

“Open a dialogue? Are you sure?” asked Blackarachnia.

“They hate Unicron as much as us, Blackarachnia,” answered Optimus. “Besides, we don’t need to open a dialogue just yet. First, we need to welcome our two new friends. Meeting adjourned.” Everyone cleared out and Optimus made his way to his office. He was given a report of who was cleared and who was still receiving medical attention. Tails’ name stuck out for Optimus and he was sure Sonic was going to blame the young Prime for letting Tails get hurt. He then noticed that Ultra Magnus was just cleared, so he decided to get the chewing-out out of the way. “Ultra Magnus, report to my office.” Optimus waited a bit before the door chimed. “Enter.” Ultra Magnus stepped in.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked as the door shut behind him.

“Take a seat.” Ultra Magnus flinched at the tone Optimus used. He sat down, feeling very uneasy. “Ultra Magnus, I don’t know what’s going on, but this has to stop right now, understand?”

“I don’t believe I understand.”

“I’m talking about your detrimental and out-of-control Deceptiphobia!” Ultra Magnus’ optics widened at what Optimus said. “…Or did I misunderstand what happened in Apotos? Tell me that I misunderstood your willingness to sacrifice Tails to destroy the Decepticons and I’ll apologize right now.” Ultra Magnus’ gaze hardened. “…You really should have taken the way out I offered.”

“Optimus, Tails IS expendable!”

“Oh, don’t be an idiot! Tails may be small, but his knowledge and expertise has saved our skidplates more times than I could count!”

“We have a dedicated science team to do that work!”

“They always asked for Tails help on certain matters and he more than provides!” By that point, both bots were standing up. “Ultra Magnus, you’re one of the most single-minded bots I’ve ever known. That is a strength, yes, but it’s also a weakness! The Decepticons played you like a fiddle!”

“I don’t buy that for a nano-cycle, Sir!”

“Whether you believe it or not is immaterial! The fact remains; your emotions have jeopardized our situation far more than you realize! If we weren’t at war…!” Optimus cycled in some air before continuing. “…You’re confined to quarters. I’ll be contacting Cybertron for more soldiers and more medics. I think our mother can provide insight.”

“SIR!” protested Ultra Magnus.

“You have something else to say, Ultra Magnus?”

“Sir! …Brother, if Mom finds out, it will break her Spark! Please, at the very least, don’t involve her!”

“…Ironhide and I already told her about the situation. She’s coming here. You’re confined to quarters until her arrival. Dismissed.” Ultra Magnus snarled as he left for his quarters.


Up on the Decepticon Moon Base, Megatron allowed himself a maniacal laugh. “Decepticons, behold! Victory in the literal palms of our hands!” He held out the Chaos Emerald he and his team had taken. “Rumble handed us success on a silver platter, and to me, it is exquisite! Now both factions have a chance of taking down Unicron! But, we must do more than leveling the playing field, we must tip it in our favor! Now is the perfect opportunity to make sure we’re ALL in tip-top shape for our inevitable victory over the Autobots! Peace through tyranny!”

“Peace through tyranny!” cheered the Decepticons. As the Decepticons headed off, Megatron stopped Tower.

“Not you, not yet!” hissed the Decepticon Lord.

“May I ask why?” asked Tower.

“Why assist my Decepticons?” demanded Megatron. “What is MECH’s intention?”

“I’m no longer affiliated with that entity,” answered Tower. “A civil war broke out between my faction and my daughter’s during the Metarex incident. Her leadership led to the entire imprisonment of MECH, aside from myself and a few of my loyalists. Daughters are quite impulsive.”

“As are sons, but that’s neither here nor there. So, why take a page out of Nemesis Prime’s book?”

“Because he had the right idea, just the wrong commander. Thus began the process of Project: Chimera and the final draft, Cylas, Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis. After my evolution, I thanked my followers for their dedication and a life-time of service, but I thought myself more fit to keep the exclusive company of Titans. I’m afraid my followers won’t be joining us.” Megatron snorted.

“That is your price? You wish to join us? The Metarex are allies of the Decepticons. Last I checked, their defeat ultimately started at a MECH base.”

“Perhaps, but I can deal with that at a later date. Besides, helping your men out was a bonus. I have something greater to offer in exchange for a place at the table. Tell me, have you heard of Project: Damocles?”

“Enlighten me.” Tower grinned.

“Ask yourself, wouldn’t you wish to destroy your enemies from orbit?”

“…Orbital weapons? The Nemesis and Scarship are weapon enough.”

“But slow, are they not?”

“…Still listening.” Tower took Megatron’s invitation.

“With multiples of Project: Damocles, coupled with the power of the Emeralds, you could rain fire down on Mobius, destroying any Autobot resistance!”

“…Eggman never considered such a weapon. Shows how much he uses his supposed i.q. of 300. Tell me, if you WERE to join us, would you consider a name-change?”

“To be honest, I would happily accept one.”

“Splendid. For now, though, you are on trial. We need to test out your skills.”

“I shall pass any test you provide.” Megatron and Tower then left the room.


All the Terrorcons met in a large chamber with a pool of magma in the center. Smoke rose from it and it formed a very angry face. “Oh, Lord Unicron,” began Nemesis Prime, “we are honored by your pres…” Unicron then sent the Terrorcons into mental agony.

“None have ever DARED fail me even ONCE before!” roared the Chaos Bringer. “But you idiots, YOU HAVE FAILED ME TWICE OVER!”

“Lord Unicron!” begged Deceptitran. “It was those infernal Transfor…!” More mental agony shut him up.

“From deep inside my planetary prison, I’ve sent you simple instructions to follow! But, you’ve lost the Allspark to the Autobots! You’ve lost the Chaos Emeralds to the Decepticons! AND I HAVE LOST MY PATIENCE! The cosmic alignment is coming, and we have no means of power for me to rise and break free!”

“My Lord, I know we’ve had a few…unfortunate, erm…setbacks…” gulped Crystal Widow before mental agony returned.

“Setbacks?! YOU IDIOTS FAILED ME! With the Three Powers, our plans will be upended!”

“We shall find the Three Powers and destroy them!” begged Sideways. “We promise!”

“Oh, really?! You can destroy the Star Saber?!”

“…My Lord, what did you say the Three Powers were?” asked Straxus.

“The Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the Requiem Blaster!” explained Unicron. “With those three weapons in play…!”

“My Lord, forgive the interruption, but those weapons are already gone,” assured Straxus. “The Thirteen destroyed them after they cast you out.”

“Yeah, same in my universe,” supplied Nemesis Prime. “I had to rip the plans out from the Grid to make the Dark Saber.”

“…Are you sure they’re gone?!” snarled Unicron.

“My Lord, we’ll bet our lives on it,” answered Crystal Widow. Unicron then started laughing.

“Then there IS a way to amass the power needed for my resurrection! Since you lot have offered good news, I am feeling…generous. There is still a way to build me a new body! And this time, THIS TIME, UNICRON WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET IT RIGHT!”

Categories
Transformers: Mobian Chronicles Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 12: Seven Lights of the Earth)

TMC 12-9

Sludge, Kup, Jumpstream, Skyburst, Topaz, and Cream arrived at Kingdom Valley in Soleanna. “Oh boy,” muttered Topaz. “This place is unstable with all the buildings threatening to collapse any minute.”

“With the amount of water around here?” grimaced Skyburst. “I’m surprised some of them are lasting this long.”

“This reminds me of the time my platoon and I had to go through the swamps surrounding Queeg Mountain on the planet Dread,” mused Kup. “Chaos was wreaking all sorts of havoc with those Death Crystals of his.”

“Chaos?” asked Cream. “Is this Chaos a water monster?”

“No, he was a giant lizard-bear-crystal thing. …A water monster?”

“Well, I say that, but it’s the guardian of the Chao, creatures like my friend Cheese.”

“So, why use the word ‘monster’?”

“I don’t think G.U.N ever got the full story behind Chaos’ attack,” remarked Topaz.

“Knuckles’ ancestors attacked its home, and it forsook its peaceful ways. It was sealed in the Master Emerald by an Echidna woman called Tikal, but its world-ending grudge lasted for millennia. Eggman released it one time and, for a while, controlled Chaos until it absorbed six Chaos Emeralds. When it absorbed the last one, it became a giant monster. The only one who could calm it down was Sonic as he turned Super.”

“…Don’t think I wanna run into him,” muttered Kup.

“What about us?!” laughed a well-known voice.

“Eggman?” asked Cream. It was, indeed, Dr. Eggman, along with Laserbeak, Pale Bayleaf, and Black Narcissus. Pale Bayleaf rubbed his head.

“Stealth, my dear doctor,” he grumbled, “I trust that word is in your vocabulary?”

“Oh no, not today!” snarled Sludge.

“Dr. Eggman, leave this area immediately!” demanded Topaz as everyone prepared for battle.

“Yes, because I’m well-known for following G.U.N. orders,” snarked Eggman.

“The Emerald is ours,” squawked Laserbeak. “Surrender and die!”

“Er, don’t you mean ‘or’?” asked Skyburst.

“I know what I said!” The enemy then attacked, causing all sorts of mayhem. With the ruins collapsing at random intervals, it made the fight harder. Just then, Jumpstream spotted something, it was a flash of white light. Her optics focused on it and she could see a clear shape!

“CHAOS EMERALD!” she called as she pointed to the light. Unfortunately, EVERYONE heard that. They all made a dash for the Emerald. It became a bit of a brawl, but Cream managed to get the Emerald to a higher vantage point. That turned out to be a rather harmful idea as something knocked her to the ground, forcing her to drop the Emerald. Everyone turned to see Sideways and his Mini-cons standing over the young rabbit. The Mini-con named Rook snatched up the Emerald.

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t the Auto-boobs and the Decepti-clowns,” scoffed Sideways. “Hey, looky! It’s one of Soundwave’s pets. How’s the coping process going?”

“Better than your plans to destroy this planet, I can tell you that,” replied Laserbeak.

“And how’s Optimus handling that scrap-pile’s death, Auto-dorks?”

“He and Chromia are after your specific tailpipe!” snarled Sludge.

“Oh? So he knows? Pity, I wanted to see him mistake the Decepticons as the rust bucket’s killers. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got an Emerald to bring home.” Laserbeak charged at Sideways and swiped him with his talon-like fingers, then changed tactics and fired on Rook, making him drop the Emerald. Laserbeak then snatched it up, then tossed Cream towards the Autobots and their friends before firing on the building they were standing on. Our heroes scrambled to avoid crashing into the water as Eggman and the two Metarex leveled their weapons.

“STOP!” called a voice. A small ball of light then knocked the villains to the ground before catching the heroes. Cream felt a warmth cover her body as everyone was carried to safety. The light then faded as the Autobots and their friends touched the ground. It revealed a small pink and white creature covered in fur floating in the air thanks to tiny wings. The creature then turned towards Sideways. “Servant of Dark Gaia, you won’t win this one!”

“…I’m sorry, little one, I think you’re lost,” remarked Sideways. “Besides, he’s really called Unicron.”

“It matters not! You won’t defile the Chaos Emerald!”

“Wait, are you that ‘Light Gaia’ thing?”

“That’s my real name, but you can call me Chip!”

“…That’s a dumb name.” Laserbeak then fired on Sideways.

“Laddie, I certainly hope,” he squawked, “that you’re prepared to lose your head!”

“Guys, hold him down,” Sideways ordered his Mini-cons. They all leapt onto Laserbeak and brought him down. “Hey, remember what my function was back on Xitra?”

“You were a corrections bot, aye?” recalled Laserbeak.

“Bingo. I take wayward bots and set them on the right path. With Mini-cons, I put them into my hive. Look, we all want something greater than ourselves, I get that, but we all have our place.” His Mini-cons then extended needles from their fingers and plunged them into Laserbeak’s head. “Now, it’s time to teach you what your…” Sideways then got a message in his head saying “Unable to Connect”. “…What?” he muttered to himself. “It’s time to teach…!” Same message. “That can’t be…it’s time to teach you what your place is!” Same message once more. “Oh for…what’s going on?! You got a Spark or something?!”

“Aye, I do. Remember when we came into contact with a volatile Allspark all those years ago?” Sideways thought back to when the Allspark exploded with energy. After a few seconds, he realized what that energy was.

“…Oh! …Errors have been made.” Laserbeak bucked his captors off and then transformed before attaching himself to Sideways’ arm.

“Ooh! What’s this?!” asked Laserbeak’s voice in Sideways’ head. “Why, this looks like all the code related to motor control!” Sideways resisted, but his arms weren’t listening. He was then forced to key in a command of three zeroes.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking!” yelped Sideways. “‘Should I command his Mini-cons to self-destruct?’ And the answer may surprise you!” The command was finished and the Mini-cons’ heads exploded. Laserbeak disconnected as Sideways writhed in pain, clutching his head and screaming. He then fell to his knees and glared at Laserbeak. “Do you know how long repairs are gonna be?! …SNAP!” Sideways then turned into a cloud of static, surrounded the dead Mini-cons, then returned to his solid state with his Mini-cons fully repaired. “Under normal circumstances, I would be in the repair bay for a long time, awaiting new Mini-cons. Thanks to Unicron, what you did was a fruitless effort. But, if it’s any consolation…that hurt like the Pit!” Laserbeak decided that enough was enough, so he flew back to his teammates as they fired on the Autobots while Chip surrounded them in an energy dome that allowed only the Autobots’ fire to leave.

“Mates, we’ve got our prize! Let’s leave!” called Laserbeak. Eggman keyed in a command in his Eggmobile and a Bridge portal opened. The Decepticon and his team left the battlefield, leaving both the Terrorcon and the Autobots bewildered.

“Did…did we just get…distracted?!” protested Sludge.

“We’ll figure out who’s to blame later!” snapped Kup. “We gotta get out of here!” Kup radioed Teletraan. “We need a Ground Bridge!” A portal opened up and the Autobots, their friends, and Chip entered, leaving Sideways and his Mini-cons to wonder what just happened.

“Whu…I mean how…Unicron’s gonna KILL me for this!”

Categories
The Three Realms The Three Realms (Book 4: Trials of Light and Dark)

3 Realms 4-11

Oyed received the news that Realmfleet was making an advance on Realmgate City. “The fools,” he chuckled. “They are vastly outnumbered. And, given Mordek’s hatred for Drows and Shadow Dragons, there’s no chance of peace between Realms. With his desire to make them extinct, the Realms will eventually turn their backs on all of my children. Soon, they will turn to me for guidance.” He turned to Dr. Borg. “Prepare the defenses. We keep the city until we find the Realmgate plans.”

“At once, Lord Oyed,” confirmed Dr. Borg as she bowed. She then flew off to relay the orders. Oyed grinned.

“Oh, my children, can you not feel the noose tightening around your throat?” Oyed decided to tour the castle, just to examine what he gained so far. He stepped out onto a balcony to see Tormo and Yulduk talking about something.

“See, I think they’re too treacherous for our purposes,” remarked Yulduk. “I think THEY will be the ones to do it.”

“Come on,” scoffed Tormo, “there’s no way they’d side with him. Realmfleet’s gonna try something first before they do.”

“What are you two talking about?” asked Oyed. The Revenant and Goblin whirled around to see their master.

“We have a feeling that something’s going to make things difficult for us,” explained Yulduk. “I think the Shadow Dragons and Drows will betray us at some point, even going so far as to suggest a bet.”

“And I think,” said Tormo, “that Realmfleet will try something to remove a good number of our forces before that happens.”

“Mind if I get in on that action?” offered Oyed.

“…You know what, sure,” accepted Tormo.

“What’s your pick?” asked Yulduk.

“I think that the Shadow Dragons and Drows will be the ones to wipe out Realmfleet,” answered Oyed. “Their hatred for Mordek alone is too great to allow them to consider betraying us and letting Realmfleet try anything.”

“You’re sure?” quizzed Yulduk.

“Positive. I spent a thousand years grooming them both to be my disciples.”

“…I guess that WOULD give you the inside track on them.”

“So, the question is, how interesting do we want to make it?” asked Tormo.

“100 Golds?” offered Oyed.

“…No disrespect, but what possible use could you have for money?”

“I stole some gold and wanted to experiment with the activities you mortals do with it.”

“Fair enough.” A robot then approached them.

“Lord Oyed, the enemy is here!”

“Then, by all means, destroy them.”


“The city’s preparing the defenses!” warned Malak as the Endeavor moved closer.

“Keep shields up until we get the signal,” ordered Arsha.


“Oh, that is precious!” laughed Oyed. “Dr. Borg’s main nemesis is leading the attack!”

“Arsha? Uh oh, there’s a plan somewhere,” muttered Yulduk.

“Dr. Borg’s nemesis may have Fae levels of craftiness, but she’s only a Human/Kitsune Blender.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” warned Tormo. “She’s managed to undo a few of our endeavors before! In fact, she was involved when you stepped into the Mortal Realm on that island!”

“Yes, but she was but a pawn for my children.”

“She also cracked your ribs in that morgue, remember?” asked Yulduk.

“She did WHAT?!” yelped Tormo.

“Yulduk, I thought you and Dr. Borg promised to never talk about that again,” hissed Oyed. “Besides, that was a lucky shot. She won’t get the chance again.”

“…Hey, why aren’t they firing?” asked Tormo.


“Captain,” called Shalvey, “Tanta’s giving us coordinates.”

“Feed them into the helm,” ordered Arsha. “Nazay, get us there pronto.”

“Aye aye,” confirmed Nazay.


“Erm, I must repeat Tormo’s question,” muttered Oyed as he looked through the spyglass. “Why aren’t the guns firing?”

“Something isn’t right here,” remarked Tormo as he took the spyglass and looked out. “…Oh dear.”

“What?”

“Lord Oyed, you owe us both some gold.”

“Both of us?” asked Yulduk. “Why?”

“The Drows and Shadow Dragons are shaking hands with Realmfleet,” explained Tormo.

“THEY’RE WHAT?!” shouted Oyed.

“That was 20 hours of my life!” protested Yulduk. “Those assholes!”

“Possibly the rest of it if they start firing on our guys,” mused Tormo.

“I don’t understand!” snarled Oyed. “We had them in our grasp, even…” Oyed then realized what happened, “the one that woke up before her people did it!”

“…Okay, I think we shot ourselves in the foot, letting the former last of the Shadow Dragons in on the scheme,” gulped Yulduk.

“I don’t follow,” muttered Tormo.

“She actually did it!” roared Oyed. “She convinced both species to…to make peace with Mordek! I didn’t spend a thousand years converting them to my cause just for some weak Realmfleeter to undo it within five days!”

“Think we better save our forces?” asked Yulduk.

“Might as well,” growled Oyed.


Even with their new allies, Realmfleet was still at a slight disadvantage against the enemy. The Revenants were quite the formidable fighters. Tanta and Dotan had teamed up and were casting offensive spells at their former allies but were quickly becoming exhausted. “I’m runnink out of mana!” panted Tanta.

“I’m down to my fire-breath!” replied Dotan as he unleashed said breath. Mordek then leapt in and slammed his hammer to the ground. “…Well, never thought I’d actually be grateful to you!” growled Dotan.

“We can discuss that if and when we get out of this!” called Mordek.

“Fine by me!” answered Tanta. It was then that the three targeted the same Revenant. “Tasuno!” chanted Tanta as she fired a purple magic blast. Dotan unleashed a fire-ball from his mouth and Mordek thrust a beam of red light from his hammer. Then…something happened. Their eyes turned into white lights and they spoke as one.

“Ensakunde!” they called. The Revenant was then struck down by all three blasts and fell. The veins on the body then faded and the eyes became what they once were. Mordek, Dotan, and Tanta were shocked at what they did. A robot then examined the body.

“…Life signs…terminated!” it reported. The Revenant had gone from Undead to just dead!

“Ensakunde!” chanted Mordek as he fired from his hammer. The spell hit another Revenant and it fell over, same as the first. Mordek and Tanta did it again with their remaining mana. “Tanta and Dotan, you two are geniuses!”

“…Tank you!” replied Tanta.


“They can’t possibly…!” gulped Oyed as he and Dr. Borg fought other soldiers.

“Ensakunde!” called another soldier as he fired the spell at his Revenant opponent. The Revenant fell dead, putting the Realm Trinity Empire into a panic.

“This is bad! This is REALLY bad!” yelped Dr. Borg. “We can’t sustain that kind of loss!”

“Sound the retreat!” ordered Oyed. “The city is lost!” Dr. Borg began by calling Plunder Island Stronghold to expect the occupation force…only the reply wasn’t what she expected.

“My DEAR Doctor, we would be DELIGHTED to host your CHARMING forces.”

“REB?!” shrieked Dr. Borg.

“Did you just say Reb?! As in Reb Rojam?! What’s she doing on the line?!” demanded Oyed.

“Acting very calm about it, which means she’s not in any danger in OUR headquarters!”

“Meaning she’s reclaimed it somehow!” realized Oyed. He then roared in frustration. “The Under-realm is lost to us! Retreat to the Mid-realm!” Dr. Borg sounded the retreat and Oyed opened various portals. Some of his followers picked up a few of the fallen Revenants as they retreated. Soon, the battlefield was empty of the Realm Trinity Empire. Mordek gazed over the area and smiled.

“My friends, the day is won!” The allied members cheered.


Arsha finally met Dotan and Tanta in person as they discussed their discovery. “It looks like we’ve got a weapon against Revenants!” cheered Arsha.

“It’s rather mana-intensive,” warned Dotan.

“With Shadow Dragons and Drows working with our mages and scientists,” assured Arsha, “we’ll figure out how to make up for that deficit.”

“Our respectif people,” remarked Tanta, “ton’t haf koot history, yet you wish to help us.”

“Because I’d like to consider myself better than my ancestors,” answered Arsha. “Call it arrogance if you will, but I’d rather not repeat their mistakes.”

“…I can get by tat,” chuckled Tanta. She then turned her gaze to Mordek. “I am equally stunt tat you assitet us.”

“…I wish to atone for my sins,” explained Mordek. “I abandoned your people when they didn’t follow my doctrine to the letter, and the Realms suffered because of it.”

“A God says that he has sinned?” snorted Dotan.

“Even we are capable of error.”

“Ten you may atone by helpink us reclaim our homes,” answered Tanta.

“Without delay,” promised Mordek. He turned to Arsha. “Captain, with your permission, I would like to stay behind and help them regain their old homes. We will speak with Orbak and explain the situation.”

“Permission granted, Lord Mordek,” bid Arsha. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, Arsha. I have a feeling we’ll need it.” Mordek then bowed to Arsha. Dotan and Tanta WERE surprised.

“…Perhaps your heart IS capable of change,” rumbled Dotan.

“What I wish to know,” muttered Tanta, “is why Oyet ant his followers left te Unter-realm. To tey not haf a base here?”

“That’s thanks to a little deal I struck,” answered Arsha.

“…Was this deal with Reb Rojam?’ asked Mordek.

“It was. In exchange for a pardon, she would act under the Combined Realm Governments as a Protectorate Pirate, a Privateer, if you will.”

“A Pirate employt by your people,” realized Tanta.