Category: Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 14: Instruments of Destruction)

G.U.N. had been told of the Transformers splitting into different groups to confuse Unicron. While that was going on, Lansworth and a friend of hers, a Husky male named Mike, were watching a Monitor Lizard and his Husky co-host doing an exercise routine, complete with leg warmers and sweat-bands. Topaz then came up to them and saw the broadcast, sighing as she knew their tendencies. “Work-out channel?” she asked.

“Supporting my boyfriend,” answered Mike as he pointed to the Husky co-host.

“Boyfriend?” asked Lansworth. “I thought you two were married.”

“Not yet. Gonna be proposing to him tonight.”

“That explains your leave request,” mused Topaz. “In that case, good luck tonight.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Just then, the Monitor Lizard noticed something rumbling as his hands touched the floor. Unicron then burst from the floor in robot mode and knocked everyone down as he rose through the ceiling of the studio.

“Lansworth! Change the channel!” ordered Topaz. Lansworth flipped through the channels to see Unicron rising from the floors of each studio until she arrived at the news.

“And, as you can see,” the male Poodle Anchor was finishing his broadcast, “with all due respect to canines like myself, every dog has its…” he didn’t finish his sentence as Unicron rose from the floor. The Terrorcons then appeared out of purple portals and hooked up demonic machinery to the cameras. Unicron then grabbed the poodle anchor. The Terrorcons then set themselves up as if they were the camera crew.

“And we’re universal in 3…2…1…GO!” called Nemesis.

“The following contains violence, coarse language, and adult situations not suitable for minors. Viewer discretion is advised!” He then tightened his grip, reducing the poor anchor to a bloody paste. As he let the viscera fall from his hands, Unicron faced the cameras. “Ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, organics, sentient machines, and that technicolor AND techno-organic rainbow in between, I am Unicron. Locals of Mobius, you might remember me as Dark Gaia. Of course, if you were just above the cracks as Eggman split the planet apart, then you WON’T remember me as you fell to your fiery end at the core of the planet, and I ate your souls. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. Today, I am making an announcement!”

---

“Please be leaving the planet forever! Please be leaving the planet forever! Please be leaving the planet forever!” begged Vector as the Chaotix saw the broadcast AFTER the execution of the poodle.

“My Terrorcons and I will be leaving the planet forever,” announced Unicron.

“WOO HOO!” cheered Vector.

“After I blow it up like an atom bomb!”

“OH NO!”

“Unless…” Vector gasped in fearful anticipation, “one or more of Mobius’ ‘champions’ can best me in combat!”

---

“So, Sonic?” asked Amy.

“You know, Orion’s still gonna fight!” protested Jazz.

“I am officially hosting a once-in-your-lifetime event,” continued Unicron. “A tournament so grand, it will leave you breathless! I hereby dub it…the Unicron Games! Be part of the Big Conversation on #UnicronGames.”

---

“Wow, Yatter just EXPLODED with that hashtag!” muttered Ravage.

“…You have a Yatter account?” asked Galvatron.

“For all of you familiar with your adorable tournament-style sports, I’ll be borrowing the rules. No brackets, this time! Yours truly is the only opponent. And, much like Megatron’s mother, I will accept ALL offers!” Unicron gave a rather dirty wink at that.

---

“HOW DARE HE!” roared Windblade as her trim turned gold.

“…Where was THAT?!” asked Thundercracker.

“The location of this marvelous event is 35°N 116°W,” continued Unicron. “If you don’t know where that is…it’s the old Mojave Desert on the continent of Northern Imperia. If you’re wondering why coordinates are like that, blame the cartographers. The games will start one year from today at the exact time this broadcast ends. That should give you locals more than enough time to prepare and train! Or, for those not participating, time to connect with loved ones, get your affairs in order…or maybe you just want to kill your boss! Get a purge going! Live a little! Because in one year’s time…well, to give you an idea…” Unicron then pointed his left pinky at the wall before a stream of light utterly devastated it, along with the buildings behind the studio and the mountains behind the city. “So, keep that in mind and I’ll see you next year. Also, feel free to pray to your god but, spoilers, I won’t be listening.”

---

“Aaannd CUT! That’s a wrap!” called Nemesis in the studio. The Terrorcons took to the air and flew off to the Mojave Desert. “You know, we’re gonna need a design for the arena,” he mused.

“Already covered,” replied Unicron as he tossed the blueprints to the Terrorcons. “I’ll leave the particulars to you lot. In the meantime, I’m gonna build me a castle near it!”

---

A countdown was on every screen that hosted the broadcast. 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 52 seconds remained. Orion Pax sighed as he looked through the remains of his base. He found an Energon convertor, a spare comms unit, his trailer, and a spare pistol. He transformed and hooked himself up to the trailer. “So, what’s the plan?” asked Jazz’s voice. Orion then noticed Jazz and Blackarachnia in vehicle mode with Sonic and Amy standing by them.

“…We need the Three Powers.” Answered Orion. “He said one year, I’m using it. I’m going to un-brick my connection to the Matrix. Alone.”

“That didn’t work for you last time, did it?” asked Blackarachnia.

“Remember what Sira taught you?” reminded Amy.

“This is my home too,” finished Sonic.

“Pax, you might as well accept it. We’re going with you,” said Jazz firmly. Orion grinned.

“In that case, everyone, let’s roll out!” The team then left the ruined base. They all have one year, will they win?

“Only three more sacrifices to go!” laughed the Blendtrons.

“GRAGH! We should have listened to Misfire!” groaned Megatron. “Their blades deflected Decepticon weapons, turned their power back on them!”

“On they came, their blades trailing rivers of Energon!” laughed Misfire.

“Three more specials, and I will be complete!” cheered Spinister.

“Specials, my aft!” roared Megatron. “I never met a more useless bunch! …Of course! That’s it! Oh, Straxus screwed up now by getting these idiots even NEAR Unicron!”

“My Lord!” protested Krok.

“BE SILENT! I’m trying to save your Monoformer chassis! Unicron, listen to me! Straxus made a huge mistake for your goals! These are not special Decepticons! The truth is, they’re dispensable!”

“…You assume power makes one special!” laughed Unicron. “The Auto-troopers were needed to give me an idea of what a mere face in the crowd looks like, and the others are meant to show off how an individual comes about!”

“Such as the non-sequitur speaking oaf!” Unicron was only using Spinister to speak.

“Or the senile veteran who was built with a faulty targeting system,” this time, he used Misfire, “a statistical glitch who should have been killed in action when he was just a private!”

“Or the bureaucratic Con who did all his fighting in logistics!” Flywheels said this. Then all the Blendtrons spoke at once again.

“Or the cowardly bomb who wet himself in fear, thus permanently contaminating his payload!”

“…That’s why you didn’t explode when you were dropped?” Megatron asked Fulcrum.

“I’m not too keen on dying! Now, survival, oh WOW, huge fan! Put me down for some of that!”

“What about the former captain of the ship with the weirdest name in the Decepticon Fleet?” asked Unicron as he pointed to Crankcase. “His head wound was a failed suicide attempt when pirates boarded it! When he was demoted and the ship given to Krok, he shut out all forms of happiness!”

“And this jackhole right here,” grunted Crankcase, “is why I always said this planet was a dismal rock!”

“And, on the subject of Krok, let’s not forget that he was too afraid to transform, so he became a Monoformer! That action led to him being the officer with the worst casualty record among the Decepticons! The officer solely responsible for the Gigantion Fiasco!”

“THAT WAS YOU?!” roared Megatron. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF DISADVANTAGE YOUR FAILURE GAVE US?!”

“No! My strategists were to blame for that!” begged Krok.

“All of them: identified as failures, marked down for execution, but saved from the Smelting Pool by my servant, Straxus!” laughed Unicron.

“Saved…to be sacrificed to our master!” cheered Nemesis Prime. As the fight went on, Bumblebee handed Fulcrum his spare pistol as he activated his weapons systems. Fulcrum then looked at the pistol, then at Crankcase…then got an idea.

“Crankcase, you still got a Tarbaulic Acid Pill on you?” he asked.

“You’re not weaseling your way out of this!” snapped Crankcase.

“It’s not for me, it’s for my payload.”

“…ARE YOU STUPID?! THAT’S WHAT UNICRON WANTS!”

“Not if I jump correctly.” Soundwave, who was staying silent the whole trip, then piped up.

“Is help required?”

“…Dude, if I go off, you’ll be caught up in the explosion.”

“Sacrifice: necessary.”

“…Then what are we waiting for?”

“For us!” snapped Buzzsaw as he and Ratbat approached them.

“What’s going on?!” asked Frenzy. He, Laserbeak, and Ravage then felt a jolt go through their heads. They couldn’t hear Soundwave’s thoughts anymore!

“FULCRUM, TRANSFORM!” Fulcrum’s kibble then surrounded him as he turned into his bomb mode. Soundwave, Buzzsaw, and Ratbat transformed.

“Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Powerlinx!” commanded Soundwave as Fulcrum rested on top. The two cassettes joined at each side and Soundwave plowed through.

“SOUNDWAVE, COME BACK!” shouted Megatron.

“Operation: Absolution,” declared Soundwave. He briefly connected Fulcrum’s mind to his and, in the faster computer world of their brains, they sang Frank Sinatra’s My Way. It actually took 10 seconds before Soundwave made the fatal bump in the road, causing Fulcrum to fall off and hit the ground. The resulting explosion engulfed the four Decepticons as well as all the Blendtrons. The light shone through every part of the caverns, temporarily blinding everyone. They soon looked at the smoking crater where Soundwave, two of his cassettes, and Fulcrum once existed.

“…In light of your bravery,” muttered Megatron as he bowed his head in respect, “I hereby declare you toil and misery exempt. Rest well, Soundwave, Buzzsaw, and Ratbat of Xitra. You flare, you flicker, you fade.”

“They certainly did all that when they were alive!” laughed multiple voices. Everyone goggled as the Blendtrons stood up…with FULCRUM among their number! “You know,” mused the Blendtrons, “I have to admit, that was rather gutsy of Fulcrum. He actually showed off his bravery in his final moments. …Pity he had to take Soundwave with him. Oh, speaking of taking someone out in that regard, Nemesis, remember that power I gave you?”

“Use it?” asked Nemesis.

“Bingo!”

“I’ll need to separate Optimus from the group.”

“Leave that to me and your compatriots.” The Blendtrons and Terrorcons then leapt onto the group. Everyone was doing their best to keep Krok and Crankcase alive. The fight allowed Nemesis to get Optimus away from the group. He kept hammering on Optimus, making him dizzy.

“NOW, GRID OF DOMINATION!” shouted Nemesis. “SNUFF OUT THEIR LIGHTEST HOUR!” His chest opened up and moved his organic component out of the Grid’s way. The Grid then fired purple light at Optimus, putting him into immense pain! It then shrouded Optimus completely.

“OPTIMUS!” called Megatron. The light then faded, revealing not Optimus Prime, but Orion Pax! Orion got up and saw what had happened.

“Technical difficulties?” laughed Nemesis. “Don’t bother trying to fix it! Your connection to the Matrix is forever bricked!” Orion took the Matrix out of his chest and slapped it repeatedly, then tried to open it. …It was no use; the Matrix wouldn’t respond.

“You know, the thing about reading my moves,” called the Blendtrons to Megatron, “with Dark Energon, it makes it a two-way street! I could read YOUR thoughts too! Using the Matrix to put me back to sleep, I applaud that, but I wasn’t about to let you get me while I was constructing my new body! I WILL rise, one way or another! Now, Krok, Crankcase…you are required.”

“…It is time, then,” muttered Krok in defeat.

“Yes, it is your time!”

“…I’ve had enough of life anyway,” muttered Crankcase.

“Then it’s agreed. We embrace it,” declared Krok. “Crankcase, fall in.” Crankcase tossed a device to the ground that generated a force-field trapping everyone, minus Krok and Crankcase.

“CRANKCASE, LOWER THIS DOME AT ONCE!” roared Megatron.

“It’s our time,” remarked Krok. “So, we march.”

“Into oblivion?” asked Crankcase.

“Into GLORIOUS oblivion.”

“That’s what I want to see!” cheered the Blendtrons. “Come to me! Become me!”

“Crankcase, head up! Head up and march!” Krok and Crankcase held their heads up, stood at attention, and marched up towards Unicron.

“We die now, Sir?” asked Crankcase.

“We die for the Decepticons! All our lives, we have waited for this! And now, THE TIME HAS COME!” The Blendtrons cut them down rather messily, then fired streams of light into the corpses.

“NO!” wailed Windblade.

---

Galvatron doubled over in pain at Autobot base. “Galvatron!” called Jazz.

“They…they failed!” he gasped. “Unicron is…coming!”

---

“Sweet ME, that would have been dull if I didn’t interrupt them!” growled all 13 Blendtrons. “I hate heroic speeches, don’t you? Oh well, as they said, it’s time!” A giant ball of purple light with a face then rose from the depths and surrounded the Blendtrons. They were then torn apart, wire by wire, and reassembled into a new form. It was a tank with spikes protruding from the front, a big gun barrel on the left, and a smaller one on the right.

“Now,” said the tank in just one voice, “let’s see what I can do! UNICRON, TRANFORM!” The sides of the tank split away and swung down while the cockpit folded into a chest unit. The assembly holding the front of the tank split in half and folded to become arms while feet unfolded from the bottom of the legs. A head with two curved horns then popped up from the chest and the optics flashed in a purple light. Unicron had finally completed his transformation! “Corporeal again! WHOLE AGAIN!”

“Orders, Lord Unicron?” asked Nemesis as the Terrorcons bowed.

“We strike the Autobot base. That’s where everyone is gathered!” Unicron opened his own Bridge portal. “TERRORCONS, IT’S FEASTING TIME!” He led his minions into the portal.

“TELETRAAN! BRIDGE US BACK!” ordered Megatron. He managed to disable the force-field and led everyone into the Ground Bridge.

---

It was utter chaos in the Autobot base. Everyone was firing on Unicron to no avail as the Terrorcons damaged the whole base, the protection spells Amy, Sira, and Optimus had cast finally becoming unraveled. The away team returned and joined in the fray, only to be ragdolled by Unicron. Megatron was doing his best to hold his own against the Chaos Bringer as Orion keyed in a command for Teletraan 1. His avatar popped up. “Orion, if I do that…!”

“The base is already lost!” insisted Orion. “I know I’m not a Prime right now, but I’m still the superior officer! Now get yourself to safety!”

“…Yes, Sir,” sighed Teletraan. He then vanished from the screen and all base-related servers exploded.

“…Smart bot,” mused Unicron as he continued thrashing Megatron. Soon, everyone was gasping at the feet of Unicron and the Terrorcons.

“Wh…whu…how…why…?” stammered Megatron.

“Because you’re green!” laughed Unicron.

“…You mean…”

“No, not like Makeshift! Although, I CAN feel the envy from you two.”

“Oh, can we NOT!” protested Makeshift.

“I mean that you’re a novice, an amateur! You’re surrounded by people who’ve seen more action in a week than you have in your entire life, even taking the first war into account! Hell, Orion’s just 160 and he defeated a rogue wizard, made Teletraan 1 sane, and found out the names of the bots that were sacrificed all those years ago in a botched ritual to make weapons in my name!”

“Wait, that old story’s true?!” yelped Megatron.

“They’re still talking to me,” muttered Orion.

“And the worst part is, trying to brute-force your way to victory isn’t even new! Stop me if this sounds familiar.” Unicron then cleared his throat before he adopted a “tough-guy” stance. “RAGH! I’M MEGATRON! I BEAT EVERYONE IN KAON! I’M THE NEW LORD OF THE DECEPTICONS EVEN THOUGH I DON’T KNOW WHAT DECEPTICONS REALLY BELIEVE IN!” He then dropped the act. “See? Anyone can do it.”

“…That’s a horrible impression,” muttered Megatron.

“But NOT inaccurate,” remarked Orion.

“WHY ARE YOU HELPING HIM?!”

“For my sake, I bet even Starscream or Skywarp could have done it!” laughed Unicron. “They just weren’t stupid enough to try! And, considering that they yeeted themselves off Mobius, that threshold is VAST! Now, how about you stop flailing uselessly, calm yourself down, and quit acting like Vegeta?” Megatron snarled, then he fell to his knees and put his hands to the floor as his face turned to one of defeat. “I don’t know what’s more broken, the base, your friends, or your spirit.”

“Just kill me already.”

“Spirit, it is!” Unicron then pointed his palm to Megatron as a small ball of purple energy formed. The Chaos Bringer’s smile then faded. “Seriously, way to bring down the mood.”

“IS THIS ALL JUST A GAME TO YOU?!”

“A game? Hardly! If this were a game, I’d be having fun!”

“…Fine! Destroy this world! But, know this! If and when you do, you’ll still have a whole universe resisting you!” Unicron held his pose for a little longer as he considered Megatron’s words.

“…Huh. You know what, you’re right.” The energy sphere then vanished as Unicron dropped his hand. “Terrorcons, change of plans!”

“What?” asked Nemesis.

“What?” repeated Megatron.

“Disciples of Primus and friends, turn those frowns upside down!” declared Unicron. “You’re not dying today!”

“Wait, what?!” called Megatron. “Why?!”

“Careful, kiddo, don’t want that gift horse to BITE you! You’ve just given me an idea, that’s all. What WOULD I accomplish if I just destroyed the planet now? I’d have people resisting me all across the universe, not surrendering to fear immediately, and making me expend worthless energy in putting down resistance groups. No, the whole universe needs to await my arrival in fear at the same time!”

“Oh, what in the Pit are you planning now?!”

“My revolution which WILL be televised! Go take care of your own and be sure to watch the news!” Unicron and the Terrorcons then left through the front door before transforming and leaving the ruined base.

As they dug their way through, Bumblebee decided to get some answers. “Tell me, Fulcrum,” he asked, “you’re a kamikaze trooper, right? How come you’re so willing to risk your life for bots who would treat you as expendable?”

“How come you’re so willing to risk your life for bots who want to enforce their brand of order at any cost just to save their shells and feel good about themselves, Prisoner Bumblebee?” replied Fulcrum.

“You’ve got a lot to learn about Autobots, pal.”

“And you of Decepticons.” The rocks then tumbled away, startling both mechs for a bit. “…Teamwork, hm. Looks like it can clear away a lot of things.”

“Nice work. …Ah, slag! There’s a fork in the road! All right, left or right?”

“…Left. Prisoners first.” Bumblebee shined his lights down the left tunnel. It looked like the beams had a limited range before they were swallowed up by darkness.

“…Pretty dark down there.”

“Not as dark as the right!” Fulcrum’s voice was almost an octave higher.

“…Fulcrum, are you…experiencing a churning sensation in your fuel pump?”

“Ch…churning?”

“Maybe a little light-headed? Caused by the Spark pulsing at a faster rate that drains the Energon needed for the brain. …Oh, and the weak leg frames.”

“Is…Is there…a name…to these symptoms?!”

“It’s called fear.” Bumblebee’s intakes were cycling air a little faster. “I feel it whenever something’s wrong. …It sounds like you do as well.”

“Are you calling me a coward?!”

“No, Fulcrum! I’m calling you a fellow sufferer!” Fulcrum’s terrified face explained his whole mood.

“…Oooo, I’m a disgrace to the Decepticons!”

“Fulcrum, there’s nothing wrong with being afraid. It’s what you do with it that matters.”

“I’ve often thought of admitting to these…disgusting impulses! Now…with no weapons, no comms…nowhere to run to!”

“Grim, isn’t it?” asked Bumblebee. “But, there IS a bright side to all this.”

“What?!”

“We’re the only ones down here.” A noise cut Bumblebee’s statement down. An apt description, considering it sounded like swords being drawn.

“…That…came…from the left!” gulped Fulcrum.

“Yes, it did. …I was rather hoping I had imagined it.”

“Then…then I’LL go first! To the right!”

“Hold on! You DID say ‘Prisoners first’! No need to risk yourself unnecessarily!” It was then that seven sets of purple lights slowly appeared, along with seven wicked grins. Fulcrum then observed something.

“D-do you see it?!” squeaked Fulcrum. “Surrounding the lights?! I-In the darkness?!”

“No. All I see are the lights. I-It’s too dark t-to s-s-see anything else!” Bumblebee’s fear was starting to take over.

“B-But doesn’t it l-look like th-th-the darkness itself…is alive?!”

“You’re s-seeing things, Fulcrum! F-Fear will do th-that!”

“I AM NOT AFRAID!”

“A lie, Fulcrum!” replied seven voices in unison. Fulcrum and Bumblebee then looked down the tunnel. “Seven normals and six specials…” remarked the lights. The shadows then formed many hands.

“See?!” whimpered Fulcrum. “The darkness! It’s…it’s…MOVING! IT’S ALIVE!”

“…all blended to become me!” continued the lights.

“It’s not just darkness!” wailed Bumblebee! “It’s Unicron! HE’S AFTER US! RUN!” Bumblebee and Fulcrum then ran down the right tunnel, screaming in terror, with Unicron’s extensions in hot pursuit, laughing all the while.

---

Bruticus laughed as he was assaulted with his opponents’ strongest attacks. Soon enough, the Cyber Keys locked their hosts’ powers again, giving Bruticus enough time to toss them to the ground hard! “Is that all you got?” he taunted. “Bruticus is disappointed. You are all supposed to be stronger than me! You are supposed to be examples of teamwork! But look at you now, lying at Bruticus’ feet! Bruticus is teamwork incarnate!”

“Are you sure you’re about to win?” asked Silver as he panted. “You’re burning through a lot of Energon, and I’d hate for you to waste it.”

“…Why mention Energon?” asked Bruticus. It was then that the Maximus started flashing and chanting.

“Timing out. Timing out. Timing out.”

“Timing out?” repeated Bruticus. “…Wait, not the…?!”

“Hypothesis confirmed!” declared Shockwave. “Transformers weren’t meant to be in a gestalt state! The Maximus serves to unite certain Transformers, then undoes the combination process after a certain amount of time so the individual minds are safe! At rest, you stay in a combined state for much longer! In combat, you only have an hour!”

“NOT TRUE!” wailed Bruticus.

“Well, Bruty,” laughed Galvatron, “looks like you’re gonna be crying like a little glitch!”

“SHUT UP!!” Bruticus then took to the air and was surrounded in an aura of white light. “WE’LL SEE HOW YOU STAND UP TO EVERYTHING BRUTICUS HAS GOT!!” He then thrust his arms to his enemies. “TASTE BRUTICUS’ UNITED WRATH!” HE fired every ounce of energy at his opponents and the whole island was engulfed. The light died down, but the dust had yet to settle. Bruticus was panting.

“10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4,” droned the Maximus.

“Hard enough for you?” asked Bruticus.

“3. 2. 1. Time over.” Bruticus then felt a jolt and his limbs fell off before each component returned to their individual robot mode. The Combaticons floated in the air for a few seconds before making their way down.

“Who’s crying now?” asked Onslaught.

“Take friggin’ that!” snarled Brawl.

“I wonder how long it will take for the Maximus to recharge so we can recombine again?” asked Vortex.

“Roughly half-an-hour,” answered Swindle. “I managed to find a sort of operator’s manual inside the Maximus’ code.”

“It would be prudent for all of us to read it,” suggested Blast-off.

“Doing so WOULD allow for more effective strategies in combined form,” mused Onslaught.

“You’ll get the chance once we’re done with you!” snarled Galvatron’s voice. The Combaticons turned in fear to see everyone still standing as the dust finally settled. Onslaught and his brothers couldn’t move, frozen in fear. “Like I told you lot, like a glitch!”

“Sh…shut up! JUST SHUT UP!” shouted Onslaught as tears leaked from his optics in frustration.

“Oh, Sweet Amalgamous Prime! You’re actually crying!”

“I’M NOT CRYING! …I’M NOT!”

“Honestly, now I just feel bad. Usually I would just thrash whoever opposed me, but, with YOU, Combaticons, I’ve gotten rather attached. It’s sort of like putting down Ol’ Yeller.”

“How is THAT a thing?!” asked Rodimus.

“I believe we’reARUGH!” Galvatron clutched his head in pain and fell to the ground.

“What is it?!” asked Shadow. “What’s wrong?!”

“It…It’s Unicron!” gasped Galvatron. “He’s got…got the Specials!”

---

“Hiding in a cave from Unicron!” grumbled Crankcase. “What’s the universe come to?!”

“It’s about to be turned into ashes if we don’t hurry!” urged Megatron.

“Megatron, we can’t go any further without a breather!” argued Optimus. “Not all of us are built to withstand this amount of Dark Energon!” Sludge moaned in concurrence.

“RUN, YOU LUMBERING IDIOT! RUN!” shouted a new voice.

“Is that…?!” asked Optimus.

“WE CAN’T OUTRUN HIM FOREVER!” called another voice. “WE NEED TO HIDE!”

“I don’t believe it!” muttered Megatron.

“Nor do I!” grunted Flywheels as Bumblebee and Fulcrum rounded a corner. “FULCRUM!” shouted Flywheels.

“Flywheels! Sir!” yelped Fulcrum as he saluted.

“You’re stopping to salute?!” protested Bumblebee. “Who are you more afraid of?!”

“That’s a good question,” rumbled Megatron.

“Oh, it’s you.” Krok then approached Fulcrum.

“Fulcrum, you said ‘hide’ earlier. Hide is not a word used by a TRUE Decepticon.

“With all due respect,” gulped Bumblebee, “we need to table that!” Bumblebee then saw Optimus. “Sir, we have to get out of here! He’s right behind us!”

“Who is?” asked Optimus.

“I am!” laughed multiple voices as one.

“It’s him! It’s Unicron!” explained Bumblebee as the darkness with evil, ginning faces appeared by the group. A new face was added. “The darkness behind! He IS the darkness!”

“What of the coward?” asked Krok.

“Bumblebee’s right,” rumbled Megatron. “The time to consider what does or doesn’t constitute a true Decepticon is not here, not now! Not while the Blendtrons are at our feet!”

“Is that who they are?!” asked Bumblebee.

“According to Misfire, they’re renegade Decepti-drones assimilated into Unicron’s will!”

“A mere trick for the 9^th Platoon!” laughed the darkness’ faces as the shadows shrank to reveal Transformers built exactly the same with an Autobot symbol on their chests.

“Auto-troopers?!” yelped Pyra Magna.

“Looks like Insecticons and Basic Auto-troopers,” muttered Optimus. The seven were two jets, a tank, two cars, and two insects. They all stood behind one Krok recognized.

“Spinister! He’s alive! He’s safe!” he cheered.

“Is he?” asked Spinister.

“…Doesn’t he mean something about the birds and the bees?” asked Crankcase.

“Surprised by him not speaking in non-sequitur?” asked Spinister.

“Spinister, what’s going on?” asked Krok.

“Spinister can’t hear you right now!” laughed a voice Optimus and Megatron knew. “Mind if we take a message?” Nemesis Prime and the Terrorcons then stepped out of the shadows. Krok then saw one of the Terrorcons.

“Governor Straxus?” he asked. “Why are you here?”

“He’s here to make sure his plan worked!” answered one of the insect-mechs.

“He, Makeshift, and Deceptitran led me to Spinister!” laughed a jet-mech.

“They cut him into pieces,” cheered Spinister as he drew a sword, “and I easily absorbed his mind and essence into me!”

“What are you talking about, Spinister?!” demanded Krok. “Where did you get that sword?!”

“Don’t you get it?!” wailed Sira. “He’s dead! Just like the guys behind him are dead!”

“They’re right here, not dead!” argued Krok.

“They ARE dead!” insisted Misfire. “I saw them! They…!”

“Silence!” ordered Krok.

“The Auto-troopers are dead! Spinister is dead!” At this point, all the Blendtrons were speaking in unison, Spinister included. “And soon, YOU shall be dead! Do you know me, Followers of Primus?!”

“…Unicron! The Chaos Bringer!” hissed Optimus.

“Good! Now know me as Unicron…YOUR DESTROYER!” The Blendtrons leapt at the team and clashed mightily! Blades against blades. Optimus then shoved his opponent back and addressed the Blendtrons.

“I humbly request your ear, Lord Unicron!” The Terrorcons arched an eyebrow as the Blendtrons looked on.

“…And what would a Prime be so compelled to say to me?” asked the Blendtrons in unison.

“I make this appeal, not for myself, but for this planet which you constitute and the beings who inhabit it. Human and Mobian kind rely on you for life, sustenance! Your resurrection would only result in the destruction of species which evolved from the seeds of your very greatness!”

“So, these Mobians and humans, you consider them MY progeny?”

“Indeed!” The Blendtrons then snarled.

“PARASITES! They, too, shall know my wrathful hand…once I am finished with YOU!” The fight resumed and Spinister fired a beam of purple energy into Optimus’ chest, knocking him to the floor. “The line of Primes has grown weak in my absence! And, thus, you shall FALL!”

“That outcome is inevitable,” gasped Optimus, “but not on this day!” He then fired on Spinister with his gun, not stopping until Spinister grabbed his hand and flung him aside. He then grabbed his sword and sliced Misfire in half. Flywheels tried to run but was instantly surrounded.

“Primus, save my Spark! Primus, save my Spark!! Primus, save my Spark!!! PRIMUS, SAVE MY SPARK!!!!” His prayer was unanswered as he was run through the Spark Chamber with the sword. Spinister then fired streams of purple light into the two dead Cons. He then stopped as the corpses moved, and their wound healed. Their optics were now glowing purple, and their faces had a wicked grin.

“Yes, Disciple of Primus! On this very day!” This time, Flywheels and Misfire joined in the voices. “For Unicron may be one, but we, all, are UNICRON!”

“This business about Straxus’ orders, what do YOU think, Flywheels?” asked Krok as Optimus and his team briefed Sonic and his group on what was going on.

“It’s not my place to think about someone’s orders,” replied Flywheels.

“True.”

“I would recommend, however, that we should retrieve Straxus’ orders so Megatron would know what’s going on.” Krok arched an eyebrow.

“You don’t believe that they have anything to do with Windblade?”

“I believe only in the glory of the Decepticon Empire.” Flywheels split into his two alt-modes as he finished.

“Ah, yes!” Krok was feeling patriotic. “The glory of the Decepticon Empire!”

“But, need I remind you, Straxus does NOT tolerate incompetence. He once had every tenth bot in an entire platoon melted down to make his axe, just for being lined up two degrees in an unfavorable direction.”

“Right, right.”

“Actually, left.” Flywheels recombined into his robot mode as a call came in.

“HORROR STORIES! WE LIVE IN A TREE OF ELVES!” It was on an open frequency, so everyone heard that.

“…What in…?” asked Optimus.

“It’s Spinister,” explained Misfire. “His vocabulator’s damaged. I understand how he speaks. Spinister, could you repeat that? What do you mean rogue, sword-wielding Decepti-drones?” The reply was Spinister’s scream of agony and fear and the sound of blades slicing into metal!

“Give me that!” snapped Krok as he snatched Misfire’s comms. “Spinister! Spinister, report!” A demonic shriek was his only reply before it was replaced with static.

“That…that’s gonna give me nightmares,” gulped Sira. Krok then closed the channel.

“It’s clear enough! The fugitive Autobot is responsible!”

“You mean Bumblebee?!” asked Trema.

“Who else could it have been?” asked Flywheels.

“Permission to speak, Sir?” asked Misfire.

“Denied,” replied Krok. “We need to concentrate on finding the yellow runt!”

“Krok, I promise you,” assured Optimus, “whoever or whatever killed your friend, it was NOT my scout, Bumblebee.”

“I suppose you’re gonna tell me that ‘Bumblebee’ would not kill?”

“No, just that he prefers guns to swords. Bumblebee knows he’s not the strongest, so he would prefer some distance between him and his enemy.”

“Besides, with the Omnic Runes littering the whole place,” muttered Misfire, “It could very well be Unicron.”

“Yes, it’s very likely…wait, what?!” asked Krok.

“I’m wondering much the same,” said Megatron.

“You know what the runes are?” quizzed Flywheels.

“The Omnic Runes? They’re what allow Unicron to monitor his body’s insides,” explained Misfire.

“They’re his eyes and ears?!” yelped Victorion.

“That is why I’m a little nervous.”

“I know about them because I’m using Dark Energon to anticipate Unicron’s actions,” remarked Megatron. “How do YOU know about them?”

“I asked for permission to speak and was denied by Krok.”

“Answer my question!”

“Because I was on this planet 2,000 years ago as we were defeated, Sir. The entire 9^th platoon was trapped in a cave system much like this one. It was a standard mission, Sir. We would tunnel underground, rise from below, seize the populace above, then claim it as Decepticon territory. Our target was Beijing as the Treaty of Beijing was about to be signed, thus ending the Great War. We were ordered to strike and kill everyone…but they were waiting.”

“The Chinese Military?”

“No, Sir, the Blendtrons.”

“…Blendtrons?” asked Krok.

“Decepti-drones taken from our numbers that had their minds assimilated into Unicron’s. Swordsmen.”

“Swords?!” scoffed Crankcase.

“Against Decepticon military might?” muttered Flywheels.

“And Decepti-drones?” remarked Megatron.

“You lot didn’t see them,” replied Misfire. “They had blades capable of deflecting our weapons, turning Decepticon fire back on itself. I lost 85% of that grand company. …We were deemed too expensive to reform; thus the Treaty of Beijing was signed.”

“Might I ask, how many were they?” asked Windblade.

“They numbered seven,” answered Misfire.

“Seven armies?” quizzed Grimlock.

“No.”

“Seven regiments?” asked Thundercracker.

“No!”

“Seven divisions?” This came from Optimus.

“Seven bots! They were a team of seven bots!” Misfire drew in a breath to calm himself. “I saw them and ordered the guns to be silenced. On they came, their blades trailing rivers of Energon. There was only one thing to do. I ordered everyone to seal up the caves and evacuate. We all barely escaped into the Wulong Valley, where we were picked up by Sentinel Prime himself. He didn’t believe our story and neither did anyone else on Cybertron.”

“Because your story has NO credibility whatsoever!” scoffed Krok. “Seven sword-wielding Decepti-drones couldn’t defeat a Decepticon army on the march!”

“Seven ordinary ones, no,” remarked Megatron.

“But ones assimilated into Unicron’s service?” asked Windblade.

“How could he do that when he has no physical body?!” argued Krok.

“He’s got powers beyond what we know,” replied Megatron. “Misfire, that noise over the comms as Spinister died, that’s what you heard in China?”

“Yes, Sir. The same slicing of metal and laughing as they reduced the 9^th Platoon to 15% of its original numbers, annihilating us.”

“This is absurd!” scoffed Crankcase.

“I saw what I saw! I heard what I heard! I know what I know!”

“You also believe in the Necrobot!”

“ENOUGH!” roared Megatron. “We’ve tarried too long! Krok, you and your men will join us as we press on towards Unicron! Are there any more of your soldiers left?”

“Well, there IS Fulcrum, a member of K-squad,” replied Krok. “He’s pursuing the yellow runt.”

“Good, we could use a kamikaze troop like him.”

“A WHAT?!” yelped Optimus.

“That’s what the K means. They transform into bombs and have an explosive payload in them. Literal suicide bombs.”

“No kamikaze attacks! I want everyone alive!”

“No point in using him anyway!” grunted Crankcase. “His payload’s inert. If he transformed into bomb mode, he won’t go boom.”

“Oh, for the love of…! Let’s just go already!” snapped Megatron. Victorion disassembled into her separate components before they headed off.

---

Fulcrum groaned as he got up. “Ooff! …I’m alive? By Nexus Prime, I’m alive!”

“No need to go on about it!” replied Bumblebee.

“The runt!” yelped Fulcrum. “My orders! I…WHERE’S MY GUN?!”

“Looking for this?” asked Bumblebee as he pulled out Fulcrum’s gun.

“That weapon is Decepticon property! Give it back!”

“Here, for all the good it will do you. The power pack was damaged in the fall.”

“How do you know?”

“I was going to use it to shoot upwards to signal for help. After it failed to fire and I figured out why, I thought better of it.” Fulcrum then looked at his surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“No idea. Some sort of warren. Makes me wonder if Unicron’s planning to use this to house an army.”

“…Did…did you just…?”

“One of his servants beat us to it. He’s festering at the center of this planet.”

“…Unicron’s…HERE?!” Fulcrum was shaking in his proton boots.

“Come on, aren’t you K-squad? You shouldn’t be scared.” Bumblebee activated his headlights and looked around. They stopped on an opening blocked by rocks. “Hey! I think there might be a way through!”

“…To the surface?” asked Fulcrum.

“You DO realize we fell 30 stories, right?! It was only the fact that we transformed that we’re still talking about it!” Bumblebee shifted some of the rocks aside and looked through. “Hey! Over here! There’s a passage!” Fulcrum looked through the opening.

“But…but it leads…deeper underground!”

“Well, we’re going nowhere at the moment!”

“Besides, the way is blocked.”

“Then help me unblock it!” Fulcrum hesitated.

“I must…I must confirm with my superiors.” Fulcrum tapped the side of his head. “…MY COMMS! THEY’RE GONE!”

“I took that off you too. Leveled the playing field a bit. I tried calling my buddies on my own comms, but the fall damaged the circuits. I had to manually transform you to robot mode to check your own comms and then smashed them when I got to them.”

“Why?!”

“To stop you from calling your friends for help, obviously!”

“WHY?!” Bumblebee stopped to explain.

“Because they would have killed me! Look, try to understand; I want to get out of here, but I can’t shift this rubble alone and I doubt you can either. Either we put aside our differences or we die.”

“Then…then I would rather die!” Fulcrum’s stance, his voice, even his face didn’t match his words.

“Oh, fine! Then we’ll just sit here and stare one another to death!”

“You don’t understand! Consorting with the enemy will give me a one-way ticket onto the D.J.D’s list!”

“I won’t tell if you don’t, Goggles!”

“…M…My name’s Fulcrum.”

“…I’m Bumblebee. Look, if we work together to get out of this and see our commanders shooting each other, then we’ll forget this ever happened and try to kill one another. Deal?”

“…I…I cannot accept. …It WOULD be different if you were my prisoner.”

“All right! If it means that much to you, I’m your prisoner! Now, do we have a deal?”

“If you are my prisoner…then, yes! Now, Prisoner Bumblebee, you take care of the rocks on the right, I’ll deal with the left!”

“Understood.” Bumblebee and Fulcrum then began their labors.

“Hailing Fulcrum!” the comms announced. “Fulcrum, this is Misfire! Come in!”

“Fulcrum receiving!” replied Fulcrum.

“State your location, my boy,” ordered Misfire.

“Entering subterranean room in pursuit of yellow runt. …Wait! I see him!” Fulcrum then shouted to Bumblebee. “Yellow runt, halt or be blasted to plasma!”

“I HAVE halted, see?!” called Bumblebee. Fulcrum then grinned as he reported to Misfire.

“The runt has reached the edge of a crack in the floor! He’s trapped! An easy target!”

“Listen to me!” shouted Bumblebee. “The ground’s not safe! It’s riddled with cracks! If you keep stomping, it’s gonna give way and we’re gonna plummet helplessly to our deaths! So please, please, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” Fulcrum stopped.

“Fulcrum, report!” called Misfire.

“The ground is heavily cracked. The runt claims it’s not safe to proceed.”

“What was that?!” snarled Bumblebee.

“Th…s…m t…sm…!” Misfire’s order became garbled.

“Communications impaired!” replied Fulcrum. “Confirm orders concerning the runt.”

“WHO’RE YOU CALLING A MICRO-SIZED HALF-PINT WHO STOPPED GROWING UP BECAUSE HE DOESN’T DRINK ENERAX!!” Bumblebee’s rant was accented with him stamping his feet, exacerbating the cracks in the floor. He heard the cracking of rock splitting beneath his feet and realized his mistake. “Oh, I am become error! It’s breaking up!”

“I know that!” replied Fulcrum. “It’s just a signal-fluctuation.”

“Not that, you twig! The ground! The ground is breaking up!”

“R…ea…F…m!” came the garbled reply of Misfire.

“He says the ground is…” Fulcrum couldn’t finish his explanation as the floor gave way and sent the two bots tumbling down.

---

“Might I ask, Sir,” quizzed Flywheels, “what should we do with Windblade and her retinue?”

“I’m working on it, Flywheels,” replied Krok.

“Excuse me, Krok,” called Windblade, “I must admit, I’m curious about those orders you mentioned.”

“Decepticon Battle Orders may not be discussed with enemy combatants; you know me better than that!”

“We’re prisoners, not combatants!” argued Megatron.

“You might plan to use your weapons when we’re the most vulnerable!”

“Then why didn’t you take them?! You haven’t done ANYTHING practical, have you?! Seems to me, all you’ve done, since we’ve met, Napoleon, is strut around with that swagger stick of yours, shouting! Well, color me unimpressed!”

“…What is this ‘Napoleon’? Is it an insult?”

“Famous Human Ruler of an old Mobian country when the planet was called Earth,” explained Windblade. “Noted for his strategic brilliance.”

“And for being five foot nothing!” muttered Megatron.

“…He had…five feet?” asked Krok. Crankcase was searching everyone all the while and then found the symbol on Megatron’s chest.

“What’s up with siding with Autobots, soldier?” he growled. “You really forgot who the enemy is? You young’uns! Always forgetting the glories of the past and wasting time on a dismal rock!”

“Examine my Badge fully, Crankcase,” replied Megatron. Crankcase arched an eyebrow.

“…Interesting choice of words, soldier.” Crankcase complied. “Besides, with you guys, the REAL form of address is…is……is…! Er, Krok!”

“What’s the matter, Crankcase?!”

“Erm, you might want to come here! You too, Flywheels!” Krok and Flywheels looked at each other before approaching Crankcase. They saw the full Badge in Crankcase’s hand, then looked at the chest cavity in Megatron’s torso…then they fearfully put two and two together.”

“…Hi. I’m the current Lord of All Decepticons. You may call me Megatron, or Lord, or Master, or Sir, or a combination of them.” The three yelped before Crankcase put the Badge back into Megatron’s chest and polished it before joining Krok and Flywheels in a salute. “And the skinny bot with the antennae is my younger brother and sworn enemy, Optimus Prime, and Windblade is my mother. Ordinarily, I would love nothing more than to see them watch as their faction crumbles, but we’re pressed for time and I need Optimus’ connection to the Matrix.”

“What for, my Lord?” asked Krok.

“To defeat Unicron. He’s festering in the center of this planet and will need to be put back to sleep. You wish for orders? Follow us into the depths of this planet. Make sure your whole team knows of this.”

“Understood, Sir!”

“…Come to think of it, your original orders…”

“What about them?”

“The thing is, Mother didn’t think to come here until she received transfer orders from Optimus a little over six months ago. When did your commanding officer tell you to come here?”

“…About…a year ago, local planetary time, Sir.”

“Then I’m curious how your commanding officer could possibly have known to find her here, given the slowest possible warp from Cybertron to here.”

“…My Lord, with all due respect, do you REALLY expect me to question the orders of Straxus? That’s a one-way ticket to the Smelting Pool of Polyhex behind Darkmount, and I’m not eager to take a swim in molten metal!”

“The point is, what if your original mission had nothing to do with us?” asked Windblade.

“But it MUST do!”

“But, if it doesn’t, then you would be neglecting the orders of a superior officer which wouldn’t go down well with Straxus, thus earning you a one-way ticket to the Smelting Pool.”

“What’s this about the Smelting Pool?” called Misfire’s voice. He approached the group with his prisoners in tow. The Dyno-bots were dragging Thundercracker, all of them in alt-mode, while Sonic and his friends were walking behind them with their hands behind their heads.

“Let them go,” ordered Megatron.

“I don’t take orders from prisoners,” scoffed Misfire.

“He’s not our prisoner, Misfire! He’s our Lord!” Misfire’s optics flickered in confusion at Krok’s statement. “The guy with the BADGE!”

“Oh?” asked Misfire. “…Oh…OH!” He then saluted Megatron.

“Now that THAT’S cleared up,” said Megatron, “release them at once!”

“Yes, my Lord!” Misfire keyed in a command and the mode-locks on the Transformers fell away. They then transformed and the Dyno-bots leveled their weapons at Misfire.

“HOLD!” called Optimus.

“Hold?!” argued Slash as her sword’s blade rotated in a menacing manner. “This creature surprised us with the mode-locks! He deserves to die like the dog he is!”

“There’s been a slight breakdown in communication, but now they all know who’s the head Decepticon here! Megatron got them in order!”

“…I’m still watching him!” growled Grimlock.

“Of course.”

---

Bruticus was swatting all the shots aside while firing his missiles. “Oh what a day! WHAT A LOVELY DAY!”

“Guys, hitting him ain’t working!” called Rodimus.

“Shockwave, are the Combiner Plugs the only weakness?!” called Shadow. “Bruticus is obviously wise to that scheme since he’s protecting those areas!”

“I…I can’t…I don’t…” Shockwave, for once, was floundering for answers.

“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but while you’re having your crisis, WE’RE ALL GETTING KILLED OUT HERE!”

“But you don’t understand, Bruticus is the most perfect Combiner, made of five soldiers with a tactician commanding the whole operation! He could easily drain our…drain our…wait, the Combaticons are arrogant kids!” Shadow then arched an eyeridge.

“Inspiration?”

“More like finally getting a hypothesis. Shadow, how long have we been fighting that behemoth?”

“About 40 minutes.”

“Then now’s a good time for us Transformers to use the Cyber-keys! At least 20 more minutes of combat should do it!”

“…You have a plan?”

“I just remembered that I studied a Maximus before.”

“…20 minutes?”

“A rough estimate, but yes.” Shadow then called everyone on the comms.

“Guys, Pour on the power! We got 20 minutes to pull something!”

“And it will be Bruticus’ fist up your asses!” roared Bruticus as he fired missiles from his left fore-arm. Everyone got out of the way.

“CYBER KEY POWER!” The Transformers invoked their Cyber Keys and unlocked their hidden abilities. Rodimus had a large bow and arrow in his hand and Knock-out was twirling an electro-staff. They all charged at Bruticus, ready for round two!

Megatron led everyone into an area with a massive chasm spanned by a narrow bridge. Everyone could walk across it two by two. “So, what’s Misfire’s deal?” asked Optimus. “Why is he here?”

“Most likely the same reason as Krok,” answered Megatron. “To be sacrificed to Unicron.”

“Who IS Krok, anyway? I only read snippets of him in history.”

“He’s a Decepticon Strategist,” explained Windblade, “also, he’s the basis for my comic’s main nemesis, Destroygar. They just ramped up his Triple-M tendencies.”

“Triple-M? He’s a Monoformer?” asked Optimus.

“Yep. He and I always traded barbs as well as blasts.”

“Er, does he have an air of quiet desperation around him?” asked Victorion.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I think I see him with two others!”

“Halt, prisoners of the Decepticon Empire!” called Krok’s voice as he, Crankcase, and Flywheels approached them, weapons leveled at the group.

“Oh boy, here we go!” groaned Megatron.

“Krok!” called Windblade. “I should like to declare that, under the terms of the 29^th treaty, I and all of my associates are to be declared combatants on a greater quest and, as such, exempt from Martial Jurisdiction.”

“Marshal Juriz Dikshun?” asked Crankcase. “Who is Marshal Juriz Dikshun?!”

“Our ‘Marshal’ is Governor Straxus, Lord of Poly…!” continued Flywheels.

“Enough!” ordered Krok. “You’re a Camien, correct? What do Camiens know of the 29^th treaty? Camiens never attended treaty signings, they believed it against their religious sensibilities to ‘give anything to evil’!”

“Well, if you would let me explain…” replied Windblade.

“She’s saying we’re dealing with more important matters, Small one!” interrupted Victorion.

“Okay, thank you!” hissed Windblade.

“And if Windblade says we’re exempt from your jurisdiction, we’re exempt from your jurisdiction!”

“I said, THANK YOU, VICTORION!”

“Windblade?!” gasped Krok. “Flywheels! Facial analysis!” Flywheels pulled out a device and scanned Windblade’s face. He found a match.

“It IS Windblade! She’s just wearing the usual Camien make-up!”

“Then these must have been my orders, Flywheels!”

“No doubt about it in my mind, Sir!”

“My orders: to seek out, capture, and execute my sworn enemy, the Camien City-speaker designated…Windblade!”

“Me and my big mouth,” gulped Victorion.

“You Combiners really are all mouth and no ears, aren’t you?” muttered Megatron.

“Flywheels! Crankcase! Prepare arms!” ordered Krok.

“Hold on!” called Stormfront. “You can’t just shoot us!”

“I want to see good, clean shots to the head and the Spark!” Krok outlined to his mechs. “Think you can manage that?”

“Easily, Sir!” replied Crankcase.

“If anyone has bright ideas…” gulped Optimus.

“Allow me,” called Windblade. “Better make that ‘Sparks’, Krok. The behemoth behind us is a Combiner and thus has the Sparks of all six of her components.”

“…She has a point, Sir,” said Flywheels.

“Indeed. So, how do you want to do this with her? One shot in each part, then six in the head?”

“That will do!” replied Krok. “Prepare arms!” The three Cons raised their weapons again.

“Some soldier you are!” laughed Megatron. “Your weapons packs only last so long!”

“And I would think that your ability to recharge your weapons is compromised,” supplied Optimus. Windblade grinned at her boys catching on to her plan.

“Your ship WAS downed by Scarship, yes?” asked Megatron.

“…They’re right,” muttered Flywheels. “Standing orders dictate that, on a field mission, conservation of weapons energy remains a priority.”

“So, I’ll take the shot alone!” declared Krok as he leveled his weapon. “Three! Two!”

“Is that advisable, Sir?”

“What now, Flywheels?!”

“Protocol dictates that the minimum number of Decepticons required to form an execution party…is three.”

“Of course. You’re not savages,” snarked Megatron.

“Ah, but, in this instance, Flywheels,” countered Krok, “Windblade is a viable target because…because…she is attempting to evade capture!”

“No, she’s not!” spluttered Ratchet. “She’s not even trying to make a run for it, for some reason!”

“Again, her compatriots have a point,” agreed Flywheels.

“Well…run then, Windblade! Run!” growled Krok, his annoyance getting larger by the minute.

“No, I think I’d much sooner surrender, if it’s all the same to you.” Krok groaned in frustration and turned to his team to discuss what to do next.

“Windblade, what in Primus’ name do you think you’re doing?!” yelped Ratchet.

“Krok has two sets of weaknesses,” explained Windblade. “One is the usual bodily weak spots.”

“Yes?”

“The other is his love for military protocol. I’m guessing that the rules covering surrendered prisoners are more involved than those covering fugitive combatants.”

“Ah, fighting without fighting!” realized Yoketron. “You HAVE mastered it!”

“I’ve no reason to believe we’ll be executed, so let’s see if we can tie them in knots first.” Just then, a communicator crackled to life.

“…Who’s was that?” asked Optimus.

“Pick it up, Flywheels,” ordered Krok.

“This is Flywheels,” called Flywheels over the communicator. “Come in.”

“Misfire, reporting,” replied the caller. “Spinister, Fulcrum, and I have captured a small platoon of Autobots and organics.”

“Oh, not more,” groaned Krok.

“Autobot/Organic platoon confirmed,” said Flywheels. “Are they attempting anything?”

“No, Sir, they’re not attempting anything,” answered Misfire. “Their Nebulan friend held them all back.”

“Nebulan?! What’s a Nebulan doing with Autobots?!”

“Unknown. She keeps repeating her name and that she’s a Witch of the Green Order. There were more Autobots, but a yellow runt took off in one direction and the others went down a tunnel. I believe one of them is a United Combiner.”

“United Combiner confirmed. We have them.”

“I have sent Fulcrum after the yellow runt and Spinister after your prisoners.”

“…Spinister isn’t here. Our prisoners must have evaded him.”

“Flywheels, tell Misfire to bring his prisoners here,” ordered Krok. “We shall interrogate them all together.”

“And the yellow one?” asked Optimus.

“Another of your platoon? He’s attempting to evade capture. Tell Misfire that, as soon as he is sighted, he is to be shot immediately!”

“Understood, Sir,” replied Flywheels.

---

On the surface, Bruticus’ declaration left everyone stunned. “I’m…sorry…WHAT?!” shouted Galvatron.

“You and your friends have enslaved us to your desires!” explained Bruticus. “My components and I are sick of it and want to show you all who’s REALLY the top of the heap here! Right down to you putting up with a little experimentation…of me speaking in the third person.”

“No soldier of mine is gonna be THAT arrogant!” roared Galvatron as he charged at Bruticus. Bruticus grabbed Galvatron in mid-air.

“Bruticus is NOT your soldier!” He then tossed Galvatron to the ground.

“It’s still one against a lot, you monster!” shouted Galvatron as he recovered, and everyone rallied to him.

“Monster? Bruticus is not a monster! Bruticus is…um…”

“A genuine demon?” asked Rouge.

“A true freak?” quizzed Shadow.

“…Bruticus is the DEVIL!”

“…I know of worse,” remarked Shockwave. Bruticus laughed.

“None as inventive as Bruticus!” Bruticus then clenched his right fist as Blast-off’s thrusters activated. He then swung his fist into the ground and created a massive crater, knocking everyone’s blocks off in the process. He then laughed like a madman. Bruticus was certain of his victory and felt he could toy with his prey.

Megatron led the team deeper into the caverns, the runes pulsing in purple light. “Sweet Chaos, this is creepy!” muttered Tails.

“You ain’t kidding,” agreed Grimlock. “My beast mode’s screaming at me to run and hide.”

“You too, huh?” asked Slag.

“You COULD ask for a Ground Bridge back to the surface,” chuckled Megatron. He then drew in a breath and knelt down, clutching his head.

“Megatron?!” asked Optimus.

“Unicron grows ever stronger!” answered Megatron. He got up and picked up the pace.

“How do we know Unicron’s not using him to lead us all into a trap?!” hissed Arcee.

“We don’t,” replied Optimus. The group continued on. They couldn’t afford any more delays. As they trudged on, Sludge stumbled. Swoop caught him.

“I’m fine,” assured Sludge. “Just woozy.”

“It’s the Dark Energon around here,” reported Swoop to everyone. “It’s starting to affect him. Put your arm around mine.”

“But I’m fine!”

“No arguments! Just do it!” Sludge grumbled as he complied.

“Health and safety gone mad!”

“You really looking for another black mark on your record?” asked Grimlock.

“N-no, Sir.”

“Then shut up and go along with what Swoop says! He’s our medic here!”

“You, Swoop?” asked Ratchet.

“I was a Rank 7 Medic before I became a Dyno-bot,” explained Swoop.

“What rank are you now?”

“Rank 5.”

“Nice!”

“Can we please get on with it?!” snarled Megatron as the team approached two tunnels.

“Which way?” asked Optimus. Megatron shot the roof of the right-hand tunnel.

“This way,” he finally answered. As the team went down the only open tunnel, Bumblebee stopped. He then moved to the closed one. Megatron noticed this. “Hey! Bug! I said this way!”

“I heard you, Mr. Corpse!” retorted Bumblebee. “I thought I heard something here.”

“There’s nothing there, Bumblebee,” remarked Knuckles.

“Behind the rocks, I mean. Like metal against stone.”

“Do we really have time to…?” Megatron’s question was interrupted by the rocks being blown away by an explosion. Everyone was showered in rocks and the remains of the explosives used to clear them away. “What in…?!” coughed Megatron.

“I *cough* TOLD you there was something there!” snarled Bumblebee.

“Forward!” called a voice from the once-blocked tunnel. “Forward! Up and at ‘em!”

“Is that Misfire?!” called Thundercracker.

“What’s he doing here?!” yelped Windblade.

“Oh, look! The Metarex and Metal Sonic didn’t search for survivors! Marvelous!” snarled Megatron.

“There’s two more with him!” reported Grimlock. Misfire was with Spinister and Fulcrum.

“Well, Fulcrum? Can you see anything?” asked Misfire.

“I see something! Autobots!” replied Fulcrum.

“Happy trees fart from the moon!” cheered Spinister.

“Forward and hold them!” ordered Misfire. “Hold them tight!” Bumblebee was the nearest bot to the tunnel.

“BUMBLEBEE!” shouted Optimus. “BUMBLEBEE, GET OUT OF HERE!” Bumblebee transformed and took off.

“We have to go, Optimus!” called Megatron.

“But the others!” The Dyno-bots, Thundercracker, and all the organics were furthest from the chosen tunnel.

“They’re not helpless, Optimus! We have to go!”

“Optimus, you’re needed more than us!” urged Grimlock. “We’ll cover you!”

“Guys!” wailed Optimus.

“We’re only thinking about your safety, Prime!” argued Thundercracker. Optimus looked torn, then dashed down the tunnel with Megatron and the others.

“There, Fulcrum, Spinister! Running!” shouted Misfire.

“I see the runt!” replied Fulcrum as he fired in Bumblebee’s direction.

“The ants’ march will fall into frosting!” cheered Spinister as he shot at Optimus and Megatron’s group.

“Too late! You missed!” remarked Thundercracker.

“The Autobots were fast, that’s all,” replied Fulcrum.

“Well, after him, Fulcrum! After the midget!” ordered Misfire.

“Yes, Sir, Misfire, Sir!” Fulcrum then charged off after Bumblebee.

“You won’t catch him!” taunted Grimlock. “He’s the fastest scout we’ve got!”

“You chase after the others! Go!” Misfire told Spinister. Spinister charged off after Optimus and Megatron’s team. “Well, now, what have we here?” chuckled Misfire. “Thundercracker with Autobots? And…EW! ORGANICS?!”

---

The Combaticons were still combined and swinging and roaring once Galvatron, Rodimus, Silver, Knock-out, Shockwave, and Team Dark arrived. They all met with Eggman as he cowered behind a rock. “Okay, first: WHAT!” shouted Shadow. “Second: THE HELL?!”

“You encountered the Enigma of Combination?” asked Shockwave. Eggman pointed a terrified finger to the artefact. Shockwave picked up the Enigma and examined it. “Fascinating. This could help me fix up my mistakes with the Constructicons’ combined form of…”

“Okay, I’m all for the advancement of science and all,” interrupted Galvatron, “but we’ve got an out-of-control Combiner here! Shockwave, please tell me your research into Combiner tech yielded a weakness!”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Combiners may be tough, but they’re weakest at their Combiner Ports.”

“Combiner ports?” asked Rodimus.

“Certain Combiners have plugs in them that allow them to unite with the main robot acting as the torso. Attack the ports, the whole Combiner falls apart.”

“I know where they are!” called Eggman as he activated a hologram of the Combiner. He pointed out the shoulders and knees.”

“Excellent,” declared Rodimus. “Guys, we’ve got our targets! Aim for the joints!” Everyone fired, but the Combiner was moving faster than expected. It swung its arms wildly, scattering everyone.

“Okay, new plan!” called Silver. “We need…!”

“A distraction!” called Galvatron as he transformed and flew around the Combiner.

“I was gonna say more soldiers!” shouted Silver.

“I’m gonna go with that option,” said Shadow as he brought out a communicator.

“No chance of that!” called Eggman. “There’s a jamming field around the island!”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because I needed a private place to relax, of course!”

“So, where’s the field generator?!”

“…Under the island.”

“REALLY?!”

“I never thought I’d have a giant rampaging on it!”

“UGLY!” called Galvatron to the Combiner. “LOOK UP HERE! IT’S GALVATRON!”

“…Tron?!” asked the Combiner. “Tron…MMMmmh! …Gaahh! …Mga! …Mega…Megatron! …Megatron!!! …MEGATROOOOON!!!”

“And now he’s doing a Broly impression!” groaned Galvatron. The Combiner then targeted Galvatron, swinging its fists and throwing trees at him.

“HATE! KILL! COMMAND! DESTROY! RAAAGH!”

“Interesting,” mused Shockwave. “The Combiner is capable of uniting its collective thoughts on one being. A fascinating subject for study.”

“It’s killing us, and you want to write an essay?!” protested Rodimus.

“Er, guys!” called Silver. “The Enigma’s doing something!” Its central sphere was glowing white, specifically.

“WHAT THING DOING?!” demanded the Combiner. The Enigma then fired a stream of light at the Combiner, bathing it in light and making it scream. The light then died down and the Combiner now had a double-headed axe in its hand while it stood still. It looked around, then at the axe.

“Should…should we be concerned?” asked Rouge.

“Boys?” asked Eggman.

“…I am all five of the Combaticons,” replied the Combiner, “yet my own being.” IT then folded the axe’s handle upwards and attached it to its chest. “There we go, you just rest right there, my Bruticus Maximus.”

“Maximus?” asked Shockwave. “You mean the Enigma gave you a Maximus?”

“And allowed me to sort through my individual minds, thus making me more mentally-stable. You know, I think I need a name here. Since most Combiners are named after their Maximus, I think I’ll call myself…Bruticus! Doctor…”

“Yes, my son?” asked Eggman.

“I think this is a perfect opportunity to show off what I can do…especially to those who enslaved us!” Eggman grinned.

“Make me proud, my boy!”

Optimus and Megatron gathered their forces, sans Eggman and the Combaticons, and explained what was going on. “Everyone, we’ve got him.”

“Unicron?” asked Thundercracker.

“The same,” answered Megatron.

“Then what are we waiting for?!” called Bumblebee. “Let’s go and…!”

“We’re not bringing everyone, it won’t be practical,” interrupted Optimus.

“But, Sir!” protested Prowl. “There’s strength in numbers!”

“We need people to defend the surface in case the Terrorcons try something,” said Optimus. “Our magic users and those that are trained in matters like this, to an extent, will be accompanying Megatron and I while everyone else will be on the surface.”

“We’ve selected the Rust Renegades, Soundwave and his cassettes, Thundercracker, Stormfront, Yoketron, Bumblebee, Arcee, the Dyno-bots, Ratchet, Team Sonic, Team Rose, Chip, Sira, Trema, and Natalie to accompany us,” continued Megatron. “Everyone else will remain on the surface.”

“Why isn’t Cliffjumper coming with me?!” protested Bumblebee.

“Because I’m an Eradicon right now!” answered Cliffjumper. “The farther I am from Unicron, the less of a danger I’ll be.”

“Our decision stands, Bumblebee,” declared Optimus.

“I’m going with you!” insisted Windblade.

“Mom, no!” argued Optimus.

“Mom, YES!” growled Windblade.

“Mom, you haven’t even…!”

“It’s either I go with you knowingly or I sneak behind your group!”

“…You know, she would,” remarked Megatron. Optimus sighed.

“Fine, you can come with us.”

“Prime, what about the ship in Mobius’ orbit? The one that hailed the Decepticons?” asked Jazz.

“Megatron confirmed that the ship is carrying the Six Specials Unicron needs for a new body,” answered Optimus. “Regretfully, we need to let the Metarex and Metal Sonic destroy them. By the way, is Metal Sonic’s ship really the Enterprise?”

“Eggman had Star Trek on the brain,” explained Megatron. “In any event, in the unlikely event of survivors, they must be killed. We cannot let Unicron get his talons on them.”

“We strike in an hour,” finished Optimus. “If someone would inform Eggman and the Combaticons of the plan, that would be awesome.”

---

Up in Mobius’ atmosphere, the W.A.P. was still under heavy fire from Scarship and the Revenge. Krok and his crew were on the bridge, trying to get their ship away from the combat zone. “Another hit!” wailed Fulcrum as he manned Tactical. The ship rocked again. “And another!”

“WE’RE DOOMED!” cried Crankcase.

“No, Crankcase!” assured Krok. “Our shields can easily absorb this kind of fire! And once their weapons batteries are exhausted, then…THEN, we will turn and blast them to PLASMA!” Everything then went dark and the noise…stopped.

“…It’s all gone quiet…” mumbled Fulcrum.

“Like I said, their weapons batteries are exhausted,” replied Krok. “Now, I shall instruct the computer to give us an attack pattern to strike back without mercy!” He tried keying in a command on the armrest of his chair. “…Strange.”

“The computer’s non-responsive,” reported Flywheels. Krok tried to switch on voice-control.

“Computer! Lay out a merciless attack pattern at once! …Why isn’t it obeying me?”

“That will be because it’s dead, most likely!” grunted Crankcase.

“Silence. Computer! Computer, respond at once!”

“The computer’s dead! The doors are dead! The alarms are dead! Face it, the whole ship is dead!”

“I said silence! If the ship were dead, it would be plummeting helplessly through Mobius’ atmosphere!”

“The platypus has…!”

“I! SAID! SILENCE!” The bridge was quiet for a few seconds.

“…Permission to speak?” asked Misfire.

“SI…Permission granted.”

“Spinister was saying that plummeting helplessly through the atmosphere of Mobius is what we’re doing right now, Sir.”

“I regret to inform you,” gulped Flywheels as he looked out a window, “judging by the fact that I’m seeing the ground below us getting bigger, Spinister is correct.”

“We are Decepticon soldiers, Flywheels!” snapped Krok. “We do NOT plummet helplessly!”

“That may be, but we also don’t do well in a crash! I recommend the use of Tele-bracers!” He pulled out six silver bracelets.

“Tele-bracers. Good.” He turned to everyone. “Abandon ship! I order you all to abandon ship!” The crew slipped the Tele-bracers on and vanished in blue light.

---

The time finally came. The away team was standing at the Ground Bridge, ready to go against Unicron. The Ground Bridge opened, and everyone went through one last weapons check. They all looked at Megatron. “…Yes?” asked the Decepticon Lord.

“After you,” replied Bumblebee. Megatron smirked.

“As you wish.” He then led everyone through the Bridge, and it closed behind them.

“Well, the best we can do,” sighed Rodimus, “is wish them luck.”

“Guys,” called Teletraan, “Eggman’s contacting us on an open frequency.”

“Ah, how nice of him to remember the threat here!” snarled Galvatron. “Put him through.” Eggman’s panicked face came on screen.

“Oh, thank goodness!” he sighed in relief. “We’ve got a crisis here!”

“What, did you run out of burger meat?” snarked Galvatron.

“Oh, ha ha!” snapped Eggman. “Just look!” He pointed the camera to the Combaticons’ combined form. Rodimus and Galvatron stared in shock.

“…When did they become a Combiner?!” yelped Rodimus.

“An hour ago!” answered Eggman. “I’ve been trying to get them to calm down, but they’re not listening! …It’s not listening! Whatever!”

“Okay, what happened?!” asked Galvatron.

“It all started when Brawl found this thing,” Eggman showed off the device.

“The Enigma of Combination!” breathed Rodimus.

“So it IS a Cybertronian Relic! Perfect! Well, it’s turned my boys into a mindless monster!”

“Give us your coordinates,” said Hot Rod. “We’ll be there straightaway.” Eggman sent the coordinates and ended the call. Rodimus then rolled his optics. “The one team we have that’s experienced in Combiner matters, and they’re marching towards Unicron at the center of the planet!”

---

The Ground Bridge deposited everyone into a subterranean cave system. Everyone noticed that the walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in purple runes. “By the Code of Primus!” shuddered Optimus.

“Getting cold feet, brother?” taunted Megatron.

“…No time for that. Rust Renegades, the tunnels look big enough and I think we may need a size advantage.”

“Agreed,” replied Pyra Magna. “Torchbearers! Unite into Victorion!” Pyra Magna partially transformed into vehicle mode as her ladder boom folded to the back. Her head was replaced by another one as Stormclash and Skyburst transformed into their helicopter modes and formed hands at their fronts while the whole front and middle became forearms. Jumpstream and Dust Up transformed but folded their hoods and front wheels to the roof while feet swung out from their undercarriages. The limbs then extended the same plugs that the Combaticons’ new form had and connected to Pyra Magna. Rust Dust then transformed and her rear split in half and swung out. She then connected to the giant’s chest and the Rust Renegades’ weapons combined into a large sword. The giant then grabbed the handle and swung it before sheathing it on her back while her visor flashed.

“Victorion: online!” she announced in an alto voice.

“So, this is the mentally-stable Combiner of legend,” chuckled Megatron. “Cute.”

“Hold your tongue, heathen!” snarled Victorion. “My components are only holding me back because we have a greater threat!”

“Speaking of which,” muttered Sonic, “how long before Unicron knows we’re here?”

“Make no mistake, Sonic,” replied Megatron, “he knew the instant we stepped out of the Ground Bridge.”

---

Three of the W.A.P’s crew appeared in a different part of the cave system. The crew members were Krok, Flywheels, and Crankcase. “…Well, that took longer than expected,” muttered Krok.

“I have a theory on that,” replied Flywheels, “but I’d bet on me transforming after I say it as it sounds outlandish.”

“…You ain’t transforming now, so go ahead.”

“The Tele-bracers weren’t connected to the ship’s computer, so it couldn’t calculate a proper teleport path for our atoms. They kept us in a state of molecular free-fall until it was determined that the ship was intact enough to give coordinates for just a brief cycle.” Flywheels then split into his two vehicle modes.

“Outlandish? You mean stupid!” grunted Crankcase. “First off, molecular free-fall?! What kind of sci-fi gibberish are you reading?! Second, the Tele-bracers were atoms too, so they weren’t in a state of accepting anything in terms of signals! Third, the enemy ships destroyed the computer BEFORE we crashed! It couldn’t even SEND coordinates, even for a nano-second! Now, we’re not just stuck ON a dismal rock, we’re stuck IN a dismal rock!”

“Secure the area, Crankcase,” ordered Krok, wanting a break from Crankcase’s attitude. As Crankcase stomped off, weapon in hand, Flywheels recombined into his robot mode. “Now, did you get anything from the others?”

“Nothing, Sir,” replied Flywheels.

“Well then, try to raise them! Get to it, Flywheels!” Flywheels hesitated as he remembered something.

“Er, orders, Sir? Your orders? Shouldn’t they be your first priority?”

“…My orders? Oh, yes! My orders! Pass me the canister, Flywheels.”

“Bu…but I don’t have it!” Krok noticed that Flywheels wasn’t transforming.

“You fool, Flywheels! You left it behind on the ship!”

“You had it last, Sir!”

“You are my second-in-command! It is YOUR duty to carry out my orders, is it not?!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Well, then why didn’t you carry them out?!”

“But, I…!”

“SILENCE! You’re a disgrace to the Empire!”

“Yes, Sir. Shall I attempt to raise the others now, Sir?”

“You do that, Flywheels!” Krok turned away as Flywheels activated his comms.

“This is Flywheels hailing Misfire! …Misfire, report!”

Megatron returned to the moon base and stormed towards Shockwave’s lab. She was examining what Galvatron had stolen from Tails and was utterly perplexed. She heard the door chime. “Yes?” she asked.

“It’s Megatron,” answered her boss. The door opened as Shockwave got up from her lab station.

“Lord Megatron, we’ve explored what you’ve asked us, and it seems there’s a little…hiccup, for lack of a better…”

“Hiccup?”

“Yes, Sir. The power it uses…” Shockwave sighed as she couldn’t believe the words were leaving her mouth. “My Lord, the technology doesn’t actually exist, so it’s…”

“Wait, hold up, the technology?” Megatron then held Shockwave close to his shoulder and pointed to the device. “Shockwave, HERE is the technology. I asked you to simply integrate it into our weapons systems.”

“Yes, sir, that’s what Eggman and I are trying to do, but honestly, even with our current understanding of the technology…it’s impossible.” Megatron then grabbed Shockwave by the shoulders and slammed her into a wall, causing her visor to go up and her optical probe to extend.

“A TWIN-TAILED FOX CHILD MUTANT WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A GREEK ALLEY! FILLED WITH GARBAGE!” Shockwave then shoved Megatron off of her and brushed her shoulder as Megatron regained his footing.

“I’m sorry, Lord Megatron. I’m not Miles Prower.” Her visor came back down, and she shoved Megatron out of the lab. The instant the door closed, Megatron just stared at it, his optics flickering in disbelief. He then roared in anger and stormed off. As he stormed, he received a call from Soundwave.

“Lord Megatron, ship inbound. Hull is Vanguard-class, but occupants are registering Decepticon transponder codes.” Megatron then remembered the reports about what Straxus did.

“…Tell all allied ships to shoot on sight.”

---

Meanwhile, out in space, a subspace distortion indicated a ship leaving warp space. The ship was a purple Vanguard-class ship. While the ship class, as a whole was usually associated with the Autobots, this particular ship was in the service of the Decepticons. The name of such a ship…was the Weak Anthropic Principle. Yes, it’s a weird name for a ship. It was on auto-pilot as Krok, the commander of the vessel, entered the conference room. Flywheels was there as well as the rest of the crew. One was a mech with a severe gash in his head, one wore a pilot’s helmet, complete with goggles, one was distracted by his fingers, and one looked a little crazy. “Commander Krok, sir!” greeted Flywheels. “Platoon awaits your instructions.”

“Good, Flywheels,” replied Krok. He then addressed the whole room. “Now, pay attention, troops! According to our auto-pilot computer, we have exited warp space and will be shortly entering orbit around our objective: the planet, Mobius!”

“Mobius?” asked the crazed-looking bot.

“Mobius, you said?” asked the bot with the head wound.

“Yes, Mobius, Mister…er…”

“Crankcase, Sir,” explained Flywheels.

“Mr. Crankcase. …Why, does the name ‘Mobius’ mean anything to you?”

“Nope, just sounds like a dismal rock,” answered Crankcase.

“That IS a dismal sounding name,” remarked Flywheels. “And given that it was called Earth once upon a time…”

“We’re going to EARTH?!” growled Crankcase. “I can’t believe it! It IS a dismal rock! We’re going to the site of our loss in the Great War?!”

“Orders from our new Lord himself,” replied Krok. “Mobius also marks our furthest reach towards the Cybertronian/Quintesson Neutral Zone.”

“Excuse me, Sir!” called the bot with the pilot helmet. “Do you mean we’re going near the Neutral Zone now?!”

“As a matter of fact, we are, Mister…”

“Fulcrum, Sir” replied Flywheels. “A member of K-Squad recommended to us. Very keen.”

“Good. Er, yes, Fulcrum, we’re near the Neutral Zone right now.

“Permission to speak, Sir?” asked the crazed bot.

“Permission granted, Mister…”

“Misfire, Sir.”

“Misfire?! The Hero of the 9^th Platoon?!”

“The same, Sir.”

“I’m honored to have you here! I’ve always wanted to ask, why the name?”

“Long story. …Actually, no, it’s a very short story involving a machine gun, a misunderstanding, and several dozen dead Decepticons.”

“…Ah. …Did you have a question earlier?”

“My question, sir, is that if we’re going near the Neutral Zone. Why are we landing on Earth, I mean, Mobius, when we could be crossing the Neutral Zone now that the Quintesson Collective’s so weak?”

“A good question, Misfire,” Krok then pulled out the canister, “and one I can’t answer until we make planetfall. Sealed orders, you understand.”

“What if we meet Quintesson scum on the way? Could we blast them to plasma?!”

“…Well, in the unlikely event any Quintesson ships are found on this side of the Neutral Zone, we are obligated to blast them to plasma. Now, any further questions? …You, with your hand up.”

“Light is pointing us in the thruster clusters!!” answered the bot that was once distracted by his fingers.

“…No, didn’t understand that, Mister…”

“Spinister, Sir,” answered Flywheels.

“Spinister. What’s the matter, Spinister? Took some head damage?”

“Pound the truth!”

“…What’s that?”

“My mouth wants armadillos!”

“He means ‘Yes, Sir’,” explained Flywheels. “He DID suffer some head damage. His vocabulator was irreparably totaled in a crash some vorns ago.”

“One moment, bots!” called Misfire. “I know how he speaks. Say it again, Spinister.”

“Into fluffy cats, the eyes peel…”

“Well, what’s he saying?” asked Krok.

“He says ‘Have you noticed…’”

“…the shavings of pickles…”

“‘…the Attacking Ship Alert…’”

“…into the forests of lava!”

“‘…is flashing!’ WHAT?!” That last word was repeated by everyone.

“Sir!” called Flywheels. “Two ships are approaching us at attack speed!”

“We’re under attack?!” The ship was then rocked by laser fire. “Flywheels! Status!” Flywheels checked the external view.

“It’s Scarship and a ship of unknown design! They appear to have come from the other side of Mobius!”

“Dismal rock!” grunted Crankcase. The ship then rocked under laser fire again.

“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! BY PRIMUS! UNDER ATTACK!” wailed Fulcrum.

“You’re K-squad! Scared isn’t in your vocabulary!” replied Misfire before he joined in the panic. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! ACTION STATIONS! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!”

---

Over on Eggman’s private island, Brawl had brought the object to his brothers and creator. “It’s definitely Cybertronian,” muttered Eggman, “but it’s ancient. I don’t know what it is.”

“Brawl, I thought you said only the lower left triangle was glowing,” muttered Swindle.

“It WAS the only triangle glowing,” answered Brawl. “I don’t know why everything else is glowing in our colors.” The lower right triangle was now glowing yellow, the one above was glowing purple, the upper left was glowing blue-gray, and the middle was glowing navy blue.

“Should we…touch it?” asked Vortex.

“It’s probably giving off some form of radiation!” argued Blast-off.

“If that were true, Brawl should have been affected by it,” retorted Onslaught. “Maybe it’s supposed to be some kind of power boosting thing.”

“…You know, fighting this Unicron WOULD be a reason to test it,” mused Eggman. “All right, boys, go ahead and touch it, but only a finger!”

“Got it! Combaticons, touch the areas that correspond with your colors!” Brawl touch the green triangle, Swindle touched the yellow one, Blast-off touched the purple one, Vortex touched the blue-gray one, and Onslaught touched the sphere. The whole device then glowed in a white light that kept the Combaticons from moving their fingers. They screamed as the light enveloped them!

“BOYS!” wailed Eggman. The Combaticons screamed in terror as the light expanded, enveloping the whole island! After a good minute, the light died. The device was now a single, uniform, non-glowing color of silver. Eggman peeked out from behind his barricade to see the condition of his boys. His eyes met with something…he never thought possible. Onslaught looked to be halfway between robot and vehicle mode with both halves to the side. The front cab halves were on top of Brawl and Swindle in vehicle mode and connected by some sort of plug while standing on platforms that looked like feet. Brawl was on the left and Swindle was on the right. Meanwhile, Vortex and Blast-off had converted into vehicle mode and had elongated their fronts while sprouting hands and connecting to what should be Onslaught’s rear via the same plugs with Vortex on the left and Blast-off on the right. In between the two was a white head with antennae and two optics. The Combaticons had formed a giant behemoth of a bot! “…Boys?” asked Eggman tentatively. “…My sons?” The giant roared. It then uprooted several trees in Vortex’s fist and threw them before proceeding to rampage across the island.

A pink Hedgehog girl in a ballerina’s outfit pirouetted by herself in her magic teacher’s dance studio. She spun and spun and spun until she let her raised foot fall rather clumsily. She stumbled a bit as she tried to clear her dizziness. Once she could think and see clearly, she moved to a bench and panted before cracking open a bottle of water. She polished off half before she talked to herself. “Okay, Amy, let’s remember how many pirouettes are in that routine. Don’t go above the limit.” The hedgehog, Amy Rose, then finished off her water and took a deep breath. “All right, take a 10-minute break then it’s back to practice.” As Any rested, a blue-haired woman wearing a maid dress appeared in the mirror on her right. It wasn’t a reflection as the woman was nowhere in the room.

“Ms. Rose,” began the maid, Natalie Mayworth, “Megatron is at the drive and is demanding to speak with you, asking for you by name.”

“What?! Megatron?!” asked Amy. “Well, could you tell him I’m a little busy?”

“Adding your dance moves to your magic-casting movements?” asked a raspy male voice. Amy yelped and fell off the bench, her bum hitting the floor hard. As she massaged her rear, Natalie came out of the mirror and drew a feather duster out like a sword before leveling it at the intruder, a male Hedgehog with red eyes, a suit, and a large cannon on his right arm.

“Megatron?!” asked Amy as she remained on the floor. “What are you doing here?!”

“Seeking a sparring partner,” explained the Decepticon Lord. “You’re strong enough, so fight me.”

“No! What?! Why?! NO!”

“It’s been over 6 months since Optimus and I were tricked into…”

“Convinced to.”

“TRICKED INTO allying with each other and I haven’t had a decent chance to test my might! So, swap out the silk tutu for your usual dress, whip out your hammer, and fight me like your life depends on it!”

“…Tulle,” said Natalie.

“…What?”

“Amy’s tutu. It’s made of tulle.”

“…Isn’t tulle made of silk?”

“A specific, stiff kind of silk,” answered Amy. “Getting back to the original topic, I’m not fighting you.”

“Like the Pit you’re not! You have enough power in your bangs alone to scorch Mobius three times over and you’re letting it go to waste!”

“Megatron, Natalie’s wife, the owner of this mansion, is in the room above us and she JUST settled down for a nap!”

“If you’re REALLY looking for a fight,” supplied Natalie as she caught on to Amy’s plan, “keep it up and SHE’LL give you one!” Megatron glanced upwards and considered his next move. He was looking for a sparring partner, not an angry witch.

“…This isn’t over, Ms. Rose,” he warned as his holo-form vanished.

“Ostendeo,” chanted Natalie as she pointed her duster at a mirror. It then showed a gunmetal gray tank leaving Mayworth Manor.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” muttered Amy.

---

A few days later, Amy and her teacher, Sira Mayworth, had just left the mall. “I’m telling you; I look horrible in pants!” urged Sira.

“You also said you never tried them,” replied Amy. “So, just try them out and see if…” Amy stopped as something flashed through her head.

“I sense it too!” Sira and Amy stepped back as an energy blast scorched the pavement in front of them. They looked up to see…

“Megatron?!” yelped Amy. It was his holo-form again and his cannon was smoking.

“Shall we?” asked Megatron.

“I’m running errands!” snarled Amy.

“You’re running your mouth, you mean. How about you run your hands?”

“My hands are busy holding shopping bags!”

“And you’re busy making up excuses! FIGHT ME!”

“Mr. Megatron, we left something behind in the mall,” interrupted Sira, annoyed at the Decepticon. “It’s a little pink bag with Amy’s name and it’s most likely in the food court.”

“I thought something felt off,” mused Amy. “If you run to the food court and get it, IN YOUR HOLO-FORM and without causing a panic, I’ll fight you.”

“Very well!” Megatron dashed into the mall as Amy and Sira looked around. They then joined hands and started chanting.

“Locus. Locus. Locus.”

“WAIT! WHICH FOOD COURT?! THERE’S LIKE TWENTY…!” Megatron got his answer as they vanished. “…Clever girls!”

---

A week later, Amy was at a telescope looking out of a large cave. Her eye was at an eyepiece for someone her size. “Wow!” she breathed. “Nebulan telescopes are so cool! Thanks for letting me use it, Trema!”

“Tis a pleasure,” returned a giant, green woman as she looked through a larger eyepiece. “You should be honored, my witch-sister. Comet Tanakotha was once believed to only pass by Nebulos. To see the Light of the Gods itself is a rather…wait, what’s that light coming from below?” A stream of purple light flew past the comet. “Wha…!? Was someone trying to shoot our…?!”

“Take a glance downward,” sighed Amy. “I found the culprit.” Trema moved the telescope down to see Megatron’s holo-form climbing out of his vehicle mode’s cockpit. He then held up a sign saying, “FIGHT ME!”

“…Should I…?” asked Trema.

“I got this. Resonus.” Amy cupped her hands in a circle and shouted through it. “NO!” came the loud reply. Trema looked through the telescope and giggled at seeing Megatron’s angry expression.

---

Another week had passed, and Amy had a dream fulfilled. The Hedgehog she idolized, the famous Blue Blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog…had asked her out on a date! They were in a small outdoor café, having started on dessert, a couple’s sundae. Amy felt like she was on Cloud Nine. “Oh, Sonic!” she sighed. “You can’t possibly imagine how long I’ve waited for this moment.”

“I will admit, I was a little nervous about this,” replied Sonic. “I didn’t know if we should go all out at first.”

“No, starting small like this is per…” Amy’s assurance was interrupted by everyone on street running and screaming in terror.

“RUN! IT’S MEGATRON!” wailed a female Cat. Amy face-palmed in annoyance.

“Don’t worry, Amy!” assured Sonic. “I’ll knock ol’ Bucket Head into next week!”

“Let me handle this,” replied Amy. She stomped out into the street to see Megatron approach her in vehicle mode.

“A nice, clean arena, wouldn’t you say?” asked Megatron.

“WHAT! IS! YOUR! DAMAGE!” shouted Amy. Megatron transformed, then knelt down so he could better talk to her.

“I HAVEN’T TAKEN ANY DAMAGE! THAT’S THE ISSUE HERE!”

“Given that you’re proving what insanity is, I beg to differ! There’s GOT to be someone else you can fight!”

“I TRIED!”

---

Megatron’s first attempt was his younger brother, Optimus. They were in the Autobots’ new dojo and Optimus was performing a kata. “No,” said Optimus.

“Oh, come on! Why not? We did it before Unicron came into the picture!”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“What, you have something better to do?”

“Nope.” Optimus continued his kata.

“…FRACK YOU! FIGHT ME!” Optimus groaned at Megatron’s childishness. He then got an idea. He punched a pot off the little altar, and it fell, breaking into many pieces. “Wha…? Why did you…?”

“MEGATRON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” wailed Optimus.

“WHO JUST BROKE MY BELOVED STORMFRONT’S SECOND RULE OF TIDINESS?!” shouted Optimus’ sensei, Yoketron. Megatron did NOT want to attempt to explain himself to a Cyber-ninja.

“I will remember this when we beat Unicron!” he promised.

“Please do,” invited Optimus as Megatron dashed out of the dojo and Optimus got some glue.

---

Megatron’s next try was at G.U.N. A white-furred bat, Rouge, chuckled as she saw Megatron’s holo-form. “Well, Megatron, honey,” she purred, “I’m honored you thought of me. You know, if you impress me, maybe you and I could…”

“Not you, you wannabe peacock!” replied Megatron. “The edgie hedgie working on the bike!” Said ‘edgie hedgie’ was Shadow. He paused his labors and gave Megatron his full attention.

“Hello, Megatron,” he greeted. “How’s the Empire?”

“Fine. How’s your chest?”

“Just fine, thank you.”

“Shadow, we never actually fought, have we?”

“Not personally, no.”

“Then I say you owe me some combat.”

“I owe a lot of people a lot of things. Most of them money, one an organ, one a whale.”

“Yeah, Topaz’ still asking about that,” interjected Rouge.

“But I owe a monster like you NOTHING! You beat your troops for even the tiniest failures, take credit for THEIR victories, and when you’re not doing that, you’re picking fights with everyone because of your screaming ego! You remind me a lot of Black Doom, but at least he had the courtesy to stay dead. So, take your massive inferiority complex the hell out of here and maybe I’ll fight you when you stop acting as childish as Optimus!” Megatron stammered at the insult.

“Oh, and about that wannabe peacock thing,” the end of Rouge’s sentence was punctuated by a swift kick…down below. …Yes, Megatron’s holo-form could feel that. He stumbled out of G.U.N. as quick as he could.

---

Amy managed to keep her laughter to herself about the results of Megatron’s second attempt. “After that, I tried Eggman,” he continued, “but he and the Combaticons are on an ‘intensive training retreat’, probably at some poolside cabana. So all that’s left was…you.”

“Well, what about the Chaot…?”

“Soundwave knows where you live!”

“WHOA! Okay! Geez! …Geez, I’m…I-I’m sorry.” Megatron grinned. He had… “But I’m still not fighting you.” Never mind, he didn’t have her.

“OH, COME O…SERIOUSLY?!”

“I don’t like fighting, Megatron! I only did it because I was in a do-or-die situation of YOUR creation. Frankly, at this point, I’d be fighting you out of PITY!” That comment…cut into his Spark real deep. “Is that really what the Lord of the Decepticons wants? A pity fight?” Megatron said nothing. He just transformed and left via a bridge portal. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

---

Megatron was right about the cabana. It was at Egg Beach, Eggman’s private beach. He and his creations, the Combaticons, were relaxing…to a point. “Come on, my sons,” called Eggman as he looked over his shades. “This is not fidgeting time.”

“Doctor,” called Onslaught, “I can’t relax. What if, while we’re lying on the beach, someone else out there is training and getting stronger than us? How do we know?”

“The truth, Onslaught,” replied Eggman in an uncharacteristically fatherly tone, “is that we can’t know. But, I think you’ll find that everyone, even the strongest warriors, need their shuteye. Besides, it’s an effective method of bodily detox. In us fleshy-types, our blood flow decreases and is replaced with cerebrospinal fluids that flush out any waste around the brain, allowing the neurons to continually fire fast. There’s a similar effect to Transformers while you recharge. Sleep actually helps you think more critically, so there’s nothing wrong with taking it easy, despite Megatron’s insistence.” Onslaught was still a little uneasy but decided to try and snooze. Brawl just couldn’t relax.

“This ain’t me!” he groaned. “I’m taking a walk.”

“Okay, be safe,” called Eggman. Brawl went into the jungle and looked around. Somehow, looking at nature just wasn’t calming him down. He had quite a bit on his mind.

“Stupid Megatron! Stupid Unicron! Stupid Autobots! Why can’t people just bow to their kings like good little sheep?!” He was so focused on ranting that he didn’t see where he was going. He tripped and fell flat on his face. “ERGH! STUPID NATURE!” He pointed his gun at the object, thinking it was an offending root, only it was way too shiny to be one. Brawl’s optics flickered as he examined it closely. It was definitely made of metal. He pulled it out to see that it was a sphere with four triangles surrounding it. “…This can’t be Cybertronian, can it?” muttered Brawl. He then noticed that one of the triangles was glowing in his armor’s color. “…Right, that settles it! My whole family needs to know about this!” He took off, carrying the object with him.