Tag: sonic

“Orion Pax, this has to be the dumbest idea you’ve ever had!” shouted Ironhide as Orion started packing. “You’re just gonna wander around with no vehicle mode for your current frame, no idea where you’re going, and you’re just hoping you’ll find something! Kid, this is nuts!”

“Actually, that café Aaron mentioned is a good start,” mused Amy. “I know the address. Look for a blue hedgehog named Misty.”

“About that,” continued Ironhide, who had a grievance against this whole thing, “are you really gonna take advice from a psycho that tried to kill us?!”

“Well,” answered Orion, “Amy DID just say that the café exists and I don’t think she would hang out with any bad witches. Besides, Misty might give me some magic hotspots across the planet.”

“You’re still going to go on a journey with no weapons and no backup!” wailed Ironhide.

“He’s not totally backup-less,” assured Teletraan. “Both Arks will track his position and get him out if he’s in a jam.”

“On top of that,” replied Orion, “I DID scan a vehicle mode. While it’s not as sleek as my original mode, it serves this frame well. Tails and Ratchet are making some gadgets for me in case I run into trouble.”

“Ask, and ye shall receive!” called Tails’ voice. He was riding the rolling table Ratchet was pushing. For someone so cranky, Ratchet had a grin on his face.

“Who ordered gadgets built by two geniuses?!” he cheered.

“Oooh, does somebody have new toys for me to play with?” asked Orion, acting like a child on Christmas.

“We certainly do!” replied Tails. “So, pay attention. These toys have one or two expensive accessories.”

“‘One or two’? Go on,” urged Orion with a grin.

“…There really is no point in giving you the standard safety lecture, is there?” sighed Ratchet.

“First off,” began Tails as he pointed to a circuit board, “that circuit board will connect you to both Arks and the base. Since the Energon density messes up the normal comms when you go the normal linear route, it sends the signal to the Arks and will direct the call to whoever you want to talk to. Simply tap your comms unit, say who you want to talk to, and you can enjoy a conversation wherever on Mobius you happen to be. Tap it again to close the channel. Hold it down for three seconds to initiate an emergency teleport to get you out of whatever mess you’re in.”

“As for your new weapons,” supplied Ratchet, “it should integrate well with your weapons systems. They’re designed to look like decorative smoke stacks since trucks no longer run on fossil fuels.” Orion took the two smoke stacks and put them on his upper arms. He then lowered a blue visor with an HUD targeting system. He saw a target board and locked onto the center to calibrate them. They rotated to point at the target and Orion fired. The two beams connected at the target and started a small fire.

“Vector tap dancing Prime!” yelped Ironhide as he took a fire extinguisher and emptied the contents onto the target board. Tails allowed himself an evil laugh.

“Good work, you two,” praised Orion. “I might keep them after I get my magic back.”

“Can’t you just wait to tell G.U.N. about this mess or are you gonna keep them in the dark?” asked Ironhide.

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them,” remarked a voice. Everyone turned and saw the weirdest sight ever! They saw Optimus Prime!

“What the?!” yelped Tails.

“Hello, Orion!” greeted the Optimus clone.

“Hello, Optimus!” returned Orion. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing very well,” replied the Optimus clone. “How about you?”

“Fine, given the circumstances,” sighed Orion. “Do you want to explain, or should I?”

“Oh, you and Teletraan should BOTH do it,” encouraged the Optimus clone. “You two do it so well.”

“Thank you!” replied Orion. He turned back to the Autobots. “My friends, say hello to the Holo-droid!”

“I developed him as a decoy in case Egghead decided to invade,” supplied Teletraan. “Don’t worry, you can thank me later.”

“And Teletraan had developed a way to upload memories and mental patterns onto it,” continued Orion. “So, it’s like I never lost my magic!”

“Granted,” sighed Holo-Optimus, “I can’t use magic, but G.U.N. doesn’t need to know.”

“Don’t worry,” assured Orion. “I have planned for everything.”

“Kiddo, I really think you should…!” protested Ironhide.

“Ironhide,” interrupted Orion, “I get that you’re worried about me, but this needs to be done. Someone, somewhere on this planet, can help me fix my magic and I need to find that someone before things get really bad.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” sighed Ironhide.

“Look, G.U.N. will be told that there’s a problem that demands my undivided attention,” assured Orion, “that way, the whole thing can be uninterrupted. I won’t leave right now, but I will be going at 5:30 tomorrow morning.” Ironhide sighed.

“Good luck, then,” he bid.

---

5:30 came, Orion’s quiet alarm buzzed him awake. He got out of bed, grabbed his stuff and headed for the main doors.

“You sure you don’t want everyone here?” asked a voice in a quiet tone. Orion turned to see his best friend leaning against the wall.

“Let’s be honest, dude,” replied Orion in the same quiet tone, “they’ll just say I should take more time to prepare.”

“They’re right, you know,” remarked Jazz. “You shouldn’t leave until you’re absolutely ready.”

“I’ve got the ship and space colony monitoring my position,” assured Orion, “and a crew and friends that I can rely on. I’m good on all fronts.”

“Then, good luck,” bid Jazz. Orion gave a reassuring grin to Jazz and glanced around the base.

“I will be back,” he promised. “When I do, things will be different.” With that, he stepped through the doors, transformed into a futuristic semi-truck, summoned his trailer, and sped off into the early morning.

Eggman was busy with a personal project of his, Project: Couch Potato. He was in a fluffy bathrobe, fluffy slippers, sitting on a couch that was easily straining to hold his weight up, surrounded by 20 snack trays, and watching a show called When Powers Collide, a soap opera with a superhero theme. “But Wall-Smasher, please!” wailed Dyna-Flash, one of the main female leads, a mountain lion, “Ever since you gave me that blood transfusion on that rocky cliff in the wrecked convertible while Mega-Fist’s minions surrounded us, I’ve developed…FEELINGS for you!”

“No, Dyna-Flash!” protested Wall-Smasher, the main lead, a bull. “You are my Lover’s Secretary’s Mistress’s hockey coach! This love…cannot be! But, even so, I’ve developed…FEELINGS for you as well!”

“Good heavens!” groaned Eggman. “Why can’t the studio just use robots?! They’re more convincing than these twits!” One of his snack trays was polished off. “POPCORN!” he roared. One of his attendant robots got him one in a flash.

“But, out of you, Slip-Silk, and Terra-Drill,” continued Wall-Smasher, “I must confess…I can only choose…!” The show was interrupted by his doorbell. Why an evil city populated by robots has a doorbell, I’ll never know.

“Any distraction would be welcome at this juncture,” Eggman muttered. He got up, opened the door, and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. The owner looked like a human boy, 16 years old, of Japanese descent, wild looking hair dyed blue, blue eye contacts, a red jacket, jeans, black boots, and black, fingerless gloves exposing the knuckles. The boy grabbed Eggman by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. As the sound of flesh hitting metal reverberated across Robotropolis, Sonic peeked in looking a little concerned for Eggman.

“Who did you sell it to?” asked the boy in a soft, dangerous tone.

“Sell what to who?!” yelped Eggman. “Who are you?!”

“Er…this is Orion Pax,” explained Sonic. “You knew him better as Optimus Prime.”

“Optimus?” repeated Eggman. He then smirked. “You know, you were already committing some borderline race mockery when your holo-form was a hedgehog!” The gun was pressed harder against his nose, making him yelp.

“Tails hacked into your systems and discovered one of your little projects,” snarled Orion. “Your anti-magic shield. When did you finish it and who did you sell it to?”

“What, the Magic Suppressor 9,000 Extreme?” asked Eggman. “That was supposed to be a surprise! In any case, I HAVEN’T finished it! It has a defect against Chaos Energy. I was trying to fix that bug until a certain purple cyclops stole the blue Chaos Emerald I had in my possession!” Orion looked at Sonic who had pulled a device out to test if Eggman was lying.

“Nada,” reported Sonic.

“Slaggit!” swore Orion. “Then why isn’t my magic working?!”

“Well, I don’t know!” cried Eggman. “I’m a scientist! I…wait, if your magic isn’t working, why are you threatening me with a magic gun?”

“Because I can beat you over the head with it!” threatened Orion.

“Whoa! Orion!” protested Sonic.

“If I find out that you managed to lie, even under a lie detector,” Orion gave a soft chuckle, “you’ll be eating that bathrobe!”

“Yes! Yes! I understand!!” yelped Eggman. “All units, let Orion Pax and Sonic exit Robotropolis unharmed!” Orion roughly let Eggman go and stormed out with Sonic following, looking at Eggman apologetically. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Eggman picked himself up, dusted himself off, and stroked his mustache. “So,” he mused with an evil grin, “his magic isn’t working, I see.”

---

Back at the base, Knuckles and the Chaotix Detective Agency had arrived. Amy had told them what had happened. Tails had just come down from the ARK and was waiting in the Command Center. “How do you know that he didn’t sell it to someone months ago?” asked Charmy as he buzzed around Ratchet.

“I don’t know,” muttered Orion. “Gut instinct, I say. If it was sold to someone else, there are still at least three unanswered questions. First, why did that person wait until now to use it? Second, why would Eggman sell an unfinished product? Third, why would I still be affected when I went to visit Eggman?”

“Those are very good points,” rasped Espio as finished his maintenance on his shuriken. “It seems we’re back to square one. Aside from melee weapons, are there any defenses in case the intruder decides to attack again?”

“Well,” recalled Orion, “we DO have those tanks G.U.N. made for Autobot use. They turn into ranged weapons for us.”

“Those?” asked Vector. “I thought they were for public use, so I took the prototype for a joyride. I always wondered why he said I’ve ruined it for you guys. I guess they’re under lock and key now.”

“THEY’RE WHAT?!” roared Orion. “VECTOR, I COULD TURN YOU INTO A SUIT…!”

“Orion!” barked Ironhide. Orion then realized what he just said.

“Vector, I’m sorry,” he apologized, and he meant it. “I don’t know what came over me.” He massaged his temples as he cooled down a bit more. “This whole thing has me spun up like an overwound watch! Grgh! I shouldn’t have told Eggman about my magic not working!”

“Don’t worry!” assured Jazz. “Teletraan can monitor him if he starts something!” A groan escaped Teletraan’s speakers.

“Just like his attempts at locating Shockwave and Metal Sonic?” asked Prowl. “Just like his monitoring of the last Chaos Emerald since Shockwave now has six? Just like all the millions of functions Teletraan 1 does on a daily basis? He’s the most powerful computer program Mobius and Cybertron have ever seen, but he doesn’t have infinite computer resources.”

“I hate to sound needy,” sighed Teletraan, “but my CPU is being overclocked as it is.”

“Amy,” interjected Orion, “did you, Tails, and Ratchet find anything to fix this mess?”

“I’m afraid not,” sighed Amy. “Your people’s potential for magic is greater than anything I’ve ever encountered. Heck, Cybertron managed to have raw magic as a fuel source, and it’s powering your ship right now, but it’s based around technology. Technomagic is a new field of study for Mobians.”

“On top of that,” continued Tails, “Ratchet and I are only scratching the surface of magic. It could be ages before we could be of any help to you.”

“Not to belittle our efforts,” replied Ratchet, “but you need an expert in this magic nonsense and we’re not experts at all.” Orion sighed.

“I didn’t want to consider this route, but consider it I must,” he muttered. “Prowl, what are the rules for calling a prisoner in Deep Down Penitentiary?”

“Orion,” urged Prowl, “I must advise against this. Aaron’s not going to like getting a call from you, since you were behind his downfall as a wizard, coupled with the fact that he’s not a man to trust in society.”

“Are you nuts?!” yelped Sonic. “You can’t seriously be thinking about asking Aaron for help! He’s not a wizard anymore! He’ll throw all sorts of insults against you!”

“Like we have a choice?” asked Orion. The question hung over their heads for a long time.

---

Deep Down Penitentiary is an undersea prison where those that have proven unfit to rejoin society dwell. The location is top secret, visitors are discouraged, and callers are monitored closely. Aaron dwelt in a cell that nestled between a male rhino with anger issues and a female fox that kept asking the guards how they would like to die. When he was in the cell, he would just stand in the center with his back turned. “Hey, Aaron the Magnificent!” called a guard, a female stag beetle.

“It’s…just…Aaron!” hissed Aaron.

“Whatever,” dismissed the guard, “you have someone asking for you. We’ve already approved a voice only call. The caller’s got five minutes.”

“Very well,” he sighed. The radio then turned on and a voice he loathed came to his ears.

“Hey, Aaron,” called Orion in an awkward manner. “You can…probably guess who this is.”

“Yes, I believe I can, Optimus Prime!” snarled Aaron. “Called me just to gloat?!”

“Actually, I have something else in mind,” replied Orion, deciding not to correct him.

“Do you now?!” snapped Aaron. “What else could you want from me?! You’ve taken my freedom, my magic, my sanity, my beard trimming schedule, and my usual hygienic routine!”

“Yeah, life’s tough all over,” replied Orion in a jerkish tone. “I need some information.”

“Why should I help you?!” hissed Aaron.

“I can convince the prison staff to at least let you have a shower and a beard trim,” offered Orion.

“Will you now?” asked Aaron, slightly intrigued.

“If possible, I can also get you a better cell that isn’t next to crazies,” continued Orion. Aaron pondered.

“I’ll take what I can get,” he finally answered. “What do you wish to know?”

“I recently encountered another Autobot,” explained Orion. “However, his first response was to take my magic weapons. After the fight, my magic stopped working. All my attempts to revitalize the artefacts I own have failed and the spells I have in my repertoire don’t even sparkle. Could this guy have put a curse on me?”

“Possibly,” remarked Aaron. “Certain magic users are that powerful. You say every magic item you own is disabled?”

“Well, no,” replied Orion. “Anything I didn’t originally enchant still works just fine.”

“Ah,” said Aaron with a slight smirk. “It’s centered around YOUR magic specifically. I can’t help you on that front, sadly.”

“Then what can I do?” asked Orion.

“If it IS a curse placed on you,” answered Aaron, “you are not strong enough to break it and, loath though I am to admit it, neither would I if I still had magic. If I were you, I’d seek out those more skilled in magic; the Wizards and Witches, the Sorcerers and Mystics who have been around for a lot longer than I.”

“Where can I find them?” quizzed Orion.

“No clue,” replied Aaron. “That’s for you to work out. I heard from one of my fellow inmates that her cousin works at a café in Station Square. Why not start there?”

“Hm, sounds like a good start,” mused Orion. “Haven’t really done any magic user networking since I landed here. Thank you, Aaron. I’ll talk to the warden to get you smelling better down there.” The call ended as Aaron smirked.

“Sucker,” he laughed. “I would have told him for a deodorant stick!”

Amy was hanging out with Cream on a shopping trip while the intruder attacked Autobot HQ. She had just confirmed that she was the Scarlet Specter. “Amy,” asked Cream, “why would you risk your life like that?”

“I felt like I was depending on Sonic too much,” sighed Amy. “I realized that he won’t always be there to save me, especially now that the Transformers are here. I’ve been practicing a little since I first met my teacher, but with Eggman robbing from dead Transformers, I ramped up my training. He’s planning something, and I want to know what.”

“Just don’t get hurt,” urged Cream. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m not going away anytime soon,” reassured Amy. She pulled Cream into a hug.

“Amy,” quizzed the little rabbit, “do you think I can learn magic?”

“Anyone can learn magic,” replied Amy. “Why?”

“Because I want to learn from you,” answered Cream. Amy smiled.

“That’s sweet of you,” she sighed, “but I’m not at the teaching level yet. The instant I get there, you can be my student.”

“Thank you!” bid Cream with a smile. At that moment, Amy’s phone started buzzing in her purse.

“Er, could you excuse me for a moment?” she asked.

“Of course,” replied Cream. Amy then took the call.

“Hello?” she began.

“Amy, sweetheart, this is Ironhide,” came the familiar Texan drawl. “You mind heading to HQ? We have a situation that requires magic expertise.”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” replied Amy. She hung up. “Sorry, Cream, but we have to cut our shopping trip short. The Autobots need me right now.”

“Can I come too?” asked Cream.

“If your mother’s okay with it,” answered Amy.

“If I’m okay with what?” asked a voice. Amy and Cream turned to see Vanilla standing behind them.

“Mother,” asked Cream, “may I go with Amy to the Autobot base? Apparently, they need her help and I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“Of course,” confirmed Vanilla. “Just call me before you’re Bridged back. I don’t want a surprise like last time again.”

“Thank you! I will!” promised Cream.

“Let’s go!” cheered Amy. Cream took her hand as a red mist appeared.

“Are you using magic to get us there?” asked Cream.

“Of course,” confirmed Amy. “It’s my favorite way to travel.” The red mist then enveloped the two and it took off to Autobot HQ. They came through a vent and reformed in the Command center. Cream blinked in surprise.

“What was that?” she said.

“It’s an advanced spell that lets you and people around you move as mist,” explained Amy.

“I don’t know why, but it felt like something hugging me,” mused Cream.

“That would be the spell’s magic,” replied Amy. She turned to Ironhide. “Speaking of which, is there a new magic abuser?”

“Actually,” mumbled Orion as he stepped into view, “this is a different case.”

“Er…I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure,” stammered Amy. She then turned to Ironhide with an annoyed look. “Where’s Prime?!” she whispered harshly. “I told him not to tell anyone I was a witch unless I said it was okay!”

“That IS Optimus,” replied Ironhide. Amy blinked. She turned to Orion.

“Hey, Amy,” sighed Orion.

“Optimus, what happened?” asked Amy.

“Did something bad make you change your armor?” inquired Cream.

“We don’t know,” answered Orion. “And it’s Orion Pax, right now. Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and I had a scuffle with an intruder that had the Autobot symbol on him. He didn’t act like any Autobot I’m familiar with. After the fight, the source of my magic, the Matrix, went kaput. I’ve got Jazz, Ratchet, and Tails trying to figure out what happened, but the process is taking a long time. I know that you said you’re still a few years away from being a full-fledged witch, but I can’t find Trema. Besides, you have more magic experience than me.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” replied Amy. That’s when Jazz came in with a scanning device in his hands. It was white with red highlights and a yellow fan-like device on the top.

“Please tell me you have something,” begged Orion.

“Er, Orion,” gulped Jazz, “here’s the thing. Your Wind Scanner isn’t working.”

“What?!” yelped Orion. “Let me see that!” Jazz handed him the scanner. Orion took it and pressed a button, but all it did was play a woman’s voice.

“I’m not sensing any danger here,” answered the voice. Orion pressed it again. “No enemies around here.” Once more. “‘All quiet on the Western Front’, as the humans said long ago.”

“It’s a toy,” gasped Orion.

“Huh?” asked Ironhide.

“It’s…it’s just a toy again!” answered Orion.

“That’s the result of every item you gave me,” reported Jazz. “I even tested the OOO Driver, nada.” Orion then took a yellow gun out of his subspace.

“Teletraan 1,” ordered Orion, “scan this!” A probe descended from the ceiling and bathed it in a green light. After three seconds of eerie humming, it went back into the ceiling. Teletraan’s avatar popped up on the main monitor.

“Just painted metal and electronics,” he announced. “But isn’t this your Gaburevolver?”

“It is,” replied Orion as he took it.

“Kiddo,” quizzed Ironhide, “what the hoo haw’s going on? I’ve seen you turn into a red Power Ranger with that thing. It works.”

“Kyoryuger,” corrected Orion, “and it’s supposed to work!” He automatically slid a panel on his right forearm to reveal a screen inside it. Writing in Cybertronian appeared on it and Orion pulled a wand out of subspace and first flicked it up, left, right, left, down, up, right, then thrust the point at the Gaburevolver while saying “Facere Imaginem Rerum!”. The room was silent for a few seconds. Nothing happened.

“Pax, what in Sam Hill was that?” asked Ironhide.

“That should have at least sparkled,” muttered Amy.

“I don’t understand,” interjected Cream. “Was Mr. Pax trying to use magic?”

“I was,” confirmed Orion. “It’s a spell called ‘Make This Image Real’…I think. The translation’s iffy.”

“If it’s executed properly,” explained Amy, “a representation of an object, like a toy from a T.V. show, becomes the actual object itself. Most magic users use it on their toys because it’s the closest thing they have to the real thing.”

“Wait, really?!” asked Jazz. “So, why didn’t you guys make a little box with a button on it that says, ‘Stop All Bad Guys Forever and Ever’?”

“Doesn’t work like that, Jazz,” replied Orion. “I don’t even fully comprehend the rules to magic.”

“No one does,” supplied Amy, “not even the Magic Greats.”

“And even on the stuff I HAVE enchanted,” continued Orion, “it’s tricky. It took me ten times to get a working Wind Scanner. The Fourze Driver took MONTHS because, while the spell works, there’s no cosmic energy for the Astro Switches to access and give super powers and equipment to! Primus, I’m still trying to get this thing to work on my Duel Disk! Although, that’s probably because I don’t have anything like hologram projectors. I did try it out on one of my spare cards just to try it out.”

“What happened?” asked Ironhide.

“You know that poster of a monster card I have in my room on Cybertron?” remarked Orion.

“You mean the poster of the Dark Magician Girl card?” replied Jazz. “Wait, that was a card?!”

“Yep,” confirmed Orion. “I don’t think the spell likes being used on things with text.”

“That’s good to know before I make a mistake like that,” mused Amy. At that moment, her eyes went wide. “Orion, do you still have that sonic screwdriver I gave you?”

“Yeah, right here,” replied Orion as he took it out of his subspace. He then got what Amy was driving at and waved it around the Gaburevolver. He then flicked it and got a reading. “I see where you’re coming from,” he realized. “Anything I didn’t originally enchant still works, but now there’s a bigger problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Jazz.

“The base is not as safe as it was,” explained Amy. “Orion and I have a low-level protection spell around here. We’re not strong enough, or skilled enough, to protect people, but the base itself would remain standing. You could detonate a bomb or shoot up the walls and it wouldn’t matter. You wouldn’t even scratch it. We started casting it after Aaron was arrested.”

“However,” continued Orion, “it’s not as strong now. If one person casts it, it will wear out at a fast pace and you need to recast it every three months. If two people cast it, it won’t wear out as fast and just needs to be recast every five years.”

“We’re trying to find another person so it will only need to be recast every seven centuries,” supplied Amy. “Before then, you guys would most likely have already left Mobius.”

“But Orion’s magic went kaput,” reminded Ironhide. “What happens if there’s enough pressure on the spell?”

“It will eventually break and you guys may find yourselves homeless pretty quickly,” explained Amy.

“With the way Orion described the intruder,” gulped Jazz, “that may be possible.”

“I’m more concerned about the one who’s already home,” sighed Orion.

“What do you mean?” asked Cream.

“My weapons are each powered by a Spark,” elaborated Orion. “A mother,” he held up the axe, “and a son,” he held up the gun. “They were unwilling ingredients in a ritual worshipping the Chaos Bringer. Every time I use them, I can hear them whispering in my ear. If the gun’s not firing or the axe blade isn’t forming, I’m afraid something may have happened to them.”

“Oh boy,” shuddered Amy, “messing with the dead, or…partially dead in this instance, is outside of most magic users’ expertise. The only ones who could help on that front would be a Necromancer, and I’m sure you know how weird they can be.”

“Well, where ‘magic’ fails,” called Ratchet as he stepped into the Command Center, “it’s up to science to save the day.”

“What’s up?” asked Orion.

“Everything works on both Arks,” reported Ratchet, “including the sensors. In fact, our little two tailed genius has come up with a way for both computers to check each other in case an analysis misses some data on one of them. If possible, we may be able to get Teletraan 1 and G.U.N.’s computers linked and have an excellent surveillance system.”

“Did they get anything on the weapons and the Matrix?” urged Orion.

“Tails is getting the final readout on the Space Colony ARK right now,” answered Ratchet. “He should be reporting in about…” the communications terminal went off, “…right now!” Ratchet fired up the main monitor and Tails filled the screen. “Well, my genius friend,” he asked, “anything?”

“Sorry,” sighed Tails. “There’s still magic in the artefacts as much as any other time.”

“So, why can’t I access it?!” wailed Orion.

“I have a theory,” mused Tails. “From what I’ve gathered, it sounds like the magic is being…suppressed in a certain area. Somehow, something is preventing the magic from being used.”

“Like what?” asked Amy.

“Well,” replied Tails, “I did some digging and found something in a friend’s computer that looked like blueprints for a device to prevent magic from being used. From the dates on said blueprints, I’d say the idea was conceived after the fight with Aaron. That friend saw the potential damage magic can bring and so wanted to remove it when he was in the area.”

“Okay,” muttered Orion, “I don’t know as ‘friend’ would be a good word if that’s the case. I’d say he’s a bad egg we need to figure out.” As he folded his arms, Orion started thinking. His thoughts then drifted to the ‘bad egg’ comment he made and returned his gaze with Tails, who was nodding to confirm Orion’s suspicions. “You don’t mean…”

“He calls it the Magic Suppressor 9,000 Extreme,” confirmed Tails.

“Well then,” hissed Orion, “I think Sonic and I should pay the good Dr. Eggman a little visit!”

After the cleanup of Station Square, Optimus gave his bots some R&R. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were playing a game where you catch many different creatures and use them to fight other players. This game was from the old Earth era. One of Bumblebee’s creatures had lost at the hands of a wild creature. “Stupid thing fragging killed me!!” snapped Bumblebee.

“How’d your Torracat die by a paralyzed Cottonee?!” protested Cliffjumper.

“Not gonna let this thing beat me!” snarled Bumblebee.

“Bro, let me ask you something,” called Cliffjumper. “How’d your Torracat get killed by a…it’s paralyzed and it’s a fracking cotton puff! It’s a grass type Pokémon! How did a fire type die at a grass type’s hands?!”

“What’s going on here?” asked Optimus as he walked into the room.

“We’re playing Pokémon Sun right now,” explained Bumblebee, “and my Torracat just died at the hands of a paralyzed Cottonee.”

“Wha…?!” stammered Optimus, who was a beginner Pokémon player, “How…well, you did use it against my newly evolved Brionne, which was a bad idea anyway…”

“Prime, don’t embarrass me,” muttered Bumblebee as he threw a Pokè Ball at the Cottonee. “There, caught it! Fragging stubborn piece of scrap.” His character walked through the flowers to find another Pokémon. It was a yellow-green bird with pom-poms on the wings. “Oh, Primus, it’s an Oricorio!”

“Oh, it’s a Pomwing!” cheered Optimus. The only one laughing at his deliberate misnaming was Optimus.

“Prime,” remarked an unknown voice, “do you remember the episode where Ash caught a Pomwing?”

“Dude,” chuckled Optimus before he was interrupted.

“NO!” roared the voice

“Ow!” laughed Optimus. “Dude, that was in my audiooooOOOOOHH!” He came face to face with a strange bot in the base. He was big, heavyset, mainly gray with a yellow chest unit emblazoned with the Autobot symbol, had half of a T-Rex’s head and neck on his shoulders, the sides and arms of a T-rex acting as non-functional wings on his back, talons for fingers, and a big sword and gun attached to each side of his waist. Cliffjumper and Bumblebee activated their weapons.

“Who are you?! How did you get in here?!” squawked Bumblebee.

“The ‘who’ and ‘how’ are unimportant,” dismissed the intruder. “It’s the ‘why’ that needs to be asked. To answer it in advance, I heard Optimus had magic weapons.”

“Er…yeah. Why do you ask?” gulped Optimus. The intruder drew his gun.

“I’m taking them,” he replied as if it was a fact.

“Whoa! Whoa!” yelped Optimus. “Okay! See, here’s my gun.” He then fired over then intruder’s head, making him duck. He then got behind cover with Bumblebee and Cliffjumper spreading out and taking cover somewhere else in the room. “Hold fire until he fires back!” ordered Optimus. “Stun blasts only!”

“Typical Autobot behavior,” scoffed the intruder. He let a couple of shots loose at their cover.

“FIRE AT WILL!” shouted Optimus. Laser blasts started flying towards the intruder, but there wasn’t even a scratch on the bot. Meanwhile, the intruder looked at the points where his shots hit.

“Not a single scorch mark,” he thought. “What’s this base made of?” He shook his head. “Give up!” he shouted. “You can’t stop me! Eventually, your reserves will be drained! You’ll be defenseless soon! I’ll just keep coming! Even hand to hand combat won’t take me down!” Optimus rolled his optics.

“Time for a test then,” he thought. He drew his Cyber key and flicked it into the air. “CYBER KEY POWER!” This time, the key turned an access port in his back. His forearm armor split and released two halves of a glove on each hand that turned the fingers into talons. He got into a stance that had his left foot forward, his right arm at his optic level in a claw fashion, and his left arm level with his torso unit in a claw fashion. This was the ready stance of Circuit-Su. The intruder arched an eyebrow and smirked.

“A practitioner of Circuit-Su?” he asked. Optimus’ optics widened. “Yep, one of Yoketron’s favored styles. Nice bot, truth be told. I would’ve just stuck with a gun otherwise. Come on, young Prime,” he got into the same stance as Optimus as he tossed away his gun and sword, “let’s see what you’ve got!” He stamped his left foot forward a few times, an intimidation tactic that usually rattles the opponent into making a sloppy strike if it didn’t know that martial art. Optimus held his ground. It served to irritate the bot into making a quick punch. Optimus caught it, then stamped on the intruder’s foot, making him yelp. It served as a distraction to let Optimus throw him completely off balance. He then raked his new talons across the intruders back. This startled the intruder a bit.

“I’m sick of this!” snarled Optimus. He turned the intruder over and slashed across his face. The intruder then covered his face as it started to drip Energon. “I am flat out TIRED of jackholes like YOU coming around and picking a FIGHT with ME!” He then decked the intruder. “You think I give a scrap about your backstory?! You think I care about your endgame?! You think I’m afraid of you?!”

“Slash!” shouted the intruder into his comms unit. “Beam me out of here!” The intruder vanished without a trace in a flash of light.

“I have fought mad scientists, a hive mind, and a tech hating wizard,” proclaimed Optimus, “and I have always been victorious! There is NOTHING that can stop me! NOTHING!” That, my friends, is one of the dumbest things anyone can say. The instant the last syllable left his lips, Optimus felt himself shrink down a bit. He blinked and rubbed his head. It was then that he realized that his fingers were rounded, not pointed like usual. He looked himself over and realized that he wasn’t exactly a…er… “Prime” example of a Cybertronian. “Mirror,” he gulped. Cliffjumper pressed a button on the console near him and a full-length mirror popped out of the floor. The reflection was…different, to say the least. It showed a red, white, and blue bot with a helmet sporting two fins on the front, rounded shoulders with metallic, ridged wheels on the back, a transparent metal panel on either side of his chest unit, and stumpy legs with two wheels on each side. This was Optimus’ form from before he inherited the Matrix. This was Orion Pax. He opened his torso unit and took out the Matrix. “What did I do?!” he yelped, proceeding to slap the Matrix, to no avail. “WHAT DID I DO?!

Optimus sighed. The fight with Aaron cost him four Chaos Emeralds and Prowl had a bit of a time getting Aaron to cooperate. The trial concluded in a life sentence for Aaron with no chance of parole. Optimus sat at his desk, listening to Prowl. “With that, Station Square should be fixed in a week,” he finished.

“What about Shockwave?” asked Optimus. “Has Teletraan found her yet?” Teletraan then popped up on the view-screen on Prime’s desk.

“That’s a negative,” he reported. “Even my recent defrag hasn’t helped.”

“SLAG!” shouted Optimus as he slammed his hand on the desk.

“Hey, easy!” protested Teletraan. “No need to take it out on me!”

“She blindsided us!” hissed Optimus.

“You mean Shockwave?” asked Prowl.

“Who else?!” confirmed Optimus. “She was biding her time to steal our emeralds!”

“That’s not the case at all,” argued Teletraan 1.

“Oh no,” snapped Optimus, “I’m positive that’s the case! She…!”

“Had no idea there were four Chaos Emeralds,” interrupted Teletraan. “While I couldn’t intercept her Ground Bridge, I did get into her files.”

“…What?” quizzed the young Prime.

“While I couldn’t get the location of their base, I did find something that was the plan she wanted to initiate today,” explained Teletraan.

“…Again, what?!” yelped Optimus.

“She and Metal Sonic were trying to build a mass reducer, a shrink ray, if you will. Cliché though it is, she almost perfected it and wanted to test it on you guys. She has no means of detecting Chaos Emeralds. She was the one blindsided.” Teletraan then chuckled. “Shouldn’t be too hard for a Cyclops to be blindsided!” he joked.

“Bad joke aside,” remarked Optimus, “did you get anything about why she wants the emeralds?”

“Only something that would confirm our suspicions of her needing them as batteries for something,” answered Teletraan. “Anything from that, I don’t know. G.U.N. DID discover something that made me recheck my knowledge on Metal Sonic.”

“Oh?” asked Optimus.

“It looked like a previous body that Metal Sonic had,” elaborated Teletraan. “On top of that, it’s connected to other bodies. My guess is that the bodies have a hive mind, and that mind is Metal Sonic’s.”

“A hive mind?” mused Optimus. “Like Ultron from the old Earth Days?”

“I think so,” theorized Teletraan, “but I need a master coder to help.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere in this instance!” cheered Optimus.

“What about the property damage?!” protested Prowl.

“I’m sure six bots can fix it,” dismissed Optimus. “I’ll catch up. See ya!” He headed out of his office and walked towards the tech room.

“But! But!” was all Prowl could get out before a look of stark confusion crossed his face. He then called up Jazz. “Last chance to watch him,” he called when Jazz picked up.

“No!” snapped Jazz.

“Okay, if you say so,” sighed Prowl.

---

Optimus had the Metal Sonic body taken down to the technical room, where all the various instruments to examine hardware and software was located and cracked said body open at the head. He had taken a probe and put it into the brain to start examining code on the screen next to him. While that was going in, he waved some sort of wand device with a green light and four prongs over it. When the analysis on the probe was finished, he flicked the wand in his hands and looked at it. “Ah HA!” he said.

“What?” asked Teletraan. “What’s it saying?”

“I have no idea,” replied Optimus. “I’m just waving my sonic screwdriver around it as if I knew how it worked.” Teletraan’s avatar facepalmed. “But,” continued Optimus, “I knew what I was doing with this probe. Your suspicions were right, Metal Sonic’s a hive mind like Ultron. However, there was something interesting.”

“I just ran through the results of the probe,” reported Teletraan. “It looks like their power source is different from conventional power sources.”

“Run it by power frequencies we’ve encountered,” directed Optimus. Teletraan’s eyes turned into code for a few seconds, a la The Matrix trilogy, before his face showed surprise.”

“Is that…Chaos energy?” he gulped.

“Exactly,” confirmed Optimus. “These guys are practically saturated with the stuff. But, it’s their connection to our own race that interests me.”

“Our own race?” repeated Teletraan. “How? They can’t transform. They don’t even have t-cogs.”

“Not the connection I was referring to,” answered Optimus. “I was thinking about our fuel source.”

“The only one who runs on Energon out of the two of them is Shockwave,” recalled Teletraan.

“Really?” asked Optimus. “Run a match on usual Energon with the stuff found on Mobius.” Teletraan blinked, then did so. The results were similar, but not exact.

“What?” muttered Teletraan. “That doesn’t make sense. It should have stayed the same. Same planet, same readings. I’ve even run them past Energon found during the old Earth Days. It should be consistent.”

“Ah,” interjected Optimus, “but there were no Chaos Emeralds in that era, were there?” Teletraan got the idea and ran a simulation of exposing Energon to Chaos energy. That’s when the readings changed to match that of Modern day Mobius.

“So, that’s why you guys short out!” realized Teletraan. “Chaos energy supercharged the Energon deposits left on the planet after the war was over!”

“And there’s a mechanism in this body that takes in Chaos energy in the atmosphere,” continued Optimus. “I’d say some particles of Energon are wandering inside Metal Sonic as he fuels up.”

“Will that make him a big enough threat?” asked Teletraan.

“I don’t think so,” mused Optimus. “It’s the amount of bodies Metal Sonic has that concerns me. A durability test shows that the bodies aren’t that strong, so we won’t have a problem crushing them individually. It’s when he decides to attack en masse that has me on edge. Teletraan, I want you to start adjusting our Energon sensors on all our equipment. Coordinate with Ratchet on that department and see if you can get Energon sensors on both Arks.”

“Got it,” confirmed Teletraan. “An idea just came to me. An alternative method is to track Energon signatures. Spark signatures can be hidden, but the radiation you guys put out has yet to be cloaked. If we use Energon signatures…”

“We can locate Shockwave! Good call!” praised Optimus. “In the words of a great man, make it so!”

“Aye, aye, Captain Picard!” confirmed Teletraan. “You go take care of the property damage. I can handle things here.”

“Very well,” replied Optimus. “Have a Ground Bridge ready.” Optimus made his way to the Main Command Center and bridged out to Station Square. Alexis was already there to give him a job while the other Autobots did theirs.

“He wouldn’t dare!” gasped Trema.

“What’s going on?” asked Sonic.

“He’s trapping the city in a special kind of magic dome!” explained Optimus. “If an attack hits it, it will be reflected and hit somewhere or someone else!”

“But if the attack is lethal…!” breathed Jazz, putting two and two together.

“Now, do you understand the gravity of the situation?!” asked Aaron.

“These people have nothing to do with our fight!” shouted Optimus. “Lower the dome now!”

“Not a chance!” countered Aaron. “There WILL be casualties! As such, since you try to defend these technology worshipping ants, it will be on YOUR hands, not mine!”

“Take it down! Now!” ordered Optimus.

“You are in no position to give orders!” roared Aaron. He then started firing energy blasts from his hands. He stayed in the air and kept Optimus to the ground.

“Scrap!” thought Optimus. “I have to get him down, otherwise he’d dodge and the attack would hit the dome!”

“PRIME!” shouted Prowl. “HE’S TOO POWERFUL! RUN!”

“Are you out of your gourd?!” protested Optimus. “I can’t run! Too much is at stake!”

“Optimus, trust Prowl!” urged Teletraan. “He’s got a plan!” Optimus continually shifted his vision between Prowl and Aaron. He finally gave a groan of frustration, transformed into vehicle mode, and sped off.

“COWARD!” roared Aaron as he took off in pursuit. Optimus pulled off every flying maneuver in the book to shake him off, but it did no good.

“Will you get off my aft?!” shouted Optimus.

“DIE, SCRAPHEAP!” screamed Aaron as he fired an energy blast. Thankfully, Optimus was low enough so the attack would hit pavement and not the dome.

“No,” thought Optimus, “I guess not.”

“Optimus, blind him for a bit,” suggested Prowl, “then mask yourself. Amy’s informed me of a spell that can hide you from other magic users.”

“I have mastered that spell, yes,” replied Optimus. “Then what, wait for the right time to strike?”

“No,” corrected Prowl. “Stay hidden until he loses it!”

“What?!” yelped Optimus.

“Trust me!” said Prowl. “I have a theory!”

“Okay,” muttered Optimus, with a bit of uncertainty. “Optimus Prime: Super Mode!” He transformed, took a cylinder from his right leg, and threw it at Aaron. Aaron fired a blast and detonated the Cybertronian flash grenade Optimus threw.

“MY EYES!” he roared. He tried various eye healing spells, but his vision still took a long time to return. When it did, Optimus had disappeared. “Oh, want to play that game, hm? It’s easy to track you, you know? Quis Inveniet.” An orb on energy flew in front of Aaron. “Now, since you use magic, it should be easy to find you!” The orb glowed and glowed…and glowed…and glowed some more. “This isn’t right!” snarled Aaron. “I should be able to track you unless…oh no!” He dismissed the orb. “That’s not how the game is played!” He fired on the ground. “Optimus, you can’t hide from me forever! Where are you?! OPTIMUS PRIME!!” The aforementioned Autobot was hiding in an alleyway per his 2nd lieutenant’s suggestion. He used a spell to mask himself completely.

“Grgh!” he thought. “Every fiber of my being wants to take up the gauntlet, to face him, but Prowl’s plan depends on me staying still!”

“OPTIMUS! FACE ME!” screamed Aaron, sounding desperate. “Please! In the roar of battle, there was peace! Sanctuary! I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER!!” That made Optimus arch an eyebrow.

“Remember what?” he thought. “Maybe I should see how this plays out.”

“OPTIMUS! COME OUT AND FIGHT! OPTIMUS!” cried Aaron. He then let off an unearthly shriek! As Optimus covered his Audio receptors, the noise shattered many windows in the surrounding area. Optimus cautiously opened one optic and directed it skyward to see that the dome was disappearing!

“What in the…?!” he gasped. The citizens of Station Square echoed his reaction. The scream had died as Aaron landed, not so gracefully, on the pavement. “Autobots,” called Optimus over the comms as he stepped out of the alley, “converge on my position. I think Prowl needs to explain his theory.” Aaron saw him and raised his hand to fire a magic bolt. Optimus got into a defensive stance and prepared for the blast, but nothing happened. Aaron goggled at the lack of magic and tried again, but there was still nothing.

“What did you do?!” he roared.

“The only thing I did to you was throw a flash grenade at you!” protested Optimus as he went to normal robot mode.

“Not exactly,” answered Prowl’s voice as he, Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Trema, and the other Autobots arrived on the scene. “It’s all come together. My neural clusters are in top gear!”

“What do you mean?” asked Shadow as he gingerly held his sides.

“During the fight, it looked like he was in denial about something,” explained Prowl. “When Optimus had given us the rundown of the conference with Team Dark about the potential misuse of a Chaos Emerald, I was floored that the name Witwicky was being dragged through the mud like that. At that point, I started doing my research on Aaron. He had a habit of vlogging and he always had his wife and children with him. They gave the look of a family that always had fun times; however my optics are specially designed to observe 800 moving objects and calculate their direction of travel in 0.5 seconds. As such, I can focus on the tiniest details, even in a video. I noticed that your wife, Mikaela, was giving off very tiny twitches in her face. I did some more research and found that she made a vlog herself.”

“What?!” yelped Aaron. “Impossible! She was terrible with computers!”

“Her vlog begs to differ,” argued Prowl. “During its run, she made mention to domestic abuse.”

“LIES!” roared Aaron.

“That’s not what the twitches in her body said,” answered Prowl. “They told me enough to know that she spoke the truth. She even showed a handprint on her cheek in one of them.”

“Must have been one of her ‘friends’!” hissed Aaron. “She hung out with catty girls!”

“Impossible,” countered Prowl. “The handprint was too square-like for a woman’s hand, even for a heavyset one. All evidence points to the fact that the lover’s nest wasn’t a happy nest. Even your children, Samantha and Timmy, got onto Mikaela’s vlog to expose your crimes. When they were shot, a soldier under your command was blamed. However, I saw the trial’s outcome and the twitches in the defendant’s body suggest that he didn’t do it. The point was moot, sadly, as he was found guilty and sentenced to the firing squad. Then, you started blaming technology and an uneasy peace as the killer. However, that’s not true, is it? You were using magic to try and drown out the noise of the victims’ ghosts blaming you.”

“If you’re suggesting that I killed my wife and children…!” snarled Aaron.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” deduced Prowl. “You actually knew about Mikaela’s vlog and her exposing of your crimes. You didn’t want her saying that your world wasn’t perfect or for children to call you evil, so you disposed of the witnesses and fabricated the crime scene to make it look like that soldier was the killer. After the outcome of the trial, you started hearing voices, so you used magic to start a war to drown out the noise because battle was the only way you could ever be happy. What you didn’t know was that the War of Four Orders, as many people across the universe call it, would spread to the wizards and witches of Cybertron, thus sullying magic for a good long while.”

“You have no proof!” roared Aaron. “Let’s say I DID do it, how are you going to prove it? Your eyes won’t be taken as evidence! And all proof that doesn’t relate to tiny twitches in my body is in the past! No court will accept evidence from the latter half of the 28th century!”

“Ah, but there IS current proof!” replied Prowl. “And it came from your own mouth!” Aaron goggled at the police bot. “When you started the fight, I noticed that you kept saying that battle was glorious, proving that you can’t function outside of battle. When Optimus taunted you about your family, it struck a raw nerve! As such, it let me formulate a plan. Of course, the dome that would reflect all attacks onto civilians did leave an x factor, but my people pride themselves on adaption, so I shifted gears and convinced Optimus to run. Being the battle-lusting fighter you are, you weren’t going to be satisfied until you fought him and crushed him. Thankfully, Optimus threw a flash grenade in your face so he could hide and deny you battle with him. That didn’t sit well with you and so you started searching for him. That was the moment when you said, and I quote, ‘Please! In the roar of battle, there was peace! Sanctuary! I don’t want to remember!’ But you do. Aaron Witwicky: killer of Mikaela, Samantha, and Timothy Witwicky. You thought the roar of battle by magic would bury the ghosts of those that you’ve wronged. Let me tell you right now, as a bot that almost went down that path, you’re wrong.”

“I AM NOT!” roared Aaron as he tried to fire magic bolts, to no avail.

“Aaron, enough,” urged Amy. “That emotional outburst has proven that you are unworthy of wielding magic. You divided the Wizards and Witches of all Orders, you started a war for selfish reasons, and you’ve blamed other people for your mistakes! The simple fact of the matter is, you’ve been stripped of magic. Granted, I’ve never heard of people stripping themselves of magic.”

“There is precedence,” replied Trema, “just not on Mobius in any of its eras.”

“Now then,” declared Prowl as he transformed. He slapped handcuffs on Aaron. “Aaron Witwicky, former Army Captain of the now defunct United States Armed Forces, you are under arrest. The charges include murder, fabrication of evidence, starting a war with no authorization from any government, and other various war crimes too numerous and horrible to mention. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, and considering you are not from this era, I can believe it, the courts shall provide you one. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?” There was a pause.

“Yes,” sighed Aaron, finally, as he surrendered.

“Shadow, I believe G.U.N should hold him,” urged Prowl.

“So do I,” agreed Shadow. He turned to a trooper. “Get an armored car here, I don’t want to run any risks.”

“Yes, Sir!” obliged the trooper.

“Prowl, help me search him,” answered Shadow as he produced the warrant. After Prowl checked it over he gave a nod and the two search Aaron.

“Necklace,” reported Prowl.

“Stress Toy,” droned Shadow.

“Bullet that was never fired,” observed Prowl.

“I have no idea where that came from,” insisted Aaron.

“Wand,” reported Shadow.

“I have a permit for that,” assured Aaron.

“Had,” corrected Amy. “It’s certainly been revoked.”

“Yellow Chaos Emerald,” droned Prowl, “we’ll fight about who owns it later.” POW! WHAM! SLAM! SLAP! THUD! A mystery assailant floored prowl, Shadow, Sonic, Aaron, and Optimus. The others pulled their weapons out, be they guns or wands.

“Oh, when an x-factor works in your favor!” cheered a metallic Sonic voice. Everyone turned to see Metal Sonic standing on a rooftop with Shockwave at his side. Optimus and the other knocked out people had recovered and saw them as well.

“What are you lot doing here?!” shouted Optimus as he drew his gun.

“Well, since the original plan went out the window,” answered Shockwave, “it’s only logical to tell you. We were simply looking for the Chaos Emerald on Aaron’s person. It was only serendipity that we found yours as well. I must say, keeping them on you is rather illogical.”

“Hand them over!” roared Shadow.

“Not a chance!” called Metal Sonic. “We now have five Chaos Emeralds to our name while you and that fat fool have none!”

“Metal Sonic, enough,” interjected Shockwave. “We’re leaving. Sigma, open a Ground Bridge.”

“A Ground Bridge?!” yelped Prowl.

“Teletraan, intercept!” ordered Optimus.

“I’m trying!” replied Teletraan. “Her Ground Bridge vortex is different than ours!” Too late. Shockwave and Metal Sonic stepped through and the bridge closed. Optimus twitched for a few seconds, then let out a roar of frustration, similar to a gorilla’s roar. Shockwave had ultimately beaten them, but there were still the blue and white emeralds unaccounted for.

“Teletraan, once Aaron is behind bars, bridge us back,” sighed Optimus. “Afterwards, I think we should run a defrag on you. Before that, call Alexis, get her to tell us what we can do to fix the property damage.”

“Yes, Sir,” obliged Teletraan.

It was currently impossible for Jazz to convert to vehicle mode on his own, so he had to get someone to transform him. The process wasn’t very comfortable for Jazz as Ratchet had to release certain armor latches and move other parts with some force. Once back in vehicle mode, Jazz began internal repairs and slowly activated his holo-form. “Primus, that was awful!” he groaned. “Thank you anyways.”

“Just doing my job,” replied Ratchet. “How are internal repairs?”

“Going a bit slow,” reported Jazz.

“That’s natural,” answered Ratchet, “after that long of exposure.”

“How are the others?” asked Jazz.

“We’re functional,” remarked Optimus. “Where did those other Jazzes come from?”

“My Gatakiriba combo,” explained Jazz. “I used the OOO Driver before I saw Aaron sporting a Cyber Key around his neck.”

“Whose was it?” asked Prowl.

“It was mine,” replied Jazz. “He was stupid enough to give it to me so I could prove it was Cybertronian tech and not a magic metal from otherworldly origins.”

“Wow!” sighed Sonic. “That’s some stupidity right there.”

“I know!” agreed Jazz. “Wait, where’s Shadow?”

“Fighting Aaron right now,” revealed Bumblebee.

“That disgrace to wizards will be arrested sooner or later,” chuckled Optimus. They heard a moan.

“Amy!” called Sonic. He ran over to her and held her up. Amy’s eyes opened.

“Sonic?” she said weakly.

“Easy,” encouraged Ratchet. “Save your strength.”

“It’s a good thing you Mobians have adaptive biology,” remarked Optimus, “otherwise you’d be dead from that blast.”

“Adaptive biology boosted with magic always helps,” chuckled Amy weakly. “Wait, where’s Shadow?”

“Fighting Aaron, I assume,” answered Trema’s voice. Trema was getting up. “He’ll have an advantage.”

“Forgive me if I disagree!” cried Amy as she tried to get up.

“Amy, easy!” insisted Sonic.

“Sonic’s right,” supplied Ratchet, “you need rest.”

“When Shadow’s about to die? Not likely!” argued Amy.

“What do you mean ‘about to die’?” asked Optimus.

“Optimus,” answered Amy, “do you know how many times I’ve been slapped around when I went on solo missions as the Scarlet Specter?”

“Not really,” muttered Optimus.

“EVERY time,” revealed Amy, “bar my training with my teachers, literally EVERY time!”

“The point being?” asked Jazz.

“I’ve learned to gauge when someone is holding back!” finished Amy. Her gaze went to Optimus.

“Amy, in many warrior cultures, like Nebulan and Cybertronian cultures, accusing a warrior of holding back is plain rude!” admonished Trema.

“Besides,” continued Jazz, “this is Optimus Prime. A Prime never holds back, right best buddy?” Silence. “Prime?” All eyes leveled to Optimus.

“…I can explain,” gulped Optimus.

“I don’t think you can!” hissed Amy.

---

Meanwhile, Shadow and Aaron continue trading blows. “Come on!” taunted Shadow. “Is that the best you’ve got?!”

“Considering you’ve been holding back,” replied Aaron, “why should I go all out?”

“What do you mean?” asked Shadow.

“Let’s be honest,” sighed Aaron, “neither of us are at full power. You’ve been holding back because of something actively restraining you. The thing is you can take off the restraints at any time!”

“I don’t see how it concerns you holding back,” answered Shadow.

“Are you sure?” asked Aaron. “Don’t you want to defeat me at my full potential?”

---

“You’ve been holding back this entire time?!” yelped Jazz

“Okay, yes!” confirmed Optimus. “I’ve actually learned how to tap into Chaos energy a while ago, before Shockwave appeared. But Shadow doesn’t know that! If he did…”

“He’d be mad at you?!” guessed Amy. “Listen, I like the guy, but his default emotion is mad!”

“It’s more than anger, it’s pride!” insisted Optimus. “It would shatter him if there was a robot stronger than him!”

“Fueling a person’s ego is unbecoming of a warrior!” roared Trema.

“Dude, what in the Pit!” protested Jazz.

“Sir, there is another option!” interjected Prowl. “Wasn’t your trailer made from a spare battle-frame?”

“It’s not perfected!” replied Optimus. “There’s a problem with it!”

“I think that problem is negligible!” insisted Prowl.

“No, you don’t understand,” urged Optimus.

---

“I’m willing to make a deal with you,” offered Aaron. “You give me your most powerful attack, and I’ll give you mine. That way, if, by some miracle, you beat me, you’ll have the satisfaction of taking down the most powerful opponent without any help.” Shadow’s ear twitched. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“You know,” he rasped, “the thing is, I know you’re stoking my ego…” his hand then went to his wrist ring! “…but you’re right!”

---

“Optimus, you need to do something before Shadow does something completely reckless!” urged Amy.

“There’s literally nothing he can do to make this situation any worse than it is,” replied Optimus, “bar blowing up the city.” They were all watching Shadow at that point and saw him removing his rings! “…He is going to blow up the city!”

“But I live here!” yelped Amy.

“That’s it!” encouraged Aaron, feeling the power rising in Shadow. “Keep it coming!”

“SHADOW! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!” shouted Sonic.

“SHADOW!” called Optimus. “YOUR PRIDE ISN’T WORTH LEVELING THE CITY! COME ON!”

“Way past the bargaining stage!” yelped Prowl. Shadow then started glowing red and his eyes turned completely white.

“CHAOS…BLAST!” he roared. A dome of red light soon engulfed the city. The Autobots and allies hit the deck. The light remained for a while, then it faded slowly. “Powerful enough for you?” snarked Shadow. “Hope you’re proud.”

“Oh, Shadow,” replied Aaron’s voice, startling the hedgehog, “I AM proud. Not of the damage, no, but of you! You are one of the few people to stick to your guts and throw everything away to satisfy your frankly fragile ego. For that, I tip my hat to you. But, I believe we’re done.” He fished out the yellow Chaos Emerald. “Chaos Control.” He then disappeared from his position in the sky and reappeared behind Shadow, delivering a kick to his spine.

“Prime, you’re out of options!” called Amy.

“We don’t know that!” insisted Optimus. “We still have the emeralds to whip up…”

“The Chaos Emeralds aren’t Dragonballs!” snapped Jazz. “Besides, we don’t have all seven!” Optimus sighed. He really didn’t have any options. He transformed and charged at Aaron.

“Battle frame: Online!” he ordered. “Optimus Prime: Super Mode!” The trailer started folding and twisting until it changed into a set of limbs held by an empty box with an armored chest unit. Optimus’ legs folded into the vehicle mode rear and his arms folded backwards. He flew into the box holding the limbs and the chest armor folded down. A helmet like his own came down over his head. Connections hidden in Optimus’ body attached to the ones in the battle frame. The limbs then moved at Optimus’ command. Optimus grabbed Aaron and threw him away from Shadow while Shadow was tossed to Ratchet. Aaron soon picked himself up.

“What fool stopped my righteous attack?!” he snarled.

“There is nothing righteous about killing anyone, even in war!” Optimus snarled right back.

“You’ve clearly never been in one,” observed Aaron as he charged at Optimus. Optimus twisted around to let Aaron’s punch go wild. Aaron twisted and managed to land a hit and, oddly enough, not receive any damage on his end. Optimus then swatted him into a building. The dust settled for a bit.

“That might not have done much damage, but, by PRIMUS, that felt good!” sighed Optimus.

“Oh HO!” laughed Aaron as he crawled out of the rubble. “Is that a smidgen of pride I sense? Guess your creators wanted you to imitate life.”

“Creator, actually,” corrected Optimus.

“Master Trema, what’s with Optimus?” asked Amy. “He’s much more powerful than Aaron now! Where’s that confidence he’s famous for?!”

“I think I see why he was so hesitant,” realized Trema. “That confidence went out the window when his speed decreased.”

“I don’t understand,” said Amy.

“In raw power,” explained Trema, “Prime can’t be beat right now. However, his current form has increased his mass to a level he’s not used to. His body cannot compensate right now. So, while we’re seeing a definite increase in strength, we’re also seeing a definite decrease in speed.”

“In other words,” gasped Amy as the reality of the situation hits her, “Prime can’t hit Aaron and he’s taunting Optimus with the few free hits Prime landed on him!”

“Damn it!” snarled Prowl. “I feel so helpless! We need to do something!”

“Like what?” asked Trema. “Get ragdolled? No thank you!”

“Of course, a Nebulan would say that!” hissed Prowl.

“To be fair,” mused Ironhide, “between the Super Prime and the Psycho Wizard…”

“Don’t you start!” protested Prowl.

“Hey, you may have forgotten,” snarled Ironhide, “but I was on Femax, okay?! Those Amazons almost killed both sides! I got stabbed! And blown up!”

“I got stabbed and blown up too!” answered Trema. “And dumped by my boyfriend from Femax.”

“I was dumped by my Femaxian girlfriend too,” replied Ironhide. “But, there’s a difference between us, Ms. witch princess.” Trema raised an eyebrow at that as familiarity struck her. “When my ex left, she took half my Energon. When yours left, he took all of HIS Energon.” It was then that Trema realized who the Transformer was.

“Yeah, well at least I slept with Nortor, Mr. Cyber-hick!” she snapped as one would to their sibling.

“Yeah, well unlike me and Chromia, you have no means of proving it!” Ironhide snapped back.

“Do too! We’ll just ask him!” offered Trema.

“Can you guys keep it down?!” called Optimus. “I’m trying to fight here!”

“Okay, in hindsight,” thought Prowl, “I’m so glad I’m staying behind.”

“Pity, really,” sighed Aaron. “You wanted strength and your new form slows you down. Once I’m finished with you, I’ll find the wizard that gave that Kamen Rider-obsessed dolt that belt!”

“Wait, didn’t Jazz tell you?” asked Optimus.

“He had the nerve to say that you could use magic!” snapped Aaron. “It’s impossible for a machine to sully magic!” Optimus stared, then smirked.

“Captain Witwicky,” he chuckled, “while I would love nothing better than to argue with you, I literally have a million better things to do. So, here’s the deal. I want you to hit me with your most powerful fireball.”

“Is that so?” quizzed Aaron.

“You may have misheard me,” remarked Optimus. “I don’t mean some arbitrary percentage, nor fifty percent. I want YOU to hit ME with your MOST powerful fireball.”

“Suppose I don’t play along?” asked Aaron, a little irked at the smarminess dripping from Optimus.

“Then I guess your wife won’t want to see you,” taunted Optimus. Aaron twitched. “Oooh, consider that nerve touched,” smirked Optimus. “Come on. You, me, most powerful fireball. Clear?”

“Crystal!” growled Aaron. Aaron then started hovering in the air. He then formed a red sphere of light in his hands, then thrust them into the air. The sky, the buildings, the streets, the people, EVERYTHING turned a nasty shade of red. The atmosphere of Station Square was saturated with Aaron’s anger towards Optimus. Through it all, the youngest Prime still had that annoying grin.

“That’s it!” called Optimus. “Keep it coming! I can actually feel it!”

“IN MERE SECONDS,” roared Aaron, “ALL YOU WILL FEEL IS FIERY OBLIVION, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF MOLTEN SLAG!”

“Oblivion, or disappointment?” asked Optimus. “Go ahead, flip that coin.”

“AS YOU WISH!” shouted Aaron “IGNIS GIGAS!” The fireball was massive as it hurtled towards Optimus at incredible speed. Optimus simply held his hand out.

“Corpus Pondus in Igne,” he said. The fireball then got smaller as the flames travelled safely into his hand. Soon, there was no fireball at all. Aaron stared in disbelief.

“Impossible!” he breathed.

“Afraid not,” replied Optimus. “My people CAN use magic. I’m a wizard of your very Order. I’m sure you’re familiar with an absorption spell. Absorbing water spells make the absorber swim faster, air spells improve flight, earth spells allow you to feel your opponent’s movements in the ground, fire…well, I’m sure you figured out my current form’s speed deficiency, until I absorbed your most powerful fireball. The thing is, that spell was hard for me to master, until today.” Aaron just roared and launched multiple fireballs. Optimus just kept absorbing the fireballs.

“WHY WON’T YOU DIE?!” roared Aaron.

“Dude, throwing fireball after fireball at me, even after I showed I can absorb them, is a sign of insanity,” sighed Prime.

“YOU KNOW WHAT!” screamed Aaron. “TIME TO STAIN THIS CITY WITH BLOOD! SCUTUM REFLEXIONEM!” Optimus, Trema, and Amy’s went wide with horror.

“What did you say?!” cried Amy.

Jazz was the first to get up as he got something out of his subspace pocket. It was a black, rectangular device with blue highlights and three slots for a circular object to fit in. He put the device to his waist so it could form a belt. A circular device appeared at his right while a cylinder appeared at his left. Jazz then fished out three coins from his subspace. They were colored differently and had an animal design on them. The red coin with a hawk went into the right slot, the yellow one with a tiger went in the middle slot, and the green on with a grasshopper went in the left slot. He then tilted the device at an angle to his left foot. He grabbed the circular device on his right and slid it across the tilted coin holder from right to left. “Henshin!” he called. The belt then spoke.

“TAKA! TORA! BATTA!” it announced as images of the coins appeared from top to bottom. “Tatoba! Tatoba, Tatoba!” it sang as the images combined into one and moved to his chest. His paint job went black and his helmet changed to look like a red hawk in flight with green insect eyes. The arms and shoulders gained yellow highlights and a set of folded back claws. The legs gained green highlights. Jazz spun around on his feet before pointing at Aaron.

“Shall we?” he asked.

“I felt magic when you changed!” yelped Aaron.

“Yeah, well,” mused Jazz, “I ain’t the wizard that made this thing the real OOO Driver. Let’s just say that a friend helped me in that regard.” Aaron scoffed.

“I’ll find that friend of yours and turn him into ash,” he declared. “Ut Gigans!” He grew to Jazz’s height. Jazz had seen the spell in action before, so he wasn’t totally surprised.

“You’ll have to get through me first,” taunted Jazz. “I’ve got the eyes of a hawk, the strength of a tiger, and the jumping power of a grasshopper. On top of that, I don’t think punching metal would be a good idea, even at your current size.”

“An oversight to be corrected,” snapped Aaron. “Dura Cutis!” His skin turned into metal.

“And there goes that advantage,” sighed Jazz. He shrugged, then charged at Aaron. The claws folded forward as he made a slashing attack. He then swiped the OOO Scanner across the belt again.

“SCANNING CHARGE!” called the belt. Jazz then leapt into the air and made a diving kick with both of his legs. He gave of the original OOO’s battle cry of “Seiya!” as he made the kick connect. It made a scratch on Aaron, who laughed.

“Do you wish to continue this dance of futility?” he asked.

“I’m gonna have to go stag on that,” joked Jazz as he pulled out a green medal with a stag beetle design on it. He swapped it for the hawk medal and swiped the scanner again.

“KUWAGATA! TORA! BATTA!” called the belt. The helmet changed to a green one with stag beetle horns and orange eyes. The top of the image on his chest went from red hawk to green stag beetle. Jazz then started projecting lighting from the horns, until Aaron seemed to take it into his hands and threw it at a car in the air. Thankfully, Jazz caught it in time. He tore out some pavement and tossed it at Aaron. Once the people inside the car had gotten out, Jazz turned to Aaron.

“All right,” he snarled as he took out another green medal, this one with a mantis design, “start praying, boy!” He swapped it with the tiger medal and once again ran the scanner over the belt.

“KUWAGATA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA!” announced the belt “Gata-Gata-Gatakiriba! Gatakiriba!” Jazz then gave off a roar and multiplied himself to become an army of 100! Aaron smirked.

“That’s supposed to intimidate me?” he asked “Et Multiplicabo Centum!” That was the spell that allowed him to multiply to the number he specified. His army lined up. “Are you all familiar with the plan?!” he shouted to his clones.

“SIR! YES, SIR!” confirmed his clones.

“Then, CHARGE!” he shouted. The army of Aaron clashed with the army of Gatakiriba Jazz. The battle was evenly matched with the two one man armies, until one of the Aaron clones took off one of the Jazz’s OOO Driver. It turned him back into Jazz.

“What the?” yelped the now de-transformed Jazz clone. The others saw it.

“That never happened in the show!” cried another Jazz clone. That was the opening that specific Aaron clone was looking for and it punched through the Jazz clone. It disappeared in a pained scream.

“DON’T LET UP!” shouted the original Jazz. Easier said than done, the Jazz army was getting slaughtered! With all the versions of Jazz screaming in agony before they faded away, Jazz had to pull back 9 other versions of himself so they could fight later.

“COWARD!” roared Aaron. “That’s just like you machines! You flee the instant logic is thrown out the window and your precious battle plans go awry! That’s why magic shall be supreme!” As Aaron dismissed his clones, Jazz and his clones were catching their breath. They removed their belts and discussed their next plan of attack.

“I don’t think I’m being melodramatic when I say this is monumentally bad!” gulped one of the clones.

“We have an option,” replied another clone.

“What did you have in mind?” asked the original.

“First, why don’t we check the core medals we have?” quizzed the clone. The others shrugged and then pulled out the medal collection they each had. It was then that two clones had a full red set each. In fact, there were multiple copies of Jazz’s medal collection. “Okay,” remarked the clone that ask for a medal check, “that makes my plan a lot easier.”

“You don’t mean…,” realized another clone.

“All combos?” asked the original. The clone nodded. “Then I guess I’ll take the Tatoba combo!”

“I’ll take Gatakiriba!” declared the second clone.

“Latoratah for me!” announced another clone.

“Sagozo!” called the first clone.

“Tajador will be mine!” interjected another clone.

“I’ll be swimming with Shauta!” proclaimed another clone.

“Stomping around with Putotyra!” sang another one.

“Slithering with Burakawani!” said another with a hiss.

“I’ll take Tamashi!” called the ninth.

“I guess I’ll take the Super Tatoba combo!” remarked the last. They fished out the medals for those combos and inserted them into the belt. Once they swiped the scanner, they all said “Henshin!” and let the combos form.

“TAKA! TORA! BATTA! Tatoba! Tatoba, Tatoba!”

“KUWAGATA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA! Gata-Gata-Gatakiriba! Gatakiriba!”

“LION! TORA! CHEETAH!” The arms stayed the same as the Tatoba combo. The helmet had blue eyes and looked like a yellow lion’s mane. The legs were yellow as well. “Lata Lata! Latoratah!”

“SAI! GORILLA! ZOU!” The outfit turned silver, with the head looking like a rhino’s horn and gained red eyes. The arms looked more like a gorilla’s. The feet became heavier and made of denser steel. “Sagozo! Sagozo!”

“TAKA! KUJAKU! CONDOR!” The outfit turned red with the helmet gaining larger wings and the eyes turning red as well. The shoulder pads looked like a peacock’s feathers with some sort of shield on the left arm. The feet became sharpened like talons. “Tajador!”

“SHACHI! UNAGI! TAKO!” The outfit turned blue with the helmet gaining an orca pattern and yellow eyes. The arms had whip like weapons on them and the legs had suckers on them. “Sha-Sha-Shauta! Sha-Sha-Shauta!”

“PTERA! TRICERA! TYRANNO!” The outfit was purple with the eyes turning green, and the wings going from hawk-like to Pteranodon-like. He gained a set of Pteranodon wings as well. The shoulders got Triceratops horns on each side. The legs became claw-like. “Putotyrannosaurus!”

“COBRA! KAME! WANI!” The helmet gained purple eyes and a snake “turban” with a ponytail like extension. The arms were yellow-orange and had half of a turtle’s shell on each one. The legs became orange and had a tooth pattern. “Burakawani!”

“TAKA! IMAGIN! SHOCKER!” The head remained the same as the Tatoba head, but the arms were red with a large horn on each shoulder. The legs were golden with a wing design. “Tamashi! Tamashi, Tamashi! Rider Damashii!”

“SUPER! SUPER! SUPER! SUPER TAKA! SUPER TORA! SUPER BATTA!” Instead of being mainly black with red, yellow, and green designs, it was red, yellow, and green with black designs. “Super! Tatoba, Tatoba! SUPER!

“We ready?” asked Tatoba Jazz. The response was positive. “Then, CHARGE!” All the combos charged at Aaron. Aaron smirked.

“Oh, that is precious!” he laughed.

“Tajador! Putotyra! You guys first!” said Tatoba Jazz. Tajador Jazz grabbed the three green medals, opened the shield, put the medals in it, closed the shield, and put the scanner on top. The medals spun around the shield.

“KUWAGATA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA! GIN! GIN! GIN! GIGA SCAN!” called the scanner. Energy formed around the shield as he prepared to punch. When he did, a green energy disc flew out of the shield and landed a hit on Aaron. Aaron staggered, but still had the smirk. Putotyra Jazz slammed his fist into the ground, making a purple light glow from the cracks. He then pulled out an ax with a purple blade and an open t-rex mouth holding the blade. He then put a silver medal with an x into the top of the blade, let it go down the blade, and then closed the mouth.

“GOKKUN!” it growled as Putotyra Jazz swung another handle down to turn it into a bazooka. He let the energy charge up before pulling the trigger. “Putotyranno Hissatsu!” Once he pulled the trigger, a large purple blast struck Aaron square in the chest.

“That should do it!” growled Putotyra Jazz.

“Should and did are two different concepts,” replied Aaron’s voice. He was still unscathed!

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!” cried Latoratah Jazz.

“All right, then!” muttered Tatoba Jazz. “Scanners out, everyone!” All the combos swiped the scanners across the belt.

“SCANNING CHARGE!” announced all the belts. Tatoba, Tajador, Shauta, Gatakiriba, and Super Tatoba jumped into the air and made a dive kick motion. Sagozo floated into the air before dropping onto his feet and creating a quake. Burakawani slid on his back in a flying kick motion. Tamashi held an energy ball and fired it like Goku. Putotyra extended the horns on his shoulders to Aaron, froze him, and swung his tail. Latoratah charged at Aaron at high speeds and made a cutting motion with his claws.

“SEIYA!” they all cried as the attacks hit their marks. The other combos disappeared, so the only combo left was the original Jazz in the Tatoba combo. He then de-transformed and returned to his usual robot mode. He then wiped an imaginary tear.

“That explosion would have put a tear in many a Kamen Rider’s eye,” he mock-whimpered.

“Whatever a Kamen Rider is,” sighed Aaron’s voice.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!” shouted Jazz.

“Now, are there anymore tricks you want to try, or shall I deactivate you right now?” asked Aaron. Jazz then tried something desperate.

“That necklace you have there, what is it?” he quizzed.

“Seriously?” muttered Aaron. “I asked for a trick and you want to try something as basic as that? Fine, I’ll play along. It’s my sorcerer’s crest. It shows my rank in the magic world. Why do you ask?” An idea formed for Jazz on the fly.

“It looks a lot like a Cyber Key,” he mused.

“A what?” asked Aaron.

“A Cyber Key,” Jazz repeated. “It’s an ancient piece of Cybertronian tech that unlocks a bot’s hidden systems.”

“It’s not technology!” protested Aaron. “It’s a precious metal that fell from the stars, eons ago!”

“So did the Cyber Keys,” countered Jazz.

“This is a means of one getting power!” snapped Aaron.

“Cyber! Key!” insisted Jazz.

“All right, you know what?!” snapped Aaron as he took off his necklace. He then threw it at Jazz, who caught it. “Now, tell me, is that ancient technology?”

“Actually,” said Jazz with a grin as data flowed into his processor, “that just cinched it.” He then flicked it into the air and thrust his palm into the air. “CYBER KEY POWER!” The Cyber Key then inserted itself into Jazz’s back and turned. Machinery on his back swung to his shoulders to be shoulder mounted firearms. The barrels almost looked like speakers. “Oh,” gasped Jazz as targeting systems flooded his visor, “Christmas came early! Earth-shake Bass Cannons!”

“Oh, please!” mocked Aaron as it looked like he had flicked some dirt off. “That fight must have drained you! And besides, the gap between you and the coward wizard that made that belt real must be wide if you light up at new weapons!” Now, Jazz is a mellow bot. There’s very little that can tick him off. Mentioning the power gap between him and his best friend and calling said friend a coward are sure fire ways to make him lose his cool.

“You know what?” he snarled. “Frag the gap between me and my best friend. Frag the Energon draining fight! Frag your arrogance!! In fact, FRAG YOU FOR DARING TO CALL MY BEST FRIEND, OPTIMUS PRIME, A COWARDLY WIZARD! MAXIMUM SONICS!” The Bass Cannons unleashed a torrent of sonic waves that were directed at Aaron. He held his head in pain. It stopped after a while. “I AIN’T DONE! MAXIMUM SONICS!” Another torrent. Jazz kept on and on until Aaron was on the ground, steadying himself.

“I’m going to get up now!” he snarled. “And if you do that again, I swear to God Almighty…!”

“Maximum Sonics,” hissed Jazz. One last torrent knocked Aaron back a few feet. Jazz stood like a statue for a while. “Huh,” he thought, “with all those shots, I’d figure my Energon reserves would…oh, wait, there they go.” Metal met pavement with a resounding thud. Multiple warnings of Energon overexposure rang though his head. Jazz then tried to transform, to no avail. “T-Cog, come on! No! Be a pal!” Not a snowball’s chance in even the deepest part of Dante’s Hell. Jazz started shorting out.

“Now,” remarked Aaron as he got up, “as far as last words go, ‘Maximum Sonics’ aren’t the greatest. But, to be fair, that’s far from the worst decision you’ve ever made today!”

“You haven’t seen my ‘go frag yourself’ attack yet!” Jazz managed to get out.

“Now, see,” chuckled Aaron, “that’s the spirit.” He shrunk back down and turned his skin back to normal skin. He then raised his hand to the air and made a fist of fire. “Ignis Pugno Mor…!”

“CHAOS SPEAR!” came Shadow’s voice. A yellow energy arrow struck Aaron in the back and the fist disappeared.

“All right, who has the gall?!” snarled Aaron.

“If it’s an opponent you’re looking for,” rasped Shadow as he strode forward, “I can fill the part. Ratchet, get him out of here.” Ratchet used his magnets to lift Jazz over to his position. The other Autobots were conscious and in vehicle mode. Aaron growled.

“Fine!” he growled. “I’ll just deal with this freak!” He charged at Shadow, beginning the battle.

Optimus was flying through the skies in vehicle mode, just doing his job. Oh, sorry, not as Prime, no, he’s always doing it. I was referring to his Mobian job. It dawned on the Autobots that the people of Mobius won’t accept Cybertronian currency, so they got themselves some jobs so they can stay at the base and not have to mooch off G.U.N. funding. Prowl joined the local police force. Jazz returned to Dancitron, and business picked back up. Ratchet was hired by a hospital as a doctor after he passed the necessary exams with flying colors. Ironhide worked at a shooting range near the police station Prowl worked at. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper became pizza toppers at a pizza joint. Optimus got into trucking. To do his job, Tails had found some Cybertronian tech which works as a subspace trailer that pops up whenever Optimus needs it. Right now, he was hauling some nitrous oxide for a major dental office. He was still concentrating on the sky lanes, but Shadow’s remark about magic was still playing in his mind. “Sparks and mumbo jumbo!” he hissed in an imitation of Shadow’s voice. “Yeah, right! You saw the Scarlet Specter, didn’t you?! What are your powers even classified as if they’re not magic?!”

“Grand Prime Rig,” called a voice over his radio, “this here’s dispatch. We got ourselves another voice squawkin’, wantin’ to give you the low down on somethin’ huge.” Optimus rolled his holo-form’s eyes. He made the call two-way.

“Teletraan, that was awful,” he replied.

“But not inaccurate,” remarked Teletraan.

“You didn’t even use any C.B. code!” protested Optimus.

“I never practiced, okay!” snapped Teletraan.

“What’s this ‘something huge’ you wanted to talk about?” quizzed Optimus.

“Oddly enough,” answered Teletraan, “a green Mobian rabbit wanted to talk to you. Before you ask, I don’t know how she found the base. As I was trying to find the breach, she said she wanted to meet you in the downtown area.”

“That security breach is disconcerting,” muttered Optimus as he landed near the dental office. “I’ll talk to the rabbit. You find that breach and plug it up. I don’t want Shockwave or Eggman getting to our intel.”

“Yes, Sir!” obliged Teletraan. Once the call ended, Optimus helped the other dentists with safely unloading the laughing gas. Optimus then asked the dentist helping unload the trailer what the gas is used for.

“Mainly for anesthetic when there’s major dental work going on,” explained the dentist.

“You make your patients laugh when there’s a root canal going on?” mumbled Optimus. “I know I shouldn’t say this, but your planet’s customs are strange.”

“I’m sure I’d say the same if I were on your planet,” countered the dentist.

“In any case,” replied Optimus as he got a canister out, “this is the last one.”

“Thanks, Prime!” bid the dentist. Optimus nodded farewell, made the trailer disappear, and took off to the downtown area after telling his dispatch that the delivery was a success. Once he arrived, he saw Trema in her Mobian disguise.

“You must be the rabbit that gave my A.I. a security scare,” mused Optimus.

“Sorry about that,” apologized Trema. “A friend gave me clearance.”

“Who?” asked Optimus as he arched an eyebrow.

“Well,” stammered Trema, “in the interests of…”

“Master Trema,” called the Scarlet Specter’s voice, “enough. He’s going to know eventually.” The Scarlet Specter stepped out of an alley.

“It’s too soon!” protested Trema.

“Trema?” repeated Optimus. “That’s a common Nebulan name for girls.”

“Crap,” swore Trema.

“He needs to know,” replied the Specter as her hands went for the mask and hair. When they were pulled off, Optimus’ eyes went wide when he saw Amy’s face.

“AMY?!” he squawked.

“Not so loud!” yelped Amy as she quickly put the wig and mask back on.

“Wait, what’s going on?!” demanded Optimus. “Amy, are you the reason Ms. Trema managed to get through Autobase Omega 1’s security?” Amy shuffled her feet. Optimus sighed. “Amy, we may be friends, but the Autobots are still a military group. You can’t give access to our base to just anyone. Teletraan had a bit of a scare. He was convinced it was Eggman trying to steal our secrets, at worst, Shockwave. Any more requests to give your friends access needs to be cleared with me. Are we clear?”

“…Yes, Prime,” mumbled Amy.

“Good,” replied Optimus. He then turned to Trema. “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to surrender your access to my base as this whole thing needs to be secret.”

“Oh,” groaned Trema, “very well.” She gave Optimus her access card and Optimus put it in his pocket.

“Now, with that cleared up,” declared Optimus, “what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“It’s about the Nebulan graffiti,” answered Trema. “Amy showed me what it looked like through her memories and I swear the handwriting looks familiar to me.”

“Can you translate it?” asked Optimus. “My omni-linguistics can’t pick up on that chicken scratch.”

“Let’s see,” muttered Trema as she made a magic image of the graffiti. Nebulan writing is read from the top right corner to the bottom left corner, on a diagonal. “… ‘Come and get me you bucket of…blots?’ Oh! Bolts!”

“It’s directed to the Autobots?” asked Amy.

“Why would a Nebulan bother with defacing a billboard?” quizzed Optimus. “And who on Nebulos doesn’t know how to spell bolts?”

“Well, there was my brother, Krunk,” mused Trema, “but he’s in prison right now.”

“Guys, shh!” hissed Amy. “I think I hear something.” The conversation stopped as all auditory input, both technological and otherwise, were dialed up to maximum. Optimus guessed where the sound was coming from. It was in the alley Amy had come out. Trema led the way. They looked up the building wall to find more graffiti. Optimus started reading it.

“‘Autobots smell like…’ okay, that’s just rude!” he protested. Then they heard the noise again. They turned to see a Nebulan man in red robes spraying the wall in writing. Trema’s eyes went wide as she recognized the Nebulan. She then dropped the Mobian disguise and grew to her full height.

“Hey! Krunk!” she shouted. The Nebulan turned, his eyes popped, and to finish the awkward silence, he threw a fireball at the ground before taking off in flight. Amy closed her fist and put out the flames while Trema took a broom as tall as her out of subspace. She hopped on and zoomed after Krunk. Optimus flew off after her in vehicle mode and Amy turned into a cloud of red mist and tailed Optimus. Optimus switched on his comms to all Autobots.

“All Autobots, take notice,” called Optimus, “A couple of witches and I are in pursuit of a Nebulan wizard of the Red Order! We’re en-route to the city limits! He is in the air and we need him down!”

“This is Prowl, message received!”

“Ratchet, on the way!”

“Ironhide, ready to kick kiester!”

“Bumblebee, reporting!”

“Cliffjumper, I have visual!”

“Jazz, on your six and contacting G.U.N.!”

“All right,” declared Optimus, “let’s roll out!” The chase was on! Jazz and Bumblebee flanked Krunk on the left while Ironhide and Prowl flanked him on the right. Optimus and Cliffjumper took the middle while Amy, Trema, and Ratchet stayed above him. The formation tightened and went lower, much to Krunk’s annoyance. He shot fireballs at them, but to no avail. Suddenly, a pair of high speed, spherical, and organic projectiles hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The projectiles unfurled to reveal Sonic and Shadow. “I have GOT to learn how to do that,” thought Optimus as he and the other Autobots transformed and landed near Krunk. Optimus then spoke in guttural tones to Krunk, who responded back in less than flattering phrases.

“Well, aren’t you rude!” snarled Prowl.

“What did he say?” asked Sonic.

“He just called Optimus the close relative of a scraplet!” translated Jazz. Krunk then gave a Bronx Cheer.

“Okay, that’s universal,” growled Shadow.

“What are you doing on this planet? You’re supposed to be in prison!” snapped Trema in the Nebulan language.

“Like I’d tell you!” growled Krunk in the same language. He then launched a fireball toward her, which the Specter, Amy, blocked. The impact, unfortunately, knocked the hat, wig, and helmet off. The assembled team, bar Optimus and Trema, gawked at Amy’s reveal.

“I’ll explain later!” assured Amy as she cast a bolt of lightning. Krunk sent it towards Optimus, who directed it up and away from the city. The technique surprised Amy. Prime was a young bot. As such, he shouldn’t know how to redirect lightning yet. She still hadn’t mastered it! Krunk then twirled his wand in his fingers and teleported behind Optimus to spray writing on him. He then knocked Optimus down and ran away with Amy and the Autobots in hot pursuit while Trema helped Optimus up.

“What did Krunk write on me?!” he yelped.

“Nothing I wish to repeat in polite company,” was Trema’s response. Optimus decided not to pursue the matter and decided to pursue Krunk. He went with a flying kick to his back and knocked Krunk down again. Krunk then spun around and grabbed Optimus’ face. He tossed him towards Amy, who threw up a barrier before blacking out from the immediate strain.

“All right, Krunk,” called a voice, “let others have their turn with the metal men.” A red cloud then coalesced to become the infamous Captain Aaron Witwicky. “You creatures of metal and those of the other Magic Orders may bow before your new magic king.”

“And, suppose we don’t play along?” asked Prowl. Aaron smirked and threw a fireball at the Autobots. Amy leapt up and knocked it aside. Since she and Aaron were of the same order, it was easy. To say that Aaron was thrown for a loop would be an understatement.

“What?” he hissed. “What is this?!”

“Captain Witwicky, are you out of your mind?!” snapped Amy. “Drop your wand at once!”

“What treachery is this?!” he snarled. “By whose authority?!”

“I am Amy Rose, the Scarlet Specter,” proclaimed Amy. “And it’s you committing treason by firing on innocent people!”

“These low-lives worship machinery!” argued Witwicky. “This war shall elevate the universe to a new height!”

“You flaming dolt!” insulted Amy. “Hasn’t it occurred to you that that futile war is over in this age?”

“Amy!” warned Trema.

“Over?!” shouted Aaron. “What do you mean?!”

“She means that all Orders are at peace,” explained Trema.

“Lies! All lies from a naïve fledgling!” dismissed Aaron.

“That’s no lie, I can assure you,” replied Optimus.

“It’s…over?!” hissed Aaron. “A glorious war…without technology…that I started…,” a dangerous red light started gathering around him, “…IS OVER?!” The light came with something solid as it expanded and knocked everyone off their feet.

At G.U.N, in a room specially designed for the Autobots, Shadow tapped his foot repeatedly. Irritation crossed his features. “Losing your temper?’ chuckled a familiar, sultry voice.

“This whole thing is absurd!” snarled Shadow.

“What’s absurd?” asked Rouge as she flew down from an upper gantry.

“This!” snapped Shadow. “The Transformers! Our treaty! A warship above our heads!”

“It’s an Autobot ship,” assured Rouge. “They’re the good guys, remember?”

“Yeah, good guys led by a kid!” argued Shadow.

“They have given us results,” countered Rouge.

“Rouge, Optimus is a child, plain and simple,” hissed Shadow.

“A child that’s a powerful ally,” remarked Rouge.

“If you two are finished,” said a voice. Shadow and Rouge turned to see Jazz standing in the doorway. They arched an eye ridge.

“Where’s Optimus?” grunted Shadow.

“I didn’t get much of a clear picture,” replied Jazz, “but he mentioned something about Sonic, a 24 chili dog lunch, his vehicle mode’s cockpit, and a full detailing.”

“Apparently, the faker’s never heard of a napkin,” sighed Shadow.

“So, what’s up?” asked Jazz. “I assume there’s a reason for a meeting.”

“We’ve found another Chaos Emerald,” replied Rouge.

“Another one?!” cheered Jazz. “All right!”

“However,” interjected Shadow, “it’s being misused.”

“Not so all right, then,” winced Jazz. “Have we got I.D. on the misuser?”

“Yes, but not anything current,” reported Shadow. He then pulled up the files on the mystery emerald abuser. It was a 50 something year old man, pretty muscular, military haircut, square-cut beard, and dressed in red. “He’s called Captain Aaron Witwicky of the United States Air Force. Before the planet’s previous countries collapsed, Captain Witwicky had experienced PTSD after a war between the U.S. and China had leveled both countries and brought them to a standstill in 2786. The reason was because his wife and children were killed by U.S. soldiers firing on anyone in a panic after the battle of Hong Kong was going south. An uneasy peace was signed, but Captain Witwicky refused to accept it. He wasn’t the biggest fan of technology and sought out to learn magic.”

“He did realize that all civilizations on this planet were built on technology, right?” asked Jazz.

“He said that it was a mistake,” clarified Rouge. “He sought out help from a witch and found that there were four main divisions of magically inclined people on this planet.”

“Just like Cybertron,” muttered Jazz. “Is that a universal constant?”

“Anyway,” grunted Shadow, annoyed that they drifted off topic, “he felt that the only way to get to his wife and children was to start a war without technology. So he stirred the pot a bit with the other orders and soon sparked a war. It became the War of Four Orders.”

“That war wasn’t confined to this planet,” revealed Jazz. “Optimus is a fledgling wizard of the Red Order and a history nut. From what he’s researched, the war lasted for a thousand of your years across the universe. After it died, most magically-inclined people went into hiding, even from planets whose cultures were heavily reliant on magic.” An oddity then crossed Jazz’s mind. “Wait, shouldn’t he be dead? He looks to be in his 50’s. If he’s from the later part of the 28th century, then he should be in a grave by now.”

“Some sort of age lock spell, we believe,” mused Shadow. “And a long life spell. That, or a good means of cellular and mental stasis.”

“Any idea what color Chaos Emerald he’s using?” asked Jazz. “There are only four Chaos Emeralds accounted for. You guys have green, we have red, Sonic and his team have Cyan, and Shockwave has purple.”

“That does leave blue, yellow, and white unaccounted for,” answered Rouge, “but we have no idea what the color is. We only know it’s a Chaos Emerald because of the energy frequency all emeralds emit.”

“I guess we’ll find out when we meet him,” mused Jazz. “Any patterns to his attacks?”

“Not attacks, per se,” corrected Rouge, “but more along the lines of vandalism. He and his men teleport in with Chaos Control, draw some graffiti, and then move on to the next location.”

“So, guerrilla vandalism, then,” guessed a voice. Everyone jumped and whirled to see the Scarlet Specter leaning against the wall.

“How long were you…?” stammered Jazz.

“The entire briefing,” replied the Specter. “Many a witch and wizard has heard of Captain Witwicky. Practically no one wants to meet him because he’s dragged magically inclined people through the mud with that war of his.”

“So that’s why we don’t hear about magic people,” grunted Shadow. “This guy put you guys in a bad light for a long time.”

“And the work to clear our name is slow,” continued the Specter. “There’s still a negative connotation with magic.”

“Hold up,” interjected Shadow. He then turned to the main monitor which was displaying more vandalism by Witwicky’s men. The interesting thing was that it now had a Transformer sized, green man there.

“A Nebulan!” gasped Jazz.

“A what now?” asked Shadow.

“A Nebulan,” replied Jazz, “from the planet, Nebulos. A warrior race. This kind of petty vandalism should be beneath them.”

“And our people haven’t spoken with them since the war ended,” called a voice.

“Oddly enough,” remarked the Specter, “that’s not the first Nebulan I’ve met.”

“You know of another Nebulan?” asked the voice.

“Yes,” answered the Specter. “One of my teachers is a Nebulan, a witch of the green order.”

“Nature, huh?” mused the voice. “I gotta meet her.”

“She’s a nice lady…,” the Specter’s voice trailed off. “Wait, who’s saying that?”

“It’s coming from behind us,” replied Jazz. They all glanced around the room. Then they heard laughter. They turned to the source of the laughter to see a certain Prime shimmer into view. He was squatting and pointing at the group.

“The looks on your faces are priceless!” he cackled. “Although, I can only assume Miss Specter’s face is similar to yours.”

“How long…?” gasped Rouge.

“When Shadow was griping about me earlier,” explained Optimus as he stood up. “My detailing was done quickly. Turns out, while his eating habits are gross, Sonic leaves a smaller mess then I thought. Jazz is right, though, he never uses a napkin.” He then turned to the files on Witwicky. “I’d say it’s Mora Mortem, suspending any and all decay in the body as you sleep. To sleep that long he most likely used Multo Sopor, putting the caster in a sleep that he had originally specified when casting it.”

“How do you…?” quizzed Rouge.

“Observation is a standard fare for someone that’s magically inclined,” explained the Specter. “There is something Optimus missed.”

“What’s that?” inquired Optimus.

“Custodientes Imperium,” answered the Specter. Optimus then smacked his head.

“Oh, yeah,” he realized, “he’d lose a lot of magic energy when sleeping that long, on top of casting those spells. He must have used Custodientes Imperium to keep his energy reserves at acceptable levels.”

“I will tell the other witches and wizards of this,” declared the Specter. “We don’t need another war setting us back. He’s most likely under the impression that the war still continues.”

“Good thinking,” praised Optimus. The Scarlet Specter curtsied, then left via red smoke. Optimus then turned to Jazz. “Jazz, get Prowl to patrol the city with the rest of the police. We need them to keep all citizens safe when we engage Captain Witwicky. Get Sonic in on this as well. This may need Teams Sonic and Dark.”

“With respect,” rumbled Shadow, “what little I have for the blue annoyance, Team Dark can handle one man.”

“I can’t run the risk when magic is involved,” insisted Optimus.

“What risk?” hissed Shadow. “At worst, you guys will shout mumbo jumbo and shoot sparks at each other.” Optimus hmphed and walked out like Amy would if she’s annoyed.

“Insulting magic, are we?” asked Jazz. “Dude, I’ve seen how powerful magic duels are. On my first mission as a Guardian Cadet, I saw two Decepticons locked in a magic duel. I don’t know what caused it, but they nearly leveled the Decepticon Capital City of Kaon. All I heard was if they should join a bot named ‘Megatron’ or not.”

“In any case, G.U.N. will be on standby when things go south,” replied Shadow.

“IF things go south,” remarked Jazz.

“Trust me, they will,” insisted Shadow.