TMC 12-6

Ratchet, Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Dust Up, Tails, Trema, and Sira arrived in Apotos, the Mobian name for Greece. Ultra Magnus looked very uncomfortable. “This is ridiculous,” he grumbled. “This kind of operation needs stealth, not public faces!”

“The rules of the game have changed since the previous war,” reminded Ratchet. “We landed here during peacetime.”

“You’re not an organophobe, are you?” asked Hot Rod.

“No, just prefer to do things quietly,” countered Ultra Magnus.

“Hey, I think I see my summer home from here,” called Sira.

“And the Emerald’s over there, according to the scanner,” reported Tails as he pointed in another direction. “This way!” Everyone followed Tails.

“WAIT! I’M THE TEAM LEADER!” shouted Ultra Magnus. No one listened as they charged through the streets. “…Really?!” Ultra Magnus transformed and followed. As they followed Tails, they heard a cackle. “What in…?” quizzed Ultra Magnus before a large jeep barreled through the streets, nearly knocking them over.

“DECEPTITRAN, TRANSFORM!” The front and rear wheels joined together as arms came out from where the rear seats would be and the front seats folded into the chest to reveal Deceptitran’s head.

“You?!” yelped Ratchet.

“Who’s the fatso?!” asked Hot Rod.

“I’M NOT FAT!” shouted Deceptitran as he barreled towards the group. He managed to knock everyone off their feet.

“Okay, new strategy, leave his weight out of this,” groaned Sira.

“A smart decision!” replied Deceptitran. “If you really want to be in my good books, you could let me get out of here with this baby.” He fished the Blue Chaos Emerald out of his pocket.

“And the word of the day is…” called another voice as someone snatched it. It was Thundercracker! “…yoink!”

“GIMME THAT!” shouted Deceptitran.

“Buddy, you may be an evolved Drone,” grunted Thundercracker, “but not even YOU can command me!”

“That’s gonna change when Unicron takes this world!”

“…So you’re working for Unicron, huh? Sorry, but now you’re REALLY not getting the Emerald.”

“Autobots, leave this country at once!” ordered Galvatron’s voice as he, Brawl, and Dark Oak appeared.

“The Emerald belongs to us!” challenged Ultra Magnus. “Leave or face destruction!”

“…Pardon? That’s not like you.”

“AUTOBOTS, DESTROY THEM!” The fight began and Ultra Magnus kept swinging his hammer at Galvatron. It seemed that Ultra Magnus was getting animalistic and single-minded.

“Primus, and I thought it was Optimus that wanted to kill me in my time,” snarked Galvatron.

“SHUT UP!” roared Ultra Magnus. “You’re no brother to Orion!”

“Optimus thinks otherwise!”

“He’s a child! He still believes that people change!”

“Well, he’s got a basis to work with! Multiple, in fact!”

“I say once a Con, always a Con! You’re Megatron’s future! Tell me! How long have you been one?!”

“Okay, now you’re being Deceptiphobic here!”

“All Decepticons are abominations!”

“Why, Senator Keller, I didn’t know you and your anti-Muslim rhetoric survived!”

“THAT’S DIFFERENT! HE WAS AN UNEDUCATED DOLT WHO HAD NO BUSINESS IN CONGRESS!”

“You sound no different than him!” Ultra Magnus stopped talking and started shooting.

---

“Ratchet, you worked with him longer than any of us,” muttered Hot Rod as they kept Deceptitran and Thundercracker busy while trying to take the Emerald from the Seeker.

“He’s always had it out for Decepticons,” replied Ratchet.

“And I thought Sideways was bad against Mages when he was Meteorfire.”

“GET IN MY BELLY!” shouted Deceptitran as he leapt at the two Autobots, his mouth wide open. The Autobots rolled out of the way, confused at the whole thing.

“You weren’t gonna EAT us, were you?!” asked Hot Rod.

“Gotta maintain this figure somehow!” laughed Deceptitran.

“YOU PSYCHO!” shouted Ratchet.

---

With his old opponents now focused on just Deceptitran, Thundercracker scanned the area for other threats to the retreat. His optics rested on Tails and Dust Up. Dust Up had her energy bow at the ready, pulling back the firing mechanism as if it were a string, then aiming at the Seeker before pressing a button on the handle near her optics. When she did, an energy blast fired and nearly hit him. He only dodged in time before firing lightning at her. “DUST UP, TRANSFORM!” The hood of her vehicle mode tilted up to allow her head to tuck into it as her hands swung into her arms and the arms went to her sides. Her waist then rotated the legs, and her lower legs opened to allow the feet to fold into them. Once done, the unfolded lower legs swung to the back, forming the rear window before they closed to complete the vehicle mode. Tails followed Dust Up as they sped through the streets with Thundercracker flying behind them. The Decepticon then targeted Tails, setting his weapons to stun then firing. Tails was hit and crashed in an alleyway. Dust Up transformed and fired again, intent on avenging the harm Thundercracker did on Tails.

---

Tails got up and saw the fight going on outside the alley. He summoned his arm cannon, then winced. “Not enough firepower,” he groaned. “If I could find a decent source of…” He then looked back to see that the alley had all sorts of spare parts in boxes. “…Well, why not?” He brought out his tablet, then his tools, then started picking through the parts.

---

Sira and Trema continued fighting Dark Oak. He was clearly enjoying causing property damage. Trema’s Ban’grazas flashed in the daylight as they swung against Dark Oak. “Stupid Ape!” laughed the Metarex Leader.

“Call me that again! I dare you!” snarled Trema. “Lapis Spica!” Stone spikes then grew rapidly under the Metarex’s foot, puncturing it. Dark Oak howled and hopped around while holding his foot.

“Hey! Dark Oak!” called Sira. “The floor is lava! Ardenti Terra!” The ground beneath the Metarex then heated up REAL fast! He leapt onto the rooftops and fanned his smoking feet. “Well, I guess you could say he got a hotfoot!” Trema winced.

“That just made the flesh around my claws tighten!”

---

Brawl occupied Ultra Magnus’ attention, giving Galvatron a chance to shoot Deceptitran’s arm. As Deceptitran roared in pain, Ratchet and Hot Rod fired on Galvatron. “You think you know a bot!” called Galvatron as he took cover.

“I ain’t Rodimus!” replied Hot Rod.

“Give it time!” Galvatron was then hit in the head by an energy blast. He found the offending shooter to be Tails. He was wearing some sort of circular device on his chest that hooked up to his cannon.

“Huh, I guess Chaos Drive Fusion IS a thing,” mused the kid.

“…That shall serve the Decepticons!” declared Galvatron.

“Try and take it!” challenged Tails. He flew around the future Decepticon and fired, causing some damage to his external frame. Galvatron then flailed wildly, as if he were trying to swat a fly. Unfortunately, he was successful on the downward backswing of his left hand as he hit Tails, causing the device to fall from him. Galvatron caught the device and let Tails fall.

“Decepticons, we’ve lingered long enough!” he called as he opened a Bridge portal. “Retreat!” Thundercracker went first, followed by Galvatron, then Dark Oak, and Brawl covered the rear. The portal then closed, leaving the Autobots and their allies to deal with Deceptitran.

“Keep firing!” called Ultra Magnus.

“But Tails…!” protested Ratchet.

“Leave him! The Terrorcon’s a bigger priority!”

“…NO! No, I’m not leaving him!”

“That’s an order, Ratchet!”

“Yeah?! Well, you can kiss my skidplate, because I’m not leaving Tails! Teletraan, Ground Bridge to Med Bay!”

“Belay that!”

“Medical override! Med Bay! Now!”

“So help me, Teletraan, if you open the Ground Bridge…!” Ultra Magnus’ threat didn’t get very far as Dust Up jabbed him in a sensitive junction that served as a pressure point.

“Thanks,” bid Ratchet.

“Teletraan, you heard Ratchet!” called Hot Rod. “Bridge us to Med Bay now! Dust Up, help me cover the retreat!”

“On it!” replied Dust Up. Trema slung Ultra Magnus over her shoulder, straining a bit because of how heavy the bot was, and Ratchet transformed, his holo-form helping Tails into the patient bay.

“MUTINY!” shouted Ultra Magnus. “THIS IS A MUTINY!” He barked orders to return to the battlefield, but it did no good as Hot Rod and Dust Up kept Deceptitran at bay until they went into the Ground Bridge. Once it closed, Deceptitran’s optics widened in horror.

“…Unicron’s gonna eat me alive for this!” he whimpered.