Optimus and Megatron gathered their forces, sans Eggman and the Combaticons, and explained what was going on. “Everyone, we’ve got him.”
“Unicron?” asked Thundercracker.
“The same,” answered Megatron.
“Then what are we waiting for?!” called Bumblebee. “Let’s go and…!”
“We’re not bringing everyone, it won’t be practical,” interrupted Optimus.
“But, Sir!” protested Prowl. “There’s strength in numbers!”
“We need people to defend the surface in case the Terrorcons try something,” said Optimus. “Our magic users and those that are trained in matters like this, to an extent, will be accompanying Megatron and I while everyone else will be on the surface.”
“We’ve selected the Rust Renegades, Soundwave and his cassettes, Thundercracker, Stormfront, Yoketron, Bumblebee, Arcee, the Dyno-bots, Ratchet, Team Sonic, Team Rose, Chip, Sira, Trema, and Natalie to accompany us,” continued Megatron. “Everyone else will remain on the surface.”
“Why isn’t Cliffjumper coming with me?!” protested Bumblebee.
“Because I’m an Eradicon right now!” answered Cliffjumper. “The farther I am from Unicron, the less of a danger I’ll be.”
“Our decision stands, Bumblebee,” declared Optimus.
“I’m going with you!” insisted Windblade.
“Mom, no!” argued Optimus.
“Mom, YES!” growled Windblade.
“Mom, you haven’t even…!”
“It’s either I go with you knowingly or I sneak behind your group!”
“…You know, she would,” remarked Megatron. Optimus sighed.
“Fine, you can come with us.”
“Prime, what about the ship in Mobius’ orbit? The one that hailed the Decepticons?” asked Jazz.
“Megatron confirmed that the ship is carrying the Six Specials Unicron needs for a new body,” answered Optimus. “Regretfully, we need to let the Metarex and Metal Sonic destroy them. By the way, is Metal Sonic’s ship really the Enterprise?”
“Eggman had Star Trek on the brain,” explained Megatron. “In any event, in the unlikely event of survivors, they must be killed. We cannot let Unicron get his talons on them.”
“We strike in an hour,” finished Optimus. “If someone would inform Eggman and the Combaticons of the plan, that would be awesome.”
Up in Mobius’ atmosphere, the W.A.P. was still under heavy fire from Scarship and the Revenge. Krok and his crew were on the bridge, trying to get their ship away from the combat zone. “Another hit!” wailed Fulcrum as he manned Tactical. The ship rocked again. “And another!”
“WE’RE DOOMED!” cried Crankcase.
“No, Crankcase!” assured Krok. “Our shields can easily absorb this kind of fire! And once their weapons batteries are exhausted, then…THEN, we will turn and blast them to PLASMA!” Everything then went dark and the noise…stopped.
“…It’s all gone quiet…” mumbled Fulcrum.
“Like I said, their weapons batteries are exhausted,” replied Krok. “Now, I shall instruct the computer to give us an attack pattern to strike back without mercy!” He tried keying in a command on the armrest of his chair. “…Strange.”
“The computer’s non-responsive,” reported Flywheels. Krok tried to switch on voice-control.
“Computer! Lay out a merciless attack pattern at once! …Why isn’t it obeying me?”
“That will be because it’s dead, most likely!” grunted Crankcase.
“Silence. Computer! Computer, respond at once!”
“The computer’s dead! The doors are dead! The alarms are dead! Face it, the whole ship is dead!”
“I said silence! If the ship were dead, it would be plummeting helplessly through Mobius’ atmosphere!”
“The platypus has…!”
“I! SAID! SILENCE!” The bridge was quiet for a few seconds.
“…Permission to speak?” asked Misfire.
“SI…Permission granted.”
“Spinister was saying that plummeting helplessly through the atmosphere of Mobius is what we’re doing right now, Sir.”
“I regret to inform you,” gulped Flywheels as he looked out a window, “judging by the fact that I’m seeing the ground below us getting bigger, Spinister is correct.”
“We are Decepticon soldiers, Flywheels!” snapped Krok. “We do NOT plummet helplessly!”
“That may be, but we also don’t do well in a crash! I recommend the use of Tele-bracers!” He pulled out six silver bracelets.
“Tele-bracers. Good.” He turned to everyone. “Abandon ship! I order you all to abandon ship!” The crew slipped the Tele-bracers on and vanished in blue light.
The time finally came. The away team was standing at the Ground Bridge, ready to go against Unicron. The Ground Bridge opened, and everyone went through one last weapons check. They all looked at Megatron. “…Yes?” asked the Decepticon Lord.
“After you,” replied Bumblebee. Megatron smirked.
“As you wish.” He then led everyone through the Bridge, and it closed behind them.
“Well, the best we can do,” sighed Rodimus, “is wish them luck.”
“Guys,” called Teletraan, “Eggman’s contacting us on an open frequency.”
“Ah, how nice of him to remember the threat here!” snarled Galvatron. “Put him through.” Eggman’s panicked face came on screen.
“Oh, thank goodness!” he sighed in relief. “We’ve got a crisis here!”
“What, did you run out of burger meat?” snarked Galvatron.
“Oh, ha ha!” snapped Eggman. “Just look!” He pointed the camera to the Combaticons’ combined form. Rodimus and Galvatron stared in shock.
“…When did they become a Combiner?!” yelped Rodimus.
“An hour ago!” answered Eggman. “I’ve been trying to get them to calm down, but they’re not listening! …It’s not listening! Whatever!”
“Okay, what happened?!” asked Galvatron.
“It all started when Brawl found this thing,” Eggman showed off the device.
“The Enigma of Combination!” breathed Rodimus.
“So it IS a Cybertronian Relic! Perfect! Well, it’s turned my boys into a mindless monster!”
“Give us your coordinates,” said Hot Rod. “We’ll be there straightaway.” Eggman sent the coordinates and ended the call. Rodimus then rolled his optics. “The one team we have that’s experienced in Combiner matters, and they’re marching towards Unicron at the center of the planet!”
The Ground Bridge deposited everyone into a subterranean cave system. Everyone noticed that the walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in purple runes. “By the Code of Primus!” shuddered Optimus.
“Getting cold feet, brother?” taunted Megatron.
“…No time for that. Rust Renegades, the tunnels look big enough and I think we may need a size advantage.”
“Agreed,” replied Pyra Magna. “Torchbearers! Unite into Victorion!” Pyra Magna partially transformed into vehicle mode as her ladder boom folded to the back. Her head was replaced by another one as Stormclash and Skyburst transformed into their helicopter modes and formed hands at their fronts while the whole front and middle became forearms. Jumpstream and Dust Up transformed but folded their hoods and front wheels to the roof while feet swung out from their undercarriages. The limbs then extended the same plugs that the Combaticons’ new form had and connected to Pyra Magna. Rust Dust then transformed and her rear split in half and swung out. She then connected to the giant’s chest and the Rust Renegades’ weapons combined into a large sword. The giant then grabbed the handle and swung it before sheathing it on her back while her visor flashed.
“Victorion: online!” she announced in an alto voice.
“So, this is the mentally-stable Combiner of legend,” chuckled Megatron. “Cute.”
“Hold your tongue, heathen!” snarled Victorion. “My components are only holding me back because we have a greater threat!”
“Speaking of which,” muttered Sonic, “how long before Unicron knows we’re here?”
“Make no mistake, Sonic,” replied Megatron, “he knew the instant we stepped out of the Ground Bridge.”
Three of the W.A.P’s crew appeared in a different part of the cave system. The crew members were Krok, Flywheels, and Crankcase. “…Well, that took longer than expected,” muttered Krok.
“I have a theory on that,” replied Flywheels, “but I’d bet on me transforming after I say it as it sounds outlandish.”
“…You ain’t transforming now, so go ahead.”
“The Tele-bracers weren’t connected to the ship’s computer, so it couldn’t calculate a proper teleport path for our atoms. They kept us in a state of molecular free-fall until it was determined that the ship was intact enough to give coordinates for just a brief cycle.” Flywheels then split into his two vehicle modes.
“Outlandish? You mean stupid!” grunted Crankcase. “First off, molecular free-fall?! What kind of sci-fi gibberish are you reading?! Second, the Tele-bracers were atoms too, so they weren’t in a state of accepting anything in terms of signals! Third, the enemy ships destroyed the computer BEFORE we crashed! It couldn’t even SEND coordinates, even for a nano-second! Now, we’re not just stuck ON a dismal rock, we’re stuck IN a dismal rock!”
“Secure the area, Crankcase,” ordered Krok, wanting a break from Crankcase’s attitude. As Crankcase stomped off, weapon in hand, Flywheels recombined into his robot mode. “Now, did you get anything from the others?”
“Nothing, Sir,” replied Flywheels.
“Well then, try to raise them! Get to it, Flywheels!” Flywheels hesitated as he remembered something.
“Er, orders, Sir? Your orders? Shouldn’t they be your first priority?”
“…My orders? Oh, yes! My orders! Pass me the canister, Flywheels.”
“Bu…but I don’t have it!” Krok noticed that Flywheels wasn’t transforming.
“You fool, Flywheels! You left it behind on the ship!”
“You had it last, Sir!”
“You are my second-in-command! It is YOUR duty to carry out my orders, is it not?!”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Well, then why didn’t you carry them out?!”
“But, I…!”
“SILENCE! You’re a disgrace to the Empire!”
“Yes, Sir. Shall I attempt to raise the others now, Sir?”
“You do that, Flywheels!” Krok turned away as Flywheels activated his comms.
“This is Flywheels hailing Misfire! …Misfire, report!”