The Dyno-bots trudged through the jungle, the trees cracking as Slag and Snarl shoved them aside. “Stupid trees! Stupid mud! Stupid muggy air clogging my cylinders!” grumbled Slag.
“Save it,” growled Grimlock. “We’ve only got a few meters to go anyways.”
“Shorter than that,” remarked Slash. “I see the city!” The Dyno-bots found Maximal City, on the top of a high hill and shaped as a massive ziggurat.
“Maximal City!” sighed Grimlock happily. “Man, this brings back memories from when we hunted down magic weapons. Hey, remember Tigatron?”
“Him AND Airazor,” replied Sludge. “I wonder how they’re doing?”
“…You mean Airazor specifically or both them AND Tigatron?”
“…Yes.”
“Smart-aft.”
“Hey, Sentinel should be talking to us, yes?” asked Sludge. Grimlock then thought about what Sludge said. After a few seconds, he turned up to Swoop.
“See if you can attract their attention,” he ordered.
“You got it, Boss Bot,” replied Swoop. He soared to the city and called down. “Maximal City, this is Swoop of the Dyno-bots. I am here as a representative of the Autobots and me and my team request access into your city. …Maximal City? …Maximal City, please respond. …Sentinel?! …Grimlock, something’s wrong! They aren’t responding!”
“Dyno-bots, we gotta get in!” called Grimlock. They went to the main gate and started tearing into it. They did so easily. Once they got in, they saw that the city was deserted. “The Maximal Council of Elders!” called Grimlock. “Come on!” He led the Dyno-bots to the topmost structure of the ziggurat. They entered the structure to see that the chambers were empty…all except for a brown bat with blue trimming. The bat was sitting with its mouth open in a silent scream. Swoop transformed and did a Spark Check.
“…Sweet Primus, it’s Nightscream!” he exclaimed. Grimlock then transformed and grabbed the bat by the wings.
“Kid! Nightscream, it’s me! It’s Grimlock!” Swoop knelt down.
“His capacitors are out of sorts,” he muttered. “A little electro-stim should do it.” He pressed a little device on the back of Nightscream’s neck and sent the tiniest of electric charges into him. Nightscream became more lucid.
“Kid, are you all right?” asked Grimlock. Nightscream’s optics then came into focus.
“G…Grim…Grimlock?” he panted.
“Nightscream, what happened?” urged Grimlock. “Where are the rest of the Maximals?”
“Th…the-the Predacons…Saurion!” gulped Nightscream. “Th-tha-that…THING!”
“What thing?! What did Saurion have?!” Nightscream returned to a silent scream, only with a more fearful expression. “Nightscream! What thing did he have?!”
“Grimlock! Easy!” snapped Swoop. “The poor kid’s in a state of shock!”
“Preparing duplicate logs, Sir,” called Slash. Grimlock calmed his mind at Slash’s initiative.
“Go ahead.” Slash played the footage on the main screen. Nightscream appeared on it and continued his report.
“Security Officer’s Log: Supplemental. The rogue Predacons under Saurion’s command have made multiple excursions to the colony ship, Pangea. The Tripredacus Council personally visited Maximal City to help us build a new rectifier coil after the rogue Predacons destroyed our original one beyond repair. We don’t know what Saurion’s endgame is, neither does the Tripredacus Council, so we’re working closely with them to figure it out.” After the log played, Nightscream nudged Grimlock.
“W-W-We tried to contact the Predacons still within their city,” he managed to report, “n-no one heard! They didn’t hear their own rulers! T-The renegades, th-they attacked Maximal City!”
“What happened to the rest of the Maximals and the Tripredacus Council?” asked Grimlock.
“Th-they had to evacuate! W-We were dead! No power! Sentinel was taken offline! I stayed to try and fix him! Someone had to try and salvage the situation! That’s what we’re supposed to do, right?! A-And then, they hit again and…that thing in Saurion’s hands! It-it-it…they were out there and I was here!”
“What was in Saurion’s hands?” Nightscream returned to his silent scream for just a second.
“They say that the power of the Ancients’ can’t be harnessed by mortals…but it can! Straight from the Pit, I-I-I saw him use it!”
“Nightscream, what did Saurion use?!”
“A-A g-g-gold…the Cyber Planet…the Key!”
“…You mean your planet’s Omega Key?” Nightscream could only nod. “Nightscream, the Omega Key is secured aboard the Pangea!” Nightscream then gave Grimlock a fearful look.
“Don’t you think I know that?! It was, but not anymore! They all called me! They BEGGED me to save them from their beast mode! Maximals and Predacons alike, 900 in all! …I COULDN’T! I couldn’t! I couldn’t!” Nightscream then sobbed into the room’s table.
“Grimlock,” called Swoop, “we got the communications network back online.”
“Call the Autobots,” ordered Grimlock as he patted Nightscream’s back. “The situation is worse than we imagined.”
Back with Megatron’s crew, Megatron was talking with the Predacons. “I must admit surprise,” he rumbled. “I had no idea that the Predacons had a civil war.”
“And what a short civil war it was,” replied the purple T-rex. “I must say, it was quite nice to finally end those idiots in the Tripredacus Council, yes!”
“And you said you have some sort of prize from a secure area? A prize Hydran once kept secret?”
“Indeed, we do.” The T-Rex turned to the Ant. “Retrieve our prize!” A woman’s voice came out of the Ant’s mandibles.
“As you command, my Queen.” As she scuttled off to retrieve the prize, the T-rex rolled his optics. Megatron smirked.
“I was unaware that, after you won,” he joked, “you gave yourself that title.”
“The Ant has some faulty programming,” replied the T-rex, “but her loyalty is without question.” The Ant then returned with a large Cyber Key in her jaws. This one had the image of an animal’s paw with its claws extended and had gold trim. Megatron was amazed.
“The Omega Key?!” he yelped. “How did you get onto your ancestors’ colony ship?!”
“Oh, I had my ways,” purred the T-rex.
“…Okay, I admit, I’m impressed! What did you say your name was?”
“I am Saurion, the current leader of the Predacons. I will not let our enemies get the jump on us, no!”