A gorilla knuckled his way through the jungle. As he did, he came to a clearing with strange beasts. They were shaped like him, but they made noises he did not understand. As he observed them moving things around the strangely-colored mountain, he felt footsteps near him. He turned to see a beast he knew all too well, the one we know as a T-rex. He roared and pounded his chest in an attempt to scare the beast off. The T-rex’s reaction, however, surprised him. He looked serene, unlike the one he knew. This piqued the gorilla’s interest, so he followed him.
A rhino looked around the plants for something to eat. He then found a good patch of leafy plants and started munching. As he ate, he noticed a triceratops stomping through. The triceratops looked at the rhino and moved his head in a way to direct the rhino to follow him. The rhino considered, then decided to follow the triceratops.
A tiger prowled through the jungle, looking for prey to kill and feast on. As he moved, he noticed a brontosaurus lumbering through the jungle. The tiger noticed that the brontosaurus had seen him but looked unconcerned. This confused the tiger. Prey should be very worried. He then figured the size difference between them was a good reason. The brontosaurus then leaned his neck towards the tiger and nudged him to go ahead of him. The tiger growled, not liking being directed, but he did as requested and went ahead of the brontosaurus.
A peregrine falcon flew the skies, looking for prey. As they flew, a Pteranodon flew over them. He didn’t make any aggressive moves against them, so they were curious as to why he flew over them in the first place. For the moment, the falcon put hunger to the back of their mind and flew after the Pteranodon.
A rat scurried through the undergrowth looking for something, ANYTHING to eat. He was also looking for a good place to hide. As he scurried through, he bumped into a velociraptor’s leg. He chattered in a threatening manner, warning that he would bite if he was cornered, but the velociraptor appeared unconcerned. She simply stomped off. The rat looked perplexed, as if the dinosaur was familiar. He then followed the raptor. He wasn’t sure, but the noise that sounded like “vir-min” made him twitch in annoyance.
A cheetah ran through the open plains, looking for a good kill. As he did, he saw a stegosaurus lumbering along. He crouched, thinking it was a good kill, then the stegosaurus managed to sidestep the cheetah’s leap! The cheetah was stunned! As he tried to bring the stegosaurus down, the other dinosaurs led their beasts to the plains. The noise of all the animals echoed throughout the plains. The t-rex then roared for quiet. Once everyone stopped making noises, the t-rex spoke. “Hear me, Maximals!” he called. “I know you’re scared now, but me and my Dyno-bots can help you, just as you helped us long ago.” The t-rex, Grimlock, then activated his computer. “Access Maximal Core Consciousness. Passcode: Grimlock!”
“Passcode accepted,” came multiple voices. The animals roared in fear.
“SILENCE!” shouted Grimlock. It was noisy enough to get the animals to stop again. “…Much better. Now listen well…and learn as we once did from you.”
Back with the Predacons and Decepticons, the villains looked like they were preparing for a big game hunt. “Oh, I’ve longed to hunt prey!” chuckled Megatron as he examined an automatic weapon. He turned to his allies. “Everyone, move out!” Eggman grabbed a rifle and caressed the stock.
“Hunting helpless Transformers with automatic weapons and various predators at your side! Now THAT’S a sport!” Eggman laughed as he fired some shots into the air. As they moved out, some of the Decepticons were banging drums to try and scare the Maximals into leaving their hiding places.
“Once, we were just robots in disguise,” Grimlock continued at the plains. His audience seemed more receptive. “But, on this world, we beast machines have become something more! A program from Cybertron was designed to help us remember who we are and block anything that resembled the functions of our alt-modes. With beast modes, that has proven to be an error. Our beast forms are part of us. Fighting their nature only made our urges stronger. We must accept both beast and robot forms. Feel your core consciousness. Find the programming block and delete it! Bring your beast and robot modes together! Let them work in harmony…and let them both make you stronger than you were before!” The tiger growled in an animalistic tone before it became more…human, for lack of a better word. He then smiled.
“So, the student has become the master,” chuckled the tiger. The falcon then squawked before shaking their head.
“Phew!” they sighed. “That’s a processor-ache I don’t want again!” The gorilla then roared before he massaged his head.
“I understand now!” he breathed. The rat chattered before speaking.
“Rat. Robot. Rat! Robot!” he exclaimed. “I’m a robot AND a rat! Yeah, yeah, I LIKE it!” The rhino lowed before talking.
“Phew! That’s better!” he sighed. The cheetah yowled, then started laughing.
“I think I get it now!” he cheered.
“Grimlock, old friend,” called the tiger, “it’s great to see you again!”
“I thought it was you,” chuckled Grimlock. “What other big cat would be named Tigatron? And is that Airazor over there?” He nodded to the falcon.
“Sure is!” they answered. “Looks like you’re comfortable with your beast mode.”
“It took some genetic work to keep our rage down,” explained Grimlock. “Now, you two, I know, but I don’t know about the rest of you.”
“Then let’s introduce ourselves,” declared the gorilla. “I’m Kong Primal, head of Maximal Security and Captain of the Axalon.”
“And don’t think of just calling me a cheetah,” called the cheetah. “I’m Cheetor!”
“Interesting,” mused Grimlock.
“Interesting?!” protested Cheetor. “Grimlock, the word is spot-on smooth!” He then chuckled smugly. “It’s a crime!”
“Eh, bit tacky,” remarked the rat. “You never had taste, did ya, kid? Now THIS!” The rat stood up on his hind legs and puffed out his chest. “THIS is what class is all about! Grimlock, call me Rattrap!”
“I would rather call you VERMIN!” snarled Slash.
“Chopperface?!” yelped Rattrap as recognition flashed across his muzzle. “I don’t believe it! YOU came back!? That’s it, I’m scrapping her!”
“Rattrap, please!” called Kong.
“Please?! Ah, for booting up cold! The only thing worse than a stinking Pred is a stinking Decepticon!”
“Shut up, Rattrap, or I’ll cut meeces to pieces!” snarled Cheetor as he flashed his claws.
“Ease back, Cheetor,” rumbled the rhino. “Living large is for forms like me, Rhinox.”
“Yeah, and just consider yourself lucky I didn’t get rough on youse!” taunted Rattrap.
“Moderate your conflict circuits, Maximals!” called Kong. He was clearly annoyed with the whole situation. He turned to Grimlock. “Forgive my teammates’ rudeness. We were stuck in beast mode for so long.” Explosions then echoed across the plains.
“Whoa! Talk about your nick of time!” yelped Cheetor.
“It’s Prime and his team!” reported Swoop. “They’re fighting Megatron’s forces, and a team of animals led by a purple t-rex!”
“Saurion!” growled Kong.
“Remember, don’t fight your beast instincts!” reminded Grimlock.
“He’s right,” agreed Tigatron. “We must let them help our robot forms, both in battle and in peace. …But for now, let’s get ourselves to the battlefield and slag some bots!”
“Maximals, move out! We’re helping the Autobots!” called Kong as they mounted Rhinox, Grimlock, and Slag. The whole group then tore through the plains, running towards the battle!