\u201cThis business about Straxus\u2019 orders, what do YOU think, Flywheels?\u201d asked Krok as Optimus and his team briefed Sonic and his group on what was going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not my place to think about someone\u2019s orders,\u201d replied Flywheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would recommend, however, that we should retrieve Straxus\u2019 orders so Megatron would know what\u2019s going on.\u201d Krok arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t believe that they have anything to do with Windblade?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe only in the glory of the Decepticon Empire.\u201d Flywheels split into his two alt-modes as he finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh, yes!\u201d Krok was feeling patriotic. \u201cThe glory of the Decepticon Empire!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut, need I remind you, Straxus does NOT tolerate incompetence. He once had every tenth bot in an entire platoon melted down to make his axe, just for being lined up two degrees in an unfavorable direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight, right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cActually, left.\u201d Flywheels recombined into his robot mode as a call came in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHORROR STORIES! WE LIVE IN A TREE OF ELVES!\u201d It was on an open frequency, so everyone heard that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026What in\u2026?\u201d asked Optimus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Spinister,\u201d explained Misfire. \u201cHis vocabulator\u2019s damaged. I understand how he speaks. Spinister, could you repeat that? What do you mean rogue, sword-wielding Decepti-drones?\u201d The reply was Spinister\u2019s scream of agony and fear and the sound of blades slicing into metal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGive me that!\u201d snapped Krok as he snatched Misfire\u2019s comms. \u201cSpinister! Spinister, report!\u201d A demonic shriek was his only reply before it was replaced with static.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2026that\u2019s gonna give me nightmares,\u201d gulped Sira. Krok then closed the channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear enough! The fugitive Autobot is responsible!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou mean Bumblebee?!\u201d asked Trema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho else could it have been?\u201d asked Flywheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPermission to speak, Sir?\u201d asked Misfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDenied,\u201d replied Krok. \u201cWe need to concentrate on finding the yellow runt!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKrok, I promise you,\u201d assured Optimus, \u201cwhoever or whatever killed your friend, it was NOT my scout, Bumblebee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suppose you\u2019re gonna tell me that \u2018Bumblebee\u2019 would not kill?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, just that he prefers guns to swords. Bumblebee knows he\u2019s not the strongest, so he would prefer some distance between him and his enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBesides, with the Omnic Runes littering the whole place,\u201d muttered Misfire, \u201cIt could very well be Unicron.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s very likely\u2026wait, what?!\u201d asked Krok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m wondering much the same,\u201d said Megatron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know what the runes are?\u201d quizzed Flywheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Omnic Runes? They\u2019re what allow Unicron to monitor his body\u2019s insides,\u201d explained Misfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re his eyes and ears?!\u201d yelped Victorion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is why I\u2019m a little nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know about them because I\u2019m using Dark Energon to anticipate Unicron\u2019s actions,\u201d remarked Megatron. \u201cHow do YOU know about them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI asked for permission to speak and was denied by Krok.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnswer my question!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause I was on this planet 2,000 years ago as we were defeated, Sir. The entire 9th<\/sup> platoon was trapped in a cave system much like this one. It was a standard mission, Sir. We would tunnel underground, rise from below, seize the populace above, then claim it as Decepticon territory. Our target was Beijing as the Treaty of Beijing was about to be signed, thus ending the Great War. We were ordered to strike and kill everyone\u2026but they were waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Chinese Military?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, Sir, the Blendtrons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Blendtrons?\u201d asked Krok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDecepti-drones taken from our numbers that had their minds assimilated into Unicron\u2019s. Swordsmen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSwords?!\u201d scoffed Crankcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAgainst Decepticon military might?\u201d muttered Flywheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Decepti-drones?\u201d remarked Megatron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou lot didn\u2019t see them,\u201d replied Misfire. \u201cThey had blades capable of deflecting our weapons, turning Decepticon fire back on itself. I lost 85% of that grand company. \u2026We were deemed too expensive to reform; thus the Treaty of Beijing was signed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMight I ask, how many were they?\u201d asked Windblade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey numbered seven,\u201d answered Misfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven armies?\u201d quizzed Grimlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven regiments?\u201d asked Thundercracker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven divisions?\u201d This came from Optimus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven bots! They were a team of seven bots!\u201d Misfire drew in a breath to calm himself. \u201cI saw them and ordered the guns to be silenced. On they came, their blades trailing rivers of Energon. There was only one thing to do. I ordered everyone to seal up the caves and evacuate. We all barely escaped into the Wulong Valley, where we were picked up by Sentinel Prime himself. He didn\u2019t believe our story and neither did anyone else on Cybertron.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause your story has NO credibility whatsoever!\u201d scoffed Krok. \u201cSeven sword-wielding Decepti-drones couldn\u2019t defeat a Decepticon army on the march!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven ordinary ones, no,\u201d remarked Megatron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut ones assimilated into Unicron\u2019s service?\u201d asked Windblade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow could he do that when he has no physical body?!\u201d argued Krok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s got powers beyond what we know,\u201d replied Megatron. \u201cMisfire, that noise over the comms as Spinister died, that\u2019s what you heard in China?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, Sir. The same slicing of metal and laughing as they reduced the 9th<\/sup> Platoon to 15% of its original numbers, annihilating us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is absurd!\u201d scoffed Crankcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw what I saw! I heard what I heard! I know what I know!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou also believe in the Necrobot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cENOUGH!\u201d roared Megatron. \u201cWe\u2019ve tarried too long! Krok, you and your men will join us as we press on towards Unicron! Are there any more of your soldiers left?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, there IS Fulcrum, a member of K-squad,\u201d replied Krok. \u201cHe\u2019s pursuing the yellow runt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood, we could use a kamikaze troop like him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA WHAT?!\u201d yelped Optimus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s what the K means. They transform into bombs and have an explosive payload in them. Literal suicide bombs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo kamikaze attacks! I want everyone alive!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo point in using him anyway!\u201d grunted Crankcase. \u201cHis payload\u2019s inert. If he transformed into bomb mode, he won\u2019t go boom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, for the love of\u2026! Let\u2019s just go already!\u201d snapped Megatron. Victorion disassembled into her separate components before they headed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulcrum groaned as he got up. \u201cOoff! \u2026I\u2019m alive? By Nexus Prime, I\u2019m alive!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo need to go on about it!\u201d replied Bumblebee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe runt!\u201d yelped Fulcrum. \u201cMy orders! I\u2026WHERE\u2019S MY GUN?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLooking for this?\u201d asked Bumblebee as he pulled out Fulcrum\u2019s gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat weapon is Decepticon property! Give it back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere, for all the good it will do you. The power pack was damaged in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was going to use it to shoot upwards to signal for help. After it failed to fire and I figured out why, I thought better of it.\u201d Fulcrum then looked at his surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere are we?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo idea. Some sort of warren. Makes me wonder if Unicron\u2019s planning to use this to house an army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Did\u2026did you just\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of his servants beat us to it. He\u2019s festering at the center of this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Unicron\u2019s\u2026HERE?!\u201d Fulcrum was shaking in his proton boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCome on, aren\u2019t you K-squad? You shouldn\u2019t be scared.\u201d Bumblebee activated his headlights and looked around. They stopped on an opening blocked by rocks. \u201cHey! I think there might be a way through!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026To the surface?\u201d asked Fulcrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou DO realize we fell 30 stories, right?! It was only the fact that we transformed that we\u2019re still talking about it!\u201d Bumblebee shifted some of the rocks aside and looked through. \u201cHey! Over here! There\u2019s a passage!\u201d Fulcrum looked through the opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut\u2026but it leads\u2026deeper underground!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, we\u2019re going nowhere at the moment!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBesides, the way is blocked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen help me unblock it!\u201d Fulcrum hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI must\u2026I must confirm with my superiors.\u201d Fulcrum tapped the side of his head. \u201c\u2026MY COMMS! THEY\u2019RE GONE!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI took that off you too. Leveled the playing field a bit. I tried calling my buddies on my own comms, but the fall damaged the circuits. I had to manually transform you to robot mode to check your own comms and then smashed them when I got to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo stop you from calling your friends for help, obviously!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWHY?!\u201d Bumblebee stopped to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause they would have killed me! Look, try to understand; I want to get out of here, but I can\u2019t shift this rubble alone and I doubt you can either. Either we put aside our differences or we die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen\u2026then I would rather die!\u201d Fulcrum\u2019s stance, his voice, even his face didn\u2019t match his words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, fine! Then we\u2019ll just sit here and stare one another to death!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t understand! Consorting with the enemy will give me a one-way ticket onto the D.J.D\u2019s list!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI won\u2019t tell if you don\u2019t, Goggles!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026M\u2026My name\u2019s Fulcrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026I\u2019m Bumblebee. Look, if we work together to get out of this and see our commanders shooting each other, then we\u2019ll forget this ever happened and try to kill one another. Deal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026I\u2026I cannot accept. \u2026It WOULD be different if you were my prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll right! If it means that much to you, I\u2019m your prisoner! Now, do we have a deal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you are my prisoner\u2026then, yes! Now, Prisoner Bumblebee, you take care of the rocks on the right, I\u2019ll deal with the left!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnderstood.\u201d Bumblebee and Fulcrum then began their labors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThis business about Straxus\u2019 orders, what do YOU think, Flywheels?\u201d asked Krok as Optimus and his team briefed Sonic and his group on what was going on. \u201cIt\u2019s not my place to think about someone\u2019s orders,\u201d replied Flywheels. \u201cTrue.\u201d \u201cI would recommend, however, that we should retrieve Straxus\u2019 orders so Megatron would know what\u2019s going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,662],"tags":[146,337],"class_list":["post-4009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles-arc-14-instruments-of-destruction","tag-sonic","tag-transformers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4010,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009\/revisions\/4010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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