CHAPTER THREE
-Earth-
Words could not describe the shock Abraham Dante currently felt. It had little to do with the presence of the Scorponok, or the fact that its massive claws were surrounding him, or that its deadly stinger tail hovered mere meters from him.
No, it was the fact that it spoke perfect English.
"Abraham Dante, I presume?" The voice was metallic and grating, but he understood the words perfectly. He stared in speechless awe at the giant scorpion, whose optical sensors bore into his eyes.
"Allow me to rephrase that: Are you Abraham Dante?"
Still finding difficulty in speaking, Abraham managed to nod.
"Ah, excellent." The Scorponok made a sound similar to a chuckle. "I was worried that old Eugene was lying to me when he mentioned a grandson. You are the grandson of Eugene Dante, correct?"
"Y-yes," Abraham muttered. "What's it to you? How can you speak English? How do you know my name, or my grandfather's?"
The Scorponok laughed again, a sound Abraham cringed at. "One question at a time, please. I've been on your planet long enough to understand your many languages and cultures. As for your grandfather... he's no doubt recounted his encounter with me, is that right?"
"Yes, but... he never implied a conversation."
Another grating laugh. "Ah, because I told him to not bring it up! You wouldn't have believed him enough to venture out and seek me if he had."
He gulped. "What do you want from me?"
"You are the CEO of Epsilon Holdings, correct? A leading company in your country's industrialization?"
"Yes... that is correct."
"Excellent. In that case, I would like to offer you an opportunity in getting ahead of the game."
Abraham blinked. "How do you mean?"
The Scorponok said nothing. Instead, it skittered back and, much to Abraham's terrified astonishment, began to change shape.
Its claws stretched out to form arms; legs sprouted out of its body while its tail folded into its back, ganging slightly over its morphed head. Where a giant scorpion had once been now stood a massive, humanoid figure in violet and greed.
Something resembling a grin crossed Scorponok's metal face. "Impressed? This is nothing compared to what you and I can come up with... together. What do you say?"
Thoughts of grandeur caused Abraham's look of shock to melt away and be replaced by a grin. "I say you've got yourself a partner."
-Aquatron-
"Picking anything up, Perceptor?"
"Negative, the scientist replied, reading the scanners on his M.A.R.B. Jazz's unit- consisting of himself, Perceptor, Seaspray, Arcee, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Spiral- had covered a good portion of the vast, planet-wide sea, and yet with no results.
"I thought you sad there were one million life-signs," Ironhide muttered.
"I did, but they appear to be... cloaked." Perceptor shook his head in bemusement. "I don't understand."
"What about that hovercraft over there?" Arcee said, nodding to a blue and yellow object fast approaching them. "Are you picking their signal up?"
The Autobots slowed their M.A.R.B.s down as the hovercraft did the same, converting into a tall, somewhat graceful-looking robot form.
"Fair tidings, strangers. What brings you here to my home, lovely Aquatron?"
Jazz cocked his head, slightly taken aback by the native's unique way of speaking. "Uh, it's kind of a long story. Can you take us to your leaders? Or, at least a city?"
"A city you seek? Look no further then, at Aquarius, yes?"
"Um, right. Can you take us there?"
"Why, of course. Follow me."
The Aquatron native then reverted to his alt mode and sped off, with Jazz's team close behind him.
"At least the folks on Velocitron spoke proper Cybertronian," Bumblebee murmured.
Jazz smirked. "When you fare out into space, you're bound to run into something unusual."
-Nemesis-
"We have arrived at Aquatron, Lord Megatron."
"Excellent," Megatron said, grinning as he rose from his command chair. "Any sign of the Autobots?"
"Affirmative," Soundwave said. "Ark detected near planet's equator, fifty miles northward."
Megatron's grin broadened. No Autobots were going to evade him this time. However, before he could give the order to advance, the ship suddenly shuddered.
"What the spark?" he exclaimed, nearly toppling over. "What's going on?!"
"The controls aren't responding," Barricade said. "I think we're caught in a tractor beam."
"More than that," muttered Knock Out. "We're being boarded."
"Oh, how tragic," Starscream said snidely. "The magnificent Emperor of Destruction's warship is being boarded-"
"Shut up, Starscream!" Megatron roared, firing his fusion cannon at the Seeker and sending him flying back. Turning to Knock Out, he growled, "Where are they boarding us?"
"The hangar bay. And I'm counting a lot of spark signatures...."
"Dispatch Blackout and Lugnut to handle them. And have them bring me their heads!"
"That won't be happening any time soon, I'm afraid."
All of the Decepticons on the bridge whirled around to see a mech- armored in silver, purple, and yellow- standing before them, a trail of Vehicon corpses left in his wake.
Letting out a roar of rage, Megatron charged towards the stranger, arms outstretched to tear him apart. Before he could reach him, however, the lights on the bridge suddenly went out. Megatron then felt a mass of tendrils begin to seize him....
"I'm awfully sorry," the mech murmured. "But we are needed elsewhere."
And then darkness engulfed him.
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