EDITED 11/16/2017 Replaced Crystal Widow with a nameless bartender. I have... plans for that particular character.
PROLOGUE
Twenty years ago
"This had better not be a prank, Scrounge," Perceptor said as he drove after the younger Autobot through the Hydrax Plateau. "You know that I don't believe in things like Titans."
"Trust me, Perceptor," Scrounge replied. "If this isn't a Titan, then I don't know what it could be."
A figment of your imagination, perhaps, Perceptor thought, but he chose not to say it out loud.
The two of them finally came to a stop at the edge of the Plateau, where they could look out into the Rust Sea. Through the haze of polluted air, Perceptor could make out a large piece of metal jutting out of the sea, vaguely shaped like an arm.
As the two Autobots transformed to their robot modes, Scrounge turned to Perceptor. "Well? Think it could be anything else besides a Titan's arm?"
Perceptor scratched his chin and then folded his arms. "It barely even looks like an arm. How do you know it's not a spaceship or something?"
"Pretty oddly shaped for a spaceship, isn't it?"
"Perhaps it's the remains of a Cybernought from the war."
"A Cyber-? Perceptor, how is a Titan's arm any less believable than-"
"Okay, so maybe it is a Titan," Perceptor said irritably. "But then so what? I don't see any Knights of Cybertron piling out of it and I highly doubt Vector Prime is hovering behind it, chowing down on energon goodies."
"Vector Prime?" Scrounge shook his head. "Titans don't have anything to do with the Thirteen."
Perceptor sighed. "What I'm saying is that I doubt the discovery of a Titan's corpse is going to make much of an impact in the grand scheme of-"
He was abruptly cut off by a loud groan. Suddenly, a large figure burst out of the Titan's arm and landed right in front of Perceptor and Scrounge. The former knelt down and rolled the mech onto his back, seeing his green, terror-filled optics.
"Who are you?" Perceptor asked. "Why were you in there?"
"Sheesh, professor, can't you worry about the details later?" Scrounge knelt down as well and touched the mech's head. "You okay there?"
"Prometheus," the bot murmured.
Scrounge raised an eyebrow. "Prometheus? What's a Prometheus?"
Perceptor shrugged, looking back down at the mech. "Can you tell us what happened? Can you tell us anything?"
"Prometheus...." The mech started to shudder, his optics flickering, before becoming still.
As Scrounge stood up, he stared at the bot's lifeless body puzzlingly. "Well, that's just bizarre."
"More bizarre than that?" Perceptor asked, staring at where the mech had appeared from.
Scrounge turned around, following his gaze, and froze.
The Titan's arm was gone.
DAWN OF THE AUTOBOTS
Part 2: When Titans Rise
CHAPTER ONE
Present
"T minus nine minutes, Halftrack."
The white and blue Autobot cursed under his breath as he garnered as much Gold Energon as he could from the dying planet's core. Any minute now, the planet was going to explode and if he didn't make it back to the Calabi-Yau soon, he was going to go with it.
"T minus-"
"Okay, Comettor!" Halftrack snapped at his comlink, jumping onto the turbolift platform he had arrived on. "Pull me back up!"
As the platform made its ascension back towards the Calabi-Yau, the dying world of Xeres started to crackle with red energy; continents plunged into the fire pits that were now consuming the planet.
Frag, can't this platform go any faster? He slapped one of the pistons connecting the turbolift to the ship, causing it to shudder and then stop.
While Halftrack busied himself with a swear-filled rant, he heard Comettor say, "T minus six minutes. What's the hold up, buddy?"
"This blasted turbolift won't move!" Halftrack snapped. "This planet's gonna eat me alive if you don't get me back up soon!"
"I'm on it, pal. Just hand in there."
"Do I have much of a-?" Halftrack's irritated retort was cut off by a loud groan. His spark leaping with fright, the Autobot explorer aimed his optics towards the ocean of lava below him. Emerging from it was a giant arm....
"Comettor," he murmured, "you're not going to believe me, but... I think a Titan is rising from the ground."
"You're right, I don't believe you," Comettor said as the white and gold Autobot himself appeared on the Calabi-Yau's boarding ramp. "Save your pranks and wry humor for when we get back to-" He froze as he saw the exact same thing Halftrack was seeing. "Oh. Wow."
"Yeah. Wow. Now get me back up! My amazement is already transcending into full-blown panic!"
As Comettor struggled with the turbolift's pistons, the Titan let out another groan as the planet began to shake violently, nearly knocking Comettor from his perch and into the sea of lava.
"T minus three minutes," he muttered to himself. "Not good, not good...."
"Ah, frag it!" Halftrack snapped as another tremor nearly pushed him off of the platform. "I'm climbing up! Tell Astroscope to prepare for take off!"
Another groan from the Titan, sounding softer and... stranger than the previous ones, prompted Halftrack to look down at the mythical titan... and he froze. Something inside his chest burned.
"Prometheus," was the last thing he uttered. A giant fist was the last thing he saw.
* * *
Formal Autobot funerary practices had become rarer and rarer as the Great War dragged on, for so many fell in battle practically every day. Nowadays, Zeta Prime held an "overall funeral" at the end of the day where he read off a list of names of Autobots who were either killed or missing in action.
"Gauntlet and Revo, Temptoria. Astroscope, Comettor, and Halftrack, Xeres. Flint and Switch, Ibex."
As the list of names dragged on, the lone Autobot watching the Iaconian Newsfeed Service's broadcast of the event let out a sigh. She had seen so much death, seen so many sacrifices, that no even a proper funeral would do them justice.
"So what will it be, hon?"
Windblade glanced at the old femme standing behind the counter at the Rust Bucket. Turning in her seat, she said, "Give me a glass Ankmor Energon. And a few answers."
The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Would I happen to know them?"
Ignoring the query, Windblade asked, "Have you happened to have heard of the name Deadlock?"
* * *
Buildings had been toppled. Villages had been plundered, cities pillaged. The deactivated bodies of Autobot warriors laid at their feet. The Battle of Dabola had been won. And victory could not have been achieved without the aid of one of the Warriors Elite.
The massive Decepticon super-warrior assigned to the Dabola strike team shadowed over Deadlock and the others, a pair of optics glowing on his undersized head. In his enormous hand was a "wand", which sparked with electric energy. Deadlock wasn't exactly sure why he need one; his fists did enough damage.
"You have performed most sufficiently, Killmaster," the Decepticon commander Turmoil said to the purple and gold giant. "I expect Lord Megatron will reward you most greatly."
Killmaster merely grunted. Either he was a bot of few words or simply did not have a large enough vocabulary. While Turmoil had a group of Vehicon troopers gather up Autobot prisoners of war, the rest of the Decepticons talked amongst themselves.
"I dunno about you guys, but that Killmaster fellow gives me the creeps," said Terradive as he stood alongside Deadlock and Skyjack. "Don't ask me why, he just... does."
"I just wanna know why he has a 'wand,'" said Skyjack. "I mean, all it can do is jump-start deactivated Vehicons, but then any bot could use it."
"Maybe he feels an affinity towards them," Deadlock mused aloud. When the other two gave him strange looks, he shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just throwing things out there."
Terradive cracked a grin. "Well, don't. You might hit someone in the head."
As the three Decepticons laughed, their repartee was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Turmoil. The tall, powerful commander seemed to be glaring down at them, even though his optics were concealed by a visor.
"I hate to end your intelligent conversation, but we seem to have a situation," Turmoil said.
"What? Did Killmaster sit on someone?" Terradive joked.
Turmoil said nothing and instead led the three Decepticons to a location on the outskirts of Dabola's capital city. Jutting out of the ground strangely was a large, leaning building with wiring protruding from it. It took Deadlock a few minutes to realize that it was not a building he was staring at....
But a Titan's arm.
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