CHAPTER TEN
"I should have figured you'd be bringin' an extra crew member back on board," Ironhide said with a smirk as Optimus Prime, his landing team, and Spiral stepped onto the Ark's bridge.
Optimus nodded. "Yes, though we've seemed to have lost a crew member in return. Side Burn is missing."
"Side Burn?" Sideswipe repeated. "I thought he was down in his hab suite with Brawn."
Optimus tilted his head. "He told me that you sent him down as backup out of concern for our safety."
"If we wanted to send backup, why would we have sent a flake like Side Burn?" Jazz asked. "You sure weren't seeing things, Prime?"
"No, because we saw him, too," Bumblebee said. "Until he vanished, of course."
"Maybe he's got some teleportation device," Windcharger suggested. "But if so, then he could've told us... it'd be real useful in a fight."
Optimus sighed. "Let us worry about it some other time. We've got to get a move on before the Decepticons find us."
"Where to next then, Boss-bot?" Sideswipe asked.
"Gigantion, the Giant Planet," Optimus said. "There have been several tales of Titans residing there, thus it might have something to do with the AllSpark."
As Sideswipe set in the coordinates, Ironhide said, "It seems pretty frivolous chasing silly myths to me."
"For the longest time, Ironhide, I thought the Matrix of Leadership was such a myth," Optimus Prime murmured. "Now I know better, of course."
Catching his meaning, Ironhide fell silent and returned to his duties. As the others did so, Optimus Prime looked out the viewport to see the stars stretch before it. Who knew how many AllSpark shards were out there, but he could only hope to reconstitute the life-bearing power source and restore Cybertron.
It was the only hope their world had.
* * *
The Nemesis was primed and ready for take off. As Megatron walked across the hangar bay to board his flagship, he caught sight of Shockwave approaching him from behind. This unsettled him because it could only mean one thing....
Whirling around to face the cyclopian Decepticon, Megatron snarled. "Explain to me how, despite the Autobots being near-defenseless and vulnerable, your invasion was able to fail."
"It was not the Autobots who defeated us, my lord," Shockwave said calmly. "Rather, it was a powerful Cybertronian who calls himself the Fallen."
Megatron raised an eyebrow, smirking. "The Fallen? Well, if it were a true fanatic, he would have dared to call himself Megatronus instead."
"That is besides the point," Shockwave said coldly. "This neutral being may prove an obstacle in our conquest of Cybertron. As such, I am proposing an 'alliance' with the remaining Autobots to eliminate this threat before getting rid of the Autobots themselves."
"I see. In that case, do things however you see fit, just as long as, in the end, the Autobots are no more and Cybertron is ours."
"Fear not, Lord Megatron. I shall not disappoint you."
Megatron sneered. "I hope so, Shockwave, for your sake. I do not take repeated failures lightly."
"Neither do I," Shockwave murmured, though Megatron was already headed for the Nemesis and thus did not hear him.
* * *
So much needed to be done and yet there was little time.
He had only managed to capture four of his twelve targets. Two he knew of were on Cybertron but too dangerous to reach, and the others he was uncertain of. But he would find them, no doubt about it.
The Fallen cast his gaze to the rising sun. Dawn was breaking on Cybertron, a new day having begun.
He would make sure it was the last one.
* * *
Despite being a Velocitronian, Clocker often found it nice to stop moving for a moment and simply admire Velocitron's landscape, especially the regions not covered by race tracks. The Diablo Desert, in particular, was a sight to behold, the setting sun making the dunes stand out somewhat.
Nothing could break him away from this scenery. Save for the fact that a giant ship was landing over it.
Clocker stepped back as sand blew into his face, the ship's rear thrusters sending it flying everywhere. Without the ship even properly landing, the boarding ramp lowered and a tall mech in blue and white appeared, emerald eyes glowing on a face covered with loose wires formed like a beard. When it spoke, it did so with a gruff, scratchy voice.
"Bah-weep-graaaagnah wheep ni ni bong."
Clocker hesitated a moment before returning the universal greeting. "Er, bah-weep-graaaagnah wheep ni ni bong."
Glowering, the strange mech leaped from the ramp and landed before Clocker, looming over him.
"Where is Double Clutch?" the stranger growled.
Clocker stammered a response. "I... who are you-?"
"I asked first, you insolent protoform," the mech snarled, grabbing Clocker by the neck. "Now tell me: where is Double Clutch?"
"Right here, Thundertron."
The blue and white mech looked up to see a stout, blueish-silver mech approaching him. Releasing Clocker, Thundertron stormed towards the former Velocitron leader. "Where is it?"
Double Clutch smirked. "Where's what?"
"Don't play ignorant with me," Thundertron snapped. "Where is the shard?"
"I don't have it."
The large mech's mouth fell agape. "What...?"
"I don't have it," Double Clutch repeated. "Not anymore. It's long gone from Velocitron."
Thundertron seethed with fury. "Who has it now?"
"Like I would tell you. Unlike you, Thundertron, I care about the well being of a fellow Cybertronian."
Thundertron roared out in anger as he brought out an energy blade and plunged it into Double Clutch's chest, instantly extinguishing his spark and killing him. As Clocker backed away in horror, the savage mech whirled around to face him and growled.
"If you happen to come across any accursed Cybertronian, tell them that the Star Seekers are on the hunt and that Thundertron shows no mercy!"
And with that, Thundertron converted into a mechanical beast and leaped back onto the large ship as it blasted off into the evening sky.
TO BE CONTINUED
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