CHAPTER SEVEN
He had been out again- with no idea on how long- but he was inching closer now, only a couple of feet away from the energon now.
Come on, Tailgate. You can do it! You're a bomb disposal expert for the Primal Vanguard! This is nothing compared to-
He never finished that thought, for he had passed out once again.
* * *
"Is this the place, Pyro?"
"I believe so, sir," the Autobot fire truck said to Ultra Magnus as they arrived at the Mitteous Plateau. "Strange, though. I don't see anyone."
"It is clearly a trap," Shockwave said as he morphed from his fighter mode. "And we are no doubt about to spring it."
Once they were all in robot mode, the twelve-bot team of Autobots and Decepticons stood in one place for a while, waiting for a hint of said trap. Ultra Magnus then broke the silence by saying, "Hardhead, step out there until something happens."
The green Autobot smirked. "This is because I'm the most durable here and not because of the Chrome Alloy Pie Incident, right?"
"Just go."
Still smiling, Hardhead stepped ahead of everyone else... and was abruptly shot square in the chest.
"Ambush!" Ultra Magnus cried as he and the others bore their weapons.
Appearing out of nowhere, no doubt deactivating a piece of cloaking technology, was a strongly-built green and orange mech, wielding a blade in one hand and lugging a cannon barrel on his back. Narrowing his scarlet eyes, he charged.
* * *
"So are we just going to be spectators, or are we going to actually take part in the action?"
Mindwipe ignored Bugly as they watched Bludgeon clash with the Autobots and Decepticons, while being hidden by their cloaking devices. It could not be denied that Bludgeon was a great warrior, fighting with such ferocity and easily dispatching two Autobots already.
Seeing this reminded Mindwipe that he would do well to never cross Bludgeon.
"I said, so are we-"
"I heard what you said," Mindwipe hissed at Bugly. "We will attack when it is appropriate. Just wait for my command."
Bugly grudgingly complied and the two of them continued to watch the fight from afar. Bludgeon's opponents were now firing at him from all sides, and although his agility allowed him to easily dodge the shots, it was clear that he had little room to attack.
"Now."
The words had barely emitted from Mindwipe's voice box when Bugly revealed himself and charged into the battle. Mindwipe shortly followed suit, looking forward to their inevitable victory.
* * *
"Cerebros, can I borrow you for a bit?"
Brainstorm saw the Autobot officer, stationed in the command center, tense slightly. Cerebros had known this moment would come and had doubtlessly dreaded it. Nonetheless, he nodded silently and followed the scientist out of the room.
As they headed for the main lab, Brainstorm felt a surge of excitement that contrasted Cerebros' fear. For about two years had this project- Project Maximus, he called it- been in the works, and now it was finally going to see its culmination.
One of the few projects Brainstorm had come up with that High Command and the Ethics Committee had actually approved of, Project Maximus involved selecting an Autobot who was completely selfless and brave but lacked the physical strength to prove himself, and subjecting him to a procedure that gave him that strength. Out of a thousand selfish and hardened Autobots, Cerebros fit the bill.
Upon reaching the lab, Brainstorm turned to look Cerebros square in the optic. "You ready for this?"
"Not really," Cerebros murmured. "But I suppose there's no sense in trying to delay the inevitable."
Brainstorm slapped him on the back. "Atta, boy. Let's go in, then."
* * *
"Nightbeat and Roadkill are down!"
Ultra Magnus could barely comprehend Pyro's cry as Bludgeon threw his entire body at him. Unable to avoid him in time, the two mechs collided and fell to the ground, wrestling with each other. Despite his better efforts, Magnus soon found himself staring at the business end of Bludgeon's blade.
"And so the legend ends," the warrior hissed. "So that a new one may begin."
"Don't count on it." Appearing behind Bludgeon, Blockade lunged and wrapped her huge arms around him, wrenching him off of Ultra Magnus. The Autobot commander got back to his feet and recovered his blaster, aiming it at Bludgeon's face.
The warrior's two comrades, Bugly and Mindwipe, seemed to have noticed what had just happened, for they had stopped fighting and were staring at the scene.
"I'm only going to say this once," Ultra Magnus growled to them. "Surrender now or your comrade here bites it."
Bugly sneered. "Since when did you Autobots start issuing death threats?"
"Since your boss crossed the line for me."
"My death would mean nothing," Bludgeon snarled. "The Unbinding is already underway. There is nothing you can do to stop it."
"Would help if you told us what this Unbinding is," muttered the Decepticon Seeker Slipstream.
"It is the end and the beginning for our world. Everything shall be undone so that Cybertron may be reborn."
"Yeah, that's not informative in the least," Hardhead said, having recovered from Bludgeon's initial attack. "I say we offline him now so he doesn't cause us anymore trouble."
Bludgeon smirked. "Do as you please. Our work here is done."
"What work?" Blockade growled, tightening her hold around the warrior. "Ambush us and get your tailpipes kicked?"
"Say," Slipstream murmured. "Where's that Optimus Prime lookalike you Autobots had?"
Ultra Magnus frowned and turned to look. Pyro, along with Bugly and Mindwipe, were gone.
* * *
"And so it begins," the Fallen said as he closed Pyro's capsule. "The energy of thirteen sparks, all descended from the first to be born. Together, they shall form the key that once locked the seal... and shall now reopen it."
As he spoke, he moved himself towards the last capsule and slowly lowered himself into it.
"Soon, Primus shall be reawakened and at last end his eternal conflict with his equal. Then, and only then, shall all become one."
At his beckoning, the capsule began to close.
"And the darkest hour shall come upon us."
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