CHAPTER NINE
--Cybertron--
"Lord Megatron?"
Standing amongst the ruins of Kolkular, Kaon's former capitol, Megatron clenched his fists but did not turn to face Barricade. "I do not desire your company, Barricade-- or anyone's, for that matter. Leave me be."
He heard the shifting of feet. "Someone... wishes to speak with you, my liege."
Megatron turned his head to see Soundwave standing there with Barricade. Immediately he whirled around and aimed his fusion cannon at the traitor. Barricade hastily raised his hands placatingly.
"Please, my lord, hear him out. It's-- his 'betrayal' is not how you think it is."
"Oh, really?" Megatron snarled. "Please enlighten me then, before I blast a hole in your chest."
Soundwave stepped forward, not at all intimidated by his former leader. "I am not your enemy, Megatron."
"And you are not my ally. Thus it would not pain me to obliterate you right here and now."
Soundwave inclined his head. "Understand this, Megatron: I did not relish in turning on you. From my time serving under you, I found you to be a competent leader, with a far better ideology than Trannis ever had. You were the leader Cybertron needed, the leader a unified Cybertronian race needed."
Megatron said nothing, his fusion cannon still aimed.
Soundwave took another step forward. "I only stuck with Galvatron to initiate the endgame of his agenda. But now the time has come to take his place. It is time for the Decepticons to finally triumph."
Megatron was silent for a long time, regarding Soundwave carefully. Then, slowly and with extreme caution, he lowered his fusion cannon.
"Is it that easy?" he asked. "Surely Galvatron has dozens of bodyguards protecting him, and his loyalists far outnumber mine."
"Only out of fear," Soundwave said. "But you can rekindle their courage."
Megatron fell silent again, but only for a moment. Then, the slightest hint of a smirk crossed his faceplate.
"Then I shall."
--Earth--
Dinosaurs?
The Attinger part of Scorponok's mind was considerably more baffled than the Decepticon himself in response to this change of tide.
Dinosaurs?
He looked on in horror as his drones were easily torn to shreds by the giant metal lizards.
Dinosaurs?!
Gritting his teeth in anger, Scorponok charged into the battle with guns ablaze. Stepping through the remains of Trax drones, he set his optics on the Tyrannosaurus rex, whose brutal fighting style struck him as familiar.
Grimlock.
Suddenly, he was back in the pits of Kaon, facing off against the most brutal Autobot he had ever known, and the one Cybertronian to defeat him in the ring. The same would not happen here.
"Grimlock!"
At the cry of his name, the Dinobot leader turned to see Scorponok charging towards him. With a snarl, he transformed into his robot mode and brought out a mighty spiked mace.
The earth trembled as mace clashed against claws.
* * *
"Looks like the party started without us," Lockdown commented.
Drift did not respond, too flabbergasted by what he was seeing. He and his newfound bounty hunter partner had just fought their way through hordes of Machination drones before finally escaping the lab... only to find seven robot dinosaurs fighting on the streets.
"Can't say I've seen anything like that in my travels. Or that," Lockdown added, nodding towards a monstrous two-headed Shockwave.
Drift snorted as he brandished his two short swords. "This planet is just full of surprises, isn't it?"
"Well, I'm not sticking around for anymore," Lockdown said, morphing into his muscle car form.
"What?" Drift exclaimed. "I thought you were helping me!"
The bounty hunter left out a harsh laugh. "I saw it more as you helping me get out of that drone-infested lab. And seeing as we're out of that particular mess now...."
He revved up his engine, causing dust to blow into Drift's face. The bounty hunter was long gone by the time his vision cleared.
Shrugging off the encounter, Drift ran to join the battle.
* * *
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this day?"
Grimlock grunted as Scorponok threw his fist into his abdomen.
"Four thousand years." Scorponok ducked as the Dinobot swung his maul in retaliation. "Four thousand years ago, on this day, you defeated me in the gladiatorial pits of Kaon."
"Probably should have finished you there and then," Grimlock growled, swinging his mace again.
Scorponok caught the spiked ball of the weapon in his claws. "You humiliated me. In front of dozens of fans. In all my life, I had never been defeated. My reputation was tarnished."
Grimlock struggled to free his mace from his opponent's grip, only for Scorponok to tighten it.
"But not this time. This time, I am utterly invincible. This time, I shall not be defeated and humiliated."
He wrenched the mace from Grimlock's hands, snapping it in two.
"This time, I will destroy you!"
Grimlock responded to this proclamation by headbutting Scorponok on the skull, causing the Decepticon to stagger back. The Dinobot then punched the ground before changing back into his T-Rex form, after which he swung his large tail and struck Scorponok across the chest.
"All talk and no show," Grimlock muttered.
Scorponok cackled. "You want me to show? Ask and you shall receive."
At this, he unloaded his total array of weapons: laser cannons from his chest, gun barrels on his tail, rocket launchers from his arms. They began to ravage Grimlock's body, tearing away pieces of his armor plating, but the Dinobot did not falter. Instead, he simply pressed against the assault, moving closer and closer to his opponent.
Scorponok sneered at him. "I admire your courage in the face of death, but you realize that your efforts are futile. I am indestructible while you are as weak as wood in comparison."
"Me, Grimlock, not weak. Me king."
With that, he opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of fire. The flames caught onto Scorponok's outstretched arms before spreading across his body, melting the alloys of his armor. Scorponok screamed as he flailed about, trying to ward off the flames but to no avail. The Decepticon then reached towards his head and, much to everyone's astonishment, tore it off.
As it fell to the ground, the disembodied head converted into a humanoid shape, that of Scorponok's Headmaster partner Harold Attinger. The head of Machination then made a run for it even as the body of his partner crumpled to the ground.
But the surprises did not end there. In Scorponok's chest, a pinprick of blue glowed, growing larger and larger by the second. In time, it had grown into a full-sized portal... and a figure was climbing out of it, emerging head-first.
Grimlock narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "Prime."
Optimus Prime did not respond as he finished exiting the portal, which closed shut as soon as he was fully out, leaving behind only a sliver of blue.
An AllSpark shard.
Optimus bent over to retrieve it... only to freeze when he saw it was embedded into the charred remains of the headless Scorponok. He then looked around, his optics scanning the remains of numerous Machination drones before landing on the Autobots and their Dinobot comrades.
"So this is what you get up to whenever I'm not around."
EPILOGUE
--Cybertron--
When Scourge had left to track down the D.J.D., he had taken at least a dozen Sweeps to fulfill the task of taking the Key to Vector Sigma from them. Now he returned to Cybertron with only two Sweeps.
Galvatron's face was expressionless, but his disappointment still obvious to Scourge as the hunter and his wingmen transformed and landed before him.
"You have failed."
Scourge bowed his head. "The D.J.D. were... considerably more formidable in combat than expected."
Galvatron growled. "And so you have failed to retrieve the Vector Sigma Key."
"Now, I didn't say that."
A golden glint caught Galvatron's eye and he looked to see the Vector Sigma Key in Scourge's hand. With a gleam in his scarlet optics, Galvatron took the key and held it up to admire. A malicious grin crossed his face.
"Perfect."
--Earth--
"It would seem you all had a productive day."
"That's one way of putting it," Ironhide muttered.
All of the Autobots-- including both Earth units, Drift, the Dinobots, Sky Lynx, and Optimus Prime-- were gathered outside Omega Outpost One, for the base itself was too small to accomodate the massive Dinobots. The battle against the Machination drones was long over, with all of the drones destroyed and word spreading that the organization had been shut down.
Pacing back and forth, Prowl rubbed his head crest. "Well, at the very least, it's good to know that Machination will no longer be a threat, now that Scorponok's out of the picture."
"His head got away," Drift pointed out.
"Yes, well, he's just a mere human in armor now." Prowl then turned to Optimus, who was watching the sunset behind the horizon. "So... care to explain that whole AllSpark portal thing?"
"I wish I could," Optimus said. "My only theory is that the Matrix of Leadership is connected to the AllSpark somehow."
"And you say you saw Alpha Trion in that dimension you were stuck in? Alive?"
"I don't understand it myself. But it doesn't matter now. We've finally found another AllSpark shard."
Ironhide snorted. "Yeah, and how many are left to go? It's taken us a slaggin' century just to get three!"
"There's gotta be a quicker way," Bumblebee said. "Prime, can't the Matrix be of any help? You did say it's connected to the AllSpark somehow."
Before Optimus could answer him, Hound suddenly pointed towards an indescribable shape in the sky, which was growing larger by the second. "Look! If that's a bird, it's a heck of a big one!"
Following his gaze, Arcee slowly shook her head. "I... don't think that's a bird."
In time, before any of the Autobots knew, a massive ship was coming down from the sky, preparing to touch down....
* * *
Harold Attinger forced his legs to carry him through the dark alleyway. With each step he took, he found himself growing weaker and weaker, as if becoming separated from Scorponok had taken a toll on him.
But he's still with me, he thought. I can still hear him. He's in my head.
As am I.
Attinger froze at the sound of the voice, his feet rooted to ground. Eldritch was the only word that came to mind when he heard the voice; sinister, eerie, not of this world. Even with armor on, he felt a chill air crawling down his spine.
You fear me. That is good. That means you are fit.
The world began to grow dark around Attinger, as if he was being pulled into a void. Shadows moved like phantoms around him. Was this death, he wondered?
The AllSpark shard was all that was keeping Scorponok alive; keeping you alive. Now your fate rests in my hands. I could let you die, here and now....
He felt a tightness in his chest, as if a hand as clutching his heart.
...But I won't. You have skills that could be useful to me. You may have a part to play in the grand scheme.
Like a veil being cast aside, the darkness peeled away and Attinger found himself feeling... reborn. Black and gold armor plating replaced those in green and purple; red energy lines glowed all around his body, highlighting his form in the darkness of night.
Attinger was no more. He was, now and forever, Scorponok.
Arise... my Herald.
TO BE CONTINUED
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