CHAPTER THREE
--Mothership--
"Sister?" Optimus Prime voiced the incredulity both he and Megatron were feeling. "What are you talking about?"
"I use that term loosely, of course," Hydra replied, her voice so sweet it was sickening. "But if it weren't for Optronx, she would have never been created."
"What?" Megatron exclaimed. "What are you going on about?"
Hydra ignored him, diverting her attention to one of the many screens that surrounded her. Megatron couldn't quite make out what was happening, but he could swear he recognized the gray and teal bot.
"My, her powers have developed," Hydra murmured, sounding awestruck. "If only Quickswitch were here to see this. He said she would never gain control...."
With his former caretaker's optics focused elsewhere, Megatron took the opportunity to access his personal comm, contacting the one person he could.
"Soundblaster."
"I live to serve, Lord Megatron."
"I'm transmitting you my position. Open a portal and--"
His call was cut short when Hydra suddenly appeared before him, her face a twisted rictus of anger.
"Do not think for a nanoklik," she snarled, "that I can't--"
At that moment, a green portal materialized in the center of the room. Nothing emerged from it, leading Hydra to grin wickedly.
"Too easy." Sending out a silent command through her harness, a nearby hatch opened and a group of Vehicons marched out. Hydra wordlessly directed them to the portal and the troopers went through, closing the portal behind them.
"Honestly, Optronix," Hydra said condescendingly. "What did you think you were going to do? You can't even move with those stasis cuffs."
Megatron said nothing as he simply stared into Hydra's optics. Suddenly, another portal opened, this time underneath him and Prime, and the two leaders fell through, falling out of their screaming Mother's reach.
* * *
"Ariel!"
She could not hear Rampage over the screams; her screams. As more Vehicons poured into the hangar bay, guns at the ready, she readied another sonic blast.
"No!" Rampage scrambled to his feet but there was no time. Ariel unleashed the sound wave, sending him and the Vehicons back, tearing the walls and floor to shreds.
Nearby, the Decepticon known as Fractyl clung on for his dear life, gripping the landing gear of one of the shuttles in the hangar. He tried desperately to call for backup but to no avail. The screams were blocking all frequencies.
When the latest blast finally died out, he tried again to get out a signal. "Onslaught! For the love of Primus, get down here!"
No response. Hearing footsteps, he looked over to see more Vehicons come marching in. Ariel saw them as well and, despite being clearly fatigued, opened her mouth once more.
Oh, please, no. Fractyl braced himself for what he thought was to come... but was not prepared for what happened next.
Appearing in the ceiling was a green portal and from it fell about ten Vehicons, landing directly on Ariel before she could let out her scream. Before Fractyl could allow himself to feel relieved, he saw Rampage get to his feet and make his way over to Ariel. Alarmed, Fractyl frantically looked around for something to use against the monster....
A sound made him look back to see Rampage crumpled on the floor, immobile. Standing over him, single eye glowing without remorse, was Shockwave.
Shifting his monoeyed gaze to Fractyl, the cyclopian Decepticon said, "What are you waiting for? Get these two to Mother before they recover."
Fractyl blanched. "And if they do?"
"Then you will be suitably punished for your tardiness."
At that, Fractyl wasted no time in mobilizing the remaining Vehicons and recovering the two nuisances.
* * *
"This isn't the Lost Light."
Groaning as he flexed his arms, their fall having shattered their bonds, Optimus Prime looked around the room he and Megatron had fallen into. While he hadn't been on the ship long enough to know what was on it, he very much doubted Rodimus would have a cylindrical chamber containing a protoform in it.
"She really is obsessed with children," he heard Megatron murmured, standing in front of another cylinder with a protoform as well. "How did she even acquire these? I thought the hot spots went cold eons ago."
"They must have been produced from this Titan's own hot spot," Optimus suggested.
Megatron glanced at him. "Are you suggesting this is one of the Thirteen's Titans?"
Before Optimus could reply, a monotone voice interrupted them both.
"My apologies for the unexpected change of location, Lord Megatron. I had decided to make an unplanned detour."
Both leaders turned to see Soundblaster standing in the corner of the room, his red visor glowing from the shadows. Megatron narrowed his eyes as he scowled at the black-armored Decepticon.
"What's going on, Soundblaster? What are you doing here?"
"Returning to my roots." Soundblaster gestured at the protoforms as he stepped out from the darkness. "Reuniting with my brothers and sisters."
Optimus exchanged a look with Megatron. "Are you saying you and the other clones originated from here?" the Autobot leader asked.
Soundblaster chuckled, an unnatural sound that startled the two brothers. "Clones? An apt term, perhaps, but an inaccurate one. That implies they're an exact replica of an existing Cybertronian."
"What are they then, if not that?"
"They are as natural-born Cybertronian as you and I," Soundblaster replied. "Not born from this Titan, but rather from Cybertron's hot spot a millennia ago, preserved here and kept safe from the horrors of our war."
"Yet she's used them to create her 'clones' and further her agenda." Megatron's face twisted in disgust.
"I never said they were cared for properly," Soundblaster said. "And keep in mind, the clone project only extended so far. The objective was to recreate Megatron and potentially Optimus Prime. Only a small fraction of Mother's protoforms were used."
Megatron frowned at him. "Then explain yourself. Why would Hydra need a 'clone' of Soundwave?"
Soundblaster chuckled again. "I am not a clone. I am Soundwave."
Both leaders reacted in shock. Megatron's jaw fell agape. "Impossible. You perished with Unicron!"
"As did you. Yet here you are."
"But you've been here well before I emerged from the portal! How can you be alive?!"
"You can thank Shockwave. He saw me as too much of a valuable asset to ever risk losing; to that end, he created a copy of my processor -- including all of my memories up until Cycle 9701, shortly before my departure on the Nemesis. He then had Magnificus install this copy into one of the 'clone' bodies."
"And... how did you learn all of this?" Optimus asked.
Soundblaster did not speak. Instead, a voice familiar to all of them did. "Like he said, you can thank me for that."
Megatron's face contorted in rage as Shockwave -- in the same small body as before -- appeared from behind Soundblaster. Before Optimus could stop him, the Decepticon leader lunged forward and seized the cyclopian bot with both hands.
"I've had enough of your games!" Megatron roared, pulling with all his might and tearing Shockwave in half.
Optimus was about to remark on his brother's act of brutality when they heard Shockwave speak again.
"As I was saying...."
Megatron stared flabbergasted at the two halves of Shockwave in his hands. "How...?"
"Honestly, it's you, Megatron, that should be thanked," Shockwave went on, emerging from behind Soundblaster in the same exact body. "When you transferred my spark into Shockblast all those centuries ago, it gave me an idea."
Optics flashing with rage, Megatron was about to attack this second Shockwave when both he and Prime were hit by an unseen force, causing their systems to seize up.
"Take comfort in the fact that, once again, you are responsible for your own downfall."
Megatron was about to scream in rage when darkness took over him...
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