CHAPTER SEVEN
Chromedome's head was ringing. Everything around him felt distant, out of reach, as if he was swimming through water.
Wait. He was swimming through water.
Just as his mind had made that connection, he felt something grab him by the shoulders and pull him out of the lake, dragging him onto land. As he laid there, sputtering out water, his rescuer stood by and ran a hand over his faceplate.
"God, I'm so stupid," the tall winged mech grumbled. "I hadn't even noticed...."
"Hey, don't worry about it," said a green bot, standing nearby with a red and blue one and another flier. "Just be glad he's still functioning. The blast must've knocked him into the water."
Once he had gotten himself (mostly) unclogged, Chromedome looked up at the four Autobots who had rescued him. "Jetfire?" he said, staring up at the tallest of them.
"Yup. Hey. Sorry for sending you for a swim." Jetfire rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I was distracted by the, y'know, the Decepticons."
"Decepticons?" Chromedome looked around to see that they were surrounded by several deactivated Vehicons. "Oh. Wow. Are they all dead? Even...?"
"Even the D.J.D.," said Crosshairs. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"The blast consumed most of them," Jetfire explained. "Only Tarn and the Mini-Con survived. Stormshot took care of Tarn; no idea about the Mini-Con."
"She got away," Stormshot said. "I doubt she'll be much trouble, honestly."
"Shall I call the others to tell them the situations has been dealt with?" Hound asked.
Jetfire nodded. "Go ahead, although I have a feeling we're not out of the woods yet."
"Think they brought company?" Crosshairs asked.
"I mean, why would they come to Earth? What's here that they could possibly want?"
"Ah, I'm sure we'll find out eventually." Hound stepped over to Chromedome and helped him up. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and good looking for your reunion with Rewind."
"Rewind?" Chromedome asked.
Hound beamed. "Yup! He's here on Earth looking for you. We all are. Well, except maybe Whirl. But, who cares about Whirl, am I right?"
Chromedome shook his head. "I'm sorry... who's Rewind?"
All four Autobots stared at him. Hound was slack-jawed while Crosshairs and Stormshot grimaced. Jetfire, his expression hidden behind his mask, bowed his head.
"Scrap...."
* * *
"It is done. The Decepticon Justice Division are dead."
"Excellent, Shockwave," the Fallen said, standing on the bow of the Thunder Arrow as it hovered over the Atlantic Ocean. "Your gift of foresight is second to none."
"Tarn was once my student," Shockwave replied. "From the beginning he had always displayed a... loyalty to Optronix, which easily carried him into the Decepticon ranks. When Megatron more or less made him the face of his will, Tarn had essentially become a full-blown fanatic, not just to Megatron but to what Megatron had made the Decepticons into. I knew he would only serve as a hindrance rather than an asset to our plans."
"And it would seem you were right." The Fallen had been made aware of Tarn's declaration of rebellion thanks to Shockwave's reaction to his clone body's destruction. Before the prime Shockwave could detonate the Peaceful Tyranny however, an Autobot jet had flown in and done the job for them.
It did not bother the Fallen in the least that there appeared to be an Autobot presence on Earth. When he was done here, it would no longer make a difference what symbol his enemies -- or allies, for that matter -- wore. After all, in his day, the Cybertronian race was far more divided than it was now.
A few minutes had passed when he and Shockwave finally received a call from beneath the depths. "Void Scepter has been located, my liege," said Gilmer.
"Excellent," the Fallen said. "Remain where you are. We shall be joining you shortly."
Once he and Shockwave had boarded the Thunder Arrow, the Decepticon ship plunged into the ocean and sped ahead.
* * *
"Idiot," Nautilator said, shaking his head.
"What?" Gilmer looked genuinely confused at the Seacon. "We found it, didn't we? This is the Void Scepter."
"You honestly think this is the Void Scepter?" Nautilator snapped, waving the wooden stick in the maroon Decepticon's face. "This puny twig is supposed to be the tool of one of the first Primes? Give me a break."
"Well, it has to be, doesn't it?" asked Seawing. "He said it would be in this ship, and I don't see anything else that could be it."
"You'd think he'd tell us about the dead human though," remarked Skalor, looking down at the decayed remains of the human the staff had been buried with. "That seems like a clue he'd have brought up."
"It doesn't matter," grunted the Seacon commander Snaptrap, taking the stick from Nautilator. "He's already been summoned. If we are wrong in our findings, then we'll all pay the price."
"Hey, Overbite was the one who located it!" Nautilator protested, pointing at the shark-bot. "If anyone should get blown up for failure, it should be him!"
Overbite glared at him. "Careful, pal. You might find yourself joining the other corpses on this heap of junk."
"Shut up, all of you!" Tentakil hissed, peering outside. "He's here!"
The six Seacons and Gilmer all stood to attention as the Fallen and Shockwave entered the ruined ship. The ancient Prime spared a moment to survey the decayed interior of the submerged vessel before laying his eyes on Snaptrap. The Seacon leader dutifully presented him with the staff.
"Here you are, my liege."
The Fallen stared at the staff -- no more than a stick in his scale -- before shifting his gaze to the Seacon. "Is this... a joke?"
"The readings match, my liege," Seawing hastily said. "I don't understand it myself, but according to our readings, it should be the Void Scepter."
The Fallen glared at him before looking back at the staff. Tentatively, he took it from Snaptrap and rolled it between his fingers, closely examining it. After a moment, his optics narrowed as his face creased into a scowl.
"Oh, Quintus. You and your games..." Returning his attention to Snaptrap, he growled. "Where did you find this?"
"In this coffin," Snaptrap said, gesturing at the entombed human. "According to what's written on the coffin, it belongs to some human named Merlin."
"Merlin." The Fallen spoke the name with disgust. "And he's dead?"
"Very much so," Skalor muttered.
"Then we must find someone of his blood," the Fallen snarled. "Only then can the Void Scepter assume its natural state."
Snaptrap frowned. "You mean... you cannot control it?"
"It was taken from me thousands of years ago by one of my fellow Primes," the Fallen explained. "It would appear they've since... modified it to become bonded to a particular being and their kin. If I am to use the Scepter, we must find this Merlin's heir so it can be returned to my control."
"And..." Nautilator tapped his fingers together. "And if we don't?"
The Fallen glared at him. "Then you shall all suffer the price of failure."
With that, the ancient Prime turned heel and began to exit the chamber. Shockwave followed suit and the Seacons soon went after them. Seawing was nearly out the door when he noticed Gilmer lingering behind.
"You coming, fish-head?" the Seacon asked.
"Yeah," Gilmer called back, standing up from the Thunderwing-shaped symbol he had called into the floor. "Be right with you."
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