CHAPTER TWO
--Earth--
"Remind me to thank Fowler for not dismantling our old Earth base."
"Sure thing," Arcee grunted, avoiding Grimlock's tail as the Dinobot clumsily stepped around the small base. "Right after I explain to him what the hell happened to our city."
Wheeljack ignored Arcee's sarcasm as he continued to work on the old, worn-out GroundBridge. Jetfire watched him work, grimacing as the engineer accidentally knocked a piece off.
"So... do you think you can get us to Cybertron with this?"
Wheeljack rubbed his chin. "Well, if we can get a line to Starscream -- or whoever's in charge now -- we could link up our terminal with Cybertron's space bridge nexus and get there in no time."
"But...?"
"But this whole blasted thing is old and crap, so it'll probably be another two months before I can get it working again."
"We don't have two months, Wheeljack," Arcee said. "Thunderwing's taken Metrotitan and is planning to do Primus knows what to Cybertron. Hell, he might already be done and we're just wasting our time!"
"Don't say that, Arcee," Jetfire said. "We still have Sky Lynx. We can still get to Cybertron that way."
"Yes, but Cybertron is how far away from Earth?" Arcee shook her head. "Thunderwing could be razing Iacon as we speak. Every minute we spend here is another minute our home loses."
Wheeljack held up his hands. "Hey, I'm open to suggestions here. Whether you're Autobot or Decepticon -- or neither, I won't judge -- then just shoot. I'm all ears."
"Excuse me."
The three Autobots all turned to see a spindly Decepticon step up to them. Wheeljack tilted his head as he regarded the unfamiliar bot. "I'm sorry, you are...?"
"Viral," the Decepticon said. "I was among Megatron's reinforcements."
"Ah. Well, Viral, what have you got for us?"
"A message, actually." Viral tapped the side of his helm. "I've picked up a transmission from a... familiar source."
Jetfire glanced at the others before nodding to the Decepticon. "All right. Let's hear it."
Viral complied and his screen-face lit up, displaying the image of a purple head with a single glowing optic on its otherwise featureless face.
Arcee scowled while Wheeljack groaned, rubbing a hand down his faceplate.
"Oh joy...."
"Shockwave." Jetfire frowned at the image as he crossed his arms. "What do you want?"
"I come to you with an offer, Autobots," Shockwave replied. "It has become clear to me that our race is under threat by an unstoppable force. If we have any hope of stopping this threat, then--"
"Cut the flavored speech," Arcee snapped. "You've already tricked us once with your Secret Order. Why should we trust you now?"
"The Secret Order admittedly did not pan out exactly as I had foreseen. I knew my accomplice, Delta Magnus -- or Powerdrive, rather -- was herald to a Prime. But I did not realize the extent or depth of her own machinations. Had I known, I would've never done any of this."
"Like we'd believe that," Jetfire muttered. "But, all right, what exactly are you offering us? How would we benefit in teaming up with you?"
"Firstly: Transportation," Shockwave said. "Soundwave here can generate a portal to anywhere in the cosmos, including Cybertron. I take it that you are having difficulties in that respect; otherwise, you would've already left Earth by now."
Jetfire glanced at Wheeljack, who simply grunted with umbrage. "You could say that...."
"Secondly: I have an innate knowledge of all of the Secret Order's resources, which I have no doubt Powerdrive and Thunderwing are using."
"How do you know Thunderwing and Powerdrive are working together?" Arcee asked.
"It is the only logical explanation for all of the events that have occurred in the past eight months."
Jetfire shrugged. "I won't argue against that. Anything else?"
"Lastly: We would all benefit immensely from an alliance by saving Cybertron." Shockwave tilted his head. "Is that satisfactory enough for you?"
Jetfire was silent as he mulled over the proposal. Arcee and Wheeljack both looked to him, exchanging wary glances. After a moment, Jetfire lifted his optics to meet Shockwave's again.
"Where do you want us to meet?"
--Luna 1--
It had been a considerably long time since Powerdrive had last seen Cybertron. Ever since she had first donned the persona of Delta Magnus, she had been stationed at Garrus-13 for nearly a thousand years. She had been essentially cut off from the outside world, only learning of events through Hydra, Shockwave, or her subjects.
But considering it was all going to be her's, she considered it to be worth the wait.
After taking a minute to bask in what would be her glory, Delta Magnus rose from her seat at Luna 1's controls... and froze.
Someone was behind her.
She glanced to the side. Depth Charge and Rampage still laid dead on the floor, so it wasn't them. And the only entrance was so small that she needed her human guise to access it. So then who--
She let out a cry as a portal opened beneath her feet and she fell through it, finding herself falling through the sky and landing on the ground below. The Void Scepter dropped out of her hands, only to be retrieved by a large black fist.
As Delta Magnus scrambled to her feet, the Fallen aimed the tip of the spear at her face. "Oh, how I've been waiting for this moment," he said with a wicked grin.
Delta Magnus glared at him. "My death will accomplish nothing. My master's plan is already underway. There's no stopping it!"
"Oh, this has nothing to do with Quintus," the Fallen said. "This is just for me."
He twisted the Scepter, and Delta Magnus screamed as her body began to contort, bending in impossible ways. Her entire frame collapsed into itself, shrinking up until all was left was a heap of metal made of arms and legs. Through a small crack, Powerdrive's green spark continued to pulse in eternal agony.
As the Fallen admired his handiwork, Vector Prime appeared beside him, regarding the gruesome sight with disgust.
"You haven't changed," the elder Prime muttered.
"Ah, I disagree," the Fallen chuckled. "That was actually remarkably tame of me."
Shaking his head, Vector directed his gaze to the sky, spotting the Lost Light in the distance. "So, shall we rejoin them?"
"You're free to do so. However, I have already chosen my own means of transportation."
Vector glanced at him. "But our alliance--"
"Oh, we are still allies," the Fallen replied. "After all, we are still all headed for Cybertron. I simply fashion a more... adequate vessel."
Vector sighed. "As you wish. I will see you there then."
"Indeed." The Fallen tilted his head. "Of course, I can only speak for myself. Primus knows if Onyx or Liege Maximo are willing to comply as well."
"You don't doubt Nexus?"
"His time divided -- with most of his components being Autobots -- has made him soft. He won't turn against us."
Vector frowned at him. "Like you once did?"
The Fallen chuckled humorlessly. "Nice one, brother. Very clever."
Rolling his optics, Vector Prime transformed and took off to rejoin the Lost Light. Left alone with what had once been Delta Magnus, the Fallen returned his gaze to the heap and smirked to himself.
"Enjoy Chaos, my friend."
With that, he converted to his tank mode and rolled away, leaving Powerdrive to suffer alone.
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