Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Epilogue

EPILOGUE

--Cybertron--

    "This is far from over, Prime. You may have won today but--"

    "Apex, I'm really not in the mood right now," Vector Prime said as he carried a cage containing the captured Titan Masters from Fortress Maximus. "Until you're willing to open up about the full details of your plan, I will not be speaking with you."

    With that, Vector was silent the rest of the way as he approached Rodimus Prime. The Autobot leader was speaking with Ironhide and looking rather perturbed. As Vector got closer, he soon found out why.

    "What do you mean Trypticon is gone?!" Rodimus exclaimed.

    "He just got up and flew off," Ironhide answered. "No clue how he got his mind back, but he left all o' his prisoners behind. We're still tryna' round 'em all up."

    Rodimus ran a hand over his helm. "Great. Just as we get rid of one big 'Con, now we've got another to worry about."

    Vector Prime frowned. "Do you have any inclination as to where he was headed?"

    Ironhide shook his head. "No clue. He could be anywhere in the universe now."

    Apex let out a cackle, causing the Autobots to glare at him.

    "As I was saying," the Titan Master chuckled, "this is only the beginning. The circle has yet to be closed."

    "What circle?" Rodimus snapped. "What are you going on about?"

    Apex simply grinned wickedly at the Prime as he unexpectedly vanished. Vector Prime reacted in alarm and nearly dropped the cage as one by one all of the Titan Masters disappeared, until very soon none were left.

    In Vector Prime's opinion, swearing was very unbecoming of a Prime. But given the situation, he supposed it was perhaps warranted in Rodimus' case.

*  *  *

    Steam exhumed from the CR chamber as Whirl stepped out of it, flexing a clawed arm. After taking a moment to let his single optic readjust its focus, the ex-Wrecker stepped over to where a similarly-refurbished Cyclonus was standing, arms crossed.

    "Yup, still as ugly as I remember," Whirl said. "At least now you've got your horns back. Wouldn't make sense for me to keep calling you 'horn-head' if you don't got no horns."

    Cyclonus regarded the blue helicopter bot carefully. "Your face...."

    "What face?" Whirl shot back.

    "Why didn't you have them build you a new one? I thought you hated being an empurata victim."

    "Says who? Have I said that? I don't recall having ever said that, 'least not you. Besides...." Whirl clicked a claw. "I've been like this for over a thousand years now. This is who I am, whether I like it or not. If what I am is a faceless watchmaker without hands, then so be it. 'Sides, it sure beats being some Vehicon slave or whatever. I may be broken, but I never wanna be someone's 'property' ever again."

    Cyclonus nodded. "Fair enough."

    Whirl blinked, tilting his head in confusion. "That's it? I open up my spark to you and all you can say is 'fair enough?'"

    "I imagine the others will probably have a more meaningful reaction," Cyclonus said as he turned to leave.

    Whirl shook his head as he followed the ex-Herald. "Boy, you sure are a tough nut to crack, horn-head. I guess some bots never change."

    Cyclonus stopped at the door, turning to look at the former Wrecker. "By the way," he said with the slightest hint of a smile. "It's good to have you back."

*  *  *

    "I'm sorry... for a minute there, I thought you said there was another me."

    "I'm being serious, 'Bee," Arcee said as she led Bumblebee -- the real Bumblebee -- down the hall to the Command Center. "Springer and the others ran into him on Earth. He basically lived a whole other life on Earth, without any of our knowledge."

    "But... he's not me, right?" Bumblebee asked. "He can't be. I'm me. You think he's a clone or something?"

    "We don't know yet. That's why Rodimus is putting together an Earthforce."

    "An Earthforce?"

    "The humans have agreed to let us reestablish a base on Earth to further investigate the mystery behind this second 'Bumblebee' and whatever else Onyx has been cooking up."

    "And I take it I'm coming along?" Bumblebee asked. "Will I get to meet this... other me?"

    Arcee smiled at him. "Of course. You think we'd pass up such an amazing opportunity to have two Bumblebees at once?"

    Bumblebee narrowed his optics at her. "Are you picking on me or something?"

    As they reached the Command Center, the door suddenly opened and Ratchet appeared with a grim expression on his face. Behind him were two blue and white bots whom Bumblebee recognized as the Jumpstarters.

    "Hey! Topspin, Twin Twist! You're alive!"

    "Uh, yeah," Twin Twist said awkwardly. "Not just us, either."

    Bumblebee looked confused until he noticed two other bots in the room. One was wide and green, the other white and blue with a stocky build.

    Arcee's optics went wide. "Bulkhead? Strongarm? But I thought--"

    "I need someone to fetch Rodimus," Ratchet grunted. "My processors' on the brink of malfunctioning."

*  *  *

    "Where in Primus' name are we?"

    Stockade climbed out of Tidal Wave's open viewport, coming to stand atop the dormant Decepticon as it floated across an endless ocean. There was not a single landmass to be seen for miles, leaving him to wonder if they were even still on Earth.

    Behind him, the Star Seeker known as Ferak emerged with a scanner in his hand. "By all indication, we should be halfway across the galaxy."

    "What?!" Stockade roared.

    "The weapon that was fired on us was the Transwarp Blaster; I recognize its effects from when--"

    "I don't care about that!" Stockade snapped. "Just tell me where we are!"

    Ferak looked back down at his scanner. "Aquatron, I think. I'm picking up something akin to Cybertronian signatures."

    "Any of them near us?"

    Before Ferak could answer, a large shape suddenly burst out of the water. It was shaped like a ball with tiny arms, stubby legs, and a gigantic maw filled to the brim with razor-sharp teeth.

    "Sharkticons!" Stockade cried as more of its kind began to climb onto Tidal Wave, swarming in on its crew. He succeeded in pushing back some of them but was quickly overwhelmed and pinned to the deck by the vicious creatures.

    As the general thrashed in vain, another figure entered his field of vision. The finned warrior was clad in dark brown and aqua blue, with a large violet blade in his hand. Stockade could only watch as the figure held the blade to his neck.

    "Welcome to Aquatron, trespasser," the warrior growled. "Prepare to be judged for your crimes."

*  *  *

    Far below the Earth, beneath the site where the Onyx tower had once stood, Garrison Blackrock was upset.

    Check that: "Garrison Blackrock" was in fact a useful guise that had been momentarily shed. Instead, it was Sovereign the Titan Master that was upset; rightfully so, given how everything had transpired.

    His tower had been destroyed. Scorponok was dead. All of the materials his contractors had supplied him with were gone. All in all, today had been a very, very bad day.

    "So explain to me again," he said to the figure standing over him, "why I should be satisfied with today's outcome."

    "You have the Underbase," the figure said, gesturing to the glowing artifact behind it.

    Sovereign scowled. "Yeah, half of it. The other half was cut off and is now lost in the void or whatever."

    "Well, that is unfortunate. Perhaps when Apex and the others return, you can punish them as you see fit. But your agenda is of no concern to me. Only your facilities--"

    "Yes, I know," Sovereign snapped. "Scorponok already made me painfully aware of that fact. Speaking of which...." He glanced around the cavernous chamber. "How are you going to make do without him?"

    "Oh, I believe we can manage. If nothing else, we are very resourceful when it comes to salvaging our failures."

    "Glad to hear it," Sovereign muttered. "So what now?"

    "We shall be continuing our experiments in the other locations we have established. If we require additional materials, we may come to you if we deem it beneficial. Until then, Sovereign, I bid you farewell and good luck."

    With those words, Lord Imperious Delirious vanished into the shadows. As soon as he was gone, Sovereign turned around in time to see Diac collapse onto the ground, having extorted his teleportation powers to bring Apex and his party to Earth. After shooting a glare in Apex's direction, Sovereign moved over to help Diac up, noting his new dark color scheme.

    "Where's your friend?" Sovereign asked.

    "Resting," Diac murmured. "He... he used the lab to rebuild himself. He's no longer answering to Optronix or Guiltaur; only--"

    "Scourge." Sovereign sighed. "I was afraid this would happen. If Scourge has overwritten Megatron, then he may lose the drive to help us in the next stage of our plan."

    "Why does it matter anyway?" Apex asked. "We have the Underbase--"

    "Part of the Underbase," Sovereign corrected him with a glare. "The rest of it has been lost, leaving it incomplete."

    "So how can we proceed with our plan with only part of the Underbase?" asked another Titan Master.

    Sovereign sighed as he shook his head. "I don't know. We might have to improvise. In the meantime, we can still carry out the next task on our agenda."

    Diac's face lit up. "You mean...?"

    "Yes. Trypticon is active. Necro is on the hunt now." For the first time since the day started, Sovereign smiled. "It is time for the legacy of the Primes to end."

THE POWERS THAT BE

CONCLUDED

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

--The Lost Light--

    "Gotta say, Star Seekers are easily distracted."

    "Not now, Twin Twist." Rodimus Prime leaned over Roller's shoulder and pressed a finger to the crackling comm-console. "Orion? Is that you? Can you hear me?"

    The comm burst with static before clearing up to sound a familiar voice. "--idmus? Is everything all right? We lost contact with you and the Wreckers."

    "It's a long story," Rodimus said, glancing outside. Tidal Wave was still stationary but if the Star Seekers regained control, he would soon be moving again. "Right now, we just need something that can deal with a skyscraper-sized Decepticon without causing needless destruction. Don't suppose you can help us with that?"

    Orion paused for a moment before saying, "Have you tried calling the Alchemor? It went down to Earth with you and the Xantium."

    "You mean Spacewarp and her crew?" Rodimus frowned before sighing. "Well, if nothing else...."

    Leaning back over the comm, he quickly changed channels. "Spacewarp, do you read me? Yeah, listen, we're gonna need some help...."

*  *  *

    "So, what, do we just sit here then?" Jack kicked away a stray soda can as he sat on the pavement next to Verity and Raf. "Wait for the giant robot to kill us?"

    "Where did that Scourge guy run off to?" asked Miko, looking up at a dejected Bumblebee. "Did he just, like, get crushed by the tower or something?"

    "I don't know," Bumblebee murmured, looking back to where the Onyx tower had fallen. "The others got out fine. I don't see why he would--"

    "Sari?"

    Everyone turned to see Sari staggering on her feet, moving uneasily. Jack and Raf had rushed over to her, trying to keep her steady.

    "Are you all right?" Raf asked. "What is it now?"

    "I feel...." Sari shuddered as she raised a hand to her head. "Strange."

    Verity looked over to Bumblebee. "Are you picking up any scary signals again?"

    The Autobot shook his head. "No. This must be something different. As to what, I couldn't tell you."

    "Is there anyone we could take her to?" Charlie asked. "Like a doctor or... someone who would know what's going on with her?"

    "I think I might know."

    All eyes turned to Tommy. The former Onyx worker ran a hand through his hair as he blew out his breath.

    "A while back... when I first started working at Onyx... I stumbled into a room I shouldn't have been in." Tommy cleared his throat, looking down at the ground. "I was new, so I didn't quite knew my way around. The room looked like the one I was supposed to go to, so I stepped in and...."

    He stopped before looking over to Sari. "What was your name again?"

    "Sari," she murmured, eyeing him warily. "Sari Sumdac."

    "Right. Daughter of Isaac Sumdac. And when were you born?"

    She hesitated. "March of '97."

    Tommy nodded as he looked over to the remains of the tower. "Well, what I saw had the Sumdac name... and there was a date from 1997."

    Sari shuddered. "You mean these guys have been keeping a profile on me or something?"

    Tommy shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't stay around long enough to find more; as soon as I realized I was in the wrong room, I got out of there as soon as possible. But now that I know these... robots have been involved with Onyx for some time, I feel that there must be a connection between what I saw and you're going through. And even though this Onyx place is no more, I know there are others across the world that we can investigate."

    "Great," Verity said under her breath. "Because this alone was so much damn fun--"

    "Um, guys," Raf broke in. "I see another spaceship."

    Everyone looked up in time to see another massive vessel appear in the sky. It came to hover over Tidal Wave, who had still yet to make a move. A ramp lowered, revealing a gray and purple Decepticon with large wings. Bumblebee reacted in alarm as the Decepticon brought out a large, multi-colored gun.

    "Leave it to me to save everyone's afts," Spacewarp muttered. 

    Taking aim, she pointed the gun at Tidal Wave and fired. Bumblebee and the humans all shielded their eyes as a bright light engulfed their vision....

*  *  *

    Fowler was not the kind of person to believe in luck or anything like that. However, something had to have caused a stray shot from one of the brawling bots' guns to blast off Stakeout's mode lock device, giving the police car full control of its functions again. Without wasting any time, Stakeout had sped towards the open viewport and drove out of it, plunging towards the ocean below.

    Then there was a great flash of light and Fowler could not see a doggone thing. All he knew was that Stakeout had landed in the ocean without flooding his interior and was now signaling someone for pickup.

    When his vision finally did return, Fowler saw that he and Stakeout were back on the beach, having been brought ashore by some blue boat bot who was different from the boat bot before. Tidal Wave was nowhere to be seen nor were any members of Mayhem or the Star Seekers. Instead, all Fowler had left to worry about was a good part of Santa Cruz having been left in disrepair.

    As all things went, Fowler figured that was probably the best he could have gotten from the situation. Of course, there was still the matter of having lost a Sector Seven base....

    "Boy, is this gonna take a while to explain to the Big Suits," Fowler muttered as he walked unsteadily on the sand, running a hand through his hair.

    "Tell me about it," Stakeout said, standing next to him in robot mode. "This breaks all sorts of rules in the Tyrest Accord." He then smiled at Fowler. "But hey, at least we're alive."

    Fowler smirked back. "Yeah. For now."

*  *  *

    "That was stupidly easy."

    "You're welcome, by the way," Spacewarp grunted, releasing the Transwarp Blaster as it split up into a trio of Mini-Cons, which then gathered at her feet.

    "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the last minute save," Rodimus Prime said, standing on the shore of Santa Cruz as his crew regrouped with the Wreckers and aided in the cleanup. "I just feel like... like it was a little too easy. What did that gun even do to him?"

    "Sent him halfway across the galaxy. He's still alive out there, just as far away from here as you can get."

    "That's better than nothing I suppose." Rodimus stopped as he noticed Springer walking up to him. Behind him were Roadbuster and Guzzle, who had their hold on a white and red lion bot with a face that very much resembled Optimus Prime's.

    "This is Leo Prime," Springer said. "He's the leader of Mayhem."

    "Was the leader," Leo Prime muttered. "Not much of one now that all of my followers are halfway across the galaxy."

    "Yeah, I've heard of you," Rodimus said. "You used to lead the Maximals, right?"

    Leo Prime cast his gaze to the ground. "Yes."

    "Right. Well, we're gonna have to wait until we get back to Cybertron before we can sort you out. In the meantime--"

    "There's something else," Springer said. "Someone else you should meet."

    Rodimus raised an optic ridge before seeing a small yellow Autobot standing behind the Wrecker. His optics went wide as he took in the bot's distinctive horned helmet.

    "Bumblebee? What are you...?"

    "Yeah," Springer muttered. "This is gonna take some sorting out."

*  *  *

    "There was nothing you could have done."

    Star Saber exvented heavily as he stared down at the charred remains of Getaway, his parts joining those of Scorponok. Skids stood beside his captain, mourning over his late partner.

    "Hell, I wish I could've done something instead of spending time in stasis lock." Skids sighed as he lowered his head. "Still, at least he took that spawn of a glitch with him. It still would've been nice to get some answers from him, but...."

    "I've already lost Axe and Devcon," Star Saber said quietly. "Did Rodimus ever lose three bots in as many days?"

    Skids didn't answer him. He knew it wouldn't do much good. All he could do was rest a hand on Star Saber's shoulder as the clouds parted above them to reveal the glowing moon.

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

    Cheers of victory rang throughout the bridge of the Tidal Wave as the last vestiges of the Onyx tower were engulfed in a fiery explosion. Although Fowler couldn't tell from where he and Stakeout were confined, Tidal Wave had not been the cause of that last explosion... but that didn't seem to matter to these bots.

    "Ah, it's been too long," Stockade said as he flexed triumphantly. "I had almost forgotten how good it was to win."

    Carnivac glanced at him from where he stood, watching over injured Chimeracons. "Are you certain we've won? How do we know Scorponok was caught in the blast?"

    "If he was, there was no way he could have survived it. If he wasn't, it doesn't matter now; we've destroyed his little operation." Stockade waved a dismissive hand. "Either way, we've won."

    "So now what?" asked Smolder. "Do we pick up Leo Prime and leave or--"

    "Leave?" Stockade let out a sharp laugh. "And throw away the position of power we're in? You have all seen what Tidal Wave is capable of; the humans will have no choice but to bow to us!"

    "No!" Stakeout revved his engine in protest, still locked in his car mode. "Haven't you caused enough destruction? You've already made your mission statement; there's no need to--"

    "Undertow, shut him up!" Stockade snapped. "The last thing I need is an Autobot raining on my parade."

    "He has a point."

    A deadly silence fell on the bridge as all eyes turned to Carnivac. The wolf-bot stepped up to a fuming Stockade, a defiant look in his eyes.

    "We have done everything we set out to do. Anything pass this point would have been at Leo Prime's whim and, well, he's out of the picture now." Carnivac splayed his hands. "There's nothing left for us on this planet now. It's time to move on."

    At first, Stockade said nothing, glaring at the Chimeracon through his dark visor. Smolder and the others looked between the two with a sense of unease and apprehension. Fowler wondered if any sides were going to be drawn.

    Finally, Stockade rose from his seat and stepped over to Carnivac. "You're right, my friend," the former general said softly as he rested a hand on the wolf's shoulder. "It's time to move on."

    Carnivac blinked before allowing himself to relax. A smile started to form on his face... only to be replaced with a silent howl of agony as Stockade punctured his chest with his fist, grabbing a hold of the Chimeracon's spark.

    "...from your foolish idealism," Stockade finished with a snarl as he crushed the blue orb of energy.

    Stakeout cried out his former comrade's name as Carnivac's deactivated corpse fell to the deck. Several of the Chimeracons reacted with shock, some even assuming combative positions. However, no one made a move as Stockade returned to his seat, taking command once more.

    "Tidal Wave, set your sights on the Autobot ship," the general ordered. "Let us eliminate all resistance before we proceed with our conquest."

*  *  *

    "So much for that little rescue operation," Springer muttered as he and the others emerged from the ruins of the collapsed tower, Guzzle and Roadbuster having blasted their way out. Most of the human workers seemed to have had already evacuated and Springer spotted the yellow bot that claimed to be Bumblebee parked nearby with his human allies.

    "One thing he and the real 'Bee have in common," Kup muttered, "is not bein' good at followin' orders."

    However, disobedience was currently the least of Springer's concerns. Up ahead, he could see the colossal Tidal Wave slowly turning where it stood, fixing its weapons on the inert Lost Light.

    "We have to stop that thing," he said urgently. "Star Saber, can you raise Rodimus on your comm?"

    Star Saber moved unsteadily on his feet, still shaken by what they had all deduced to be Getaway's demise. He started to raise a hand to his helmet only to stop when Tidal Wave unexpectedly froze mid-turn.

    The Autobots all exchanged looks before readying their weapons and charging towards the giant.

*  *  *

    "Get off of me!" Stockade roared as he grabbed a hold of Stampy and threw him off his back. This act was ultimately futile as he was subsequently rammed in the chest by a blue ibex.

    "You overstep your bounds, Decepticon!" Longhorn bellowed. "This is not why Leo Prime brought us together; to kill one another in a grab for power!"

    "Then you may join Prime and his dream in the Afterspark." Stockade then grabbed Longhorn by the horns and threw him into an oncoming bat Chimeracon.

    It wasn't long before everyone on the bridge was at each other's throats, just as Fowler had expected. Monstercons against Chimeracons against Decepticons... it was true to their name: Complete and utter mayhem. And with him still trapped in a mode-locked Stakeout, there was nothing Fowler could do other than watch and pray that they didn't get killed in the midst of the chaos.

    Still, at least the infighting kept them from causing any more destruction with Tidal Wave. But how long would that last?

    "Don't suppose you have an escape plan, do ya?" he muttered to the police car.

    "If I did, we would have been out of here already," Stakeout replied.

    Fowler grunted. "So what exactly's got you trapped in your car form? Is it something I can get off for you?"

    "It's a mode lock and no. Again, if it were that simple then--"

    "Hold on." Fowler leaned forward in his seat, having noticed something outside Tidal Wave's viewport. "Are those flying cars out there or am I just--"

    Before he could finish the thought, the two fliers unleashed a pair of rockets. The resulting explosion was enough to rock Tidal Wave and bring Mayhem's infighting to a stop.

    "We're under attack!" Stockade cried, releasing his hold on a purple iguana Chimeracon. "Battle stations, everyone!"

    "We are not taking orders from you!" Longhorn retorted. "We'd sooner die!"

    "Then die you shall!" With a battle cry, Stockade lunged at the Chimeracon, only for the fliers to fire again. This time they blew an opening in the bridge, allowing countless robots of identical design to pour in. Following them were bots of more unique models, all wearing the same green insignia.

    "It's one thing to take our ship," said a gray and yellow pteranodon, dropping into the room. "It's another to turn it against us."

    "We were trying to destroy the Autobots!" Stockade protested. "You could have easily gotten out of the way!"

    "And you could have easily not stolen our ship." Brimstone brandished his talons, malice gleaming in his optics. "We could be at this all day... so we'll make this quick."

    With that, the Star Seekers proceeded to swarm onto the bridge, quickly overwhelming Stockade and the Mayhemers. Fowler's only regret as his vision became a sea of robots was that he was about to die trapped in a police car....

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

    The red and black jet quickly spun to the side to avoid the advancing pteranodon. The green and orange creature cackled as it doubled back and began pursuing Windblade across the sea.

    "Nickel, iron, cobalt, chrome!" Backslash squawked. "He'll eat your soul, turn your spark to--"

    "Oh my god, shut the frell up," Windblade snapped. "Being chase by you is bad enough; do I really have to listen to you--"

    She was cut off by blaster fire arcing overhead. A pair of Dread Pirates flew in and joined Backslash in his pursuit. While Windblade struggled to shake them off, Backslash -- much to her surprise -- was swatting at the ex-Vehicons as if they were pests.

    "Back off!" he screeched. "This is my kill! I'm so sick of you guys having all the fun!"

    As the Star Seeker ranted at the drones, Windblade heard the roar of engines as a large magenta jet flew in and blasted the two Dread Pirates to pieces. Startled by Elita-One's arrival, Backslash had no time to react as Windblade flipped around and shot at him. His wings clipped, the pteranodon could only scream as he plunged towards the ocean below.

    "That's one down," Windblade commented. "Out of how many to go?"

    "Too many," Elita said wearily as she flew back towards the hordes of Star Seekers that were still swarming in on the Lost Light.

*  *  *

    "En garde, ye' filthy scrabbler!"

    Drift narrowly avoided his opponent's blade as the black and red pirate lunged at him. The two continued to parry atop the hull of the Lost Light, with neither gaining the upper-hand over the other, all while Dread Pirates continued to hail upon them.

    "Impressive!" the Star Seeker exclaimed as Drift dealt a slash to his shoulder. "Your skills are unlike any Bloodmoon has seen before. You must have been trained well."

    "Only by the best," Drift replied as he attacked in a flurry. Bloodmoon deflected all of his strikes, save for one to his leg that caught him unawares and sent him staggering to the edge of the ship.

    "Ha ha! Well played!" Bloodmoon saluted him with his blade. "Very few have ever gotten the jump on me. You should be honored."

    "I sure am," Drift said as he raised his Great Sword and readied himself to attack once more.

    Before either duelist could make a move however, a violent tremor shook the earth. Caught off-guard, Bloodmoon lost his balance and fell over the edge of the ship, only to transform to his jet mode and fly away from the ocean.

    Another quake caused Drift to turn around and see that the behemoth of a Transformer that had been standing in the sea was making its way towards the shore. Its guns were primed and directed towards the city....

    "No...." Drift quickly raised a hand to his comm. "Rodimus, that thing's--"

    "I see it, Drift," Rodimus said. "The ship still isn't moving; I don't know how we can--"

    Whatever Rodimus was about to say next was drowned out as Tidal Wave fired all of his weapons on the Onyx tower....

*  *  *

    Leo Prime cried out as he was thrown back into reality, having fallen off the slab he had been constrained to. As he picked himself off the floor, pulling out a cord from the back of his head, he looked around to see that everything was on fire. A hole had been blown through the wall, and through it he could see a massive robot marching its way towards the tower, readying its weapons for another blast.

    Shakily rising to his feet, Leo Prime caught sight of a beige arm poking out from beneath a pile of flaming wreckage. He quickly removed the rubble, revealing a bot whom he recognized as a fellow Maximal of his.

    "Apelinq," Leo Prime said as he helped the primate to his feet. "Are you all right?"

    Apelinq glared at him. "Oh, sure. Nothing like my former leader trying to kill me and then suddenly showing concern for my well being."

    Leo Prime sighed. "We can save this conversation for later. Do you know where the others are?"

    Apelinq did not answer, instead shifting his optics elsewhere. Leo Prime followed his gaze and saw that Tidal Wave's cannons were already glowing again. Without a word, Apelinq pushed his former leader out of the oncoming blast.

*  *  *

    "You know, if something's gonna rescue us for the billionth time, it might as well be in an epic explosion."

    Springer ignored Guzzle as he pushed a piece of debris off of Kup. To his relief, the Autobot veteran was already unconscious and easily got back to his feet.

    "You doing all right, old-timer?" Springer said with a smirk.

    "Course I am," Kup grunted. "What, ya think a blast like that's gonna deal me in?"

    At that moment, another explosion rocked the tower, causing more rubble to fall onto the Wreckers. Guzzle summarily blasted the debris away.

    "One of these blasts will probably deal us in if we stay any longer," Springer muttered. "Is Roadbuster back yet?"

    "I'm here."

    The others turned to see Roadbuster emerge from the flames that had engulfed the rest of the room. He carried an unconscious Skids on his shoulder while a scorched Star Saber followed him with Whirl, Topspin, and a limping Cyclonus.

    "We're still missing Getaway," Star Saber said solemnly. "I'll go back for him."

    "There's no time!" Kup exclaimed as another blast shook the tower. "This whole place is about to come down on us!"

    "I can't leave him behind!" Star Saber protested. "He's a member of my crew. I'm not leaving without him."

    "Then I'll go with you," Springer said. "The rest of you, get out of here and try to regroup with Rodimus and the others."

    Kup looked ready to object but then seemed to think better of it. He had served with Springer long enough to know there was not much use in arguing. Instead, he made a sharp motion to the others.

    "You heard him, bots. Let's move our afts."

*  *  *

    Getaway groaned as his systems booted back online. His optical sensors took a moment to focus but he could already tell from his heat readings that he was surrounded by fire.

    The next thing he registered was the fact that his legs were completely crushed by the large piece of concrete that had fallen on him. Even after he had managed to crawl himself out from beneath the rubble, he could tell he would not be standing anytime soon.

    Turning his head, Getaway saw he was still in the room where they had found the drones. Several of the Noisemazes and car-bots had been crushed or blown away while a solitary EVE drone floated around aimlessly.

    He tried to raise Skids and the others on his comm, but was greeted with a blast of static. Groaning, he ran a hand down his faceplate just as the Eve-bot spun around in alarm.

    "Scorponok, I--"

    Getaway heard metal be torn away as a massive green figure emerged from beneath the floor. Scorponok made sure strides towards the drone, oblivious to Getaway's presence.

    "This entire operation has been a failure, Blackrock," the Decepticon snarled. "You are no longer of use to me."

    "Yeah, well, I'm already gone," Blackrock retorted. "The minute that giant started making its way to shore, I bailed."

    Scorponok sneered. "Then you're more of a coward than I thought."

    Coward. That word rang in Getaway's head, even though it hadn't been directed at him. Here he was, Cybertron's greatest escape artist, with no means to escape. He was a one-trick pony fueled by fear. He had nothing left to use... save for a grenade attached to his hip.

    Suddenly, Scorponok turned to him as if finally noticing him. As the Decepticon stormed over to him, Getaway removed the bomb and primed it, his finger hovering over the detonation button.

    Time I finally stood my ground for once.

    With a vile grin, Scorponok grabbed Getaway by the head and hoisted him up. "Any last words, Autobot?" he growled. "Before I make you pay for disrupting my machinations?"

    Still holding the grenade, Getaway raised his fist and gently bumped it against Scorponok's chin.

    "Bomp."

    He then pressed the button and everything was consumed by light.

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

    "It is with great honor that I would wish to present you: His Maximum Superiority, the First Resistor, the esteemed Beast King of Eukaris... Leo Prime!"

    Cheers erupted from the crowd as Leo Prime stepped onto the stage, crimson royal robes cascading from his shoulders all the way to his feet. He stopped to gaze upon his subjects, a number of them Maximals who had served under him during the Beast Wars. Even some of his detractors were among those chanting his name.

    "Yes, no more shall we suffer from Magmatron's iron grip. Today is a new day for Eukaris. A day for peace. A day for freedom. A day...."

    Suddenly, a pair of claws grabbed onto Leo Prime's robes and tore them off. The crowd's cheers turned into gasps of shocks.

    "...for lies!"

    Leo Prime looked down at himself and his optics went wide in horror. No longer was he in his Maximal lion form but in the body he had when he was an Autobot; when he was known as Lio Convoy.

    "All this time, your valiant leader was a pretender to the throne! Rather than a true-born Eukarian, he was in fact an Autobot hidden among your ranks; molded from the same cast as the oppressive Nova Prime!"

    Boos and jeers rumbled from the masses. Even those who had once been Autobots themselves, such as Primal and Rhinox, were taunting him. As the mocking grew louder, Leo felt himself be grabbed from behind and hoisted up in the air.

    "Let the Sword of Liege Maximo fall where it may."

    With that, the disgraced Prime was thrown into the crowd... and landed onto nothing. The crowd, the stage, all of it had disappeared, leaving him in an empty white void containing only himself and the giant looming over him.

    "You know," Scorponok said as he stepped over to Leo, "one cannot help but take a step back and truly admire the irony that is here on display."

    Leo Prime clenched his fists as he slowly rose to his feet. "What irony?"

    "Here we have you: an Autobot who masquerades as a Maximal and seeks to rule over Eukaris." Scorponok gestured aimlessly into the void. "And on the other side, we have a former ruler of Eukaris who thinks he's the Autobot leader himself."

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Do you want to know why I came to Earth?" Scorponok did not wait for an answer before continuing. "Nearly two hundred years ago, I learned that a ship of Eukarians had landed on Earth around the time of its Ice Age. Which would have been... twenty thousand, two hundred thousand years ago? I forget."

    Leo Prime looked up at him in surprise. "That long ago? Our history barely covers a fraction of that time frame."

    Scorponok grinned. "Oh no, that's just where they ended up after their special cargo started acting strangely. The crew themselves hailed from more... modern times. Of course, some say Domitius Major is old enough to have served alongside Onyx Prime himself."

    "Domitius Major?" Leo Prime recognized that name as that of the first Beast King of Eukaris. "But... Magmatron killed him when he took the throne."

    "Were you there when that happened?" Scorponok asked pointedly.

    "No, but--" Leo Prime shook his head. He knew that Scorponok was trying to toy with him. "Forget it. So what did you do with the crew when you found them?"

    Scorponok chuckled. "Oh, I didn't have to do anything; Shockwave had already beaten me to the punch. I don't know how, when, or why, but I had discovered from some of his notes that he had found Domitius' crew and brainwashed them into thinking they were Autobots and Decepticons of high note. Domitius became Optimus Prime, Cyclops became Shockwave himself... and since then they've been fighting a Great War all their own, here on Earth.

    "When I first came to this world, I was only in search of a special energon ore Shockwave had seeded the planet with. But then I uncovered his other devices and that led me to something that could be of much greater use than some modified energon."

    "Go on then," Leo Prime muttered when the Decepticon fell silent. "What was it you found?"

    Scorponok laughed. "Oh, you won't be getting me to spill the beans that easily. Besides, I prefer to keep some surprises in the mystery box. But don't worry; when the world comes crashing down around you...."

    Leo Prime suddenly started to scream as his sensors were assaulted with white noise.

    "...all will become clear."

*  *  *

    No one was present outside the Onyx Tower by the time Scourge, Bumblebee and his human allies got to it. There weren't even any automated defenses to be had, which Verity thought would have been a given after having a bunch of giant robots at their doors.

    After driving to a halt, Bumblebee let out his passengers before transforming to join Scourge at the entrance. "So how do you plan on getting in?" the yellow Autobot asked.

    "One would think it would be simple enough to just blast their way in," Scourge mused aloud. "But I don't think it would be that simple. Do you?"

    Bumblebee gave him a confused look. "Um, I guess. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try."

    "Oh, it very well could. It could even be lethal. Imagine if one of our shots bounced off and hit us directly in the--"

    "Okay, we get it already!" Verity snapped. "Can you just do something already?"

    Scourge chuckled. "Feisty, that one is," he murmured to Bumblebee as he drew a large red blade from his back. It flashed with energy as he plunged it into the front of the tower, effortlessly cutting an opening for the two robots.

    As the metal wall fell away, they were greeted to the sight of over a dozen human workers, all staring at the sword-wielding Scourge in fear. One of them, a man with blond hair, looked in Bumblebee and the others' direction and his eyes went wide.

    "Charlie? Miko? What are you--"

    "Do not panic, humans!" Scourge boomed to the frightened crowd. "We are only hear to tear down your life's work. Stand aside and no harm shall come to you."

    "Scourge, wait!" Bumblebee protested. "What do you think you're doing?"

    Scourge fixed him with a weary look. "I just said, didn't I?"

    "You can't just destroy everything in sight without regard! That's not the Autobot way!"

    "Who says I'm an Autobot?"

    Bumblebee frowned. "You said--"

    "I said I was a bit of both Autobot and Decepticon," Scourge snapped. "But in truth, I am neither. I am something much, much more."

    With that, he turned on his heel and charged further into the building, sword raised high. The human workers scrambled out of the way as the black robot began trashing the room, hacking and slashing at computers and terminals.

    While his colleagues ran to safety, the blond man made a beeline for Bumblebee and the others, throwing himself into Charlie's awaiting arms. After embracing her for a moment, he stepped back to regard her and Miko.

    "You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice croaking with both fear and relief. "You should have gotten as far away from here as possible."

    "We would've been," Verity muttered. "But Herbie here wanted to go back."

    "Hey, now," Bumblebee said defensively. "I told you guys to stay put. It's not my fault--"

    He was cut off by the ground shaking. Everything stopped -- even Scourge had ceased his rampage -- as all eyes turned to the open entrance, looking in the direction of the beach.

    The ground quaked with each step the giant, skyscraper-sized Transformer took as it lumbered out of the ocean and onto dry land. As rotary cannons swiveled out from its chest, a deep booming voice reverberated from the robot in a constant chant.

    "Tidal Wave! Tidal Wave! Tidal Wave!"

    Moving quickly, Bumblebee scooped up his human companions and pulled them into him as he transformed, driving off just as the giant unloaded his artillery....

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

--The Lost Light--

    "Are we alive? Please tell me we're alive."

    "I still can't tell the floor from the ceiling, but all signs point to 'yes.'" Windblade groaned as her visual sensors constantly refocused themselves. "Also, we've landed in the ocean."

    "Yeah, I see that now," Rodimus Prime said, staring at the vast blue bay outside. He uneasily rose from his seat before moving a hand to his comm. "Ratchet? Velovity? You guys okay back there?"

    "I'm fine," Ratchet replied. "Nickel is still trying to get Velocity back up. What the hell just happened?"

    "No idea," Rodimus muttered, glancing out the viewport. "All I know is that there's a giant Decepticon standing in the ocean."

    "It's more than just him," said Windblade. "I'm seeing a bunch of other bots -- I think most of them are Star Seekers, although... wait." She leaned forward in her seat, pointing to an approaching battleship. "Out there. I think that's... Broadside?"

    "Must be some bots from Springer's team," Rodimus said. "Let's bring them aboard... then we can deal with tall, dark and handsome."

*  *  *

    "Please tell me I'm dreamin'."

    "'Fraid not," Stakeout muttered, locked in his car mode as he was carried away by a large black and gold hovercraft. "Otherwise, I would be too."

    Agent Fowler sighed as he laid his head back on the car seat. "I was gonna retire, y'know. I'd been wanting to for a while. But the Director twisted my arm and so... here I am."

    "I'm sorry you got pulled into all of this."

    Fowler snorted. "Pal, I've been roped up in this for the last three years. Your apology is very late comin'."

    "Well," Stakeout said wryly, "I've never been a very punctual bot."

    Fowler had to laugh at that. "Heh. Good one."

    Both of them fell silent as the hovercraft slowly made it to shore. Outside, Fowler could see other robots trying to swim their way; a few even needed assistance from bots with aquatic alt modes. Fowler would have found it amusing under different circumstances.

    Heck with it, he thought. It's funny now.

    "Seems to me even these guys have no idea what the hell's goin' on," he commented.

    "I think they do," Stakeout replied. "I just don't think they were prepared for it."

    "So we're still screwed?"

    "Oh, definitely. But at least we won't be screwed as according to their plan."

    Fowler considered this for a minute. "Yeah," he said with a shrug. "Guess that's better than nothing."

*  *  *

    "I won't let go, Ferak. I won't--"

    "Shut up, Tornado," the white jet growled as it circled around the looming form of Tidal Wave. "I'm trying to think."

    "The least Leo Prime could have done was give us a bit of warning!" squawked the pteranodon Brimstone, flapping his wings as he observed the non-aerial Star Seekers floating in the ocean. "Now Cannonball's dead as well as Stronghorn. Who are we supposed to follow now besides that Maximal scumbag?"

    "I call dibs!" cackled another pterosaurian Star Seeker.

    "In your Syk-fueled dreams, Backslash," Ferak muttered. "Maybe we should just find another ship and leave this rock."

    Brimstone gave him a questioning look. "And just where are we going to find another ship?"

    "There's one." Tornado pointed to a large white spacecraft floating in the waters. "We can just take that one."

    "It's probably filled with Autobots," Ferak said.

    "Well...." Brimstone eyed the numerous Dread Pirates swarming around nearby. "We have the numbers."

    "And the guns," Tornado added.

    "And the bloodlust!" shrilled Backslash.

    "All right, fine." Ferak would have smirked were he in robot mode. "You've twisted my arm."

*  *  *

    "Thanks for the pickup," Broadside said as he, Arcee and Twin Twist were brought onto the bridge of the Lost Light. "Now I hope you guys have a plan for dealing with that behemoth."

    "Believe me, we're working on that bit," Rodimus replied. "We still haven't heard back from Star Saber and his team. They went to that Onyx tower."

    "I'm still trying to get a hold of Springer and the others," said Twin Twist. "All I know is that my bro's still alive."

    "How do you know that?" asked Arcee.

    Twin Twist waved off the question. "I just do. So how about we call in Fort Max from space? I'm sure he can just sit on that guy and be done with it."

    "That would cause needless destruction," said Elita-One. "Besides, our comms are still scrambled from that frequency. It'll be a while before we can get a signal to the others."

    "Too bad," Windblade said. "Because it sure looks like we're going to need the extra help."

    The others all turned to face the viewport and were greeted with the sight of several dozen Star Seekers making their way towards the Lost Light... and none of them looked like they were coming in peace.

    "Aw, come on!" Rodimus exclaimed. "We had nothing to do with them losing their ship!"

    "I think they're coming to take our ship," Elita said. "Do we have any weapons systems we can bring online?"

    Before Windblade could respond, a number of aerial Dread Pirates shot towards the Lost Light and began firing upon the ship; some of them even began dropping others onto the top hull.

    "Looks like we'll have to serve as the weapons systems," Rodimus said over the thrum of gunfire. "Elita, you, Windblade and Drift go out with the Wreckers. I'll call up Chromedome and Brainstorm to see if they can get us moving again."

    "And maybe try calling Fort Max again?" Twin Twist suggested. "'Cos I really think we could use him right now."

    "We'll see," Rodimus replied as blaster fire scratched the viewport. "Now get out there and wreck them."

*  *  *

    "Leo Prime? This is Stockade. We've made it to shore. Are you and the others at the tower?"

    Nothing but silence came from Stockade's comm. The former general growled as he stomped his foot on the sand, startling some of the other Mayhem members.

    "Something isn't right here. No one warned us about the signal beforehand. There's no sign of any of the Chimeracons or Monstercons... just what exactly is going on here?"

    "I'll tell you what's going on."

    Stockade and the others turned to see a gray wolf limping up to them, patches of his fur missing to expose metal and circuitry.

    "Complete and utter mayhem."

    "Carnivac," Stockade growled. "What happened to you? Where are Prime and the others?"

    "The Wreckers attacked," Carnivac replied. "Leo Prime lost it. Steel Jaw sent out the frequency against orders. All of them were captured by Scorponok."

    "Scorponok?! What's he doing here on Earth?"

    "I don't know." Carnivac looked towards the Onyx tower. "But whatever he's planning... it's sure to throw a spanner into our plans."

    "Then let's tear it all down!" bellowed a gray and green bulldozer. "It's us against one! He doesn't stand a chance!"

    Carnivac shook his head. "Scorponok is a one-bot-army, Steamhammer. He would just tear us to shreds."

    "Not if we use what we've already got," Smolder said, gesturing to the stationary Tidal Wave.

    "You can't be serious," Carnivac growled. "If we use him now, when Prime hasn't even established operations, it'll screw everything up!'

    "It's a bit late for that now, I'm afraid," Stockade said. "We are at a point of no return. The plan is as good as dead."

    The former general turned to the dormant Tidal Wave, a newfound spark of determination in his posture.

    "Now... let there be chaos."

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia IV, Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

--152 years ago (Cycle 9664)--

    "Is he back yet?"

    "Nope." The green and white Decepticon soldier -- Wingspan, Sixshot believed his name was -- barely even glanced at his monitor before leaning back in his seat, a bored look on his face. "Nothing but radio silence. Same it's been for a while now."

    Sixshot growled in frustration. "What is he even doing down there? What could possibly on that rock that would take up his time for nearly three deca-cycles while leaving us sitting in the dark?"

    Of course, Sixshot already knew part of the answer to that question, even though the others didn't. Even so, he couldn't fathom how Scorponok could be taking so long to get back to them, regardless of whatever he had discovered.

    "Do you think he's dead?" asked Snapdragon. "Maybe we could just leave him here."

    "And risk him coming back to rip our heads off?" retorted his fellow Horrorcon Apeface. "Nuh-uh. I've seen him in the gladiator pits before. Guy's ruthless as all hell."

    Sixshot was silent as he contemplated their options. On the one hand, his first instinct was to just take the Semper Tyrannis back to New Kaon and tell Megatron that Scorponok had perished. He doubt Megatron would care enough to investigate the claims and no one would be the wiser.

    But on the other hand, there was nothing Sixshot hated more than underhanded stunts and tactics. True, he was a Decepticon, who were known for such feats. But he was also an adherent to the Six Clan's code of honor... regardless of his own expulsion. If Scorponok was indeed dead, he was going to make sure of it himself, even if it meant sealing his own fate.

    Finally, after a moment's consideration, Sixshot turned to Weirdwolf, who still sat at the ship's controls. "I'm leaving things to you, Weirdwolf. Take the Semper Tyrannis back to New Kaon as soon as I'm gone."

    "Wait, what?" Weirdwolf looked baffled as he turned to the Six Changer. "Where are you--"

    "If Megatron or anyone asks, I turned against Scorponok and we both perished in combat." Sixshot did not once look back as he stormed off the bridge. "Those are my final orders to you. See to it that you follow it to the letter."

    If there was one thing about being a Decepticon, it was that he had full faith they would do just that.

--Now--

    "I really hope you have a plan to fix this."

    Garrison Blackrock could hear the giant robot turn around, feeling its baleful gaze on him. 

    "And why, pray tell, am I the one expected to handle our current situation?" the machine growled.

    "Because you're the giant robot and not me." Blackrock gestured at the titanic figure standing in the middle of Monterey Bay. "I would think this would be your expertise."

    Scorponok stormed over to Blackrock, anger etched onto his face. "Understand this, Blackrock: our alliance is merely one of convenience. You provide me with the supplies I need, and I help you facilitate your own scheme. Nowhere in our agreement am I obligated to solve all of your problems."

    "How is this my problem?" Blackrock snapped, whirling on the Decepticon. "I have nothing to do with these guys. I--"

    "They were clearly after your technology. Whether or not they have some personal vendetta against you is not my concern. My concern is in the Autobots uncovering my operations."

    Blackrock looked back out the window. "Well, their ship landed in the ocean near where that thing is. Maybe it'll preoccupy itself with them and give us time to think of something."

    "I hope so, Blackrock, for your sake," Scorponok said. "Failure is an option few can afford with their lives."

*  *  *

    "Sari? You okay?"

    Sari groaned as she came back to consciousness. Her head still felt like it was made of bricks and her ears were still ringing, but she could at least make out Jack and the others standing over her in concern.

    "What happened?" she muttered.

    "We crashed and you started screaming," said Miko. "You were clutching your ears and... freaking out."

    "Crashed?" Sari looked over to see Charlie standing near a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, frantically checking its engine. "But isn't... can't these robots drive themselves?"

    "They can and they usually do," said Verity. "I don't know what's gotten into Bumblebee here... though I still don't think he's actually--"

    Suddenly, the car began to transform, causing Charlie to jump back. After reshaping into his robot mode, Bumblebee collapsed onto the ground and rubbed his head, an act which Sari realized she was mimicking.

    "'Bee?" Charlie stepped towards the yellow Autobot. "Are you okay?"

    "I've been better," he replied.

    "What happened back there? You just started swerving around and...."

    "I got hit with some sort of frequency," Bumblebee explained. "It was really loud and scrambled all of my sensors."

    "That's what I heard too," Sari said, sitting up. "It was like a huge blast of... of white noise or something."

    Bumblebee frowned at her. "You heard it too? But...."

    "We didn't hear it," Jack said. Raf and Miko shook their heads as well. Verity quirked an eyebrow as she looked between Sari and Bumblebee.

    "Call me crazy, but I can't be the only one who thinks there's a connection here."

    Bumblebee rose to his feet. "In any case, we need to go back."

    "Are you crazy?" Miko exclaimed. "Those giant robots nearly killed us!"

    "Sorry, let me correct myself: I need to go back." Bumblebee pointed to the six humans. "You guys need to stay here, where it should -- hopefully -- be safe. I need to get to the bottom of this."

    "'Bee, no," Charlie protested. "You can't go back there alone! Those... those monsters nearly tore you apart."

    "Only because they had a head start." Bumblebee allowed a brief smile to pass over his face before kneeling down in front of his human companion. "Charlie, I know this'll be hard to take in -- believe me, this'll pain me as much as it will you -- but... this very well may be goodbye."

    "'Bee... you don't have to do this."

    "I do. As an Autobot and your guardian... I must stop these Decepticons once and for all."

    "But there are already other Autobots here. Can't you just let them--"

    Bumblebee shook his head. "It is my duty to help them. Even if they're not comrades I'm familiar with, they are nonetheless my comrades."

    Charlie opened her mouth to protest again but stopped as she saw a black semi truck with red-tinted windows appear from around the corner. Seeing the vehicle as well, Bumblebee changed back just as the truck rolled to a halt. Sari and the others quickly realized no driver sat in the vehicle's seats.

    "Well, well," the truck rumbled. "This is interesting."

    Bumblebee flashed his headlights at the mysterious vehicle. "Who are you?"

    "No need to get hostile. I come in peace."

    "Are you an Autobot or a Decepticon?"

    "It's funny you ask that," the truck said as it started to transform. Its rear extended out to form legs while its elongated cab split into shoulders and arms. As the resulting robot stood to its full height, Bumblebee converted into his own robot mode.

    "Optimus...?" he murmured.

    The black bot chuckled. "As you can see, I'm a bit of both... and as far as names go, you can call me Scourge."

    "What do you want from us?" Charlie asked.

    "Well, I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation." Scourge's red optics gleamed with mischief. "I take it there's a certain tower you need help breaking into...?"

THE POWERS THAT BE

Part 4: Open Circle

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia III, Chapter Nine

EDITED 8/20/2019 Replaced Overbite with Hellscream (forgot I had already had with the G1 Seacons)

CHAPTER NINE

    "I think that's the last of 'em," said Topspin as he shot down the final EVE drone, freeing the Lost Light from any harassment. "Let's rejoin Springer and the others. Looks like they could use our help."

    Cyclonus circled around to follow the Jumpstarter only to notice a familiar blue shape flying out from the Lost Light.

    "Rotorbolt?" he said tentatively as he approached the blue helicopter. "Are you--"

    "It's Whirl, horn-head," the helicopter shot back. "Now shut it; there's wreckin' to be done."

    Were it in his nature, Cyclonus would have smiled as he flew alongside Whirl and followed Topspin to the ground below.

*  *  *

    "Enough of this!" Leo Prime roared as he struck Springer in the face with the hilt of his sword. "This was amusing at first, but we've already wasted enough time as is. Stand aside and no further harm will come to you or your friends."

    "I guess you're not as familiar with our exploits as you claim," Springer grunted, swinging his blade at the lion. "Otherwise, you'd know that Wreckers never stand aside."

    Leo Prime deflected the blade with his own. "Well, then... I guess you leave me no choice but to--"

    "Prime!" Carnivac cried out. "Fliers inbound!"

    The leader of Mayhem looked up to see a trio of flying vehicles advancing towards the ground. Before Leo Prime could give out an order, the three fliers opened fire and began taking out Monstercons and Chimeracons alike.

    "Fall back!" Carnivac howled, already prancing away.

    "No!" Leo Prime bellowed, grabbing the wing of a Crowcon that had been about to take off. "We didn't come all this way just to give up now! Stand and fight!"

    "It's a lost cause, Prime!" Carnivac snarled. "We weren't prepared for any of this! We'll have to regroup and try again another time!"

    "No," Leo Prime said, his voice dangerously soft. "There is no other time." He reached behind his back and drew a large red gun, aiming it at Carnivac. "The time is now."

    The wolf's eyes went wide. "What? No! Don't--"

    Leo Prime fired his gun but a surprise attack from behind by Springer set his aim askew. The blast missed Carnivac but created an explosion that sent the wolf flying. Leo Prime snarled as he spun back around to face Springer.

    "You're going to regret that, Wrecker."

    "Make me," Springer said as he plunged his sword into the lion-bot's shoulder.

    Leo Prime cried out in agony as he staggered back, dropping both of his weapons. All around him, the remaining Monstercons and Chimeracons were beginning to retreat, some of them going after Carnivac. Too weak to stop any of them, Leo Prime could only fall to his knees as the Wreckers closed in on him.

    "Can I kill him?" Guzzle asked. "Please? I wanna crush his head. Pretty please?"

    "Not now, Guzzle." Springer held out a hand to Kup. "Stasis cuffs."

    "Wait!" Roadbuster called out, pointing upwards. "One of 'ems climbing the building!"

    Springer and the others all looked up to see a blue-gray wolf-bot scaling the Onyx Tower, already nearing the top.

    "Steel Jaw?" Leo Prime murmured. "No... you fragging idiot...."

    "Someone shoot him down!" Springer ordered. "Without damaging the tower!"

    "Aww," Guzzle whined. "And I was just getting ready."

    Roadbuster began taking aim with his rifle while Cyclonus and the other fliers began circling around the building. Steel Jaw was undeterred by all this as he reached the top of the tower, where a radar dish was situated.

    "As always," the wolf Monstercon proclaimed as he produced the two Onyx devices Mayhem had procured. "It's up to me to get things done."

    "Steel Jaw, don't be a fool!" Leo Prime cried out. "You don't know what you're doing!"

    "I've been working with sub-sonic machinery since before you were forged, kitty-cat," Steel Jaw snarled. He tore open the dish's control panel before hooking up the two devices into it. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

    Leo Prime was about to retort when the radar suddenly released a high-pitched frequency. The Wreckers all cried out in agony, with the three fliers losing control and crashing to the ground. In the sky above, the Lost Light began to veer as well, plummeting towards the ocean below....

*  *  *

    "Gah!" Twin Twist let go of his drill, letting his Sharkticon victim fall into the sea with it, and clamped his hands over his audio sensors. "What the frag-- argh!"

    Next to him, Arcee was reacting the same way while Broadside spun out of control. With Ragebyte dead and Hellscream lost to the waves, Hammerstrike was left the only bot standing on the battleship.

    That's strange, she thought to herself, looking back towards the shore where the Onyx Tower was emitting the long-awaited signal. She hadn't expected it to come so soon, and without any word of warning from Leo Prime. Still, her Chimeracon body was made to be immune to the signal, leaving her unaffected unlike the Autobots.

    With a shrug, she transformed to her shark form and jumped back into the sea, just as the Tidal Wave began to shift....

*  *  *

    "Abandon ship! All hands, abandon ship! All haghk!"

    Stronghorn sputtered out fluids as Cannonball dug his blades into his neck before separating his head from his body. Letting his former first mate's corpse fall to the deck, Cannonball resumed stalking around the bridge as all around him his crew jumped out of the morphing ship.

    "We had a deal," he muttered to himself, throwing his body into the command chair. "You said you would alert us."

    He stared out the viewport, noticing how the ground was growing further and further away. Behind and on either side of him, the room began to close in on him, the walls threatening to crush him. He did nothing to try and stop them. It was already over. The reign of Cannonball the Fifth had come to an end.

    Still, as deaths went, it certainly beat being mutinied or falling into a lava pit.

    As he gazed at the world one last time, he said: "For hate's sake, I with my last breath spit and curse thy name, Leo Pr--"

    The walls did not wait for him to finish as they came together and crushed his body.

*  *  *

    Leo Prime stood amidst the screaming Wreckers as he watched the Tidal Wave stand up on its legs for the first time in nearly two thousand years. The infamous Decepticon giant had been mode-locked in the final days of the First Great War and appropriated by the Star Seekers as their flagship.

    Now Tidal Wave stood on the shores of Santa Cruz, poised to wreak havoc once more.

    "Why the long face, Prime?" Steel Jaw asked, suddenly appearing at his side. "I thought this was what you wanted."

    "Not like this," Leo Prime growled, clutching his shoulder wound. "He was supposed to come in later, after we had broadcast our message."

    Steel Jaw waved a dismissive claw. "Who has time for preamble? We are called 'Mayhem' for a reason, Prime. This is what we do, and we're good at it."

    A large shadow fell over the both of them. "You're also good at ruining everything."

    Leo Prime turned in time to see a large purple claw fall onto Steel Jaw, smashing him into the ground. At the same time, another claw grabbed Leo Prime by the waist and the Mayhem leader was turned around to see the face of his nightmares.

    "You made this mess," Scorponok said to him with a ravenous grin. "Now, you're going to help me clean it up."

TO BE CONTINUED