CHAPTER SEVEN
--The Lost Light--
"Do I want to know why there are a hundred dozen EVEs attacking the Lost Light?" Skids asked as he stepped onto the bridge.
"Your guess is as good as mine!" Rodimus Prime called from the front of the ship. "Cyclonus and Topspin are providing cover for us, but I don't think we'll be able to shake them off enough to get to Springer and the others."
Skids stared out the viewport at the swarm of white robots closing in on the ship, firing blue lasers this way and that. Up ahead, he could see the tower they were coming out of... and that the opening they had emerged from was still open, giving him an idea.
"What if you let some of us off first?" Skids asked. "Maybe get away and I could sneak into the tower through that opening."
Rodimus shook his head. "There're too many Eves between us and the tower. The Lost Light would take quite a beating from that."
"What if someone flew us in? Like Star Saber; you're big enough in jet mode, aren't you?"
Star Saber gave him a look. "Are you really ordering your captain around?"
Skids waved his hands defensively. "I was just laying out all of our options. You don't have to--"
"Relax. I think it's a sound plan." Star Saber turned to Rodimus. "Think you can distract these drones while I give Skids and Getaway a lift?"
"Hey, you're the captain," Rodimus said. "I'll do whatever you need of me."
"I can't tell if that was sincere or not," Skids muttered to himself.
--The Tidal Wave--
"That's them. Those are the Wreckers."
"I know who they are, Ferak," Leo Prime growled, staring at the monitor as he watched the Wreckers combat Carnivac and the rest of Mayhem near the Onyx Tower. "This complicates things."
"Understatement of the cycle," grunted Cannonball, leader of the Star Seekers and former captain of the Tidal Wave. "We've also got three of them en route to our position; one of them happens to be Broadside."
"I trust that your Star Seekers will be more than enough to handle them?" Leo Prime asked.
"If by that you mean being used for cannon fodder, then sure," Cannonball said tersely. "Not like I have any say in the matter."
"Excellent." Leo Prime turned to leave. "Dispatch as many of your crew as you can and get rid of them before they can spoil our plans any further."
"And where do you think you're going?" Cannonball called after him.
"To take matters into my own hands."
--Onyx--
Springer winced as he heard the agonized screams of a Skunkticon, which Guzzle was tearing apart. He had no time reprimand his teammate as he wrestled with a silver-plated, canine-themed Monstercon. Behind his opponent, he could also see Kup tangling with a rhino-based 'Con while Roadbuster shot at a number of Carnivac's Chimeracons.
So far, it was a typical fight for the Wreckers.
"Any luck yet, Apelinq?" Springer called out as he continued to push himself against Silverhound's weight.
"Slow going," the Maximal replied, alternating between hacking into Onyx's main entrance console and shooting at Monstercons with his interface toolkit. "I should have it within the next twenty minutes."
"We don't have that kind of time, lad!" Kup cried as he took out Transit's left optic, eliciting a raged roar. "Can't you make things go faster?"
"Hey, nobody's perfect!" Apelinq shot back.
"When you're a Wrecker, sometimes you've gotta be." With all of his might, Springer pushed Silverhound off of him before drawing his gun and shooting the Monstercon in the face, bringing the canine down. "Roadbuster, see if you can help him with the door. Kup, once you're done--"
"Way ahead of ya, kid," the veteran Autobot said as he shoved a gun into Transit's empty socket and fired. The Monstercon's head exploded in a blast of fire and Kup quickly jumped off his falling body before rolling over to Springer. "What do ya need?"
"I need you to find Carnivac and take him out." Springer scanned the battlefield for the wolf in question. "I've read up on his file before; I know he has the ability to disable bots with a single howl. If we take him out, then--"
"Behind you!" Kup suddenly belted out, raising his gun.
Springer turned around in time to see a great white lion stalking towards them, flanked by a gray wolf that was no doubt Carnivac himself. The lion released a deafening roar and as one the Monstercons ceased fighting, turning attentively to the feline.
"Guess we've found their ringleader," Kup muttered, keeping his gun trained on the lion.
"Well met, Wreckers," the large feline spoke to the Autobots. "I must say, it is quite an honor to meet you personally. I've long heard of your exploits but never gotten to--"
"Skip the pleasantries," Springer snapped. "Who are you and what is your business here on Earth?"
The lion converted into a robot with more than a passing resemblance to a certain Autobot leader. "My name is Leo Prime. Our business here is simple: To cause mayhem and tear down the system you and the Decepticons have built... and replace it with our own."
"Anarchy, in other words," Kup said. "Why Earth then? Cybertron too tough a target for you?"
"It is next on the agenda. But seeing as how... vulnerable the natives of this world are, I see it as a far more suitable foundation for our movement, with plenty of resources to be had and no one to challenge us for it."
"What about this tower then?" Springer asked. "What is it you want with it?"
"It house some of the most advanced technology this world has ever known," Leo Prime replied. "Like I said: plenty of resources."
"Wait a nanosec." Kup stepped forward. "I recognize you. You were in the Convoy Corps, during the Destructon campaign. Lio Convoy, wasn't it?"
Leo Prime fixed the veteran Autobot with a withering glare. "It's been a long time since I've gone by that name. I am so much more now."
"Yeah, and none of it's good," Springer remarked. "So how are we going to settle this? With a bloodbath or with--"
He was cut off by Guzzle letting out an oil-curdling scream as he charged towards Leo Prime. A single howl from Carnivac was all it took to knock the large Autobot down, causing the ground to shake.
"Well then," Leo Prime said as he unsheathed a large sword. "I suppose that answers that."
* * *
As they had hoped, the Lost Light had been able to draw the attention of the EVE drones away long enough for Star Saber to fly into the Onyx Tower without trouble. Once inside, he let off Skids and Getaway before transforming to robot mode and brandishing his sword.
"Right then," he said, looking around the darkened room. "Where do we start?"
"Okay, first off: Am I the only one who finds it strange this room is large enough to fit Cybertronians?" Getaway asked. "I mean, I'm no expert, but humans don't need rooms this big, do they?"
Not seeing a light switch nearby, Skids turned on the headlights on his chest to illuminate the room at least somewhat. Right away he was greeted with a row of dormant EVE units, all lined up and ready to be deployed.
"I didn't think we were this close to the future," Skids mused aloud. "Guess this is where all those Earth robots came from...."
"Never mind," he heard Getaway say. "I just answered my own question."
Skids and Star Saber turned around to see what he had discovered. Standing in single-file rows much like the Eves were countless Transformers of the same car model in various colors.
"These must be the Machination drones Optimus and his crew dealt with on this planet," Skids noted. "I remember Trailbreaker regaling a story about them, and these match the descriptions he gave."
"Okay," Getaway said. "And wasn't Scorponok the mastermind behind that little fiasco?"
"Yeah, he was." Skids' expression darkened. "Does that mean Scorponok created EVE?"
"I have no frikkin' clue. Point is: this is not what I would categorize under 'Good.'"
"Guys," Star Saber murmured. "I think we have company."
Skids and Getaway both looked at him just as the lights of the room turned on, revealing over a dozen silver Noisemaze-type Terrorbots surrounding them.
"And another to the 'Bad Day' folder," Getaway muttered.
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