Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XI, Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

--Cybertron, during the age of Nova Prime--

    The sound of his communicator pinging interrupted Rung from the process of packing his belongings. Returning his spectacles to his face, he carefully navigated through his office to reach his desk, where the green light continued to flash. A quick glance at the console informed him who the call was from and he hastily answered it. He barely had time to straighten himself when the holographic image of a gold and teal bot materialized before him.

    “Rung of the Pious Pools,” said Levitacus of the High Council. “I hope I am not interrupting anything.”

    “Of course not, Councilor,” Rung said respectfully. “How may I be of service to you?”

    Levitacus regarded Rung carefully as he answered the therapist. “It has come to my attention that you have been added to the roster of Nova Prime’s forthcoming expedition.”

    “Indeed,” Rung replied. “I am truly honored to be a part of such a pivotal endeavor.”

    “I’m sure you are.” Levitacus did not at all sound as if he was sharing Rung’s enthusiasm. 
"Unfortunately, I’m afraid the High Council has been forced to make some... last minute changes to the Prime’s roster.”

    Rung frowned. “I... was not aware the Council had that kind of power.”

    “It does if the Prime allows for it,” Levitacus said coolly. “Anyway, I regret to inform you that you have been recalled from the roster.”

    “Recalled?” Rung could feel his enthusiasm deflate like a balloon.

    “Yes. Your skills as a psychotherapist are far too valued for us to afford losing you to whatever dangers the Ark may encounter along its voyage. Nova Prime himself agreed with our assessment and has already chosen a replacement for you.”

    Replacement. That word stung more than Rung thought it would, even though the Councilor had already told him that he was valued. Doing his best not to let his disappointment show, Rung nodded curtly to the Councilor.

    “I understand. In that case, please inform Nova Prime that I send him and his crew my best regards.”

    “Of course,” Levitacus said. “I will let him know right away. Farewell.”

    With that, the Councilor’s hologram faded away and Rung was once again left alone in his office. His gaze momentarily roved over to his half-packed items; just as he was about to return to them, another light flashed on his desk. Without looking at the identification, he answered it and the image of a black and gray bot appeared before him.

    “Hey, Rung, it’s Tailpipe. I was wondering if you’d be available next solar cycle for a quick meetup.”

   Putting on a cheerful face, Rung replied, “Of course, Tailpipe. I should be free then.”

    “Excellent.” Tailpipe was practically beaming, almost to the point of being giddy. “I have great news to share with you. You’re not going to believe what I just found out today.”

    Rung had a feeling he already knew what the news was, yet he couldn’t help but find his friend’s excitement contagious as he smiled. “I can hardly imagine....”

--Metroplex, Earth--

    “How is he?”

    Ratchet grimaced as he continued his repairs on the severely-injured Bumblebee. His entire body was covered by a repair harness while a metal clamp covered his face. The yellow bot was currently in stasis lock and it would not be long before he would have to be placed in a CR chamber in order to properly recover.

    “He’ll live, if barely,” Ratchet grunted. “Same with Grimlock, though he’s less worse off. I don’t know what it is Scorponok did to him, but it didn’t do much more than scramble some of his systems. Like a forced stasis lock, if anything.”

    Elita gave a single nod as she leaned against the doorframe to the medical lab. Odds were that this would be one of the few pieces of good news she was going to get. “What about Thunderclash and the others?”

    “Velocity’s taking care of them. Being merged with Dire Wraiths didn’t do much good to their systems, but it’s nothing a trip to the CR chamber won’t fix.” Ratchet fell silent for a moment before saying in a low tone, “You’re going to ask me about the dead, aren’t you?”

    “I don’t need an exact number,” Elita said quietly. “Just... an overall estimate.”

    “I don’t have even that for you,” Ratchet muttered. “They’re still scouring the ship for bodies. But so far, the total has come up to at least twenty.”

    Elita considered this to be a remarkably low number when it came to the Destructons, but she decided not to bring up this fact. Instead, all she could think of was how Star Saber was handling this; she hadn’t seen him since they had returned to Earth. She could only hope that he wasn’t taking these losses too hard....

    “Thank you for your hard work, Ratchet,” she said as she turned to leave. “Do what you can for Bumblebee and Grimlock.”

    “Of course, I will,” Ratchet replied, sighing softly. “I only hope it’ll be good enough.”

    “It will.” Elita wasn’t sure if she believed her own words; nonetheless, she left the conversation at that as she departed from the medbay.

--Wheeljack’s Lab--

    “Please tell me you can fix it.”

    “What do you think I’m trying to do?” Brainstorm snapped as he fiddled with the teleportation gauntlet, which had burnt itself out upon bringing Rung back to the Lost Light. He immediately regretted his harsh tone when he saw Nautica’s face fall; he knew that she was just as worried for Skids as he was. After calming himself, he said in a softer tone, “I might have to bring this to Star Saber. He might know how his trigger thing works better than I do.”

    “Even if we do fix it, will we still have enough time to rescue him?” asked Anode, sitting with Lug atop one of the work tables in the lab. “For all we know, Tyrest and his folks could have already killed him by now.”

    “We can’t afford to think about that right now,” Nautica said firmly. “Doing so would deprive us of any chance of rescuing Skids, no matter how astronomical. We’re Autobots; we don’t ever give up.”

    “Except for when we have to,” Brainstorm commented. He ignored the glare Nautica was giving him as he shifted his attention to Perceptor, who was working with Wheeljack. “Hey, Percy, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Rung anywhere, have you?”

    “Can’t say I have,” Perceptor murmured back, focused on whatever it was Wheeljack was showing him on his computer screen. The schematics on the screen reminded Brainstorm of similar schemes he had drawn up with his Nebulan partner Arcana during their efforts to reinvent the Headmaster process. Tempted as he was to join in on their conversation, Brainstorm forced himself to return to what he considered a higher priority.

    “All right,” he said as he rose from his work table. “I’m gonna go look for Star Saber. And maybe Rung, too.”

    “Wait,” Nautica stopped him. “What about Apelinq?”

    “What about Apelinq?” Brainstorm replied.

    “I think he might know something about quantum mechanics, or at least related fields. I saw him heading down to Metroplex’s space bridge chamber with Springer.”

    Brainstorm considered this for a moment before shrugging. “I guess I could start with him; at least I know where to find him.”

    With that, he departed from the lab and headed in the direction of the Titan’s space bridge. He walked at a pace that was faster than normal for him; all he could think of was what Anode had been saying about Skids potentially being in danger with every passing minute. What if she was right; what if Skids was already dead? What if Tyrest and his goons had already converted him into a Dire Wraith or whatever? What if everything he was doing right now was for naught?

    Lost in these kinds of thoughts, Brainstorm nearly tripped over himself when he finally reached the space bridge chamber. This caught the attention of Springer and Apelinq, who were standing at the controls to the space bridge itself along with Bulkhead. Upon seeing the scientist, Springer frowned.

    “Can this wait? We’re kind of busy.”

    “No, it can’t,” Brainstorm said firmly. “I need Apelinq for a minute. Or several.”

    The Maximal in question looked up at him with a weary expression. “What is it now?”

    “We need to get Skids back from Tyrest’s ship,” Brainstorm informed him as he handed over the gauntlet. “This is what we used to get him there and he used it again to bring Rung back, but it burnt out and left him behind. Think you can help me patch it back up?”

    Apelinq scratched his head as he took the device, looking at it closely. Meanwhile, Springer crossed his arms as he glanced at Brainstorm.

    “Do you have a plan on how you’re going to rescue him?”

    “That part can come later,” Brainstorm replied. “Right now, I just need to make sure we’ll have the means to actually get to him.”

    “Uh-huh,” Springer grunted. “Listen, I understand you’re anxious to save your friend – I’m in your spot right now. But unless you have a sound plan, then I don’t think—”

    “Uh, guys?” Bulkhead spoke up from the space bridge’s console. “I think another terminal just synced up with ours.”

    Both Springer and Apelinq looked at him in surprise. “Is it from another Titan?” the former asked.

    “I don’t know, I would have to—ahh!” Bulkhead let out a cry as a blue portal suddenly materialized within the space bridge’s prongs. Six figures began to emerge from the ether, moving quickly towards the other end. Springer immediately drew his weapons, ready for anything.

    The first to emerge from the portal was Punch, carrying an injured green Decepticon flier in his arms. A surprised Springer quickly moved out of the way as the yellow and blue Autobot ran past him. Close behind him was the mustard-colored clone of Optimus Prime known as Toxitron, who had a blue rat-bot sitting on his shoulders with guns drawn. Last to emerge was Sandstorm, who was shooting his gun at something on the other side of the portal, and Impactor, who pushed the former out of the way before firing his harpoon at the control panel. Bulkhead dodged the harpoon just in time as it pierced into the console.

    In quick succession, the control panel shorted out and the space bridge portal began to dissolve, dissipating just as Springer and the others caught sight of other figures rushing in from the other end. Once the portal was gone, Impactor collapsed onto the floor, clutching a gash in his side as he groaned in pain.

    “I swear I’m getting too old for this,” he grunted to himself.

    Springer stepped over to him, crossing his arms as he looked down at his predecessor. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, old timer.”

    “Thanks for the reminder, kid,” Impactor muttered. “Do you want me to start before or after I was brought back from the dead?”

    Springer said nothing as he offered Impactor his hand. The veteran Wrecker glanced at the hand in surprise before accepting and allowing Springer to pull him to his feet. Meanwhile, Packrat hopped down from Toxitron’s shoulder and walked over to Apelinq, pulling his fellow Maximal into a hug.

    “Well, if it ain’t my favorite poop-slinging monkey! How’ve you been, tech head?”

    “Please don’t touch me,” Apelinq muttered as he pushed Packrat away. “You smell awful.”

    Packrat laughed. “That makes two of us then, eh, Toxitron?”

    The Optimus clone simply grunted in response.

    “We don’t have time for this,” Impactor said sharply. “Who’s in charge here?”

    “I am, along with Elita-One and Star Saber,” Springer replied. “Why? What’s happened?”

    “It’s not what’s happened but what’s happening right now,” Impactor replied. “We need to get to Cybertron asap; I’m not one for exaggeration, so believe me when I say that the entire universe is in danger.”

    “Again?” Brainstorm murmured in exasperation.

    Impactor gave him a sidelong glance before giving Springer a questioning look. The younger Wrecker shrugged at him.

    “We’ve been through quite a lot since you were sent to Garrus-9. I can understand how it might be a bit much for someone who isn’t used to this kind of stuff.”

    Impactor nodded stiffly. “I see. The universe is still in danger, though.”

    “Don’t worry, I believe you,” Springer said, already turning to head out of the chamber. “Just wanted to make sure we had things put in perspective.”

--Tyrest’s Worldsweeper--

    As the planet of Arduria became no more than a blip amongst the sea of stars, Tyrest shifted his weight uncomfortably in the command chair of his vessel, eliciting an annoyed grunt from Flame as he tried to patch the wound in the Chief Justice’s midsection.

    “If you keep moving like that, I’m never going to finish this,” Flame muttered.

    “You should have been finished hours ago,” Tyrest growled back.

    “Maybe if you had let me take you to my lab, I could have been. Besides, your armor plating is some of the oldest I’ve ever seen. Have you never changed your body since you were forged?”

    “Why would I want to alter that which Primus has given me?” Tyrest retorted, scowling at the ex-Autobot. “Of course, I shouldn’t expect a bot of your origins to understand that mentality.”

    Flame noticeably tensed at the remark but bit back any form of retort. While the rogue scientist continued his repairs, Tyrest motioned to one of the soldiers at the Worldsweeper’s controls.

    “Patch me through to the Grand Architect,” the judge murmured.

    “Yes, sir,” the soldier replied.

    Flame glanced up at Tyrest. “Are you going to tell him about...?”

    “Any attempts to hide my mistake will do me no favors,” Tyrest said grimly. “Best to get this out of the way than to suffer a fate worse than death.”

    A few minutes later, the soldier turned back to look at Tyrest. “We’re through.”

    “Put us on, then.”

    The lights of the bridge dimmed as the viewscreen switched on to display the gear-shaped emblem of the Grand Architect. When he spoke, his amplified voice came from all around the room, filling the audio sensors of all those present.

    “You had better make this quick, Tyrest.” The Grand Architect sounded irritated, as if he had just been interrupted from something important.

    Tyrest bowed his head. “My liege, we have news both good and bad to present to you. While we have successfully recovered the ore from Arduria, we—”

    “You lost him, didn’t you?”

    Caught off-guard, Tyrest could only move his mouth in silence, at an utter loss for words. Before he could construct a response, the Grand Architect continued to speak.

    “Oh, yes, I am well aware of your recent failure. Lord Imperious was kind enough to inform me upon his return from Earth. A most unfortunate setback, wouldn’t you agree?”

    Tyrest did not reply, too chagrined to so much as speak. Flame glanced furtively between the Chief Justice and the Grand Architect as he continued his work, trying his best to not let his own nervousness show.

    “In any case,” the Grand Architect went on, “I have come to the conclusion that our plans must be advanced greatly. It is clear that our enemies are fast catching up to us and we must not let their efforts impede our own. Fortunately, the rest of the fleet have reported successful retrieval of the ores at Prion and LV-117. That leaves only Tsiehshi, Elonia, and Devisiun to be taken care of.”

    Tyrest shifted at that. “But, my liege, that would leave us with only nine of the ores – ten if you count Earth. What about the other three?”

    “They are already accounted for, my friend. Proceed to Tsiehshi, then return to the rest of the fleet so that we may convene on our next course of action.”

    Tyrest tensed slightly. “And... what about Rung?”

    “Don’t worry, your failure will be addressed properly,” the Grand Architect said darkly. “Unless you can make amends between now and our forthcoming meeting....”

    Tyrest bowed his head. “I understand, my liege.”

    “Good. Now, if you don’t mind....” With that, the Grand Architect’s avatar vanished, and light returned to the bridge.

    Without warning, Tyrest abruptly rose from his seat, pushing Flame aside. Ignoring the ex-Autobot’s protests, the Chief Justice swiftly departed from the bridge as he made his way down to the cell block levels. Once the elevator had deposited him, Tyrest strode down towards the cell which had once held Rung and was now home to the Autobot that had attempted to rescue him.

    Standing guard at the cell were Fearstorm and his partner Viral; the former was still injured from his scuffle with Skids, having been denied treatment for his failure to prevent Rung’s escape. Sparing a sour glance at Fearstorm, Tyrest instead addressed Viral.

    “I trust your built-in transwarp drive is still functional, yes?”

    Viral merely inclined his head in the affirmative.

    “Good.” Tyrest allowed himself a grin as he shifted his gaze to the bitter Skids glaring at him from behind the ray shield. “I have one last task for you two, and its success – or lack thereof – shall decide whether or not you will continue existing under my command....”

--Cybertron--

    “Prime, I implore you to reconsider—”

    “What else would you have me do, Obsidian?” Rodimus Prime asked as he and his selected team of Elite Guardsmen approached Fortress Maximus’s space bridge, with Obsidian and Windblade following him close behind. It had taken Rodimus longer than he had expected to gather the necessary bots; thankfully, the space bridge portal was still active and awaiting the young Prime. 

    “Even if this is a trap – and trust me, I haven’t ruled out that possibility – we need to know who’s setting up this trap so we can deal with them before they can do any harm.”

    “Rodimus, you’re not listening,” Windblade interjected. “While you were gathering your team, Obsidian checked with Cerebros to figure out where ‘Prowl’s’ portal was leading to.”

    Rodimus stopped at this, turning to look at Obsidian. “What did you find out?”

    “It took some deciphering on both of our parts,” Obsidian replied. “Evidently this ‘Prowl’ clone had somehow managed to encrypt the source signal of the space bridge terminal he had arrived from. Eventually, however, we were able to determine which terminal – or, more specifically, which Titan’s terminal – he had come from.”

    Rodimus nodded to him expectantly. “And?”

    “And I believe, with almost complete certainty, that the source terminal is that of Carcer.”

    Rodimus Prime grimaced at this. He was all to familiar with the mobile colony, especially after all the grief it had given him during his tenure as captain of the Lost Light. Considering that Obsidian had once served aboard Carcer himself, he was inclined to trust his judgment on this matter more than anyone else.

    “Maybe I should have gathered more bots for this,” he murmured to himself.

    “I suggest we shut off the space bridge now,” Windblade insisted. “If Liege Maximo – and whatever forces he’s potentially accumulated over the past years – is on the other side of that portal, then we must close it immediately before anything can come through.”

    “But if Liege Maximo is on the other side and he does have an army, then this may be our only chance to tackle him head-on.”

    “We would need a considerable amount of preparation for something like that,” said Obsidian. “I’m afraid we simply don’t have the time or the resources to spare, especially with everything being concentrated on defending Devisiun.”

    Rodimus sighed, realizing that what the two councilors were saying was logical, sound, and impossible to argue against. It was like Ultra Magnus if he had been split into two bots... and if he was still alive.

    Shaking off such thoughts, Rodimus quickly said, “You’re right. We should shut it off. Cerebros?”

    “On it,” Cerebros responded from his station. A few minutes later, however, the space bridge was still open and Cerebros was looking concerned. “Something’s not right here,” he murmured.

    “What is it?” Rodimus asked.

   “The controls aren’t responding. I can’t even get a read on the portal, let alone close it.”

    A grim look crossed Rodimus’ face as he focused his gaze on the still-active space bridge. It was almost taunting the way it glowed at him; even though he could not see anything on the other side, he just knew there was something waiting for him, and he was almost certain on what that ‘something’ was.

    I’ve already stopped one evil Prime, he thought to himself. I guess it’s time for me to stop another.

    Without warning, Rodimus Prime charged towards the portal, leaving behind his retinue of Elite Guardsmen and ignoring the protests of Windblade and Obsidian. Transforming to his truck mode, he kicked on his engine and accelerated to roaring speeds, zooming down the green tunnel. For a passing second, it felt as if he was floating on nothing but air, until his wheels touched down on something solid, prompting him to convert back to his robot mode.

    As he straightened up, Rodimus looked around to see where he was. The ground he stood upon was definitely made of metal, as was the surrounding landscape from what he could see. On the horizon stood a city of gorgeous architecture, shimmering with a silvery sheen. The design itself was not unlike something he would have seen on Cybertron, with its skyscraping towers and buildings of various geometrical shapes.

    In fact... a lot of it reminded him of Cybertron; the texture of the ground, the placement of the buildings... it only took him a few minutes to realize he was on Cybertron. Everything about it was identical, except for the fact that it seemed to be deserted for the most part. Obviously, this couldn’t have been the same Cybertron he had come from of course; why would a space bridge have deposited him in the same exact place he had started from?

    He started to turn back to the space bridge he had emerged from, only to find that the portal was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a solitary figure stood where it had once been; tall and clad in white and yellow armor plating, they looked somewhat familiar to Rodimus, though he could not quite put his finger on it. The bot seemed to flicker as they approached the young Prime, indicating that they were not there physically. A golden face beamed at him from beneath a red helmet.

    “Welcome, Rodimus Prime. Your arrival has been a greatly anticipated one.”

    Rodimus regarded the stranger skeptically. “Who are you, and what is this place?”

    “Do you not recognize it? It’s Cybertron, of course.” The stranger laughed at Rodimus’ perplexed expression. “Oh, not the Cybertron you’re familiar with, of course not. But it is cast from the same mold. Everything about it is virtually identical.”

    “That answer just opened up, like, a billion more questions,” Rodimus remarked. “But you still haven’t answered my first question.”

    The stranger looked apologetic as he rested a hand on his chestplate. “Oh, forgive me. How rude of me to not introduce myself: I am the Liege Centuro.”

    “Liege Centuro?” Rodimus grimaced. “Any relation to Liege Maximo?”

    The Liege Centuro laughed. “Why, of course. He is our esteemed leader, and he has been much looking forward to meeting the most recent to join the honored lineage of the Primes.”

    “Is that right?” Rodimus Prime squared his shoulders as he braced himself before meeting Liege Centuro’s gaze. “In that case... I would be honored to meet with Liege Maximo himself.”

    Liege Centuro smiled, an action which set Rodimus at unease. “Believe me, Prime... the honor is ours.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XI, Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

--Metroplex--

   “I’ve got the Lost Light and the Vis Vitalis in sight,” reported Jetfire. “What are your orders, Elita?”

Elita-One regarded the two ships from afar, noting that the Lost Light was looking particularly beat-up as well as immobile. The Vis Vitalis was also not moving, leaving her to wonder if anyone was still on-board. Nevertheless, she had already made up her mind.

   “See if you can lock a tractor beam on the Lost Light,” she said. “Springer, keep an optic on the other ship and be ready to fire on my command.”

   “Understood,” the Wrecker replied.

   As the two Autobots got to work, Primal Major turned in his seat to face Elita with a grim look. “I’ve got an incoming message from Strongarm.”

   Elita frowned. “I thought I told Bumblebee to message me.”

   “It sounds pretty urgent,” Primal said. “Shall I put her on?”

   “Yes, quickly.”

   The Maximal leader complied and the viewscreen lit up to show the distressed face of Strongarm. “Elita, we’ve got a problem down here,” the white and blue officer said. “We were ambushed by Scorponok and he captured Sari. Both Bumblebee and Grimlock are in critical condition.”

   “What?!” Elita moved with a start. “Scorponok’s alive? I thought we had seen the last of him!”

   Strongarm shook her head. “I don’t know what to tell you. Point is, he has Sari and we’re losing Bumblebee fast.”

   Elita cursed under her breath. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take in one day.

“Hang in there, Strongarm,” she eventually said. “Do what you can for both of them. We’ll be back as soon as we’re done up here.”

    Strongarm did not seem to be reassured much but she nonetheless gave a curt nod before ending the call. As soon as the viewscreen had gone dark, Jetfire spoke up from his station.

    “I’ve got a lock on the Lost Light.”

    With a heavy sigh, Elita gave the word. “Bring them in.”

--The Lost Light--

    The Dire Wraith-controlled Thunderclash silently seethed as he watched the Titan trap the ship they were on into a tractor beam, slowly but surely pulling the Lost Light in its direction. When he had first alerted the Destructon’s to the Titan’s presence, he had simply been ordered to deal with the bridge crew. But now that said Titan was pulling them in, he couldn’t help but be more than a little distracted. However, all further attempts to contact his superiors had so far been met with only silence.

    Since when did they even get their hands on a Titan? he asked himself.

    “Vexus,” one of the other Dire Wraiths spoke up – specifically one controlling the Autobot once known as Countdown. “What are we going to do?”

    “I’ve been asking myself the same thing for the past several minutes, Degron,” Vexus-Thunderclash snarled back. “I’m starting to question why we even agreed to this alliance in the first place.”

    At this, Star Saber lifted his head to look up at the hybrid, still restrained on the deck. “Not too long ago you were praising the Grand Architect and his ‘grand scheme.’”

    “Oh, I still stand by the tenets of the Grand Architect’s agenda,” Vexus replied. “But there have been times where I wished he simply allowed us to handle things instead of relying on these other operatives of his, including the Destructons.”

    “We could have just turned down his offer and went on with our own plans,” muttered the Dire Wraith-controlled Devcon.

    “Yes, but when one has an entire fleet of Worldsweepers at their command, they can be rather persuasive,” Vexus muttered. “And like I said, his plan to access the Higher Realms sounds very pleasing to me.”

    “What’s stopping us from ditching these losers?” asked another Dire Wraith. “Our ship is right there—”

    “I’m not suicidal, Gurnash,” Vexus growled. “Trust me, if we abandoned them now, the Destructons would track us down and deliver us a fate worse than anything that exists in the Dark Nebula. We’re stuck with them, whether we like it or not.”

    Degron shifted impatiently. “But what are we going to do? That Titan is drawing us in, and there’s sure to be more Autobots on it than we have Dire Wraiths. Are we just going to sit around and hope the Destructons pull through for us?”

    Before Vexus could answer, there was a bang at the door. The Dire Wraiths and their Autobot captives all looked in its direction as it was followed by a second bang, then a third. Narrowing his eyes, Vexus glanced at the one called Gurnash and gave an imperceptible nod. Drawing a gun, the large possessed Autobot moved towards the door as it continued to be hammered from the other side. After making sure his gun was in the right position to fire at whoever was waiting for him, Gurnash slammed a hand onto the control panel.

    The doors slid open to reveal Brainstorm standing there with what looked to be a small orange battering ram (which, Star Saber noticed, had an uncannily resemblance to Rung). Behind him were several other Crusadercons, including Nautica, Anode, Swerve, Velocity, Trailbreaker, and Bluestreak... and crouched behind them all, its head scraping against the ceiling, was a giant combiner made up of the Protectobots.

    While Gurnash gaped in surprise, Brainstorm blinked in recognition at the Dire Wraith’s host body. “Peritus Maximus? God, it’s been forever. I thought I heard—”

    “Focus, Brainstorm!” Nautica hissed.

    “Oh, right.” Before Gurnash had the chance to react, Brainstorm thrust the ram into his chest. Unexpectedly, a flash of blue light emitted from the ram and coursed through the Dire Wraith. Gurnash let out a shriek that could shatter glass as his entire body convulsed, slowly reverting to its original pre-infected form. When it was done, Gurnash’s scream died out and Peritus Maximus’ body fell to the floor, weak but alive. No traces of Dire Wraith possession remained within him.

    “Whoa.” Brainstorm looked down at Rung in surprise. “I didn’t know he could do that.”

    The other Dire Wraiths recoiled in horror. Degron looked to Vexus, his eyes begging for guidance. But Vexus had none to offer him. For the first time in several centuries, he was at a complete and utter loss.

    Without waiting for any kind of direction, the possessed Devcon charged towards the Autobots with a raged cry. Brainstorm quickly aimed Rung at him and fired another blast of blue energy, which had the same effects on the Dire Wraith as it had on Gurnash. The scientist then proceeded to do the same to all of the other Dire Wraith Autobots before they could make a move; in quick succession he cured Photon and Rocket, followed by Vertex and Exocet. Degron was the next to go, returning Countdown to his original state.

    In short time, all that remained was Vexus, staring upon his departed brethren in silence. As Brainstorm shifted his attention to him, the Dire Wraith twisted his face into a vile sneer.

    “You may think you have won today. But the Grand Architect’s plan cannot be delayed forever. Soon, everything shall—”

    Without waiting for him to finish, Brainstorm fired Rung one last time and Vexus joined his brothers in death.

*  *  *

    “Ugh.” A blue hand fell over a gold faceplate as Thunderclash came back online. “What... happened? Where....”

    It took a moment for his optical sensors to adjust and once they had, he found himself staring up at a tall red and blue Autobot. They were somewhat similar to Optimus Prime in terms of design – mainly in the mouthplate – but they were not someone he was familiar with. Looking past him, however, Thunderclash picked out some familiar faces from his crew, such as Nautica and Velocity. Exocet, Photon and Vertex were also there, though they appeared to be in a similar condition as he was as they were helped back to their feet.

    Returning his attention to the red bot, Thunderclash asked, “Where are we? This doesn’t look like the Vis Vitalis....”

    “It’s not,” the other bot replied. “This is the Lost Light. My name is Star Saber. Do... you remember anything at all?”

    “Last thing I can recall is Velocity giving me the diagnostics on my condition,” Thunderclash replied. He frowned as he looked between Star Saber and Velocity herself. “How long has it been since then?”

    Velocity winced slightly as she answered. “Well over a year, captain. A... a lot has happened since then.”

    “Understatement of the cycle,” muttered a white and red minibot standing next to her.

    Thunderclash frowned in befuddlement. “Has it really been that long? What are we even doing here?”

    Star Saber sighed. “There’ll be time for explanations later. If I’m not mistaken, I believe that’s Elita and her team pulling us in.”

    “We also have another pressing matter at hand,” Brainstorm said grimly as he released Rung. The therapist transformed to robot mode and stepped up to Star Saber.

    “Skids has been captured,” he said quietly. “He rescued me from Tyrest’s ship, but... his device couldn’t teleport us both back. He could be in danger.”

    “Wonderful,” Star Saber muttered. “And since it was his brilliant idea, apparently, I can’t yell at him for being so stupid.” He then turned to address the others, focusing on the Protectobots in particular. “And since when did we have a combiner on our team?”

    “Since I got this from Cannonspring.” Swerve proudly presented the Enigma of Combination. “Who’s now dead,” he added quietly. “As well as... a lot of other bots.”

“I still haven’t taken a full body count,” Velocity murmured. “The Destructons... they were all over the place.”

    “I know,” Star Saber said glumly. “I... I don’t even want to think abou....”

    The captain trailed off and became silent, staring out the viewport at the awaiting Metroplex. The others shared concerned glances between one another. Eventually, Wing Saber stepped over and rested a hand on his brother’s shoulder though Star Saber remained still.

    Thunderclash felt the urge to offer some words of encouragement for the young bot but a quick read of the room told him that they would not have done much good. Instead, he joined them in mournful silence as the Lost Light continued its slow approach towards Metroplex.

--The Vis Vitalis--

    No words were spoken as Lord Imperious Delirious stepped onto the bridge of the Vis Vitalis. The other three Destructons watched him with barely-veiled apprehension, uncertain of whether or not they were going to be punished for leaving him behind on the Lost Light. However, such matters were the last thing on his mind at the moment.

    Outside, Metroplex and the Lost Light continued to float in space. Lord Imperious regarded them both with a mixture of ire and temptation. The prospect of invading the Titan and taking it for themselves was a seductive one… but it would be one he would have to resist. After the day he had just had, he was not exactly in the mood for further carnage, regardless of whether or not it would end in humiliation for him. Besides, he could sense that Vexus and his Dire Wraiths had been removed from the board, leaving them at a further disadvantage.

    As for Rung... well, Tyrest would just have to remedy his own mistakes.

    As Lord Imperious continued to gaze out the window, Psychokhan carefully stepped up to stand beside him. “We have received a call from Scorponok,” the robot centaur said. “Shall I put him on for you?”

    “I suppose there’s no use in ignoring him,” Lord Imperious sighed as he waved a hand. “Go on.”

    A moment later, Scorponok’s prideful visage materialized on the viewscreen, grinning widely. “Lord Imperious! Have you succeeded in dealing with the Autobot interlopers?”

    “No more than you have with yours,” Lord Imperious calmly replied. “What do you want?”

    “Oh, I was just calling to inform you that I have procured the individual I have told you so much about,” Scorponok said. “The one you said you looked forward to seeing for yourself.”

    At this, Lord Imperious tilted his head. “The techno-organic?”

    “Indeed. I have her right here, in the flesh. Or metal, you could say. Or both.”

    While Scorponok laughed, Lord Imperious rubbed his chin in intrigue. “Yes, I would very much like to see her. I’m sure the Grand Architect would be interested as well, given his similar operations.”

    “Ah, speaking of which!” Scorponok’s grin broadened. “The bot himself has requested for your presence.”

    “He has?” Lord Imperious asked, surprised.

    “Yes, in person. I’m sending you the coordinates now.”

    While Medusa slithered over to the computer to receive said coordinates, Lord Imperious kept his attention focused on Scorponok. “Did he say why he wished to see me?” the Destructon leader asked.

    “Only that he wished to discuss a few major adjustments to the plan with you,” the Decepticon replied.

    “I see.” Lord Imperious could feel the other Destructons staring at him but he did not dare so much as glance at them. “In that case, I shall make haste. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?”

    “No,” Scorponok said, still with that scrap-eating grin of his. “That will be all.”

    “Very well.” With that, Lord Imperious ended the call, returning silence to the bridge of the ship. Psychokhan shifted uneasily next to him, exchanging a glance with Medusa before directing his attention to his leader.

    “Do you think he suspects?”

    Lord Imperious gave a small shrug. “Who’s to say? Perhaps I have underestimated him; perhaps I had taken him for more of a fool than he actually is.”

    “If he does expose us,” Bruton growled, “what do we do?”

    “We do what we do best, my friend,” Lord Imperious replied, staring at the two Autobot vessels one last time. “We adapt. We adapt and we evolve.”

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XI, Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

--Earth--

    Sari had always heard that great things went by fast while horrible things seemed to last forever. She now had cause to doubt that last bit as it very much felt like her last moments were passing her by in increasingly rapid succession.

    No sooner had the Autobots begun driving towards the city when the ground erupted beneath them and sent all three of them flying into the air. Sari remembered screaming as Bumblebee spun around only to abruptly stop as a giant purple claw seized the yellow and black car. She remembered hearing Bumblebee himself scream as the claw tore into him, ripping apart his roof. She remembered being grabbed between two pincer and violently wrenched out of the car, terrified yet also surprised that she hadn’t been snapped in half already.

    Now she was staring into the visage of the giant metal monster that was holding her in its grasps, a wicked grin stretching from one side of its face to the other. Below, Jack and the others had gotten out of their respective rides while the Autobots Sideswipe and Strongarm rushed to the injured Bumblebee’s side, pointing their guns at the monster. The evil machine did not seem to be bothered by their presence as it continued to regard Sari with a look that made her squirm uncomfortably.

    “Look at you,” it said. “So convincingly human. Even I would have been fooled if I hadn’t known better.”

    “I am human!” Sari protested, trying in vain to get out of the robot’s claw. “I wish everyone would stop telling me I’m not!”

    “You mean you still haven’t figured it out? Not even your Autobot friends?” The robot seemed genuinely surprised by this. “My, I suppose the results turned out better than expected.”

    “Let her go, Scorponok!” Sideswipe shouted, training his gun on the large Decepticon. “Before we frag your head for a third time!”

    Scorponok laughed. “As if that threat could ever be effective on me. Tell you what, though: I’ll make you an offer.”

    “We don’t make deals with Decepticons,” growled Strongarm.

    Scorponok pressed on as if he hadn’t heard her. “In exchange for your ‘human’ friend, I will have my associates release the three Autobots they’ve captured.”

    “Not happening,” Sideswipe growled. “You release them and her, and then we’ll blast your cranium to pieces. Again.”

    “Hmph. And here I thought I was being generous.”

    Suddenly, a large gray panel opened on Scorponok’s chest, revealing a compartment within his chest. Before Sari knew it, she was thrown into the compartment which closed up as quickly as it had opened. As darkness engulfed her, she could hear the Autobots shouting and shooting at Scorponok only for those sounds to be drowned out by a loud warping noise. Then, nothing but silence – save for the sound of her own heavy breathing.

    For a moment nothing happened, though she could feel Scorponok moving around. Then the Decepticon stopped and the panel opened again, blinding her with light. A large claw gingerly extracted her from the compartment and placed onto a solid surface. When her eyes had finally adjusted, she found herself being stared at by not just Scorponok but several other robots as well. She doubted any of them were Autobots, given their red optics and malicious looks.

    One of the robots, a tall red one with a vaguely feminine build, regarded Sari with mild disgust. “This is what you had to leave for?”

    “Ugh, I’d hoped to never see one of these things again,” muttered a shorter blue Decepticon.

    “Ah, but you two do not understand,” said Scorponok. “This one is much more unique than all of the other humans on this planet. Because this one....”

    He pressed a switch on his claw and Sari instantly seized up. Before her terrified eyes, her entire body began to change: metal plates appeared out of nowhere to cover her up from head to toe; a pair of protrusions extended out from her back; a mask and helmet fell over her head, concealing her face as her brown eyes began to glow with blue energy. As this happened, all she could think of was what Wheeljack had been saying about her back at Metroplex.

    The first ever techno-organic Transformer.

    When all was said and done, and Sari was now standing in her new (true?) form, the Decepticons were all staring at her in utter disbelief while Scorponok simply smiled like a proud father.

    “This one is one of us.”

--The Lost Light--

    “Come on, Rung. You gotta get back on your feet.”

    Brainstorm gently tugged on the despondent Rung’s arm but the psychotherapist refused to budge, still staring at the floor in utter devastation. The scientist looked to Nautica and the others but was met with either shrugs or head-shakes. With a sigh, he gave up on trying to coax the small orange bot and straightened back up.

    “Okay. We should probably go outside and see what’s up.”

    “You sure we won’t get murdered if we step out there?” asked Anode.

    “Oh, there’s a very high chance of that happening. But I’m starting to get sick of being left in the dark.” Turning to the door, Brainstorm walked over to it and pulled it open. After looking both ways down the corridor to make sure Medusa was gone, he gestured the others to follow him. With some effort, Nautica and Perceptor both lifted Rung to his feet and dragged him with them as they, Anode, and Lug followed the scientist.

    The ship was still shaking as it had been earlier and the group of six went in the direction in which the stomping was loudest. As their lights did not illuminate the path ahead of them far enough, they almost had not noticed the huge hole in the floor until Brainstorm nearly tripped and fell into it. As the scientist recovered his balance, Anode moved ahead of him and looked down into the opening to see what was happening below.

     “Well, there’s our giant,” she said as she watched the large combiner – made up of what appeared to be rescue vehicles – lumbered past them. “I didn’t even know combiner tech was commonplace again.”

    “Neither did I,” murmured Perceptor, adjusting his shoulder-mounted scope in front of his optics so he could a closer look at the gestalt. “It would appear First Aid and the other Protectobots are serving as its components.”

    “Do you think they’ve willfully merged or is this another Galvatronus situation?” Nautica asked.

    Perceptor grimaced as he moved the scope away from his face. “The latter.”

    “What makes you say that?”

    “Lord Imperious Delirious is with him.”

    “Oh, frag.” Brainstorm stepped away from the hole. “We are so screwed.”

    “Is there nothing we can do?” Lug asked. “I mean, I thought you guys have gone through all kinds of situations. Thunderwing, Primes, even Unicron. Shouldn’t this be a piece of chrome-alloy cake?”

    “We solved all of those problems when we had literally every help we could possibly muster,” Brainstorm muttered. “We don’t have that kind of help here. We don’t have any Matrixes or combiners or any other kinds of cool new toy we can use against them.”

    “Maybe you do.”

    The others blinked before turning in surprise to look at Rung. The therapist carefully removed himself from Nautica and Perceptor’s hold and stepped up to Brainstorm.

    “I’m going to transform,” Rung said quietly, “and I want you to use me against Lord Imperious.”

    “Uh, and how exactly is that going to work?” Brainstorm asked. “We don’t even know what you turn into; even you don’t, right?”

    “Correct. But if what I’ve been told while I was in Tyrest’s captivity is even remotely true... then it just might be something we can use. And since I know you’ve had your experience with all kinds of weapons and gadgets, I figure you would be the best bet at figuring out how I can be used.”

    Brainstorm awkwardly rubbed his neck. “I’m not sure if I’d go that far....”

    “It could be our only hope, Brainstorm,” said Perceptor. He then added with a small smile, “Besides, I’m confident you would be able to make anything work to your advantage.”

    At those words, Brainstorm immediately straightened up, his face lighting up. After seeing a similar look of encouragement from Nautica, he looked back to Rung and said, “All right. Let’s do this.”

    With a curt nod, Rung began to change shape. His arms tucked behind his back as his legs fused together and his entire body extended, causing his head to fold away. The end result was a long, pole-like object with a rounded top which held the glowing light that was commonly in Rung’s chest. To everyone present, it didn’t look like it had any purpose whatsoever, but that hardly concerned Brainstorm as he picked up the odd cylindrical, holding it in his arms like a blunt object.

    “Yeah,” the scientist said. “I think I can make this work.”

    Without wasting another minute, Brainstorm jumped down into the hole and landed on the deck below, right in front of Lord Imperious Delirious himself. While every node in his processor wanted him to either freeze up or run away in fear, Brainstorm stood his ground as the leader of the Destructons loomed before him, his massive wings sweeping behind his maroon body.

    “More of you?” Lord Imperious huffed in an almost petulant manner. “Listen, I understand that you all wish to play the Hero, but I have more interesting matters to attend to. Can we make this quick?”

    “We can make it as quick as you want,” Brainstorm muttered, trying to sound as tough as he could. For some reason, it was easier than he expected; he almost felt empowered but by what, he wasn’t sure. “But first, do you know who I am?”

    Lord Imperious regarded him with a disinterested look. “No.”

    “You might know me better as Genitus. I helped the Logicons cook up the dimensional barrier that they used to seal you and your buddies up.”

    “Evidently, your efforts were not as effective as you had hoped,” Lord Imperious said dryly.

    “Maybe so. But the point is, I was the key to kicking your afts eleven hundred years ago.” Brainstorm tightened his grip on the weapon (or whatever it was) in his hands. “And I’m about to do the same thing again.”

    Unfazed, Lord Imperious redirected his attention to the transformed Rung. “And what is that you’re holding?”

    “He’s a friend of mine. He’s gonna help me kick your afts again.”

    “Is that right? Do you even know what he is?”

    “Let’s find out together, shall we?” With that, Brainstorm charged towards the Destructon leader and swung Rung at him. Without so much as flinching, Lord Imperious caught the cylindric tool mid-swing and wrenched it out of Brainstorm’s hands. The scientist barely had a second to process this before he was kicked to the floor and pinned there by the Destructon’s foot.

    “If I’m not mistaken, you are supposed to still be in Tyrest’s captivity,” Lord Imperious said to Rung. “A minor setback, but one that can easily be—”

    A cry from above interrupted the Destructon as Lug dropped down from the opening in the ceiling and landed atop the back of his head. Caught off guard, Lord Imperious removed his foot from Brainstorm and stepped away from the scientist, lifting an arm to remove Lug from his back. Brainstorm seized this opportunity to draw his gun and shoot the Destructon in the chest; the force of the blow caused Lord Imperious to release his hold on Rung and drop the orange Autobot to the floor.

    Snarling with rage, Lord Imperious finally got a hold of Lug and pulled her off of him, throwing her into Brainstorm. As his wings extended to their full width, the seams in his arms hissed as they began to split apart into groups of three, all ending with long blades. Brainstorm and Lug could only watch with fear as Lord Imperious strode towards them, his eyes gleaming with malice.

    “You said we could make this as quick as I want,” the leader of the Destructons growled. “Well, for that, I’m going to draw this out as long as possible.”

    With that, he raised his bladed arms... only for a giant black fist to close over his entire body. Lord Imperious’ startled yell was muffled as Defensor picked up and slammed him back into the floor. The effects of the Destructon’s “Delirious Fire” having worn off, the Autobot combiner was now very clear on who its enemy was as it began to repeat this motion until Lord Imperious was well and truly embedded into the deck. The gestalt then tore off a piece of the wall behind him and pounded it over the Destructon’s head, sealing him within the floor.

    Satisfied with its work, Defensor pulled back and looked over to see the other three Destructons standing there, their faces covered with shock. Upon making eye contact with the combiner, Medusa made a gesture to the other two and as one the trio turned and fled from the scene. Once they were gone, Defensor began to lower himself to the floor as, one by one, his individual components disconnected from one another and returned to their robot forms.

    “That was insane,” said Blades, wobbling on his feet. “I can’t believe we just did that to freaking Lord Imperious Delirious of all people.”

    “Don’t celebrate just yet,” said Hot Spot. “He could be getting back up any minute now; plus, who knows where the other Destructons are heading.”

    “They could be heading for the bridge,” said Velocity, emerging from the medbay along with Swerve and others. “We should probably go that way and check on Star Saber and his team.” She then glanced over at Brainstorm and Lug, who had since been joined by Anode, Nautica, and Perceptor. “Are you guys in any need of patching up?”

    “No,” Brainstorm said as he got back to his feet. He looked over to Rung who was still in his alternate mode, not moving. After exchanging a worried glance with Nautica, he went over to the immobile therapist and picked him back up. “Come on,” he then said. “Time to be the cavalry again.”