PROLOGUE
Earth, approx. 150 years ago
“Fascinating. Simply fascinating.”
Scorponok stood alone inside what had once been a Cybertronian spacecraft. As far as he knew, he was the only one who knew of its existence; the only one besides Shockwave, of course. It was from hacking into Shockwave’s personal records that he had learned of this very planet’s existence, let alone the fact that it was somehow harboring a crew of lost Cybertronians.
Were they Cybertronian, though? While the technology he had found in the ship was certainly similar enough, there were enough differences to make him question whether the ship had even originated from Cybertron. Even the information he had gleamed from Shockwave’s records had been vague on the matter; perhaps even the other Decepticon had been just as uncertain as well.
While he had not been able to derive anything from the craft’s data logs — they had either been wiped in the crash or manually by someone else — Scorponok knew that the ship alone would be enough to work with. If nothing else, it would provide him solid foundation for his machinations to come.
An indicator in his HUD alerted him to the presence of another Cybertronian — specifically Decepticon — within vicinity of him and the crashed ship. He did not need to speculate as to the identity of the new arrival. It was one he had been expecting ever since he had touched down on the planet.
He turned around just in time to see a large green, purple and white craft swoop in from above, altering itself to take on the shape of a tall robot before landing on the ground before Scorponok. The newcomer then straightened to his full height, red optics glowing from behind his white faceplate.
“Sixshot,” Scorponok said, feigning surprise. “I thought I ordered you to stay behind on the Semper Tyrannis.”
“You did,” Sixshot said coldly. “You also said you would be back within a deca-cycle. It’s been a lot more than that.”
Scorponok smirked. “My apologies. I tend to lose track of time when I am preoccupied with things that greatly interest me.”
“Care to enlighten me on what exactly it is about this planet that has you so interested?” Sixshot asked.
Scorponok gestured widely to the crashed ship behind him. “I wasn’t lying about what I had uncovered on this planet. As you can see, our race is no stranger to this world.”
Sixshot tilted his head, optics narrowed as he eyed the other Decepticon carefully. “So what? Why are you hiding this knowledge from the others; from Megatron?”
“As I’ve already told you, I see this as an opportunity; one I do not wish to risk having Megatron learn about and exploit for himself. Call it selfish if you wish, but I see no harm in looking out for oneself from time to time.”
“An opportunity for what, though? What exactly are your plans?”
Scorponok grinned. “Can I trust you to keep a secret?”
Sixshot said nothing at first, remaining still and expressionless. Scorponok could imagine the gears turning in his head as he contemplated the question. Whichever way the Six Changer answered, Scorponok was prepared for what action he would take next.
After a few tense moments, Sixshot finally answered. “Yes.”
Scorponok’s smile broadened. “Then listen closely.”
Earth, present day
“Fascinating. Simply fascinating.”
Tarantulas stood alone in his personal quarters-slash-laboratory aboard the Darksyde, as was his preference. Except he wasn’t really alone as there was a supposedly ancient golden Autobot laying on an operation table right next to him with their head split open, from which multiple cables connected them to the computer screen that the Predacon scientist was currently engrossed with.
The memories of said Autobot, playing out on the screen before Tarantulas’ optical sensors, had already confirmed what he had long suspected; that this “Centurion” individual had been flung into the distant past by the artifact known as the Talisman. More than that, the Talisman had been the cargo of the ship Centurion and his fellow bots had arrived in. The circumstances on that detail were vague at best, but Tarantulas was confident he would get to the bottom of it eventually. Provided that his subject did not abruptly die on him, of course.
One detail that he had learned from Centurion’s memories was that he and his crew had some sort of connection to the ancient Prime Onyx. This, of course, implied that Onyx Prime had some sort of connection himself with the Talisman, which only enhanced Tarantulas’ desire to learn everything he could about the mysterious device.
Tittering to himself, Tarantulas turned away from the screen and wrapped his hands around Centurion’s exposed cranium, gazing into the Autobot’s dimmed optical sensors.
“Oh, you and I are going to be spending lots of time together,” the arachnid Predacon said softly. “One way or another, I will learn all of your secrets. And once I do, no one will be able to stop me from using that knowledge for my own personal use.”
He started to chuckle, which then transitioned into a full-blown laugh before spiraling into a cackle that served as a perfect manifestation of the scientist’s twisted and warped mind. It echoed against the walls of his lab and leaked out into the rest of the ship, all while Centurion’s lifeless eyes gazed back his captor.
ALIGNMENT
Part 3: Road to Ruin
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