Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

--Aquatron--

    "Breakout on Level Thirteen."

    Leading Jazz and his team down a corridor, the Curator abruptly stop upon hearing the intercom speaking. Before Jazz could inquire him what was going on, a small stout bot came rushing up to the Aquatronian leader.

    "Sir, there's been--"

    "I know," the Curator snapped, uncharacteristically stern. "Is the Admiral handling the situation?"

    The stout bot wring his hands. "Y-yes, sir. All of the Sharkticons are, sir. Shall I place a lock down on all levels?"

    "Yes, yes, do that. We needn't disrupt our guests' peace."

    As the small mech rushed to carry out his orders, the Curator flashed a smile to the Autobots, failing to be reassuring. "Sorry about that. I'm sure everything's all right."

    "What's on Level Thirteen?" Perceptor asked.

    "Nothing," the Curator hastily said. "Nothing important. Please, follow me."

    Deciding not to press the matter, the Autobots complied. However, as they went, Ironhide whispered to Jazz, "If he starts acting wacky, I'm gonna shoot him."

    Jazz said nothing to object.

*  *  *

    "I'm not picking up anything," Thundercracker said.

    Flying alongside his fellow Seekers and Lugnut in jet mode, Starscream sighed in exasperation. "Then why did the Autobots come here in the first place?"

    "It must be a ploy," Lugnut growled. "They're trying to hide Lord Megatron from us!"

    "I can't believe I'm saying this, but he might have a point," Skywarp said. "Maybe they have a system so that we can't detect anything from the surface."

    "Then he must be underwater!" Moving too fast for the others to stop him, Lugnut plunged himself into the sea, creating an eruption of water. Had he been in robot mode, Starscream would have scowled after him.

    "What an idiot."

--Earth--

    It had all erupted into carnage.

    Energon and pieces of metal flew everywhere as Thundertron and Scorponok tore each other apart. Axer had to dodge as shrapnel was thrown at him, while the other Star Seekers merely watched in anticipation.

    In his mind, he weighed his options. If Scorponok wins, he'll tear us apart. But the Star Seekers have my only means of transportation.

    Before he could make his decision, Axer saw too late that Thundertron's body was flying towards him. Unable to dodge in time, they collided and went tumbling down. As they touched ground, Axer quickly pushed Thundertron off of him, rapidly throwing out apologies to the pirate captain, only to realize something unsettling.

    Thundertron was nothing more than a head and a portion of a torso.

    Fear struck Axer's spark as he raised his gaze to the headless Scorponok, who was now looming over him. The other Star Seekers were staring in shock and awe at what had just happened. Eventually, it was Cannonball who found his voice.

    "Well, then... that took an unexpected turn. I suppose that leaves me in command."

    "And what are your first orders, 'captain?'" Scorponok asked coldly.

    Cannonball was silent again before saying ruefully, "Star Seekers, retreat."

    Needless to say, Axer was quick to get ahead of everyone else.

--Aquatron--

    "Land Shark Unit One-Five-Six is not responding."

    Tyrannicon cursed to himself. "He was right behind us not even a minute ago."

    The Sharkticon trooper's face was expressionless, though he spoke in a snide manner. "He is not responding," he said.

    Resisting the urge to execute the mocking trooper, Tyrannicon ordered his team to all turn in the opposite direction of the corridor they were headed down. All they saw was Unit 156's lifeless corpse.

    "How unfortunate," Tyrannicon muttered. "It would seem our assailant would rather play around in the shadows like a coward instead of confront us face-to-face."

    Cold laughter echoed through the corridor. "If it is your desire to die sooner, then who am I to argue?"

    Tyrannicon was barely able to turn around in time to see his men fall to the wrath of the black and gray mech. Moving like a phantom, he mowed through the Sharkticons, slaying them one by one. By the time Tyrannicon had found his voice to order them into evasive maneuvers, none of them were around to hear him.

    "Was that honestly the best you had?" the escaped captive said. "I expected better."

    "Actually, to be perfectly honest with you, they weren't the best I had." At that, Tyrannicon created a whistle sound and the ground began to shake. Suddenly, the walls were torn apart by masses of tentacles. A shrill screech filled the air.

    "This, on the other hand... this is getting there."

*  *  *

    "What the spark is going on?!" Ironhide exclaimed as he and the other Autobots were thrown about by the quake.

    "Oh, dear," the Curator said, who was oddly still standing. "We appear to be experiencing a seismic quake. Nothing to worry about."

    "No offense," Seaspray said, arms flailing about, "but, between the air bubble around the city and spark signature blockers, I would think you'd have the technology to block out seismic quakes."

    "Yes, well, no one's perfect," the Curator murmured.

    "Are you sure whatever was on Level Thirteen is 'nothing?'" Perceptor asked skeptically as he attempted to straighten himself. "Because all of this doesn't seem like 'nothing.'"

    Before the Aquatronian leader could reply, the wall by them suddenly exploded. As debris blew into them, a large, violet mech stepped from the opening, followed by three winged mechs.

    "Aw, scrap," Ironhide muttered.

    Starscream smirked as he stepped in front of Lugnut. "My, what an interesting encounter."

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

-Aquatron-

    "Now then," the Curator said, letting out a belch from all of the Energon he had consumed. "What was this favor you were going to ask of me?"

    Trying to hide his disgust (and failing), Jazz said, "We're in search of the AllSpark. Have you heard of it?"

    The Curator's face clouded slightly. "I might have...."

    "It's been broken into several shards and hidden on some of the Cybertronian colony worlds. Do you happen to have such a shard?"

    The Curator smiled. "Does it happen to be small and blue?"

    Jazz nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement. "Yes, exactly like that."

    "Then I might have something like that." The Curator rose from his seat. "If you would follow me."

-The Nemesis-

    "Would someone get the blasted lights back on?" Starscream snapped, trying to feel his way through the pitch-black darkness that plagued the Nemesis' bridge.

    "Well, it would help if I could find the blasted control system," came Knock Out's snarky voice. "Anyone here transform into a flashlight?"

    "Wait, doesn't Soundwave turn into a lamppost from time to time?" asked Barricade. "Can't he-?"

    Before he could finish, a wide ray of light illuminated him and a good portion of the bridge. Starscream glared at Soundwave, whom the light emitted from.

    "Took you long enough," the Air Commander muttered.

    "Now then," Knock Out murmured, moving towards his monitor. "Where could our lovely leader have possibly run off to?"

    "The Autobots must have kidnapped him," Lugnut growled, clenching his claws. "I say we attack their ship and--"

    "Now, now," Starscream said, raising a hand for silence. "Let us not jump to conclusions. The Ark was too far away to have used a tractor beam on our ship and then board us."

    "Perhaps it was the natives down on Aquatron," Thundercracker suggested. "Though why they would capture Megatron is beyond me."

    "Then let us go down and tear through the planet until we find our glorious leader!" Lugnut bellowed.

    Starscream frowned, knowing that such a plan would be futile. And it's not like I'm eager to find our "glorious" leader.

    Nonetheless, he said, "Very well. We shall send all of our fliers to peruse the sea. In the meantime, Barricade, you run things here on the bridge." The Seeker then threw Soundwave a covert glance and whispered, "Keep an optic on him, will you?"

    The spy silently nodded.

    Regarding his fellow Seekers and Lugnut, Starscream then said, "With me, then."

-Earth-

    Thundertron roared as he swung his blade at Scorponok. The rogue Decepticon covered himself with his large arms, deflecting the blow. He then lowered the tip of his stinger tail and fired. 

    Axer watched as the Star Seeker leader staggered black. Cannonball and the others had their attentions glued on the fight and not on him; if he wanted to make a getaway, now was his chance.

    But where would I run to? he wondered. Left with little choice, he continued to watch the fight.

    Despite being different in size, Thundertron and Scorponok were almost equals in combat. Whenever the pirate captain would create a gash in Scorponok's armor, the Decepticon would then retaliate with a blast from his tail or a slash with his claws. Eventually, realizing that the duel was not going anywhere, Thundertron broke off from the fight, stepping back and glaring at Scorponok.

    "For a Cybertronian, you are certainly a... worthy opponent. You would make a decent Star Seeker."

    Scorponok smirked. "A pity, then, that I have no interest in joining you. You are wasting your time in fighting me."

    Thundertron scowled. "Not if I take the satisfaction in ending your life."

    Letting out another roar, he lunged towards Scorponok, moving too fast for the Decepticon to follow. He swung his blade and Axer saw it slice cleanly through Scorponok's neck. As the Decepticon's head unceremoniously dropped to the ground, followed shortly by his body, the watching Star Seekers all broke into cheers... save for Axer.

    It was too easy. He should have seen that coming....

    A slap on the back from Nightclaw broke him from his thoughts. "What's the matter with you, Cybertronian?" the violet pirate growled. "Upset that one of yer own bit it?"

    "He didn't bite it," Axer murmured.

    "What are you-?"

    Before Nightclaw could finish, a blast of energy fired from Scorponok's tail, punching a hole through his chest and extinguishing his spark. The other Star Seekers turned to see the Decepticon's headless body rising, acting as if it had never been decapitated. 

    "You knew that I had an AllSpark shard," Scorponok muttered. "Did you think I would have not put it to use?"

    Fury raged in Thundertron's eyes. "I suppose I should be more thorough this time."

    If Scorponok's head was still attached to his body, it would have grinned. "The same to you."

-Unknown-

    "Breakout on Level Thirteen. Repeat: Breakout on Level Thirteen."

    Megatron awoke to the sound of the intercom's urgent speaking. The first thing he noticed was that he was restrained to a slab of metal standing on its end. On either side of him were two identical mechs with a body-type similar to the one whom had captured him. Said captor was pacing back and forth, barking out orders.

    "I'll lead Team One," he shouted. "Overbite, you'll lead Team Two. Gnaw, Team Three. Do I make myself clear?"

    "Yes, Admiral Tyrannicon!" came the eager response.

    "Then move out, Sharkticons!"

    As the troops moved out, Megatron feigned unconsciousness so that the two at his sides would leave. Once he was sure they were gone, Megatron grinned as he broke himself free from his restraints.

    Time to do an investigation of my own.

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

-Aquatron-

    "I've been to Energon banquets before, but this is...." Bumblebee's voice trailed off as he stared at the Energon meals and oil beverages stretched out before them on a table, if stood on its end, could touch the sky.

    "Ridiculous?" Ironhide said.

    "Amazing."

    Sky-Byte chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it would be to visitors. But we have these banquets practically every week." He gestured to a few empty seats to the far end. "Our leader, the Curator, will be sitting there, so if you would like to speak to him...."

    Jazz nodded his thanks and led the others to the end of the table, passing by several Aquatronians.

    "You know," Spiral murmured. "I wouldn't mind living here. It's very peaceful."

    "Speak for yourself," Ironhide muttered. "I wouldn't be able to abide hanging out with these fish-people."

    "As if we'd think better of you land-dwellers."

    Ironhide recognized that voice. He cried out as he whipped out his arm cannons and aimed them wildly at the seated diners.

    "Show yourself, Megatron! You ain't gettin' away easily this time!"

    "Er, Ironhide?" Arcee said. "That wasn't Megatron."

    "Then who...?" Ironhide looked down and saw a turquoise and gray mech glaring up at him. "Oh."

    "The name's Nautilator, actually. Not Megatron. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

    A look of embarrassment crossed Ironhide's face as he put away his cannons. "Er, no, I'm sorry. I was just... I need to replenish my energon tanks, that's all."

    With that, he hurried past the other Autobots and took a seat at the very edge, away from the other Aquatronians. As soon as Jazz and the rest had sat down, a large pairs of doors swung open to admit a stout, slightly portly mech, colored in blue and white with a golden tint. His green optics widened cheerfully upon seeing the newcomers.

    "Ah, we have visitors! How splendid." He took his seat at the end of the table, next to the Autobots. He offered his hand to Jazz. "I am the Curator, leader of Aquatron. And you are?"

    "Jazz, and these are my fellow Autobots Ironhide, Perceptor, Seaspray, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Spiral." He shook the offered hand. "We... have a favor to ask of you."

    "Certainly! But first, let us enjoy our feast. There are fifty different types of Energon here, as well as a few organic delicacies."

    "Organic...." A disgusted look crossed Ironhide's face this time. "Oh, yeah. This planet has fun written all over it."

-Earth-

    "I've found him."

    Even in his beast mode, Thundertron managed a sneer. "How can you be so sure? I don't see him."

    "Well," Axer said, "he is charging towards us."

    Sure enough, a large purple and green Transformer came crashing through the woods, his massive claws bared and his stinger tail guns primed to fire. His red visor gleamed with fury as his mout twisted into a sadistic grin.

    "Well, you certainly are not any Decepticons I recognize," Scorponok said. "I would think that Megatron would send some formidable opponents."

    "We are not Decepticons," Thundertron snarled, transforming to robot mode with the rest. "We are Star Seekers, and it is you that we seek."

    Scorponok smirked. "Ah, yes, I've heard of you pirates. Seeking out every opportunity to wipe out every last Cybertronian. I am one such opportunity, aren't I?"

    Thundertron scowled. "As much as it pains me to admit, we are not looking to kill you. We wish to... recruit you."

    Scorponok belted out a harsh laugh. "Recruit me? Why would I join the likes of you? I already have my own plans underway here."

    The Star Seeker captain opened his mouth to retort but Cannonball stepped in front of him.

    "I'm sure we can reach a compromise," the Star Seeker first mate said. "Perhaps if you joined us, we could make ourselves home here and assist in your experiments."

    "What?!" Thundertron bellowed, storming towards Cannonball. "I refuse to reside on a pathetic organic world!"

    Ignoring him, Scorponok smirked. "A tempting offer, but one I must decline. I have no use for allies, least of all pirates I cannot trust. Besides, I already have minions here. They will be more than enough."

    Before Cannonball could respond, Thundertron shoved him aside and stormed up to Scorponok. "Enough of this. You should know why we're asking you to join us. You have a piece of it. A piece of the AllSpark."

    Scorponok smiled mirthlessly. "Correct, and I haven no plans on giving it up to anyone."

    Thundertron sneered as he unsheathed his battle sword. "Is that your final answer?"

    Scorponok merely flexed his mighty claws, the tip of his stinger tail sparking.

    "So be it."

-Unknown-

    Zero percent.

    Xeros' heart raced. He had been gone for a mere three minutes to help secure another prisoner only to return and find this. The "zero percent" could only mean two things: either the subject was dead or....

    Xeros turned around to face the secured Optimus Prime and froze. The Autobot leader's red and blue color scheme had faded away, replaced by black and gray with teal highlights. Blue-tinted windows had become a shade of scarlet and his optics flared with the color of fire.

    The very fact that the subject was awake made Xeros fear for his life.

    He backed away from the dark Optimus, holding up his tentacle arms as if it would ward him off. It did not.

    "Please," Xeros murmured. "I- I can explain this, Optimus Prime. I--"

    "There is no Optimus," the former captive snarled. "There is only me."

    Xeros' eyes darted around. No sign of the Bailiffs or Sharkticons. He looked up pleadingly at the Cybertronian now looming over him.

    "Please... the real Optimus Prime would not kill a defenseless person."

    Harsh laughter emitted from his aggressor. "That's because I am not Optimus Prime. I... am Nemesis Prime."

    A blade extruded from his left arm and Xeros soon knew nothing.

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

-Aquatron-

    "What was it you said about Cybertronians building underwater cities?" Ironhide asked Perceptor.

    The Autobot scientist did not respond for he, as well as the rest of Jazz's team, were utterly speechless. Standing on a platform that descended through a tube, heading onto undersea terrain, the seven Autobot marveled at the magnificent city of Aquarius. From its spiraled buildings to its low domes, it made Jazz think of a more curvaceous version of Cybertron.

    "Er, very impressive," Seaspray said to their guide, whom had introduced himself as Sky-Byte.

    The blue and yellow mech grinned. "Why, thank you. I truly do love living here."

    "It does seem pretty peaceful," Spiral said. "How were you able to avoid the war?"

    "By building our cities under the sea," Sky-Byte said in a matter-of-fact tone. "From the outside, Aquatron looks mundane and featureless. It's when you look deeper that you find it is more than meets the eye."

    "Interesting," Perceptor mused. "So how do you not rust under here?"

    "Aquarius is placed within an invisible yet solid dome to prevent it from flooding. It also masks energy and spark signatures."

    The Autobot scientist raised an eyebrow. "But when we first reached here, we detected at least a million spark signatures."

    Sky-Byte frowned. "That should not be possible...."

    The platform finally touched ground and the Autobots and their guide stepped out into the city. Bots of a similar body-type to Sky-Byte's moved about while others, bearing the forms of marine creatures, swam from outside the invisible dome.

    "Very impressive city," Jazz said, echoing Seaspray's words. "So, uh, can you take us to your leader or leaders?"

    Sky-Byte smiled again. "Why certainly. If you would follow me."

-Earth-

    Humans are such intriguing creatures.

    Huddled within the depths of the large cave he called home, Scorponok played back footage he had captured of Earth's society in his mind, marveling at the fact that they were little different in someways from Cybertronians. In fact, they had a striking resemblance to the Nebulans, both culturally and visually, save for the green skin.

    It was because of these resemblances that Scorponok saw them as the perfect subjects for his experiments. With his recent alliance with Abraham Dante, those plans would soon see fruition.

    Suddenly, his sensors beeped and his internal heads-up-display brought up a high indicator of Energon levels and spark signatures. Such readings could only mean one thing: Cybertronians.

    Impossible. He had only come across this planet by accident; because it was deep within the neutral territories, it was unlikely for any other Transformers to come across it, accidental or not. The only possible explanation was that his fellow Decepticons were searching for him. With their weapons primed to capture or kill.

    Scorponok smiled to himself. So someone had finally noticed his absence. How flattering.

*  *  *

    "This is your chance to prove yourself, Axer."

    The somewhat-encouraging tone in Cannonball's voice surprised Axer, given the air of derision he often felt among the Star Seekers. Nonetheless, he nodded in response. 

    Standing with Cannonball, Thundertron, and three other Star Seekers in a field, illuminated by the moonlight, Axer knelt down and traced his finger through the ground, at the same time scanning with his olfactory sensors.

    After a few minutes, the Star Seeker Backslash snidely said, "Why not bring out a full-on sensor array?"

    "Anyone can use a sensory array," Axer retorted. "It takes a real hunter to use what he has."

    Backslash opened his mouth to snap back at him but Thundertron silenced him with a glare.

    After several more minutes of "sniffing the air", Axer finally said, "I've got him. This way."

    As he converted into his gray Cybertronian car form, the other pirates did the same; Cannonball turned into a black Cybertronian van, Thundertron a white lion, Backslash a winged creature, Stronghorn a rhinoceros, and Nightclaw a violet feline.

    With a rev of hive engine, Axer said, "Let the hunt begin."

-"Ark"-

    Optimus Prime had never been this happy in his entire life.

    Seated in the Ark's lobby room- which had been repurposed into a bar- he looked on in merriment as his fellow Autobots convened, laughing and joking. This was his idea of a perfect life: no war, no Decepticons, just complete peace and serenity. And with his close friends- Elita and Alpha Trion- sitting by him, he knew that nothing could spoil his mood.

    "What about me?"

    Optimus froze at the sound of the voice. It sounded familiar, too familiar. It was like his, but darker....

    "I would hope you'd recognize me. I am as much a part of you as you are me."

    All around him, the party came to a stop, as if frozen in time. Bracing himself, Optimus turned in his seat to see himself, albeit with a more monstrous appearance and a black and silver color scheme.

    "Scourge," Optimus said coldly. "Last I heard, you were a high-level prisoner at Garrus-9. How did you escape?"

   "My body is still over there," Scourge hissed. "However, because of our... relationship, I found it simple enough to send my mind into yours, appearing to you as I am now."

    "A glorified hallucination," Optimus muttered. "And for what purpose?"

    "To bring ourselves back together." Scourge then chuckled. "And this time, I'll be more in control than ever."

    Before Optimus could do anything, Scourge unsheathed a scarlet blade and charged.

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

-Earth-

    Words could not describe the shock Abraham Dante currently felt. It had little to do with the presence of the Scorponok, or the fact that its massive claws were surrounding him, or that its deadly stinger tail hovered mere meters from him.

    No, it was the fact that it spoke perfect English.

    "Abraham Dante, I presume?" The voice was metallic and grating, but he understood the words perfectly. He stared in speechless awe at the giant scorpion, whose optical sensors bore into his eyes.

    "Allow me to rephrase that: Are you Abraham Dante?"

    Still finding difficulty in speaking, Abraham managed to nod.

    "Ah, excellent." The Scorponok made a sound similar to a chuckle. "I was worried that old Eugene was lying to me when he mentioned a grandson. You are the grandson of Eugene Dante, correct?"

    "Y-yes," Abraham muttered. "What's it to you? How can you speak English? How do you know my name, or my grandfather's?"

    The Scorponok laughed again, a sound Abraham cringed at. "One question at a time, please. I've been on your planet long enough to understand your many languages and cultures. As for your grandfather... he's no doubt recounted his encounter with me, is that right?"

    "Yes, but... he never implied a conversation."

    Another grating laugh. "Ah, because I told him to not bring it up! You wouldn't have believed him enough to venture out and seek me if he had."

    He gulped. "What do you want from me?"

    "You are the CEO of Epsilon Holdings, correct? A leading company in your country's industrialization?"

    "Yes... that is correct."

    "Excellent. In that case, I would like to offer you an opportunity in getting ahead of the game."

    Abraham blinked. "How do you mean?"

    The Scorponok said nothing. Instead, it skittered back and, much to Abraham's terrified astonishment, began to change shape.

    Its claws stretched out to form arms; legs sprouted out of its body while its tail folded into its back, ganging slightly over its morphed head. Where a giant scorpion had once been now stood a massive, humanoid figure in violet and greed.

    Something resembling a grin crossed Scorponok's metal face. "Impressed? This is nothing compared to what you and I can come up with... together. What do you say?"

    Thoughts of grandeur caused Abraham's look of shock to melt away and be replaced by a grin. "I say you've got yourself a partner."

-Aquatron-

    "Picking anything up, Perceptor?"

    "Negative, the scientist replied, reading the scanners on his M.A.R.B. Jazz's unit- consisting of himself, Perceptor, Seaspray, Arcee, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Spiral- had covered a good portion of the vast, planet-wide sea, and yet with no results.

    "I thought you sad there were one million life-signs," Ironhide muttered.

    "I did, but they appear to be... cloaked." Perceptor shook his head in bemusement. "I don't understand."

    "What about that hovercraft over there?" Arcee said, nodding to a blue and yellow object fast approaching them. "Are you picking their signal up?"

    The Autobots slowed their M.A.R.B.s down as the hovercraft did the same, converting into a tall, somewhat graceful-looking robot form.

    "Fair tidings, strangers. What brings you here to my home, lovely Aquatron?"

    Jazz cocked his head, slightly taken aback by the native's unique way of speaking. "Uh, it's kind of a long story. Can you take us to your leaders? Or, at least a city?"

    "A city you seek? Look no further then, at Aquarius, yes?"

    "Um, right. Can you take us there?"

    "Why, of course. Follow me."

    The Aquatron native then reverted to his alt mode and sped off, with Jazz's team close behind him.

    "At least the folks on Velocitron spoke proper Cybertronian," Bumblebee murmured.

    Jazz smirked. "When you fare out into space, you're bound to run into something unusual."

-Nemesis-

    "We have arrived at Aquatron, Lord Megatron."

    "Excellent," Megatron said, grinning as he rose from his command chair. "Any sign of the Autobots?"

    "Affirmative," Soundwave said. "Ark detected near planet's equator, fifty miles northward."

    Megatron's grin broadened. No Autobots were going to evade him this time. However, before he could give the order to advance, the ship suddenly shuddered.

    "What the spark?" he exclaimed, nearly toppling over. "What's going on?!"

    "The controls aren't responding," Barricade said. "I think we're caught in a tractor beam."

    "More than that," muttered Knock Out. "We're being boarded."

    "Oh, how tragic," Starscream said snidely. "The magnificent Emperor of Destruction's warship is being boarded-"

    "Shut up, Starscream!" Megatron roared, firing his fusion cannon at the Seeker and sending him flying back. Turning to Knock Out, he growled, "Where are they boarding us?"

    "The hangar bay. And I'm counting a lot of spark signatures...."

    "Dispatch Blackout and Lugnut to handle them. And have them bring me their heads!"

    "That won't be happening any time soon, I'm afraid."

    All of the Decepticons on the bridge whirled around to see a mech- armored in silver, purple, and yellow- standing before them, a trail of Vehicon corpses left in his wake.

    Letting out a roar of rage, Megatron charged towards the stranger, arms outstretched to tear him apart. Before he could reach him, however, the lights on the bridge suddenly went out. Megatron then felt a mass of tendrils begin to seize him....

    "I'm awfully sorry," the mech murmured. "But we are needed elsewhere."

    And then darkness engulfed him.

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

-Earth, 1901-

    Abraham Dante was never one for myths. He had heard plenty of stories about vampires and werewolves and the like, but even as a child he saw them as utter nonsense. However, there was one his father used to tell that always kept him up at night. 

    The Scorponok.

    It had been in the October of 1864. Abraham's grandfather had been exploring out in the country late at night. The shaking of the earth attracted his attention to a giant shape emerging behind a hill. The shape was that of a giant scorpion.

    Running faster than a roadrunner, Eugene Dante had went to warn the townspeople of what he had seen. But when a group of twenty men went to investigate in the same area he had been to, the Scorponok was nowhere to be seen.

    Abraham had never been able to ask his grandfather about how he had come up with the name before he died. But the tale had nonetheless spurred him to go hunting for the monster on the October of nearly every year. His wife called it a wild goose chase. He called it his dream.

    The moon shone brightly as he cautiously traversed the hill country. The night was silent save for the chirping of crickets and rustling of bushes. His trusted rifle in hand, Abraham kept his eyes on the hill he was now approaching; the same hill where-

    There was a shaking of the earth. Abraham's heart quickened its pace as he saw a large shape emerge from behind the hill; first a tail, then a pair of massive claws....

    The Scorponok came into view.

    He screamed.

-The Ark-

    "Okay... I know this is called the Water Planet and all... but how can any Cybertronian colonists be living here?"

    Jazz couldn't help but agree with Sideswipe as they began to approach Aquatron. Consisting of all sea and no land, he had to wonder how any Transformer could live there without getting a major case of rust.

    "Perceptor, are you picking up any spark signatures?" he asked the scientist.

    "Around one million," Perceptor replied. "Strange, though; that would imply the presence of cities, but I'm not detecting any."

    "Maybe they're underwater," Bumblebee suggested.

    "I'm not sure any Cybertronian would be able to withstand that much water long enough to build them," Perceptor murmured. "Unless they were already there to begin with...."

    "So how are we gonna get down there?" Ironhide asked. "No place to land the ship or even a shuttle...."

    "We have some Mobile Autobot Repair Bays in the cargo hold," Ratchet said. "We could drop down on those."

    Jazz nodded. "Then we'll use those. Sideswipe, bring the Ark down low enough for us to drop off."

*  *  *

    "Optronix a Decepticon? You a Prime?" Roller laughed as he carried a heavy crate. "That's some dream, Orion. Almost sounds like one of Dion's fantasy stories."

    "Um, yeah," Optimus said, smiling weakly. He was still struggling to accept the fact that his entire life had just been a dream, that he had been a dock worker all along, and this his name was again Orion Pax instead of Optimus Prime.

    It couldn't have all been a dream, he thought. In fact, this right now feels more like a dream. What's going on...?

    "Hey, Orion!" Optimus turned at the sound of Dion's voice. The orange and blue mech was standing besides a slender, magenta-colored fembot, who struck Optimus as familiar....

    "How about less daydreaming and more working?" Dion said. "Elita and I can't move these crates ourselves."

    "Elita?" Optimus almost did not recognize her; lacking the additional, weathered armor she had added during the war, she looked happier, more peaceful and... beautiful.

    He shook his head. It's an illusion. This isn't real.

    Nonetheless, he stepped forward and went to join the pair. He would play along with this false reality for now, if only so he could get some answers.

*  *  *

    Seventy-eight percent.

    Xeros frowned at this drop in percentage. The subject's disbelief within the virtual reality was slowly but surely increasing. This would not do, and Inquirata would not be pleased, but given his stubborn personality, he would refuse to see the virtual setting changed. However, Inquirata was not currently present.... 

    Throwing cautious glances around him, Xeros moved to the console that connected Optimus Prime to the falsehood reality and began to alter its coding.

*  *  *

    "Orion, look out!"

    Optimus heard Roller's cry but was unable to turn around in time as something heavy hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. 

    When he finally came to, he was in the Ark's medibay, with Ratchet, Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Jazz standing over him.

    "He's coming to!" Bumblebee said excitedly.

    "About blasted time," Ironhide muttered.

    Optimus Prime groaned as he slowly sat up. "Ugh... what's going on? First I was captured, then-"

    "Yeah, about that." Ratchet smiled weakly. "You've been in stasis lock for seven orbital cycles."

    Optimus' optics widened. That was more than half a year. "It... doesn't feel like it's been that long."

    "Time passes differently for the comatose person than from the point of view of others."

    "But if it makes you feel any better, we've accomplished quite a bit while you were out," Ironhide said.

    "Like what?" Optimus asked.

    Jazz smiled. "We've won the war."

    Optimus' optics dilated even further. "What...?"

    "Yeah, we kind of went against your orders. After Lockdown captured you, we went back to Cybertron, gathered Magnus and the others, and launched an all-out assault on New Kaon. Now Megatron and all of his Decepticons are being cozy at Garrus-9."

    Optimus was speechless for a moment, taken aback by this news. When he found his voice, he said, "But... the AllSpark. Cybertron...."

    "Don't worry, Prime," Ratchet said. "We are continuing the quest, though its now easier without the 'Cons to get in our way."

    Optimus shook his head in wonder. Nearly a thousand years of strife, ended in mere months. A feeling of pride surged through him as he regarded his comrades.

    "Thank you, for going on in my absence."

    Jazz grinned. "Hey, it's what you would have wanted. What else could we have done?"

    "We're still celebrating in the lobby room," Bumblebee said. "Care to join us?"

    Optimus smiled. "Gladly."

*  *  *

    One hundred percent.

    Xeros smiled in satisfaction. Sometime it was for the best that the assistant was left with most of the work, if only to correct the mistakes the boss had made....

Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga XI, Prologue & Chapter One

PROLOGUE

    "I trust that you had a safe journey, bounty hunter?"

    Lockdown smirked as he walked down the boarding ramp of his ship, the Death's Head. Taking not of the heavily-armed guards surrounding him, he regarded the tentacled alien before him with mild disdain.

    "Indeed, Inquirata," he muttered. "At least as safe as my job allows."

    Inquirata smiled knowingly... or at least, Lockdown assumed it was a smile. The alien's bulbous head had bizarre curves, making its face barely distinguishable. 

    "Glad to hear it. Now then, did you succeed in acquiring your target?"

    "Yes, he's in the cargo hold," Lockdown said, gesturing at his ship with his hook hand. "But first, I would like to receive my payment first."

    Inquirata's smile vanished. "Not until we make sure you did indeed complete the job."

    "If you trusted my abilities enough to hire me, why do you now doubt me being able to finish a job?"

    The guards on either side of the alien tensed at the challenging tone in Lockdown's voice, but the bounty hunter remained defiant in his stance. Inquirata stared coldly at him, no doubt attempting the stare him down. After a moment, the alien smiled again, albeit less mirthful. 

    "Very well. Jaxis?"

    One of the guards stepped forward and handed Lockdown a handful of credits. The bounty hunter eagerly accepted them before turning back to his ship and remotely opening the ramp to the cargo hold. Placed there, held withing a stasis pod, was Optimus Prime.

*  *  *

    Axer had only been a Star Seeker for a few days and he was already hating it.

    Everywhere he went on the Tidal Wave, he was given looks of disdain and even beaten up by other crew members. No doubt this was because of his vehicular alt mode while pretty much everyone else had a bestial one.

    He was half-tempted to eject himself out the airlock. It was only the knowledge that Thundertron, the Star Seeker's leader, was after something valuable that kept him on board. Whatever it was, Axer intended to have a piece of it.

    Making his way to the bridge (Thundertron only tolerated his presence there as long as he shut up and worked), Axer found the crew working hard to bring the ship out of hyperspace. The navigational computer was beeping wildly.

    Walking up to Cannonball, the only other Cybertronian on board, Axer said, "What's going on?"

    "We've struck gold, apparently," Cannonball gruffly replied. "Looks like Thundertron's finally found what he's after."

    "And that would be...?"

    Cannonball said nothing, instead nodding to the viewport. The hyperspace tunnel vanished and a blue-green world came into view, consisting of mostly water and land.

    Axer snorted. "Nothing special."

    Cannonball grinned. "Oh, it's not the planet itself we're after, but rather, what's on it." The grin broadened. "Or should I say, 'who?'"

CHAPTER ONE

    "Okay, Perceptor, repeat that again, except with one hundred percent seriousness."

    Seated near the viewport on the Ark's bridge, Perceptor frowned. "Gigantion isn't there."

    "Maybe we miscalculated the jump," Jazz murmured, sitting in the command chair.

    "I never miscalculate jumps," muttered the pilot Sideswipe.

    "I'm afraid he's right," Perceptor said. "We're in the system, going by the Caminus asteroid belt floating nearby and its star Gigalonia being present, but Gigantion is nowhere to be found."

    Jazz groaned, slumping in his seat. As if their quest for the AllSpark couldn't get any worse: first, their leader, Optimus Prime, got captured by a bounty hunter, and now their destination for the third AllSpark shard was missing.

    "Are there any other colony worlds we can visit?" he then asked Perceptor.

    "There is Animatron, the Jungle Planet," the scientist replied. "Aquatron, the Water Planet; Combatron, the Iron Planet...."

    "Well, we'll have to visit all of those eventually. Let's start with Aquatron- do we have any water-based Autobots on board?"

    "Just ol' Barnacle Butt, Seaspray," Ironhide grunted. "I guess I should apologize to him for callin' him useless."

    Jazz nodded. "Right. Aquatron then. And let's hope it's actually there this time."

*  *  *

    "The Autobots have altered their course."

    Still mending his wounds from the battle on Junkion, Megatron lifted his baleful gaze to Soundwave. "Where to?"

    "Uncertain at this point. They have just left the Gigantion system, presumably in an attempt to throw us off."

    "I did not ask for presumptions, Soundwave," Megatron snapped. "Keep working until you figure out their course."

    As the emotionless comm officer went to work, Megatron sat back and mused over past events. How many more times would he be robbed of the opportunity to kill the mech whom he had once called brother and now called his arch-enemy? The list of encounters were endless:

    The first encounter on Cybertron; Trypticon turned on him and detracted him from his goal.

    The Raid on Tesarus; the Aerialbots bombed the camp and rescued Prime.

    The Battle of Vextor XI; the native razor-slugs were disturbed by the fighting on the surface and intervened.

    The Siege of Massunstrad, the Vorsk Offensive, the Rorsha Campaign... the list went on. And now Junkion, with Lockdown capturing Optimus Prime and leaving for parts unknown. How could nearly a thousand years-worth of opportunities pass while denying him the chance to satisfy his lust for vengeance?

    He was interrupted from his thoughts when Soundwave spoke again. "I have them, my lord."

    "Well?" Megatron said impatiently.

    "They are headed for the colony world Aquatron."

    "Why would they head for one colony only to go to another instead before they even reach the first one?" Barricade asked, to no one in particular.

    "Stop asking stupid questions and make way for Aquatron!" Megatron barked. As the Nemesis began to change course, the Decepticon leader made a mental note to not let Prime's fellow Autobots elude him again as well.

*  *  *

    Optimus Prime awoke to find himself on Cybertron.

    This was not possible for two reasons: the first being that he had purposely left Cybertron to find the AllSpark. Second of all, it was certainly no longer as beautiful as it was now.

    Rising up from the recharge slab he had been on, he looked down at himself and saw that he was in the body he had had long before he became a Prime. When he was Orion Pax....

    "Well, look who's finally up."

    Optimus looked towards the door to his quarters and saw his old friend Roller standing there, practically filling the door frame.

    "R-Roller?" he murmured. "What are you doing here? I thought-"

    "What, that I'd take up Dion's dare to skip work?" Roller laughed. "I'm not that brave and stupid, pal."

    "Dion?" Optimus shook his head. "No... Dion is dead."

    "No, he's not. At least, last I checked, he wasn't." Roller tilted his head, looking concerned. "You feeling okay, big guy?"

    "Yeah, I'm fine," Optimus lied, jumping off the recharge slab. "I just... had a bizarre stasis dream. I'll tell you about it on the way to work."

    "Sure thing," Roller said as he converted into a large armored van. "I told you to go easy on those energized energon cubes."

    "Um, right," Optimus said as he transformed as well. "I'll... keep that in mind next time."

*  *  *

    "Status."

    "The subject is ninety-eight-point-nine percent within the virtual reality. One-point-one percent of him is mildly aware that he is no longer in the true reality."

    Inquirata grimaced. "We'll have to do better than that, Xeros. We need him one-hundred-percent within the virtual reality in order to commence the experiment."

    "Understood," Xeros muttered. "However, I'm not sure if this 'setting' is the best. Too much has happened to him for him to simply disregard it as a dream."

    "It will work," Inquirata said sternly. "I have calculated the probabilities again and again, and I am without a doubt certain that this will succeed."

    "I'll take your word for it," Xeros murmured, returning to his work. "I have no other say in the matter."

THE DARK AGE

Part 4: Secrets in the Depths