The Children of Starscream

By Festus3 festus3@netins.net

Scene opens inside the Predacon's base where all except Batteram are present.

TARANTULUS: How much of that access code do you have down Drone? (Drone is sitting at a computer wearing rubber gloves trying code after code.)

DRONE: None, you either get the code one-hundred percent right, or one-hundred percent wrong. (He pushes the enter key and sparks fly out of the console.) That's why I'm wearing the gloves! (Waspinator and Transquito are playing cards, Waspinator has one chip and Transquitoe has several stacks, Chameleotron and Anacronda are in beast mode doing nothing in particular.)

TARANTULUS: What was that Decepticon hiding? What could require this extent of security? (Batteram's voice comes in over a com channel.)

BATTERAM: Batteram here, you know that cave you wanted me to check? It does have energon, and lots of it. (The view screen shows him hiding in a wall crevice inside a cave.)

ANACRONDA: Why are you looking for more energon anyway? That small crystal will last stellar centuries.

TARANTULUS: I need to know if the energon will interfere with any equipment I place there, as an emergency lair.

BATTERAM: You don't have to worry about the energon interfering, but there is a slight problem.

(He moves his comlink camera away from his face to show a huge room that looks like the stomach of a behemoth, and at closer look all over the walls there are writhing bipedal insect-like creatures, in the center surrounded by tan eggs a nightmare creature is sitting, its black body reflecting the small amounts of light produced by strange fungus growing on the cave walls, The creature's huge crested head looks around, its eyeless glare passing over the smaller drones crawling on the walls, its multiple arms placing eggs out of the way, its huge white abdomen resembling a giant worm quivers as it lays more eggs, as the eggs are lain the drones carry them away down a corridor. Batteram leans slightly out of his crack in the wall and knocks a rock loose, the creature's head snaps its glare directly at Batteram, it raises its head opening its' mouth, revealing another smaller mouth mounted on a tongue-like muscle, and screeches, the walls stop moving randomly and start flowing toward Batteram, the mini-camera shakes as Batteram begins to run, then the transmission ends. Everyone in the Pred cave is silent staring at the static.)

ANACRONDA: What the slag where those?!

TARANTULUS: They seemed to be some kind of hive creatures, like giant ants.

DRONE: Hey!

CHAMELEOTRON: Whatever they were they ain't friendly!

TARANTULUS: Waspinator, go salvage Batteram and bring him back.

WASPINATOR: Not fair! No one salvage Waspinator when he gets slagged! Besides, Bat-bot is too heavy for one.

TARANTULUS: Fine then, Transquito, you go too. (Transquito hits Waspinator over the head. A siren sounds on the computer and Drone hits a button bringing up a grid of the fringe of the jungle, three red dots are moving slowly.)

DRONE: Well well well.

Scene goes to the jungle where Panthor, Pestalance, and Bambard are in beast mode walking over the strange moss on the marshy floor the sunlight barely shows trough the canopy.

BAMBARD: Why did we have to do this? (Pestalance is carrying a small device in his paw.)

PESTALANCE: Some-one needed to chart all our territory. And if we're attacked by preds, tree of us'll have a better chance dan one. (They reach the edge of the jungle and are faced by an endless desert, sparsely scattered with boulders.)

BAMBARD: Yay! We're done. Right?

PANTHOR: I think so, it's going to take us a long time to get back to the base, we'd better get going.

(Suddenly Drone swoops down from above the trees carrying the smaller Chameleotron, they are then followed by Anacronda.)

ANACRONDA: Don't leave yet, we still have to play kareoke. (his huge hang glider wings fold onto his back and he pulls out his laser rifle, Drone pulls out his turbine gun.)

CHAMELEOTRON: Watch this little maneuver, (He pushes his transformation button.) Stagatron! (His body shudders and manipulates it's size to match the massive Insectitron's superstructure, he then brings his bazooka's muzzle level with the Maximals.)

BAMBARD: Oh no.

PESTALANCE: Run!

(They transform, the three preds are between them and the jungle so they are forced to run out onto the desert. they dive behind a large boulder and pull out their weapons, Drone and Anacronda start firing, Chameleotron, aims his bazooka at the boulder takes a single shot. Bambard looks up over the edge of the boulder and sees the immense shell heading for them.)

BAMBARD: Oh sla-(BOOOOM! The boulder is incinerated and the three Maximals go flying backwards and land on a slab of marble.)

ANACRONDA: Hehehe, on the count of three, one, two, three! (Thinking fast Panthor stands up and stomps on the edge of the slab causing it to flip up like a coin between them just as the Preds fire their weapons. The explosion causes them to fly back another fifty yards.)

CHAMELEOTRON: This time there's nothing to protect you, (He raises the bazooka and prepares to fire, then his diagnostic computer sounds out.)

DC: Transformation reserves at two percent, please return to original form, or stasis lock will commence.

CHAMELEOTRON: Aw slag. (He hits the button and returns to his original form.) We can still take'em. (The three begin to advance on the almost unconscious Maximals, then suddenly Drone is sucked underground.)

ANACRONDA: What the!

CHAMELEOTRON: Where'd he go?!

(Then a geyser of sand spouts from the ground with Drone in the center, the comatose robot lands at the feet of Anacronda, but no one pays attention to him, out of the place where Drone was ejected, a thing shoots out of the ground, like a giant worm half way out of the sand, its girth shivers when it hits the ground, at the front of it it has a jet black parrot-like beak as the top of its mouth but the bottom of its mouth consist of three mandible-like jaws, it has no eyes, its flesh is covered with small black claws that move to push it through the loose sand. Chameleotron is about three feet from its mouth, the stench created by the vile creature is almost overwhelming, he takes a half a step away, the creature opens its immense beak to reveal three little snake-like tongues with their own mouths that extend out and strike blindly for his feet, or at least where they were, Chameleotron runs toward the jungle in a panic, the thing rears up and plunges into the sand, creating a trail moving toward the fleeing Predacon.)

PANTHOR: What the sparkin' slag is that? (Chameleotron is a few feet away from the edge of the jungle and the thing is gaining on him. Anacronda expands his glider wings and takes off toward Chameleotron. The thing is right behind Chameleotron, then the small mouths shoot out the ground and strike, at that moment Anacronda swoops down and grabs Chameleotron then pulls up and heads to a safe altitude.)

PESTALANCE: (Raises his blaster pistol and prepares to fire.) Gotcha now.

PANTHOR: No don't! (But Panthor's warning is too late, Pestalance makes the shot, it makes a hole in one of Anacronda's wings and he and Chameleotron crash lands on a boulder, the path in the ground freezes and aims towards Pestalance.)

PESTALANCE: Oops.

BAMBARD: Run! (They head to the nearest boulder which just so happens to be the one that holds the unconscious Preds and scramble on just as the mouths lash at them.) Pestalance you idiot! (Drone wakes up he begins to stand up and sees the line in the ground divert toward him.)

DRONE: Ahhh! (He tries his ankle rockets but only one works, he gets off the ground and over the monster, then his rocket goes out and he lands face-down in the sand a few feet from the rock that has the now Unconscious Anacronda and Chameleotron on top, it takes a few moments for the creature to realize where he is and then it shifts into high gear and motors toward him. Drone collapses in defeat, then a strong hand grabs his extend hand and pulls him onto the rock just as the thing burst from the ground. He looks up and sees Panthor dragging to the middle of the boulder.)

PESTALANCE: What are you doin'? He's a stinkin' Pred!

BAMBARD: Shut up! Don't you get it yet? That thing can't see obviously, it can't smell through the ground, so it must be able to hear us.

DRONE: We can't get off this rock until we know it's gone. (A strange animal like a three foot lizard/eel with armor plating and only two legs in the front scrambles out of a crack in the boulder and lands on the sand. It senses the movement of the creature coming out of the ground and in an instant reaction rolls into a ball and uses its two forelegs to motor across sand, the thing powers through the sand after the metal ball and over a sand dune.) Well I guess that's-(He collapses from exhaustion. The sun is beginning to set as the camera fades.)

Scene goes to the same boulder at dawn. The Maximals are gone.

ANACRONDA: (Struggles to sit up.) Ohhhh, what happened? (He stiffens with panic and looks out across the sand.)

DRONE: (Sits up slowly.) We're safe on this boulder so we should wait until our internal repairs finish. (There is a faint whir of helicopter blades and Waspinator and Transquito appear out of the jungle.)

ANACRONDA: Or we could get out of here now. (Chameleotron stands up and they start waving to the two to get their attention.)

WASPINATOR: Waspinator sees them! (The two prepare to land on the sand but the yells from the other three persuade them otherwise.)

TRANSQUITO: Why can't we land on the sand? (Instead they land on a larger boulder right next to the one Anacronda, Drone and Chameleotron are on.)

DRONE: Believe me, you don't want to know!

ANACRONDA: What happened to Batteram?

WASPINATOR: Waspinator found Bat-bot, Waspinator also found password for secret part of ship.

DRONE: What!?

TRANSQUITO: He tripped and landed on the computer, and, by one in a million chance hit all the right keys.

CHAMELEOTRON: That's funny, I don't remember a boulder there.(The boulder stirs and knocks the two flyers off then the boulder reveals what it actually is, the creature stands over twenty feet tall on it's stubby legs, it's skin is a dark brown striped color. It stretches its long arms out with clawed hands big enough to grasp Rhinox in its fist, then the creature raises its head, a flat brown pug face sticking out from between its massive shoulders, in the middle of it's face is a mouth big enough to bite half of a stasis pod, flaring nostrils above the mouth and two small black eyes make up the smaller details of it's head. The giant reptilian gorilla-like creature looks down at Waspinator and Transquito, leans down within four yards of them and unleashes a bellowing roar that shakes the boulder the three damaged Predacons are sitting on. Waspinator and Transquitoe look at each other and run with light speed into the jungle.)

WASPINATOR: Waspinator hate this planet! (The behemoth turns to the other three and reaches a claw out trying to snatch up the scrambling Predacons, then the creature's foot is pulled underground, it takes it attention off of the robots and drives its hands down into the sand next to its leg, the claws come up gripping a massive thirty foot worm, the worm is too heavy for the creature and it loses its grip on the creature, but not before ripping its flesh open down both sides, the beaked worm wails in pain and goes under ground. The other monster lumbers off after it following the sand trail.)

DRONE: Let's get the slag out of here! (The three transform into beast mode and hurry into the jungle toward their base. At the edge of the jungle a black head ducks down into a mass of ferns, under the leaf cover a black panther, a white rat, and a stag are huddled around a small black speaker.)

BAMBARD: Smooth move.

PANTHOR: Yeah, good thing you had that bug with you. (The white rat stands up on it's hind legs and takes a bow.)

PESTALANCE: Thank you, thank you.

PANTHOR: We should get back to base as fast as possible whatever they where talking about it didn't sound good. (Bambard leaps out of the ferns and shakes the dew out of his brown fur.)

BAMBARD: Let's go then, (He pauses and grins.) race you back! (He lopes away with Panthor and Pestalance close behind.)

Scene goes inside the Predacon base where all seven Predacons are standing at the now unlocked door.

ANACRONDA: You're saying you haven't even gone in yet?

TARANTULUS: Of course not, there's probably all sorts of booby traps in there!

DRONE: Oh slaggit! (He goes up to the door and hits the open button, then dives out of the way, to everyone's surprise nothing happens, it is dark inside the huge storage room, Drone peeks around the edge of the doorway and hits the lights,)

TARANTULUS: Incredible.

CHAMELEOTRON: What are they?

TARANTULUS: (The camera pans from in front of him to behind him to show what is in the middle of the huge room, three floor to ceiling pillars, thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide. But in the middles of them are shapeless blobs of Mercury-like liquid,) Those are Prototypes. (He walks up to one of them and touches the glass, around the edges of the room are rows and stacks of computer consoles separated into the sections, one for each prototype.)

BATTERAM: Unbelievable! (Drone walks up to a small separate computer console and types a little bit.)

DRONE: These are Starscream's personal personal logs, these are disconnected from the rest of the ship entirely, all of these computers are.

TARANTULUS: Open up the logs.

Scene goes to the outside of the Maximal base where the three scouts are returning in a big hurry. They are sky-lifted into the base by a make shift elevator.

DINOBOT: This one's only temporary, Whiplash is drawing up plans for one inside the mountain. Now, what is the urgency of your arrival?

BAMBARD: Well to tell the truth we were just racing but we overheard the Preds talking about some secret room in their section of the ship.

WHIPLASH: Rattrap, is there anything on a secret room in the data tracks?

RATTRAP: No, there ain't nothin' about no secret room.

PANTHOR: I think we should check it out, they sounded pretty excited about it.

BOOMERANG: (To Dinobot.) I agree with them, we should check out what's goin' on over there.

PARRATOR: Me two, except you guys go, I'll, I'll stay here and guard the ship.

RATTRAP: Whatever dat spider's got planned, it ain't good.

DINOBOT: All right, (He turns to Panthor, Bambard, and Pestalance.) Do you three have enough energy?

PANTHOR: You bet, we had all night for internal repairs.

DINOBOT: Good, then I believe we should all go, and Rattrap the external weapons are functional right?

RATTRAP: You bet choppa-face.

DINOBOT: Perfect turn them on if there is any sign of Predacons. As for the rest of us, we leave right away.

WHIPLASH: Let's go then.

Scene goes back into the secret cargo hold where all the Preds are gathered around the console listening to Starscream's personal logs.

STARSCREAM: On a stealth mission my loyal servant Stagatron discovered a large stasis pod labeled with an X, I brought it into this section of the ship and sealed it, hopefully unknown by the rest of my crew. I read the data tracks of the pod and it explained that the protoform was an attempt to replicate an indestructible spark like mine. The protoform, in a way, was my prodigy, but, it would be too dangerous as a whole so I divided it into three sections, and each of those sections was fused to three sparks from normal stasis pods, resulting in a perfectly loyal drone. The orb constructed computer systems capable of manipulating the new super protoforms in any way I desire. As soon as I reach Cybertron they will be the first I release upon the unknowing population then my crew and as the final blow I will use this ships raw power to eliminate all space installations and within a matter of days I will rule Cybertron, and after that, the Universe! (Drone hits the button to turn it off before Starscream can begin laughing maniacally.)

TARANTULUS: Let's begin, Drone get all of these computers on-line, Anacronda get me the three deadliest beast modes you can find.

ANACRONDA: I've got the perfect ones in mind.

TARANTULUS: Waspinator, Transquito and Batteram, you three are on sky patrol, make sure if you see any Maximals keep them away at all costs! Chameleotron, keep an eye on those vital signs, I will program these things.

(Everyone goes of to do their jobs, Drone begins walking around the room turning on all of the computers, Batteram and the two choppers leave the room, Anacronda goes up to the computers and begins using long range scanning.)

TARANTULUS: (Walks up to the first wall of computers,) Hmmm (he begins entering commands.) one hundred percent loyal to me, hehehe, wait what's this? (he notices a small two choice option.) When I conquer Cybertron I will be sided by a queen. (He goes around to the others and enters the simple personality trait, loyal to Tarantulus.)

ANACRONDA: I've got their best modes selected and ready, here (he tosses a small disk to Tarantulus who doesn't even read it before he sticks it in the computer.)

Computer: Please confirm to initiate activation process.

TARANTULUS: Hehehe. (He stabs the button with a gold claw.) Welcome, welcome to existence children of Starscream. (The tubes fill with a black oil-like substance and electric pulses create silhouettes of the formless blobs changing shape. Suddenly Waspinator comes in over Tarantulus' intercom.) What is it?!

WASPINATOR: The Maximals are attacking! (camera goes to outside where the sun is just setting and Batteram and Transquito are criss crossing the sky in their vehicle modes shooting at the Maximals.) Too many Maximals not enough Predacons out here! (Waspinator turns just in time to see Boomerang's boomerang slice his abdomen off, the com line goes off.)

TARANTULUS: No! no! no! This is bad, Everyone get out there we can't let the Maximals have this prize! (Before he runs out he types in a few more commands telling the computer to have the new warriors come out and attack the Maximals. Chameleotron is standing between a the three cylinders that are placed in a triangle around him he starts running and trips over something.)

CHAMELEOTRON: Ow! (He gets back up and runs out of the door. The camera zooms in on one of the cords that splits into three and connects to the tubes is now severed, it is the cord that controls their personalities. Tarantulus runs out of the cave firing his shoulder rockets and wheel gun.)

TARANTULUS: Hold them back! (Drone begins firing his turbine gun and Anacronda begins firing his blaster rifle, Chameleotron transforms into Rhinox and starts firing his double chain-guns. The Maximals are behind a small pile of rocks at the edge of the beach, the Predacons are scrambling around the open beach.)

DINOBOT: You were right, they're desperate to hide this. (he fires some more with his muzzle blaster.) It's nice to actually get to use real guns.

BAMBARD: Do you still have eye lasers? (Dinobot looks up over the rocks and clips Transquito's wings with his yellow eye lasers.)

DINOBOT: Of course.

TARANTULUS: (whispering to himself) It shouldn't take this long, where are they? (Inside the chamber the lights have gone out and the cylinders are shattered, dark silhouettes are moving in the pale light.)

VOICE1: What's going on? (The voice is female but gruff and screechy.)

VOICE2: (This voice is deep, like James Earl Jones') I don't know. (a giant black claw of an immense brown finger hits a button and brings up Starscream's logs. Back outside the battle rages on.)

WHIPLASH: This is going no where! We have to try something else! (Dinobot transforms into beast mode and then vehicle mode.)

DINOBOT: Cover me. (The Maximals all start firing at once and Dinobot rips out from behind the rocks and drive right up to Anacronda and Chameleotron/Rhinox, transforms in mid-air pulls out two swords and drive one into each of their chests as he passes between them. He then picks up the chain-guns and starts firing at Transquito and Batteram, forcing them right over the other Maximals where they are shot down and crash into the wet sand at the edge of the beach.)

DRONE: (Right behind Dinobot with his turbine gun pointed into the Maximal leader's back.) Move, and you're history. (Whiplash walk up behind Drone and pulls out his light saber and readies his shoulder mounted scorpion tails and back mounted rattlesnake head.)

WHIPLASH: Drop it ant. (Drone turns quickly but is shredded by Whiplash's swift slashing, striking and slicing. Tarantulus points his gun and Anacronda's blaster rifle at both of them.)

TARANTULUS: Not this time, Maximal scum. (He prepares to fire, but then looks to his side and notices the five Maximals to his left. They let loose their weapons and Tarantulus flies back and slams against the mountain side. Back inside the ship Starscream's logs are just finishing.)

VOICE3: That's what we are? Manipulated drones? (This voice is deep yet kind of scratchy.)

VOICE1: I know what went wrong, (a huge spidery black hand picks up the severed wire.) We can control our own will.

VOICE2: Yes that's right. We cannot join either side of this war.

VOICE1: We will be our own faction, the, the, Titans.

VOICE3: I like that.

VOICE2: Yes that makes sense, first we must get out of here and secure our own base.

VOICE1: We don't even know who we are.

VOICE2: (The lights come on and reveal the black nightmare creature at the light switch, and the underground worm and Giant Reptilian Gorilla creature standing in the middle.) Call me Brutallion.

VOICE3: I am Quake.

VOICE1: And I am, Darkrazor.

BRUTALLION: Let's go now. (Outside of the cave the Maximals are gathered around Dinobot who is interrogating Tarantulus.)

DINOBOT: What is it you were protecting?

TARANTULUS: It's too late now hahahahahaha- (The wall of the cave explodes open as Brutallion dozes through it, then the other two titans come out of the cave, Quake is having trouble moving on top of the ground. All the robots on the beach are silent, even the ones to damaged to get up turn their gaze to the immense forms.)

DARKRAZOR: Titans! Terrorize!

BRUTALLION: Brutallion! Terrorize! (The massive beast bellows and then transforms into an equally massive robot with the following weapons: wrist guns, shoulder guns, eye lasers, an electropulse club, and a fusion cannon.)

QUAKE: Quake! Terrorize! (The vile worm lifts it's front end up off of the ground and transforms into another massive robot with the following weapons: wrist guns, shoulder guns, eye lasers, swords made out of the lower mandibles of his mouth, a shield made from the beak, and a seismic burst cannon with the three little mouths attached to the end.)

DARKRAZOR: Darkrazor! Terrorize! (The nightmarish, spidery creature opens it's mouth in an earsplitting shriek and transforms into a tall thin and in a way beautiful robot with the following weapons: wrist guns, shoulder guns, eye lasers, a shield made out of the head crest that can be held or attached to either arm, a tail whip, and a double mouth proton gun.)

TARANTULUS: (All the Maximals run away except Dinobot who stays there holding Tarantulus by the neck.) You're scrap now, Maximal scum!.

QUAKE: You are the one who activated us?

TARANTULUS: Yes. (Darkrazor lifts her arm holding the double mouth gun and fires a single shot into Dinobot's chest, Dinobot goes flying and skids to a stop in the sand.) My loyal servants, destroy the Maximals!

DARKRAZOR: No, (Tarantulus turns around just in time to see one of Brutallion's huge robot hands grab him around the waist, Brutallion then holds the flailing Predacon up close to Darkrazor who is twice the size of Tarantulus. She stares into his eyes and her own change from yellow to red,) There is a small problem with your orders, we don't want to obey them, (she fires her eye lasers and slices one of his arms of and Tarantulus wails in pain,) You don't control us, we will be no one's puppets! (she burns his other arm off and Tarantulus screams again,) And one last thing, make sure you scream really loud before what I do next. (she transforms into beast mode and brings her eyeless, black, crested exoskeletal head right up to his and opens her mouth just slightly, showing him the smaller mouth inside.)

TARANTULUS: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-(Darkrazor drives the second mouth straight through Tarantulus's head and out the other side. Brutallion drops the now stasis locked body onto the sand and Darkrazor returns to robot mode.)

DARKRAZOR: Who's next? (The Titans turn to see all of the Maximals weapons drawn and ready to fight.)

BRUTALLION: Bring it on! (The Maximals begin letting loose a shower of missile and laser fire, before the wave of projectiles reaches them Darkrazor and Quake pull out their shield and Brutallion just stands his ground, Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom! Explosion after explosion rocks the Titans. The beach is heavily covered in smoke.)

DINOBOT: Stop! (He holds up his hand to stop the Maximals from firing furthermore. The smoke clears and to the Maximals' amazement the Titans are standing there, battered but still on their feet.)

QUAKE: Our turn! (Quake and Darkrazor throw down their shields and the three activate all of their weapons, lasers, seismic pulses and Fusion bursts rip the beach apart, the Maximals fly in every direction and when the shooting stops, only Pestalance remains, crouched into a ball in the middle of the explosions amazingly untouched.)

PESTALANCE: Help. (The Titans walk up to the cowering blue and white robot, stare down at him, Brutallion raises a foot and prepares to stomp on him, then a tremor of energon interference goes through his body and then goes over the other two.)

QUAKE: Ahhh! What's wrong?

BRUTALLION: Convert to beast mode, before we go into... stasis... lock! (The three transform, Quake goes underground and Darkrazor and Brutallion move retreat into the jungle, heading the opposite direction from both bases.)

DARKRAZOR: This is not over! We will destroy you all! (She disappears into the jungle. Pestalance rolls over on his back and just lies on the sand for a few minutes.)

PESTALANCE: I'm alive, hehehe, I'm alive! Haha! I'm I'm I'm Alive! (He then collapses in shock.)

NOTE_For those of you who couldn't get a picture of the Titans here are the movies and names of the creatures.

Darkrazor: Alien Queen, Aliens.

Quake: Graboid, Tremors.

Brutallion: Rancor, Return of the Jedi.