After the glorious victory over Omegracon’s massive forces, the Maximals and humans simmered down to focus on impending issues. The subterranean base had been penetrated and exposed to both the surface and Omegracon’s attacks, and it would be a matter of time before Omegracon would strike at them again.

Everyone at the human base was beginning to evacuate. Transports had been arranged to take the refugees to Cheyenne mountain to the southeast and other secret facilities scattered across the North American continent. It was of vital importance that they dispersed - for Omegracon could only attack a specific region at a time.

While the humans under commander Carter’s command set to work with the evacuation, Botanica had some other work to do. Adam sat under Botanica’s examination scope with his chest wide open. Looking down at himself, it was hard for Adam to get used to the sensation of being taken apart without blood or pain.

"Incredible!" Botanica said again, as she had continually exclaimed throughout the examination. She scanned his heart and arteries at a microscopic level. Through her instruments, she saw every part, every component of him. The nannites inside his body were working feverishly, constantly reformatting the mechanical structures and even themselves. Adam’s body cells were still clearly human, but also changing - increasingly becoming more technorganic as they actively interacted with Cybertronian circuitry.

"What is it?" asked Adam, "Am I getting worse?"

"Not at all, in fact...better!" Botanica excitedly told him, "Your body’s getting more and more technorganic, fusing with both the technological hardware and even the genetic material of RedStreak’s beast mode!"

Adam, with eyes fixated on the Maximals, muttered, "In other words, I’m becoming more like your kind...and less human for that matter."

Botanica looked to Cheetarus and the others, whose eyes were as sullen as hers. The Maximals were silent for an entire minute. Botanica turned back to Adam, tenderly saying, "This is difficult for us all, Adam. But know that no matter how much you change, you are always human here." She pointed down at Adam’s chest, right at the pulsating heart drumming merrily away.

Rattrap brought up one question these examinations were attempting to resolve. "What about his ability to...oh...shoot raw energon out at drones and blast them to bits?" he speedily blurted out.

"I’m curious about that was well," ThunderClaw admitted. Silverbolt looked at him with wide eyes. Smiling, ThunderClaw added, "So I can learn to do that!" Silverbolt put his hand over his head and moaned.

Botanica turned to a computer screen set up on a wall. Clicking on a schematic of Adam’s body, she began a simulation. "The energon in his body is somehow created from an internal source, not outside forces." In the simulation, charts went off the scale with energon radiation as it flowed from the torso to the fingertips, discharging periodically.

"Were it not for the fact his body’s largely organic, I’d say it were transmetallized since it can absorb and discharge energon just as efficiently." she explained.

"But how is the energon created in the first place?" Black Arachnia asked, "Its not something organics can do naturally."

Botanica sighed. "All my scans, examinations, and studies can’t explain it. Even I don’t understand it, but I know this much: somehow the interaction between the organic and technorganic produces a tremendous amount of energy. Adam’s body has somehow become a source of perpetual energy."

Adam pushed away the examination scope and sat up with a bewildered look on his face. "What does that mean? Am I-I just gonna keep building up this energy until I explode? Am I going to be a human lightning rod for the rest of my life?"

"No," said Botanica, "As we speak, your body is rapidly adapting to this condition, becoming able to store and expel this energy with increasing efficiency. It’s a phenomenon unprecedented in both human and Cybertronian science!"

Adam gazed at the reflective lens of the examination scope, looking over the strange new face he inherited. Everything about it was alien, except for his eyes - that seemed to be the only human feature left. But then, as he blinked, his pupils changed, becoming narrow vertical slits.

He jolted, knocking the instrument off its post. Adam shuddered at what he had seen...and feared what he might become.

Ursacon’s footfalls thudded loudly as he patrolled the deepest catacombs of Cybertron. It was dark down here, and deathly quiet. It was enough to make even his normally calm personality on edge. Without warning, a tiny pebble slipped down from a ledge and plunked on his head...

"ARRRRRGH!" the Maximal roared. He transformed into a tall and heavy-built form, unleashing the missiles imbedded in his long forearms. A large chain-gun automatically launched out of his back and right into his hands. Urascon set it for full blast and fragged the walls around him.

The chain-gun quickly ran out of bullets, stopping Ursacon’s onslaught with a soft click. Looking around, the walls around him were gorged out in long tracks and scorch marks in abundance. Large chunks of granite started to crumble into dust as Ursacon realized it was nothing.

"Oops." he said, "I’ve gotta cut back my energon intake..."

A loud whirling sound started to echo down the tunnels. Ursacon grunted in surprise, quickly reloading his chain gun. More sounds started up as well, like metal rumbling and servos squeaking. Then there was the humming of power conduits charging up. It was as if something down here...a machine or something...was activating.

Ursacon ran in his bulky robot mode back down the halls he just previously passed scarcely a megacycle ago. He left the catacombs and headed for an ancient part of Iacon, one that had only recently been investigated and opened up...

In a wide, massive chamber, he saw a massive spheroid computer come to life. Lights and controls began to glow, whereas before they were dark and dusty. Ursacon was a sentinel, not a scientist, so he couldn’t understand what all these lights and symbols around him meant.

However, he remembered one thing: about ten stellar cycles ago, when he was just a cub-bot at the academy, there was a boring part of his history lesson referring to Autobot legends and myths...

NightScream was occupied on the surface studying an unusual anomaly discovered by one of his troops. Just millicycles before, Coyotek handed him a collection of data discs containing telescopic scans of the various transwarp conduits at the edge of Cybertronian space.

Gazing at the computer screen, NightScream said to Coyotek, "You’re right. Somehow the transwarp conduit leading to Earth has reopened recently..."

"Within the last solar cycle for certain!" Coyotek further stated.

"Yeah...and the means only one thing," NightScream concluded, "Someone’s about to invade us..."

Without warning, a giant explosion shook one of the near-by spires. NightScream toppled to the floor from the blast, the data discs flung from his hands. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "What on Cybertron?"

He and Coyotek went over to the railing overlooking much of the Cybertronian defense complex. The spire that had been struck just moments before was moaning as support struts collapsed, causing the whole spire to fall like a tree. It hit an auxiliary power generator, creating a second blast.

Lights began to flicker around them. "Uh-oh, that can’t be good," said Coyotek.

Back-up systems started to hum to life in mere nano-cycles, taking over the damaged generator. Another explosion hit a second spire, causing it to tumble as well. The lights inside the Central Defense Tower began to flicker again, causing NightScream alarm.

"Whoever’s out there is trying to knock out our power, generator by generator!" he exclaimed, "And he’s already taken two of the trinary generators out!"

A third explosion rocked the complex again. "Make that three!" shouted Coyotek. An alarm deep inside the Central Defense Tower began to go off, declaring that something was going wrong. Every light started to dim as the tower switched to gray mode.

The canine Maximal turned to Cybertron’s remaining general for guidance. "Well, what should we do?" he earnestly asked.

NightScream got up, more grouchy than ever. With a bitter face, he declared, "Let’s slag whoever’s out there!"

Switching to his beast mode, NightScream took to the air to personally seek out the attacker. Before flying off though, he turned to Coyotek and ordered for him to ready the tower’s internal defense system, in case this unseen invader tried to take the defense complex’s command center.

"Will do, NightScream!" he promised before dashing inside.

NightScream started to circle about the tower, following the explosions. Eight more spires were blasted apart, all without an enemy in sight. Slag! Not even my infrared scanners are picking anything up! This guy must be invisible! But there’s still one trick left in my book....

Opening his mouth, NightScream let out a high-pitched scream of incredible force. Every tower around him echoed like a vast array of tuning forks, filling the skies with sound. NightScream’s long ears picked up the sounds, using them pinpoint one minor defect.

"There!" he shouted. In a heartbeat, NightScream transformed, flying with bat wings now attacked to his feet. He sucked in a huge amount of air, then blasted it out, sending out his patented sonic scream. The scream engulfed the invisible attacker, shaking him like a can of beans.

NightScream smiled, sure that he’d knocked the bot out cold. But then, another explosion rocked the skies right behind him. NightScream turned around in time to see another giant spire coming down right on top of him!

He let out a gasp, but quickly darted away, letting the spire crash down onto an open loading bay. He gritted his teeth and turned his eyes back on the metal stump the tower broke away from. "That does it! Whoever you are, prepare to have your skidplates pulled right off!" the Maximal shouted angrily.

Laughter started to echo around him. "HehHehHehHeh! HaHaHaHa!" it boomed all around him. NightScream paused in mid-air, his servo-fluids running cold. That voice was something that came right out of the Pit, and yet it was so familiar to his old ears...

As NightScream looked about, the voice continued to laugh in amusement. "Oh my dear NightScream," casually said the voice, "It has been such a long time since we last met, and yet you as still soooo naive...heh,heh!"

NightScream looked in all directions, circling around and around for a target, but found nothing. Then, while he looked away for one brief second, a just barely tangible outline appeared behind him. A ripple of electricity passed through the air, and a large, dark figure materialized behind the Maximal.

"Hello and goodbye, NIGHTSCREAM!", Megatron shouted.

The Maximal turned around just a nano-click later, beholding the newest incarnation of his long-dead enemy with a horrified face. Megatron pointed his right arm at NightScream and fired one of his red rockets. It blasted into NightScream’s torso, sending the Maximal spiraling backwards into the Central Defense Tower.

NightScream’s body was blown through two walls of tritanium shielding, thudding into a third wall deep inside the tower. He collapsed onto the floor, groaning in pain. NightScream lifted himself off the floor with his arms, his servos and technorganic muscles groaning.

Megatron laughed proudly, then transformed into an aerospace vehicle resembling a stealth fighter that was armed to the teeth. He followed NightScream’s trajectory, firing a volley of missiles and plasma fire into the tower. The outer layers were peeled away from the building, and the hole NightScream made enlarged further. Megatron flew through the burning ash cloud to finish off his prey....

On Earth, the evacuation of McNeil park was completed, the inhabitants safely en route to new havens. The Maximals were now on the other side of the continent, on the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. Commander Carter and a few elite specialists were preparing a specialized aquacraft to take them to yet another secret facility.

"Where as he headed exactly?" Cheetarus Prime asked Carter.

As the rear hatch of the aquacraft closed, Carter answered, "A staging post on an island in the central Atlantic. We of the U.S.N.A. refer to it as Coral Base." At the head of the boat, a pilot switched the thrusters on, sending the aquacraft sailing across the water at subsonic speeds.

The Maximals were amazed at the sight of an ocean - a mass so fluidic and energetic - such an alien landscape to beings from a world built upon solid metal. The sunlight shimmered beautifully off its surface, more elegant than the most refined sculpture. On a few occasions, they caught glimpses of schools of fish passing beneath them and dolphins leaping out of the salty water.

Botanica...for some unusual reason, began to feel light-headed. "What’s wrong shrubs? The sea air no good for ya?" Rattrap asked out of concern.

"It’s nothing..." she said.

Over the eastern edge of the ocean, something tall and thin appeared that stretched up into the heavens. It grew taller and more forbidding as they drew closer until it became a black tower linking the ocean to a dark moon hovering in the sky.

"Omegracon’s umbilical," Carted told the Maximals, "After he attacked the Earth’s defenses, he shot this down right into Earth’s mantle, and has been using it to drain away the Earth’s core for energy."

"Looks like he’s sucking your planet dry from the inside out." ThunderClaw commented.

Suddenly the aquacraft was sharply thrusted upwards, nearly knocked out of the water. Spouts of water came up from all around them. The Maximals were shuffled around inside like a deck of cards.

Carter quoted, "An example of his effects on the planet. Believe me, it’s getting worse everywhere thanks to him...."

Botanica got up, feeling even weaker than before. "Oh..." she groaned, "I...I can feel this planet growing weaker here." The other Maximals turned to her, seeing her face slowly turn gray. "Omegracon’s not just draining the geothermal energy from the Earth, but the life as well...."

Carter warned the Maximals they were within Omegracon’s occupation zone. "We’ve learned from experience that his troops and mechanisms will attack anything with even a weak energy signature. Reactors, energy weapons, computer systems," Looking at Botanica’s semi-transparent body, noting the pulsating blue orb within her, "Transformer sparks. But don’t worry, we have a way around his sensors."

The pilot pulled a switch. The thrusters slowed, and a gurgling sound began to rumble around the hull. The whole aquacraft began to submerge, vanishing from view beneath the ocean’s skin.

As they neared the island Coral Base was posted on, it became obvious of Omegracon’s negative impact. Below, the coral was pale, almost completely bleached of color. The starfish and sea anemones looked sickly. There were few fish, and no dolphins splashing about. Anything alive that could move apparently had fled from this region....

The aquacraft took them to the edge of an undersea wall, where a portal opened. They went inside, right into the heart of the human opposition against the overlord above. Upon leaving the aquacraft, the Maximals were taken past rows of submarines and tanks, past squadrons of fighters and attack spacecraft. Every force from every nation and faction on Earth was gathered under this isle to form on strong front.

"Impressive, but force alone won’t stop something like Omegracon." Black Arachnia said.

"We are aware of that, and have made plans." Carter told her. He and a pair of armed soldiers escorted the Maximals to a meeting room. Using a primitive holographic projector, he laid out their master scheme to rid Earth of Omegracon.

"Our first and foremost priority is to sever the umbilical," the commander stated, "And that is where you Maximals come into play..."

"What?" Rattrap blurted out. The Maximals, Adam even, looked at one another in wonder. Carter clicked on the controls, switching over to a set of various diagrams. There was model of the Earth, Omegracon, and the umbilical between; a missile launcher; a shuttlecraft; and a transmitter with two large reflective dishes.

"Because Omegracon is too powerful for a direct assult, we need a distraction." He magnified the transmitter device and began to explain its function. "This is a transphotonic amplifier. What it will do is amplify your Maximal signatures a thousand fold and..."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa here!" Rattrap interrupted, "You expect us to sit in front of this thing and give Omegracon a clear target? Ha! And I thought Preds had a few screw loose!"

Carter glanced at Rattrap scornfully, but ignored him for the moment. "Not all of you. Only a few - say two or three, are needed for phase one. Phase two requires the assistance of several others. There is an old Cybertronian installation on our moon, and we need your expertiece in reactivating it."

"Wait a minute, how do we get there?" asked Adam, his concern for the Maximals starting to show.

Another hologram was brought up, one of the shuttle. "Shuttle Discovery, an old orbital craft we salvaged and retrofitted with the help of the Autobots decades ago. It will do the job..." Carter assured them.

Finally, Carter summarized the whole operation. "In conclusion, we distract Omegracon’s forces using the ampliphier in phase one. Phase two: we eliminate Omegracon’s central defense forces by attacking from both Coral Base and the moon installation. Phase three: we launch our missile right into the umbilical. The combination of nuclear and antimatter explosions will cut the umbilical, leaving Omegracon without a power source and vulnerable."

It was a great plan in such a risky situation, but there was one flaw: amongst the Maximals, some would have to leave, others to stay. For those that stayed, it meant risking their very sparks to draw Omegracon’s attention elsewhere. For those that boarded the Discovery, it meant possibly losing three friends.

All six Maximals were gathered together on the subsurface launch platform of the Discovery. They needed to decide now and there who would stay. Silverbolt and Black Arachnia looked at one another. Putting his hand on Black Arachnia’s shoulder, Silverbolt said, "We’ll stay here. We...won’t be as necessary in space as Rattrap and Botanica’s technical skills."

The launch sequence began. Fifteen minutes remained. Cheetarus Prime, Rattrap, Adam, and ThunderClaw began to climb the stairs, but Botanica stood at their base still. Rattrap turned around and yelled, "Shurbs! Come on and climb in! What are you standing around for?"

"I’m...better suited here. I...can not go." she said.

Rattrap raced down the stairs to her. He refused to let her go, hollering "No! I won’t allow it! I...WE NEED YOU!"

"I...am weak already. If I leave the Earth now, I’m sure to perish. You..." Botanica let out a weary sigh, feeling weaker. "You have...all we need. I would be a burden on such a journey. You need...Cheetarus...and...Thunder...Claw...for protect...tion. Besides...a third spark here will...be a greater...distraction."

"T-minus eleven minutes and counting..." the speakers blared. The Maximals began climbing upwards, preparing to enter the airlock. Botanica came with, to say goodbye to Rattrap. It was the least she could do for them.

Adam wasn’t at ease with this arrangement. "This doesn’t make sense. I-I should be the one to stay behind. I haven’t got anything useful! Not even any weapons!" he said to ThunderClaw, "I should be the one to stay!"

"No use. You’ve got no spark so no sense in wasting your life." said ThunderClaw, "We...need someone with a spark. Someone...expendable...."

The panther-bot looked down at Silverbolt and Black Arachnia, holding each other in a loving embrace. They looked up at Botanica and Rattrap with pity in their eyes. Pity, for what? though ThunderClaw, Both their lives will be wasted...no good will happen. Then, looking at Rattrap’s sad and miserable eyes, he realized why. They’ll...at least be together when it happens. They’ll...have their love....

"T-minus five minutes and counting..."

Botanica stood on the launch tower next to the Discovery. The launch bay doors above were slowly opening, the motors whirling. Botanica and Rattrap gave each other one last goodbye before departing. Now everone destined for the moon was aboard, except for ThunderClaw, who hadn’t spoken to Botanica yet.

"Well...it looks like you’re the last Maximal I’ll see." Botanica softly spoke.

ThunderClaw had his eyes averted. "Yeah. Maybe...but..." He looked at Silverbolt and Black Arachnia one last time, trying to make the decision. Finally he made it. He grabbed Botanica by her arms with a strong grip. She screamed for him to let go, but ThunderClaw didn’t. Instead, he tossed her inside the shuttle, slamming the airlock behind her.

"Perhaps you’ll be the last Maximal I’ll see..." ThunderClaw muttered.

The final seconds arrived. "T-minus ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six...."

The rockets beneath the Discovery roared to life, sending the old craft into orbit for one final mission. ThunderClaw leaped away to the far end of the tower, quickly covering his eyes before the flaming exhaust caught up. His fur was scorched by the very force of the flames...but he lived. Looking up at Botanica’s shrinking face in the porthole, ThunderClaw realized at that moment how important love was to a person’s life...

On Cybertron, NightScream, even when backed by Coyotek and Ursacon, was having difficulty holding his own at the Central Defense Tower. As the Maximals took cover behind a damaged control console, an energy-pulse rifle descended from the ceiling, immediately taking aim and firing at Megatron. It let loose a barrage of energy blasts against the Predacon, but all it managed to do was scuff his armor a little bit.

"Ugh! Maximal toys..." he muttered in reference to the internal defenses. Megatron quickly got fed up and fired up his arm cannon. Once he took aim, the cannon surged with an influx of violet energy before firing it at the rifle, annihilating it completely.

Megatron fired two more blasts aimed for the control console. The first skimmed off the surface, but the second went straight through it. The Maximals peered through the blast hole as wide as their heads in astoundment.

Ursacon grabbed NightScream and tried to tell him what he saw. "I found something underground...massive machinery coming to life...giant computer..."

NightScream brushed him away, telling him with a bitter tone of voice, "Ursacon will you shut up about Vector Sigma already? We’re in the middle of a battle, our butts are about to be burnt to a crisp, and your mumbo-jumbo isn’t helping!"

Another blast from Megatron’s cannon blasted apart the console in an explosion, sending all three Maximals flying. Coyotek was thrown to the right, Ursacon and NightScream to the left. Ursacon’s hefty body landed right on top of the bat-bot, nearly crushing him to death.

"Oh! Ursacon, you’ve got to shed a couple pounds if we live through this!" NightScream groaned painfully.

Megatron laughed, amused at the chaos he was creating here. "Oh I haven’t enjoyed this for such a looong time," he muttered to himself, "But I’ll shall soon make up for lost time! HaHa!"

Suddenly, the crest on his head lit up, glowing a brilliant red. In an instant Megatron was brought to his knees, whailing in pain. Omegracon’s voice was pulsing inside his mind, forcing him to obey.

"Do as I commanded, Megatron," Omegracon bellowed with an unwavering voice, "The other spark I seek is very near. Seek it out...or I shall make you writhe in agony!"

Megatron rose to his feet, the pain still strong in his head. "All right Omegracon!" he yelled, "Cease your tortue and I’ll obtain it! Stop!"

The Maximals looked at one another. Coyotek, with a puzzled look on his face, asked NightScream, "Who the Pit does he think he’s talking to?"

As the crest dimmed again, Megatron turned to the Maximals before him. He aimed his cannon straight at them. Then, just as it seemed he was about to fire, he jerked his arm upwards, hitting the ceiling instead with a large explosion. About half a ton of scrap fell down, dividing the hallway in two, with the Maximals on one side and Megatron on the other.

Megatron paused for a moment to make certain he blocked the Maximals off completely. "I have no time for low-grade quality scrap like them. Now, for the spark." Megatron activated his internal scanners, then ordered his onboard computer to scan for spark signatures.

In roughly half a millicycle, his computer replied, "Scan complete. Faint Maximal spark signature detected: vector zero, point two, sixty. Approximate range: nine hundred and forty meters."

"Maintain target lock!" Megatron told his computer. He pointed his cannon directly between his feet, charging to its maximum capacity. The resulting fireball flew straight down, leaving a long and incinerated tunnel in its wake. Megatron transformed into his aerial mode and plummeted straight down...

Coyotek’s scanners deactivated. "Slag! I just lost Megs’ trace!" he said.

Getting back onto his feet, NightScream said to the younger Maximal, "He must have some kind of stealth device...in addition to his invisibility. Did you at least get a fix on where he was headed?"

Coyotek shook his head. "Big no on that. All I got was his vector settings: zero point one nine, sixty..."

Ursacon, upon hearing those words, became deliriously excited. Grunting in relatively primitive terms, Ursacon said, "Oh! Oh! Me know where he’s headed! Not far from Vector Sigma chamber!"

"What?" NightScream turned to Ursacon, "Are you certain of it?"

Coyotek reactivated his scanners again, trying to find Megatron’s signature once more, but got something entirely unexpected. "Whoa! NightScream, you won’t believe this! I’ve picked up a new signature...one coming from Vector Sigma itself! And...it’s...Maximal!"

NightScream’s eyes widened. He remembered well the ancient Autobot datatracks on Vector Sigma - more specifically that the device gave life to the first transformers. But in all it’s lifetime...it never gave birth to Maximals before.

"Coyotek, Ursacon and I will get to Vector Sigma before Megs does." NightScream told Coyotek, "You intercept him at level twenty-nine - do everything to stop him!"

Both NightScream and the bear-bot took off before another second was lost. Coyotek sighed, mumbling to himself, "Oh! Why do I get the slaggn’ of slaggn’ assignments?"

Several cycles later, Megatron burst through another floor as he headed deeper and deeper beneath Iacon. He slowed down and switched to a different set of thrusters to hover in place. He had stopped for a moment to make a second scan to verify his position. His sensors did not falter, reconfirming the location of the Maximal spark.

"So, Optimus Primal," Megatron said aloud, "How is it that you managed to survive while I was destroyed...only to be reforged by some maniacal child of Unicron?"

A shrill whistle blew through the air. Megatron, startled, immediately turned around to see a furry Maximal hanging by some scaffolding. "U-hoo! Is there a bot here by the name of Fall-T-Wiring? OH! That must be you! Ha!" he boldly laughed.

Megatron growled, then deployed his gold-plated cannon from his underside. It spewed a dozen bolts of energy, blasting the scaffolding apart. The Maximal, however, had leapt off it, landing on the floor and transforming into a brown and yellow canine. "Whoa Megs," he continued to laugh, "Talk about a couple stellar cycles too late and too slow! You have no idea how outa’ date you are!"

"You have no idea how DEAD you are fool!" Megatron shouted. He transformed again, this time into a bizarre-looking assault vehicle. Looking up at it, Coyotek thought it resembled a cross between a tank and jeep drone, except five time larger! The gold cannon was mounted on top this time, accompanied by a pair of missile launchers to either side.

The Maximal gulped down the lump in his throat....

Coyotek quickly found himself running down the vast halls of Iacon, screaming, "AHHHHHHHH!" as Megatron drove after him with engines humming and a bad streak a parsec wide following with him. The Predacon fired more firepower at the Maximal than all the transformers in all three great wars combined!

Oh man, I’ve got to think of a way out of this fast! thought Coyotek, Or else I’m gonna be Predacon road-kill!

Just then, Coyotek remembered something. First he jumped to his left and ran halfway around Megatron, missiles and blasts still spewing from him. Coyotek transformed and confronted Megatron at last.

Transforming as well, the Predacon smiled as his arm cannon recharged itself. "So, tired of running at long last canine?" Raising up his weapon, Megatron gloated, "Time to meet your fate!"

Coyotek pulled out a small ray-gun from his hip, firing just a micro-second before Megatron did. Instead of a solid blast, the laser from Coyotek’s gun dispersed into a dozen directions, forming a wall that reflected Megatron’s firepower. A nano-click later, the wall folded over, entrapping Megatron in a bubble of force energy.

"HehHeh!" Coyotek chuckled confidently, "Self-sustaining refractive shield. One of the latest developments in the thirty-odd stellar cycles since you went offline, Megs! You’re out of your league when it comes to me!"

Megatron fired his cannon twice, the bubble absorbing both blasts. "Impressive technology," he said to the Maximal, "But don’t think you can trap me so easily!" Megatron roared loudly, his cannon charging up to full power this time. It started to glow a brilliant white, energy crackling from it. Megatron released it, causing the bubble around him to expand and then shatter like glass.

"HOLY SLAG!" Coyotek shouted. Megatron turned on him before the Maximal got a second chance to use his ray-gun. Coyotek was shot down immediately, sending him flying into a pile of garbage. Megatron started to walk towards him, his footsteps clunking loudly. The crest lit up again, halting him in his tracks.

"Oh! All right! The spark..." he said, obeying Omegracon’s will.

Not far away, NightScream and Ursacon entered a huge metallic chamber of triple-reinforced steel and titanium, hidden deep beneath both New Cybertropolis and Iacon for untold ages. It was huge, at least twenty times larger than even the Oracle’s chamber. Giant spokes radiated out from the center of the chamber, at which was a giant gold dome bigger than some buildings.

NightScream saw some activity near Vector Sigma’s core: an ensemble of robotic arms and cables were working together on some strange creation. Ursacon constantly told NightScream, "Told you! Told you! Big computer doing something! Making something!"

"Yeah but what?" NightScream asked.

The two of them approached Vector Sigma cautiously. The giant device seemed to ignore them, or was quite possibly preoccupied with another task at hand. They saw what was happening - next to Vector Sigma was a tiny platform with a metal body being assembled. An Autobot symbol was on one side of the platform, engraved in the stainless steel. As for the body...NightScream couldn’t believe it.

"Oh by Primus," he gasped, seeing the face with a plate over the mouth, and a blue helmet with antenna over the head. It looked...like Optimus!

Megatron’s laughter filled the air like a sour wind blowing in. NightScream looked behind him and found a large assault vehicle coming for them. A gold cannon fired at them repeatedly, leaving burn holes in the ground around them. A single blast hit Vector Sigma, but bounced off its impregnable armor.

It was then that the computer started to glow yellow, a rumble coming from deep inside it. The dome of Vector Sigma’s core rose into the air, revealing the megacomputer to be a huge sphere. All three transformers looked up at it in awe, watching it rise higher and higher.

Another rumble started, this time from behind them. A huge door opened in the walls, out of which stepped a giant monster of metal and wire. "Megs you idiot!" NightScream yelled at the Predacon, "You triggered Vector Sigma’s defense drones!" More drones began to run out by the hundreds, some armed with spiked weapons and others with lasers. Megatron just laughed....

"HaHaHa! Oh please. Do you not forget who controls the key to Vector Sigma?" Megatron rhetorically asked. Holding up one hand, an aura of light formed in his palm, solidifying into a giant circuit board in the shape - of all things - an orange key. Under his very will, it rose up, flying straight at the golden sphere and into a single, tiny slot...

Vector Sigma shuttered. "I...am...Vector...Sigma," a voice resounded throughout the chamber, "Before Cybertron was...I...was. Who reactivates me?"

Megatron, quick to the punch, shouted out, "I DO! NOW HOLD THOSE TWO AT BAY!" The megacomputer obeyed unquestionably, its drones immediately surrounding and subduing the Maximals in mere seconds. Megatron laughed at them. "Now look who holds the key to Cybertron’s destiny, Maximals?"

Vector Sigma began to quake, a strange new energy surging from it. While the drones held the Maximals with untold strength, Megatron turned around, witnessing something miraculous. A new portal opened up in its side, white light pouring out from it. Then, flying out like a blue firefly, a spark emerged.

"The spark!" Megatron said, turning his attention away from the Maximals. His eyes were fixated upon the pulsating spark, watching it descend towards the platform beneath Vector Sigma. The various robotic arms and devices folded up and disappeared beneath the floor, leaving behind a strange new body, one that the spark drew near. It gently floated downwards, landing inside the open chest plate.

Megatron approached the platform, looming over it with his new and gigantic body. He gazed upon the spark as it pulsated with a healthy rhythm, the circuits around it coming alive. It just laid there, within grasping reach of his black, iron hands. Megatron put a hand over it, confidence rising. "You’re mine, now..." he said to the spark, the first of many sparks the new Megatron planned to enslave.

A metal arm jerked up, gripping Megatron’s wrist with great strength. The Predacon groaned, still reaching for the spark. A pair of blue eyes lit up, the head tilting up at Megatron. Vector Sigma’s creation stared defiantly at Megatron with those eyes, saying, "I...don’t...think so!"

"Primal!"

A smile formed on Optimus’ face. "Look who’s back, and feeling PRIME!" A pair of strong legs bent back and kicked Megatron away. Megatron’s metal body thundered as it hit the floor. The Maximal got up from the flat platform, his spark shining brightly within him.

Looking at Optimus Primal over his shoulder, Megatron growled irritably, "When will I be rid of you?"

Optimus stood there tall and strong, a pair of segmented wings unfolding from his back. His body was now pure metal, with galvanized silver lined with blue plating over his arms, shins, and head, making him the perfect Cybertronian knight. His body was very strong, and equal in size to Megatron’s.

NightScream and Ursacon, still in the clutches of Vector Sigma’s drones, were beyond bewilderment. NightScream could not believe that Optimus was alive again, standing right before him and breathing too. "I can’t believe it! Optimus, you’re back!" he exclaimed.

Optimus continued to glare at Megatron with narrow eyes, the bitter war between them still raging. "What brings you crawling back from the Pit?" he demanded to known from Megatron.

Megatron, as vengeful as ever, answered back, "You very spark, Optimus Primal!" He fired at his eternal nemesis with a shot from his arm cannon. Optimus raised up an arm, the blast instantly being absorbed into his power core. The same energy circled around Optimus until he raised up his arms and focused it back at Megatron.

Optimus’ chest plate closed, revealing the Maximal icon strethed over his chest. In response, he told Megatron, "Not while I’m online, Megatron!"

The two began their war again just as they left it twenty-nine stellar cycles ago. Megatron fired at Optimus relentlessly with the Maximal taking each hit in good stride and reciprocating.

While Megatron continued to fire at Optimus, the Maximal suddenly transformed, new components unfolding and shifting into new positions and his wings lifting him high into the air. Optimus Primal was now a huge metallic bat soaring within the chamber of Vector Sigma.

Ursacon was confused. "Two bat-bots?" he looked to NightScream and said. NightScream just shrugged, equally baffled.

Optimus flew about with incredible agility, dodging each and every one of Megatron’s blasts. "Stubborn Maximal baboon! Why won’t you die - AGH!" In the midst of his rage, Megatron was struck be something unexpected. As his rage grew, an odd sensation occured within, causing his body to transform again. He watched in horror as his arms and hands were exchanged for giant claws, metal plates with long stretches of fur, and then a long tail tipped with an ax appearing between his legs.

Optimus transformed in mid-air, resuming his robotic mode once again. He smiled, saying, "Megatron...a wolf in Predacon clothing? How fitting for you..."

Megatron saw his new lupine beast mode and howled angrily. "NOOOO! NOT AGAIN!" His body was dropped to all fours and without weapons, aside from crude teeth and claws. As if out of some twist of irony, a mirror image of Noble emerged from his pure technological body, the beast within reasserting itself one final time.

His eyes turned on Optimus, his muzzle snarling loudly. "You...will...PAY for this Optimus!" Megatron swore. Megatron leapt for Optimus in a bolt of lightning that caught even the bat-bot off guard. Forced onto the ground once again, Optimus fought hard to keep Megatron’s teeth away from his neck, his hands pressed against the jaws of a huge wolf.

Megatron’s breath was hot and rank in Optimus’ face. Slowly, the Maximal moved his right hand down towards the Predacon’s lower lip, fingers trying to reach inside his mouth. He grabbed one of the teeth, and snapped it right out! Megatron was in pain, providing Optimus with enough of a distraction to bolt away from him.

"You’re not the only one with fangs now, Megatron!" Primal shouted, weilding the sharp tooth like a dagger. The wolf howled and jumped at Optimus again, but this time Optimus was ready, and whacked Megatron square in the face with the blunt end of the tooth. Optimus looked at the tooth, then at Megatron’s body. "I need no weapon to slay you!"

He threw away the fang, transforming back into a bat for a true fight. In the shimmering light of Vector Sigma, two icons appeared on his wings: on his right, the Maximal icon, his heritage and true allegiance; on his left, the Autobot icon, Vector Sigma’s mark upon him.

At the heart of the battle, with Optimus Primal high in the air, a single blast flew out from the entrance. It hit Optimus between the shoulder blades, knocking him out of the sky. The Maximal was finally out, despite the courage of his spark....

Out of the dark shadows at the gateway to Vector Sigma’s chamber, two twisted transformers emerged, their sparks and bodies warped beyond their original designs.

Megatron groaned, but upon seeing the pair of transformers emerge his ears went up in delight. "Obsidian! Strika!" he cheered gleefully. Megatron got to his feet and transformed to robot mode. "Quickly my generals! We must secure this place! Vector Sigma itself is ours! We must..."

The crest of Omegracon on Megatron’s head turned blood red, paralyzing Megatron. "OOOOOH!" he cried out. Obsidan gazed at him with a piercing gaze, defiantly even. "Obisidan! Obey me!"

Obsidian approached Megatron and touched the crest. It grew brighter still, hurting Megatron further. "You are no longer my master, Megatron." said Obsidian, "Omegracon is our master now, and you are nothing more than a mere servant to him, as am I...former lord."

The Vehicon lifted his hand from Megatron and flew away from him casually. Megatron raised his head and growled. This was beyond degrading for him. This was the first time another transformer held some sway over him. "Oh if Rampage were still online, I know he’d be gloating about this..." he whispered to himself.

The two Vehicons gazed upon Vector Sigma and then at each other. They knew what they had to do. "Secure the force bonds over Megatron and the Maximal," Obsidian ordered Strika, "I shall fulfill the master’s charge..."

Obsidian powered up his rocket pack and slowly ascended to Vector Sigma’s heights. He circled it once over before finding the tiny slot in its side. He reached down to it, grabbing the handle of the key. For a moment, he held the key to Vector Sigma, saw the glory of its golden shimmer. Then like a broken toy he dropped it, letting it fall back to Megatron. Megatron saw the key, and reached out to it. Just as he was an inch away, Strika’s foot smashed through it, shattering the key as its fragments dissolved into nothingness. For a second time in history, the key to Vector Sigma was lost.

A small drawer slid open from Obsidian’s chest. He withdrew from it a red, glowing diskette. It pulsed with a strange energy that begged to be released. Very gingerly, he slide it into the slot. The diskette clicked, falling precisely into place.

Something began to happen. Vector Sigma stopped glowing its usual yellow color, the very shimmer of its surface disappearing. Bolts of red electricity began to coarse over its surface, slowly and unnoticeably at first, but rapidly becoming stronger and more visible until Vector Sigma itself became a ball of red light.

Vector Sigma shot a beam of red light into the floor of the chamber, lightning bolts surging across the metal surface. The drones grew weak, finally dropping Ursacon and NightScream. But all too quickly, the red lightning got to them, surging through the floor and into their bodies through their very feet. Pain surged through them, making their bodies weak and numb.

NightScream fell to his feet, gasping for air as he tried to breathe. "A...virus! They infected Vector Sigma!" he yelled.

It was far worse than he thought. The virus’ power enveloped the whole chamber housing Vector Sigma, then began to spread to the catacombs of old Iacon. Coyotek was beginning to awaken when he found himself surrounded by a carpet of red light. Before he could say, "What the slag?" it caught him as well, coursing through his circuitry.

Still further the virus spread, infecting everything metallic and crippling everything technological it touched. First New Cybertropolis, and then all the other reformatted cities, but then even the forests of Cybertron were infected. Whole fields of technorganic plants began to wilt as the virus swept over them, until the last technorganic began to whether, its life essence slowly being drained from it.

Now, with all of Cybertron paralyzed and helpless, Omegracon knew his time for vengeance was at hand....