Botanica clung to the airlock as the human shuttle rocketed into Earth orbit. "No! No!" she continued to say, watching ThunderClaw’s face shrink as the Discovery fled from Coral Base, until he became nothing more than a mere speck amid the conforming blue mass of the Atlantic Ocean.

Finally, she sunk down next to the latch, the blue Earth slowly growing smaller and smaller. Soon, the pulse of Earth’s organic life faded from her grasp. Her body grew weak, but it was her heart that was weakest of all....

"No...", she whimpered.

The Discovery’s booster rocket took it high above the Earth’s atmosphere, its fuel rapidly dwindling. Soon its engines disengaged, the wide rocket separating from the Discovery itself. Another set of engines at the rear of the Discovery fired up, pushing the shuttle further into the envelope of space....

Minutes later, the shuttle’s quaking ceased and the artificial gravity units kicked on. The Maximals and humans settled back into their seats, their adrenaline still running high. Rattrap turned around in his seat, and dropped his mouth at the sight of Botanica sitting right next to the airlock.

"Botanica!" he cried out. In a nano-click he unbuckled his safety belt and jumped at her. He hugged her as tightly as possible, overjoyed to see her aboard. Botanica, however, didn’t reciprocate, her face melancholy compared to Rattrap’s wide smile. In fact, she felt a little cold in the small Maximal’s arms.

Gleefully, Rattrap shouted, "Oh man! I’m so glad you’re aboard! Where’s the black cat, ThunderClaw?"

Botanica didn’t say a word. She just glanced out the window, the Earth’s blue light shining through. Rattrap looked at her, realizing he traded places for her. He didn’t say a word, but Botanica nodded to let him know what he thought was true.

Rattrap became silent. "You look pale.", he said to her.

"I’ll survive, for a while." said Botanica, "Maybe a few hours, but I can’t say how long..."

"I know, no organic life pulse to feed off." Rattrap put his arm on her shoulder, lifting her up. He assured her, "Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll think of something before the worst comes to pass. In the meantime, however..." He pressed a button, opening the door leading to the back of the cockpit. "We’d better get ready for whatever’s out here."

Inside the cockpit, scanners were on high resolution and maximum range. Cheetarus himself was at the controls, overseeing the situation. Behind him was Adam, trying to help as best he could, and to his left was a pilot Commander Carter appointed: Lieutenant Matthew Kaye.

Kaye gave the flight plan one final look-over. "All right, Maximals," he addressed the group he was guiding, "This is not going to be a particularly easy field trip." Punching in a few key buttons, the Lieutenant brought up a display of the Earth-Moon system. "We’ve reached the optimum speed and trajectory needed to reach the Moon in under nine hours, but there’s a slight problem...."

A large blue ball appeared at almost dead-center on the display. "Omegracon." said Kaye, "He’s more or less in the way, and to get to the Moon we have to pass within a few kilometers of his surface."

"A deathtrap if I ever heard one!" Rattrap practically shrieked, "The last time we got close to Omegracon he blasted apart our fleet and burnt our rear-ends!"

"This is a stealth mission, not a direct assault, Rattrap," Cheetarus pointed out, "And there is one way around a monster like him."

"If we perform a complete shutdown, and...assuming you guys are in your beast modes," Kaye elaborated, "We won’t draw Omegracon’s attention with energy signatures. A risk, I’ll admit, considering we’ll be defenseless for several minutes, but our only chance against something that powerful..."

The plan didn’t seem like such a good idea to both Rattrap and Adam. "I lost my legs and my original body thanks to Omegracon, I don’t want to lose my new body either." Adam stated. Nonetheless, the plan went ahead. After the final course corrections were made, Kaye went ahead and flipped the switch to the main reactor. First the lights and engines powered down, then sensors and finally life-support as well.

"All right people, now it’s our turn. Transform!" commanded Cheetarus Prime. In a flash of lights, Botanica, Rattrap, and their leader shrank down into their beast forms. Only Adam didn’t bother transforming.

"Hey? Why doesn’t the kid here have to transform?" Rattrap raised a paw up to Adam.

Adam, with his blue-green eyes, looked to Rattrap and said "No spark, no energy signature. No need in other words."

"Besides," Cheetarus added, "He’s the only one out of us with a pair of thumbs to work the controls with." Cheetarus lifted up his right paw, showing Rattrap his point. Adam, in turn, put up both of his hands and wiggled his digits.

"Show-off.", muttered Rattrap.

Kaye turned around and shushed the Maximals. Outside the cockpit window, a blue crescent moon appeared: the limb of Omegracon’s transmetallized body. They were traveling across his wide shadow, only the light emanating from Omegracon’s power rings and the dim stars illuminated the cockpit interior.

They all held their breath as they came closer and closer to the giant behemoth, his surface becoming wider and more jagged as they neared him. It was so dark that they could see little off it, aside from glowing vents and electrical cables. The occasionally gun turret glimmered in the light, giving them all the more reason to remain dead silent.

Finally, the close approach to Omegracon had passed. The Earth’s real Moon appeared from behind, shinning a brilliant white with just a tint of gray. At long last they could all sigh. Soon they passed beyond the targeting range of Omegracon’s weapons.

"Phew!" Rattrap wiped the sweat off his head, "Glad we made it without a single shot!"

BOOOM!

The shuttle shook from the force of a giant explosion towards the rear. Botanica groaned and grabbed Rattrap by the shoulder. "You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? You jinxed us!" she blamed him.

"Come on! We’ve gotta power up the Discovery!" Kaye shouted. He got up from his seat and started pulling levers. Adam ran to his side and started helping out.

"This ain’t gonna do us any good!" shouted Rattrap, "This ship’s primative! No weapons, no reinforced hull, and NO SHIELDS!"

As life slowly started to return to the shuttle, Adam yelled at Rattrap. "Are you always this annoying? Gez...help out or get out, rat!"

"We’re not entirely defenseless," Kaye corrected Rattrap’s premature words, "The Autobots gave us some Cybertronian modifications. Transdimentional spectrometers, energon-DC converters, and..." Smashing his hand through a clear, glass casing, Kaye punched one final button. "Force shields."

An oval bubble of pale blue energy surrounded the Discovery. A huge fireball flew through space hundreds of times faster than the speed of sound, blasting the shields hard like a thunderbolt.

The second sensors came online, Rattrap transformed and went straight to them. He punched out a reading of the projectiles’ origin. "Oh man!" he panicked, "It’s Omegracon! He’s firing on us!"

Adam spoke up with a confused face. "But I thought we were out of his targeting range...."

As another blast rocked the shuttle, Rattrap replied to Adam, "Yeah! But that don’t mean he can’t take a few pot-shots at us! But I don’t understand how he could have noticed us slip..."

A dozen rockets blasted against the forward shields, rumbling the cockpit. Kaye, Adam, and the Maximals switched their sights forward just in time to witness a starship pass over them. It’s attack was very brief, which seemed very unusual, given the circumstances....

Inside the command carrier, Obsidian and Strika saw the human shuttle start to fall behind them as they continued en route to Omegracon. "Omegracon, there are Maximals aboard that vessel!" Obsidian radioed his master, "We should obliterate them completely before they have a chance to return to Cybertron for reinforcements!"

"Do not sway from your path." Omegracon commanded, "They are not headed for Cybertron...but this world’s sole satellite. I know that they have collaborated with the humans down below, and know that they are planning something. However, I have need of the prizes you carry with."

Not far from where Obsidian and Strika commanded the carrier, Megatron and Optimus Primal were chained to two flat, steel beds, immobilized and stripped of weapons. In addition, the chamber was dark and quadruple-reinforced with transmetallalized tironium.

"But...my master...." Obsidian protested. Red light swamped over him, making him collapse to his knees, just as a reminder from Omegracon.

"Strika," Omegracon addressed his second general, "You take the carrier and bring me Megatron and Optimus. I shall allow Obsidian to deal with the human shuttle as he sees fit...."

"Yes Omegracon," she replied. A moment later, after the red light vanished from Obsidian’s body, Strika came over to his side and helped him back up. "You go and dispatch a few dozen drones to obliterate that spacecraft. I shall take the Maximal and Predacon back to Omegracon."

Obsidian left the command carrier in his robotic form, taking with him twenty-odd mechanoids. Knowing his vehicular from would be useless in the vaccum of space, Obsidian fired his rockets to maximum burn and headed off for the shuttlecraft. His followers did likewise, a whole blazing constellation following after.

The shuttle Discovery was starting to have difficulty holding its course with Omegracon firing at them constantly. Lieutenant Kaye was firing thrusters randomly to sway the shuttle and confuse their attackers, but that hardly helped their situation.

Botanica, weakening, but managing to hold her own, kept an eye on the shield stats. "Shields...ugh....at seventy-percent, and they’re losing integrity fast." she reported.

Cheetarus turned away from Kaye and Adam to check up on Botanica. "Can you stabilize them, or at least get them to eighty-five percent power? We’ve got more bogies on us!" he told her.

"No," replied Botanica, her voice wavering as she struggled to stay upright, "The core is at...maximum capacity. Can’t...strengthen...shields...without diverting power from engines."

"But the nuclear core can’t hold out forever! Between the thrusters and shields, it’s about as dry as a bone!", exclaimed Rattrap, "And if we lose either speed or shields, we’re all gonna die!"

Adam looked away from his station at the scanners, glancing first at Kaye and then all the Maximals. He eyed the read-out at the shield controls, seeing their power levels dropping steadily. Botanica reported sixty-five, then sixty, and then fifty-six percent power. She contiuned to press for more power, more power....

The human-hybrid looked down at his hands for one moment. Tightening and squeezing his fingers, a glimmer of energon briefly flashed. "Yes...power." he said aloud. Adam jogged away from the scanning station and towards the exit at the back. He grabbed Rattrap’s tail on the way out....

Naturally Rattrap protested and hollered all the way to the central deck, especially with Adam pulling his tail so hard. "Hey! What gives you miss-wired pacemaker?" he snapped.

"Rattrap, I need you to open up...some kind of fuse box here! A battery or something linked to the shields!" Adam requested.

"What?"

"Just DO it!" Adam insisted.

A moment later Rattrap pulled out a kind-of-screwdriver attachment for his tail. In barely six nano-clicks, he disassembled the primary junction box leading to the shield generators. A mess of wires was exposed, all humming from the voltage flowing through them.

Adam spotted a single giant cable amid the tangles, sticking out of which were two plug-in connectors for additional wires. He gingerly pulled out the cable and thought about what he was about to do. His eyebrows turned upwards as he balled up his fists, leaving out an index finger from each hand.

"Wait a second guy! What are you doing?" Rattrap stopped Adam.

"Think about what Botanica said," Adam told him, "I’m a living alkaline battery! The only way to repower the shields without slowing down is for me to..."

Looking at the two connectors, realizing he was about to do something phenomenally stupid, Adam said, "Stick my fingers into an electrical socket...."

Rattrap looked at the connectors, then at Adam, and then reevaluated the situation. Letting out a small gasp, Rattrap said, "Well kid...let’s just hope your warranty hasn’t expired and your health insurance is paid."

Adam looked again at the connectors, then at his hands. Slowly, he drew his fingertips near the sockets, thinking to himself, Why do I have a feeling this is going to hurt?

Mere seconds later, everyone in the cockpit jerked at the sound of a long and shrill scream. Botanica, Cheetarus Prime, and Matthew Kaye turned around just in time to see the cokpit exit open up. Rattrap came speeding in, gasping for a breath.

"Botanica! Reroute more power to shields!" the rodent yelled to his beloved.

At first Botanica was confused, knowing there wasn’t enough to do that. Double-checking her monitor, however, revealed a massive power surge in the shield matrix. "What the pit? Power’s at one-hundred and five percent capacity! One hundred-ten! Rattrap, what did you...."

"It’s not me!" said Rattrap, "Adam’s interfaced himself with the power cables and re-energizing the shields manually!"

"WHAT?! HE COULD KILL HIMSELF!" exclaimed Cheetarus, "WE’VE GOT TO STOP HIM!"

Another long scream eched from deep inside the shuttle. "AGH! NO! I MUST POWER...THE SHIELDS!" Adam cried out to the Maximals, "USE THE ENERGY! USE THE ENERGY! AGGGGGGH!"

Adam continued to scream and holler in the worst possible agony, yelling strange words the Maximals had never heard before. "Funny," said Botanica, "I don’t recall downloading those phrases from human language before...." Kaye briefly told her, "Trust me, none of you want to know about ‘em."

Botanica rerouted the immense amount of energon energy into the shield generators, bringing their levels higher than ever before. "Power is rising consistently!" Botanica told Cheetarus and Kaye as she worked the shields, "Shield strength at one-twenty, one-thirty...."

Outside, the bubble of force energy grew brighter and brighter and stronger and stronger. Obsidian and his drones fired constantly and continuously, but the shields just kept getting more powerful. The shields themselves started to glow a very brilliant blue, over-energized with rich energon. But soon, too much energy started to flow, too much inconsistency. The shields became white-hot and crackling with energon radiation.

"What the heck is going on Botanica? The shields are losing stability big time!" shouted from the pilot’s seat.

At Botanica’s station, the charts on the monitor were going haywire. "It’s the shield generators! Adam’s power is causing them to overload!" she explained. Botanica kept her eyes glued to the station, trying to find a solution. The shields were at more than triple-strength, but the energy-flow was beyond the generators capacity.

The computers in the cockpit started blinking on and off, some monitors bursting with electricity. Rattrap was nearly hit by flying glass as the sensor station ruptured. "Oh man! We’re getting EM-surges all over the boards!" he shouted.

Suddenly, Botanica got an idea. She clicked a few controls, rerouting shield power a second time. Cheetarus saw what was happening over his console, noting the shield integrity going further out of alignment. "Botanica! You just took the shield stabilizers off-line! The generators are going to blow because of..."

"Prime!" she interrupted him, "I’m turning this to our advantage! When the shields overload, an electromagnetic pulse will take those drones out while leaving the shuttle intact!"

"Assuming the shield generators don’t blow up!" Kaye shouted.

It was too late to avert the eminent explosion. The shields became an impervious and opaque veil over the Discovery, glowing bright white. Obsidian saw a ball of light before him, radiation overwhelming his body. Then, in a blinding flash, a wave of energon radiation blasted outwards, taking the Vehicon and all his mindless followers.

From a distance, Omegracon observed the explosion and noted it. Strika, Megatron, and even Optimus Primal watched it over a huge video screen he erected in his deepest chambers. The EM-pulse caused the drones to short-out, some even exploding.

"Ha! Even my drones were of better quality than that!", Megatron mocked Omegracon.

Omegracon’s voice bellowed, "Do not take me as a fool, Megatron. Although the automatons are dead, Obsidian is not. For as long as his spark is a part of me, he shall remain immortal..."

Surely enough, the seemingly lifeless Vehicon, with body still sparking with cracked circuits, started moving once again. His eyes switched on once again, glowing red like before. Then, he gazed off at the shuttle, now within striking range of the Moon. Obsidian, eager for revenge, flew off after them.

The screen deactivated, dropping down into the floor. The platform Megatron and Optimus were chained to rose up to the ledge Strika stood on. A plank deployed and connected, allowing Strika to walk up to her former leader.

"Strika! Do as I command! You’re MY servant, not his!" the Predacon bellowed.

The icon on Megatron’s head glowed bright red, making Megatron quiver and yell. Strika chuckled with her faceplate bending into a crude smile. She bent down, leaning close to him. "Do you not get it, Megatron? I AM ONE with Omegracon! My spark and Obsidian’s are fused into his power core! Even if I WANTED to rebel against him, my will and core conscious lie with him!"

A light bit of laughter broke out to Megatron’s right. Much to both the Predacon’s and Vehicon’s surprise, Primal laughed. "Heh,heh,heh. For once, I must congradulate you, Omegracon. You’ve made sure your minions don’t turn on you..." Optimus applaused Unicron’s progeny.

"A lesson I leanred well with Galvatron..." Omegracon’s voice stated.

"But tell us this much," Optimus requested to know, "Why didn’t you do the same with Megatron...and for me was well? Surely you know no Maximal would side with you!"

A tendril descended from above them, stretching downwards. A pointed end confronted Optimus’ face. Then, it went downwards, tracing Optimus’ body down to the bottom of his torso plate. The tendril sprung open, several claws popping out and setting to work opening Primal’s chest.

"Even though you contain all the wisdom of the Matrix, Optimus Primal," Omegracon said as his claws revealed his glowing spark, "Your own nature eludes you...."

The tendril then shifted over to Megatron, the claws loosening a latch just above his waist. Megatron’s chest popped open, revealing his corrupted red spark. The tendril grabbed it, hoisting with it the Autobot matrix of leadership. Optimus gasped at the sight of the ancient artifact.

Megatron groaned in pain, his body kept alive by a thin line of energy linking his spark to him. Simultaneously, Optimus felt a pain in his chest, his blue spark sparking red flashes. At that moment, the Maximal realizd he and Megatron were linked....

"You and Megatron share a bond unlike any transformer. The Cybertronian device you call ‘the Oracle’ awakened that bond, giving you all the powers that bond grants." Omegracon began to explain, "I need you both alive to harness that power for my own designs...."

Four tendrils came down and latched onto the matrix, freeing the first tendril to focus on Optimus. The Maximal shuttered in fear as the tendril’s claws inched toward his spark like an extractor. They latched on, crackling with energy as they yanked it away from him. Optimus hollered as his spark was taken to the matrix, slowly forced to merge with Megatron’s.

As the two transformers writhed in pain, Omegracon cackled, "Now, the axis-spark is whole again. The spark of darkness and the receptive spark one again. Soon, very soon, its powers shall be tapped at long last to fulfill my ultimate destiny..."

Then, as the matrix of leadership glowed bright yellow, Omegracon addressed Stika. "My minion, I have all that I require to avenge my father, and you and your consort have done well under my guidance. Still...there is one final task you must undergo for me."

A large hydraulic life ascended next to Optimus and Megatron’s platform. A strange device rested on it - one ressembling a probe or satellite with a dish and hexagonal body. A tiny port on one side glowed with a strange red light, but nothing more could be seen within.

"Take this device, Strika," Omegracon commanded, "And ensure it reaches the planet Char, a world not far from Cyberton. Then return to this system and track down the Maximals on the Earth-satellite. Also...be sure to terminate the human-mogrel, by whatever means necessary."

Strika nodded, saying "Yes my master," but she couldn’t help but stare at the device. "But...I’m curious. What purpose will that serve you on Char, if your efforts concern only Earth and Cybertron?"

"Do not inquire of its function. Its purpose lies far beyond your understanding, and what you need to know." Omegracon said. "No more questioning my commands, Strika. Do my bidding, least you suffer further...."

The seas were getting rough on Earth. Silverbolt looked above at the dark shadow Omegracon was casting over Coral Base. Though it was nearly noon, it was dark because that monster blotted out the Sun. Everything was quickly becoming oddly quiet.

Carter checked his watch for the time. As Silverbolt observed, it started beeping in a particular tone. Carter then turned to a communication officer and inquired of the status of the Discovery. Nothing good was reported back. Cursing, the commander shook his head. "Looks like we have no choice then," he muttered to his fellow officers.

Black Arachnia, Silverbolt, and lowly ThunderClaw looked at one another as they stood on the amplifier platform. Things were getting tense now, the humans looking more and more worried. They kept mentioning the Discovery over and over again.

Asking Silverbolt, Black Arachnia said, "Do you think the shuttle was lost?"

"No contact was made, I heard them." ThunderClaw told her. Black Arachnia looked at him, asking sarcastically how he knew. With a grin, he wiggled his stubby black ears. "Heightened audio receptors. Mine rival even NightScream’s. I’m able to hear whispers four kilometers away...when I want to."

As the commander started to approach them, Silverbolt muttered to the others, "I have a feeling I know what’s going on...."

"Maximals," Commander Carter spoke directly to them, "I’m afraid we must go ahead with our plans...without the aid of your comrades."

"You mean no sign of them had been detected, even in the past four hours?" asked Black Arachnia.

"Nothing good," Carter told them, "After passing by Omegracon, they came under heavy weapons fire. What we detected shortly afterwards was an...electromagnetic explosion of some sort. All we can assume...is that the Discovery was destroyed or thrown off course."

There was only one option left, one with a low probability of success: a preemptive strike on Omegracon’s umbilical. The Maximals knew what they had to do, as did the humans. Carter gave the order. Motors began to grind as the amplifier was slowly raised above surface with the Maximals along with it. Silverbolt and Black Arachnia held hands as the amplifier jerked to a stop, and they were in the shadow of Omegracon.

Electronics started to hum behind them as the amplifier became active. The antenna directly behind them began to glow a bright yellow, photonic energy building up. A mechanical tower unfolded, a second antenna coming into view. It also began to glow, radiating out the Maximals’ signals a thousand-fold stronger.

Suffice to say, it didn’t take Omegracon long to make his move....

In mere minutes, every patrolling swarm within a hundred kilometers of Coral Base invaded. In another hour, the swarms within five thousand kilometers would be arriving, and in two hours, every swarm stationed on Earth would arrive as well. Omegracon seemed to be taking the bait better than expected, coming in at full force.

"All right guys," Silverbolt tried to calm his comrades, "Remember the plan. Stay low and wait for the ion cannons to come online...."

Drones started pouring in from the air at supersonic speed. Like moths to a candle, they homed in on the amplifier first. They fired on it like a thunderstorm on a lightning rod, causing it to quake, and yet the device still held out. Burn holes the size of watermellons were put in its sides, energy bolts flying all over the place.

The Maximals ducked down, avoiding most of the fire, but it was pretty hard to find cover when the platform was a broad, flat surface. They were bait after all, so hiding wasn’t part of the plan....

ThunderClaw felt frightened for the first time. There was no plan, no allies to call on, and no chance of survival. Worst of all, he had no idea where his other friends were. "Oh guys," he muttered, thinking about Botanica, Cheetarus, and the others aboard Discovery, "If only I know where you were...."

On the far side of the Earth’s Moon, a streak of light descended from the heavens at rapid speed. It drew closer and closer to a range of mountains of the western horizon, on the border between far and near sides until...

CRASH!

The shuttle Discovery skidded off the slopes much like a stone skipping the surface of a lake, bouncing and careening until it slid onto something entirely different. It landed on metal, and hard too. The Discovery was now like a car with flat tires on the world’s biggest freeway, the tiles of its heat shields flaking away from the friction until it slowed to a standstill in the midst of what appeared to be a strange city.

The portside airlock opened, releasing a blast of air into the vaccum. The human Lieutenant, wearing a space suit, was the first to emerge. He looked about, seeing the various tall structures looming over him. Turning back towards the shuttle, he called out over his radio, "Ok! Looks clear out here!"

The Maximals emerged and followed. Cheetarus was the first to step out, exhaling a puff of air to clear his lungs. They were technorganic, but nonetheless, they were machines, and didn’t need air...well, for a little while anyway.

"All right team, let’s get this over with as fast as possible. Our organic components will be needing oxygen again in a few minutes." Prime called to his team. Then, he noticed there were only three with him. "Where’s Adam?" he asked.

Rattrap rolled his eyes and pointed a thumb backwards. Out of the airlock something mighty charred and black came out. Fur, red only at the roots, was sprung out all over in a static shock. Only a hint of metal retained its former glimmer.

Adam coughed, letting out a few small clouds of smoke. "All right I’m ready, though I’m not used to breathing vaccum." said Adam.

"You completely all right now?" Cheetarus Prime asked him just to be sure.

Adam coughed a second time. "Yeah...but I’d be more concerned about Botanica. She’s wilting more and more by the minute...."

Botanica was weak indeed, weaker still by the lack of sunlight under the shadows of huge buildings. She and her group departed the Discovery, heading to the heart of this complex. They passed by several buildings, hangers, even some large cannons.

"This is one strange city," quoted Rattrap, "Certainly not human-built."

"Yeah..." Cheetarus agreed, "Almost even Cybertronian...." His foot slipped on a loose plate. The cat-bot almost lost his balance, but remained on his feet. He stooped down to pick up the dust-covered panel. "What the slag did I trip on?" he muttered.

As the moon dust fell away, a large red Autobot icon was unveiled after untold years of rusting beneath an inch of lunar dust. As Cheetarus looked up, he saw more and more Autobot symbols, all imbedded in the structures surrounding them, hidden away in the shadows like specters.

"What-What is this place?" Cheetarus gasped.

"This is no place, Maximal," Kaye said, "This whole city is one giant transformer. One your ancestors named...Metroplex."

"You’re kidding us, right?" Rattrap weakly chuckled.

"Springer told me a little about the Autobots, including Metroplex." Adam said, "But I thought he was destroyed...along with the rest of Autobot City...."

"He wasn’t destroyed, merely...relocated." Kaye stated.

"How is it possible to relocate an enitire city half a million kilometers away to a barren planetoid?" Botanica insisted upon knowing.

"After the Great War," Kaye explained, "The Autobots agreed with the U.N. to create a planetary defense system...mostly against our own nuclear capabilities. Metroplex was partially dissasembled and relocated to a stagging ground on our moon, then rebuilt as an anti-missile platform. Sadly...the project was never completed...."

Rattrap’s visor began to beep urgently. He flipped it down, then followed its direction finder. It locked on electronically towards a single flying unit. Immediately Rattrap called to Cheetarus, "Yo! Priiiiiiime! We’ve got incoming!"

The drone dove at them with rockets blazing, firing its twin blasters at full power. The Maximals ducked as it swooped over them. "A single drone?" Cheetarus asked.

"Heh!" laughed Rattrap, "Either Omegracon’s gotten stupid or his limitless supply of battle robots has gone dry." Then, pulling out a small blaster he’d been saving for years, Rattrap added, "Let’s waste it!" He fired a blast at it right between its rockets, causing it to explode.

Everyone ran up to the wrekage to examine the remains. "Nice shot Rattrap, right in its fuel reserves!" Adam complimented his small buddy. "But...if it’s dead, then why’s its arms still moving?"

The drone growled angrily, climbing to its feet. Turning around to face the Maximals, it laughed louder than ever before. The Maximals saw its scorch marks heal right before their eyes, metal regenerating and almost entirely healing the machine. Only a punture mark on its rocket remained along with a scar over the eye.

Botanica muttered, "What in the...."

The drone hit her with the broad side of its arm, sending her flying into a wall. In a heartbeat, it extended its blades and launched them at her. Botanica shut her eyes as four blades flew straight at her, pinning her arms like the wings of a butterfly.

Before the others could move, the drone clicked its blasters on, forcing them to stay put. Cheetarus growled, bearing his teeth. The mechanoid eyed Cheetarus in particular, a vengeful will quickly asserting itself.

"You!" he said, pointing his barrel at Cheetarus Prime, "I remember you quite well, despite your new form! I battled you before many cycles before...Cheetor!"

The Prime took a gander at Botanica and then snarled at the drone. "Look you!" he raised up his voice, "I don’t know who you are, or why you’re working for Omegracon, but if you don’t back...."

"KNOW ME?!" exclaimed the drone. He flew high into the air, gazing down at the Maximals and humans below. A slew of missiles were fired from beneath his arms, blasting apart the ground his enemies stood upon. "I KNOW YOU CHEETOR! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT BLASTED ME INTO SPACE!" he shrieked.

The Maximals and humans scattered, taking cover as the insane drone started firing like a loose cannon. Rattrap and Kaye ducked behind a large cargo crate, Cheetarus and Adam behind a pile of scrap metal. The drone roared like an angry lion, firing more and more often.

Cheetarus tried to retain control of the situation. "Rattrap, Kaye!" he called to the others, "Free Botanica and get to the brain vault quickly! Adam and I will take care of this bozo!"

"On it Prime!" replied Rattrap, taking Kaye and instantly rushing to Botanica’s side. While Cheetarus leaped out at the drone, the two of them ripped out the blades and freed the female Maximal. No less than a second later, they made a break for the central complex - towards Metroplex’s brain vault.

Cheetarus dodged a blast from the drone, leaping back to Adam’s side. "Well kid, looks like it’s just you me..." Cheetarus pulled out his pair of spiked swords. "And these!" He flung them into the air towards the drone like boomerangs, the sunlight shimmering from their razor edges.

The drone blasted both apart before they were even within a parsec of it. "Oh please!" he mocked the Maximal, "Did you really think I’d forget that? So many cycles and you’re still a foolish child, Cheetor!"

He fired a blast, first at Cheetarus and then Adam. Both were sent flying skyward, arcing back and hitting the ground hard. Cheetaurs moaned in pain, one of his legs broken, leaking servo fluids. Adam was more fortunate, landing intact. Upon seeing Cheetarus cripple and in pain, he transformed.

"Prime!" Adam gasped, rushing over to Cheetarus. But before he could near his friend, the drone dropped between him and his Maximal friend. It deployed its blades again, letting them slide out slowly.

For a second, he ignored Adam, turning instead towards Cheetarus. The drone raised up its arm, setting the edge of the blade behind the Maximal’s neck. "Now Cheetor," it muttered, "Obsidian shall take his revenge...now!"

A flash blinded Obsidian. Red light overwhelmed him as Omegracon tortured him again. "The human...Obsidian...the human. Annihilate the human mongrel first. He must die now!"

Groaning, Obdisian said, "Yes my master. I live to do thy bidding, Omegracon. I shall do what thoust has commanded." His eyes went to Adam now, his blade lifting from Cheetarus Prime’s neck.

Stepping foot by foot, Obsidian said to Adam, "You are the human mongrel, are you not?" Adam slowly backed off, remaining silent. "You are...your silence confirms it. Know this then...I am Obsidian. Omegracon himself sent me to destroy you and your allies here. Funny...I don’t understand why you concern him...."

Adam raised up his hands, trying to fire a jolt of energy at the Vehicon, but all that popped out was a sputter of energon. Obsidian continued to come for him, ignoring Cheetarus’ fallen body. Nothing but Omegracon’s will controlled him, nothing else distracting his mind. Adam concentrated, trying to activate some kind of weapon.

Adam growled, "Come on! I’ve got to have something! I’ve got to..."

A blow to his temples sent Adam to the cold ground. Obsidian loomed over him, his blades glistening brilliantly. A heavy foot was put over Adam’s chest, preventing him from escaping, or even moving. Then, Obsidian lifted up his right arm, holding it high in the air. The blades shifted position, becoming a helicopter rotor again. They whirled to life, spinning fast.

With Adam’s eyes on him, Obsidian whooshed his arm into the wall. The blades sent sparks flying, cutting through the metal. A huge notch was put into it, jagged and still hot. Obsidian withdrew his arm, then lowered his spinning weapon towards Adam’s head.

Obsidian’s reflection shined back through Adam’s pupils, the spinning blades becoming a silver ellipse. "Now, human..." said Obsidian, "It’s your turn...."