Botanica was now one with the matrix, and amid the throng of sparks from a billion lives past, she sought out the guidance of one transformer. "Optimus!" she called into the Matrix, "Optimus!"

"Botanica....Botanica...." the Matrix echoed.

She’d been doing this for what seemed like megacycles, calling out but only hearing the collective noise of the Matrix echoing back. She needed guidance from Optimus Primal, the only one who knew about this place, the only one she could truly understand.

"Please! We need help! What must I....we do....to save both Earth and Cybertron?" Botanica pleaded.

Out of the countless billions around her, one glowing spark came before Botanica. At first, it was blue, like every other spark, but Botanica sensed something different about this one....

The spark began to glow bright yellow. Immediately she remembered it - the same spark she encountered in her first vision! "Please....I need help. Can you help me find the wisdom I need?" she asked. The spark floated motionless for a moment, then, it approached her and merged with her own spark.

Botanica left the collective Matrix and entered yet another realm. All around her was a white void, empty space. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out. After waiting for what seemed an eternity, the yellow spark reappeared, lazily drifting toward her.

"Botanica...." it said.

"Optimus? Is that you?"

"Yes and no. I am Optimus Primal....and I am not." the spark said. The yellow spark divided, splitting into two sparks - one an icy blue, the other flaming red. Unanimously, the binary sparks spoke, "We are both Optimus Primal and Megatron. We both share the same minds, the same spirits. We share the Oracle’s power and the power of our own sparks."

The sparks drifted behind her and merged again into the yellow spark. It once again transformed, this time into the Oracle itself, spinning before her. In it Botanica saw her own reflection, and the ghostly images of Optimus and Megatron in their original forms from the dawn of the Beast Wars. Botanica was startled to see them in such vastly different bodies than she was accustomed to; but in the Matrix, image was just an illusion.

"Optimus....Megatron," she said, trying to stomach the words, "I came here seeking guidance. We now know what the Matrix predicted has started to come true. Unicron....has returned...."

Then, in a strange little song, Optimus and Megatron sang,

"Please!" Botanica cried out to them, "I don’t understand! What must we do to vanquish him?"

The last verse got through to Botanica. "Power? From a heart? Please, tell me more!"

The Matrix flashed before her eyes. In that instant, Botanica’s vision ended. Cheetarus Prime and several others stood before the Oracle with her, waiting for something. Botanica opened her eyes, and for a brief moment she saw the Oracle’s dazzling white light before it blinked out of existence.

"I’ve failed....again." Botanica said. She felt tired - whether it was her dampened spirits or the drain from the Oracle vision she wasn’t sure of.

Cheetarus came up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Did you....see Optimus?", he asked.

She turned to give him a passing glance. "Yes, but what he said I couldn’t understand. He...and Megatron...spoke in an odd gibberish. It was incomprehensive."

Cheetarus asked for more, but Botanica just strolled off, exhausted from an entire solar cycle of meditating for just this moment. Cheetarus was saddened to see her hard work seemingly go in vain.

He had other things at hand too. Silverbolt, Nightscream, and Black Arachnia were with him, waiting for his next command. Cheetarus hoped they wouldn’t be as gloomy.

"Well, what should we do?" asked Nightscream.

"I dunno..." Cheetarus replied, "Botanica’s visions are getting fuzzy....as are my own. I don’t understand why Optimus won’t come out and help us...."

Nightscream slapped Cheetarus in the face. He bruised the Prime’s skin, much to Silverbolt’s and Black Arachnia’s surprise. Cheetarus looked at the bat and snarled, about ready to tackle him and rip him apart.

"Look Prime! You’re doing what Optimus did! Getting too dependent on the Oracle!" the bat pointed out, "Whether or not Optimus’ ghost is right, we can just sit here with thumbs clogging our exhaust ports! We’ve got to do something!"

Nightscream was actually right, no matter how much everyone wanted to deny it. Cheetarus agreed, and decided it was truly the time for action. To keep the populace calm, he put Nightscream in charge of planetary defense, with Silverbolt, Black Arachnia, and ThunderClaw for back-up. Prime, Botanica, RedStreak, and Rattrap were about to embark on an expedition....

Springer led the Maximals down the corridors and catacombs of Iacon beneath the base of New Cybertropolis. It was much darker down here, and a far cry from the beauty of the surface either. Here, everything was still very much metallic, save for a few roots reaching down from above.

The Autobot hacked his way through an outgrowth of stringy vines. "It’s good to see the old town is still the same!" said Springer, swinging again.

"Yeah. Even with the power of the Oracle," Cheetarus said, pushing more roots out of the way, "The reformatting didn’t affect all of Cybertron in the same way. Most of the subterranean cities are intact...."

The Autobot spotted an entrance behind a trunk. He raised his arm and struck into the technorganic plant. Botanica groaned angrily. "I wish you’d stop doing that! There are other ways to get around!"

Springer turned around and smiled. "Oh....really? Then would you be so kind to show the rest of us?"

Botanica walked up to the Autobot’s side and looked at the massive root. Springer stepped aside, letting her "be his guest". The Maximal transformed to robot mode, then touched the root’s surface. Then, in sporadic motions, the root removed itself from the soil, then literally rerooted itself several feet away.

The Autobot looked at the root and then down at Botanica. "You sure know your way around a garden, lady!" he applauded her.

"My whole’s life been a garden....with its blossoms and weeds here and there," Botanica replied, switching back to beast mode, casually strolling past Springer on her roots.

Inside, they found exactly what they needed. Springer pulled down a power level, illuminating the room. A row of Autobot fighters lined the hall, a bit dusty but all in working condition.

"Let’s just hope we have enough energon for all these..." said RedStreak.

A massive Maximal effort was underway, with the aid of Springer to boot, to excavate and unload the long-dormant array of vehicles. Springer offered all the technical schematics and repair skills he could offer, while Botanica attempted to integrate some of the spacecraft with technorganic systems. RedStreak and ThunderClaw refurbished and updated the weapons.

Within a solar cycle, the small fleet was prepped and launch was initiated. Two ships took the lead, aboard which were the leaders of the Maximal forces. In the Axalon 2 rode Botanica, Black Arachnia, RedStreak, as well as the lone Autobot. Against all advisement, Cheetarus Prime insisted upon coming, stating, "The honor of Cybertron is at risk. It would not be right for me to stay behind while others fight my cause." Silverbolt, Rattrap, and ThunderClaw would escort them to the edge of the Cybertronian system via the Sky Lynx.

As the rag-tag armada departed Cybertron, one other came as well. A non-Cybertronian, a human, went with the crew of the Axalon 2. Sprigner kept his optics on him at all times while the Maximals monitored the scanners.

A half-hour into the flight, RedStreak noticed the human huddled in a corner, all alone to himself. He left the controls, setting the ship for automatic pilot. RedStreak simply walked up to the human and stood next to him. The human’s only reaction to his presence was a momentary glance.

"Hello," said the Maximal to the human, "Are you all right?"

"Fine...for the moment." replied the human.

RedStreak was beginning to get the impression that this one wasn’t the social type. The Maximal sat down alongside him, leaning against the wall. The human scooted away by a foot or two, not desiring Maximal companionship.

"What is it?" RedStreak inquired.

The human finally looked up and said, "Will you leave me alone? I don’t want to talk...."

"Hmm, if talking isn’t your...how you humans say...expertise...then why does the Autobot constantly call you ‘the diplomat?’"

"It’s nothing....a program glitch as far as I’m concerned." said the young man, turning his head from RedStreak. The Maximal stared at him for a long time, his snout only twitching occasionally. Patiently he waited, until the human got tired of this. "Fine," he reluctantly replied, "Springer calls me ‘the diplomat’ ‘cause I’m one of the grandchildren of a man named Spike."

RedStreak put his hand to his chin, trying to recall the name from old data-tracks. "Unless I’m mistaken....he’s also the first human to bridge the gap between Cybertronians and Earthlings....but that was over four hundred years ago. How are you related to..."

"My mother was his great-great granddaughter. That makes me the fifth generation of ‘diplomats’ in his line." he told RedStreak.

"I also take it," the Maximal extrapolated, "It’s not a line you’d prefer to be a part of. You know, diplomacy being a ‘family thing’ and all." Finally RedStreak succeeded in catching the human’s ear. He asked him, "What is your name? I don’t suppose Spike the Sixth now, is it?"

"Adam." the human told, "Simply Adam." Looking over the Maximal, Adam directly looked at RedStreak and said in a mocking tone, "And what are you supposed to be? The technicolored fur coat?"

RedStreak didn’t understand the pun he made on his red, blue, and green coloration. "No....this is techno-matter," he pointed to his metallic body, "And my name’s RedStreak. I....hope we can be friends...."

At the other end of the hall, Black Arachnia watched RedStreak and Adam slowly begin to know each other. "Hmm. Talk about a rough start to interstellar relations.", she said to herself. Looking at RedStreak, she was reminded of Silverbolt in his younger days, back in the Beast Wars. The obvious physical resemblance to his fuzor form were obvious: canid beast form, long ears in both forms, and even a snout in robot mode. The young Maximal also had an uncanny code of ethics reminiscent to Silverbolt’s; valuing honor, life, and friendship above all else.

Oh....how I wish I could go back and be with Silverbolt back then, she playfully thought.

At the edge of the Cybertronian system, a transwarp conduit opened. A bluish flash of light appeared, out of which emerged a massive ship, closely followed by a countless swarm of drones. Dark like space itself, they silently crossed over on a course intercepting the Maximal fleet....

"Cheetarus Prime," Silverbolt called in, "This is the Sky Lynx reporting in. We’re approaching the coordinates of the conduit that leads into the Earth system. Can your sensors verify?"

Black Arachnia and Botanica were at the controls to the sensor array, with Springer at the navigational console. Black Arachnia double-checked the sensor readings, then replied eagerly, "Roger that. We can see the conduit’s location just a few kilometers ahead. We’ll be adjusting our trajectory and transwarp signature to the proper settings." Looking into the communications screen, the spider made a big smile to Silverbolt, adding, "It will be a long cruise without you to accompany us...."

Silverbolt smiled and blushed in response. "Ahem...." Springer butted in, turning Black Arachnia’s attentions away. "Sky Lynx," Springer addressed Silverbolt, "We’ll be preparing for transwarp space once our engines are fully charged. You’ll then rendezvous with us at the set coordinates in Earth orbit in one point eighty-five solar cycles. Axalon out..." The Autobot then flipped the switch to the com-link off, much to Black Arachnia’s dismay.

At the other end of the line, Silverbolt was stunned by the communication being cut-off so soon. "I can’t believe Cheetarus has sent my darling away from me on his....death mission. If I could only be with her in the final moment...."

"Oh get over it already." ThunderClaw groaned. The younger Maximal was growing tired of listening to his commander and his soul-mate play kissy-face over the com-link all day. "So she’s not going with you. So what? You’ll be with her in two days anyhow, just as the Autobot said...."

Silverbolt got out of his chair and pointed a talon into the panther-bot’s face. "Don’t you get it, son? It’s likely I won’t be seeing her at all....considering she and Prime are heading straight for Unicron himself! Don’t you realize she’ll be getting herself killed?"

Raising an eyebrow, the Maximal replied to him, "And if you go with her....you’ll be more than happy to get blown away with her?"

ThunderClaw’s commander was at his last thread with him. "Ugh! I swear I’ll never understand you. If I didn’t have more important things to do I’d demote you to civil forces...." Silverbolt swore.

"Heh, my dream." laughed ThunderClaw.

All that they had left to do was watch the Axalon 2 close in on the conduit gateway and power up its transwarp drive. It was an open and shut assignment as boring as a garbage scoul ride. ThunderClaw yawned in his chair, hoping for something to come along soon....

A red light went off on sensor controls. "What the?" ThunderClaw leaned over and glanced at the screen. On it he saw half a million blips coming forward in a big wave. "Holy father Primus!" he blurted out.

In moments, a swarm of drones came flying in, just as the Axalon 2 began to power engines. The swarm parted in two, half assaulting the fleet and the other half the Axalon 2. They came in swiftly, and with neither side prepared they began to take heavy damage.

Aboard the Axalon 2, circuits were frying as cables started coming loose, all while under a barrage of plasma blasts. The large Autobot fell from his equally-large seat with a loud clunk, Black Arachnia and Botanica following behind. The whole ship shook, the computer screens showing enemy signatures everywhere.

"What the slag is go’n on?" Black Arachnia shouted.

Botanica caught a glance out the central window, seeing a pair of drones sweep by. "We’re under attack! We’ve got to power shields immediately!" she shouted.

"How? The engines are powering up, soaking up the capacitors. There’s not enough power!" Springer grunted as he got up, only to be jolted by another round of enemy fire.

In less than four millicycles, a third of the Maximal fleet was taken out. The remaining fourteen ships, including the Sky Lynx, managed to power up their defenses before taking critical damage. Silverbolt gave the order to open fire, but there were at least a thousand times as many drones as there were ships, making it a futile effort.

The two Maximals aboard the Sky Lynx watched the Axalon 2 drifting helplessly in front of them, being hit by pot shots at a constant rate. "The Axalon’s taking heavy damage to all systems, and their shields still aren’t up!" ThunderClaw reported, "Oh man, they’re not going to survive in that thing for much longer!"

Watching the neighboring ship being pummeled senselessly, Silverbolt took immediate action. He grabbed the auxiliary controls and powered up the thrusters. "Then we’re going to have to rescue them!" he said to ThunderClaw.

Cheetarus Prime came to the main bridge, asking for a status report. Botanica and Black Arachnia said they were being blasted into slag by a million drones that came out of nowhere. There were no shields and no weapons available due to the transwarp drive, which wouldn’t depower since the controls were frozen. "That’s great! Our shields are off-line and our guns practically have quasar jams!" Cheetarus growled.

"The thrusters are still functional, despite all else!" Springer reported something good, "I’ll try and steer us out of this firestorm!" Taking controls far too-large for Maximal hands, Springer pushed forward while turning. The Axalon 2’s thrusters responded, making the ship turn starboard.

"We’ve got to turn around and double-back to Cybertron! Open the com-link to the entire fleet!" ordered Cheetarus.

"But we’ve come this far, and Cybertron’s too far for assistance!" Springer informed him.

"We’ve got no choice. None of us will last out her for a nano-cycle, not with this swarm around us!" the Prime spoke, "If we’re lucky, Nightscream’s reprogrammed the remaining defense platforms. They’ll at least thin out the numbers of these pests while giving us a chance to...."

A huge explosion rocked the ship. "One of the transwarp engines has overloaded!" Botanica said, "If the others do the same, we’re looking at a transwarp explosion in millicycles! They’ve got to be shut down, now!"

"Shut down? Lady," Sprigner struggled to say as he steadied the controls, "We can’t even deactivate the slagging things!"

"Wait! If we power down the entire ship, the engines will be cold dead!" Black Arachnia suggested.

"Just great!" Springer exclaimed, "Either we blow up in a few moments in a futile attempt to escape, or we sit dead in the water while our enemies blow us away for us! Some choice! Well Prime, what now?"

Cheetarus stood on the bridge, unable to talk. "I....I....." he muttered mindlessly. Slag! I can’t make this kind of a choice! We’re dead no matter what we do!

"Prime! A little help here!" Springer groaned.

Above them, the structural supports began to moan as the Axalon 2 rapidly lost stability. Suddenly Adam came running in, shouting, "What’s going on? Are we under attack?" Springer took his eyes off the controls and turned around in time to see Adam behind him. A support beam suddenly gave, plummeting towards the unsuspecting human below.

"NO!" the Autobot hollered, leaping out of his chair in slow-motion. His feet seemed like molasses as he tried to dash for the human, sluggish and clumsy. In those few milliseconds, the beams dropped closer and closer while Springer remained too far away. Adam looked up, seeing the support coming down on him too late. He raised his arms up while Springer made one final leap.

The beam came down with a thunderous bang, the Autobot sliding across the floor towards it. The navigational controls went haywire without Springer’s guidance, starting the Axalon 2 on a spiral. Gasping, Botanica jumped into the seat, grasping the steering controls with her limbs. She held it, but only for a few moments. The wheel flung her off, sending her into a wall like a piece of spinach flicked from someone’s teeth.

"The controls!" Cheetarus yelled.

Black Arachnia, in the midst of confusion and panic, took charge. She threw a web over the navigational controls, holding them in place. Leaping down from the console she yelled, "All right! We’ve got to get out of this hunk of scrap now! Springer! Use your internal radio to contact the fleet and pick us up! Botanica power down the systems and get RedStreak up here!"

"No! No!" the Autobot whimpered, digging through the heavy chunks of metal. He threw off panels and wires until he got to Adam’s limp body. "Adam! Adam!" he cried to the human.

The human got up, moaning in pain. "I’m ok....except for my legs. I-I think they’re broken...."

Quickly the Autobot tucked him away into his cockpit, keeping him safe. "Sprigner!" Black Arachnia reminded the Autobot of his duties, "The fleet! Now!"

The Sky Lynx hard docked with the Axalon 2 scarcely a minute later, just as the rest of the fleet began to pull out. ThunderClaw punched a hole through the wall and started pulling Maximals in. The Autobot took a lot of effort, but they managed to get him in as well. Silverbolt powered up propulsion and flew off from the disabled spacecraft, rejoining with the rest of the fleet.

For nine millicycles, the fleet was chased by the swarm relentlessly. Each ship fought off a hundred drones, shields failing and weapons depleted. Then, in a sudden moment, the drones left. Every member of the swarm halted and reversed direction, as if a superior mind directed them.

Cheetarus Prime, Springer, RedStreak, ThunderClaw, Botanica, Black Arachnia, and Silverbolt now occupied the same vessel. Though better prepared than the Axalon 2, the Sky Lynx was in pretty bad shape. Burn holes penetrated the titanium-beryllium hull nearly to the interior cabin, and even one of the wing thrusters had been taken out.

Rattrap analyzed the ship from bow to stern, and none looked too good. "Eh, this isn’t good." he muttered, still wired into the computer, "Power’s down to twenty-one percent, propulsion at half-capacity, stabilizers off-line....and even the electric cheese slicer I brought along is scrapped! No chance we’re getting back to Cybertron, not in this wreak!"

Black Arachnia analyzed the reports coming in from other ships and their crews. "Not good. The other ships are in worse condition than us! A few are at half-power, but most have less than ten-percent. Even if we abandon half the ships and siphon out the energon, there won’t be enough resources to return us home...."

Aside from their strategic loss, there were other problems. In another section of the Sky Lynx, Botanica, RedStreak, and Springer overlooked Adam. Botanica’s hands massaged Adam’s bruised back, trying to ease the pain as best she could. "It will be all right Adam. Your legs will be numb for a while....but everything’s fine." she told him. Adam smiled at Botanica and thanked her for saving him.

As Adam drifted off to sleep, Botanica put a curtain around him so she could speak with Springer. "It isn’t good," she began sorrowfully, "The support beam didn’t crush his vital organs....but it managed to sever his spine from the pelvis-down. He won’t be able to walk again, even with positronic implants and leg supports. That is....if his condition doesn’t get worse...."

RedStreak and Springer looked at each other, then at the sleeping human. They knew there was nothing they could do, but they still wished there was something....

An hour later, one of the ships in the fleet picked up something. Black Arachnia verified it with the Sky Lynx’s long-range scanners. "A large asteroid, but something unusual about it," she told Cheetarus while still examining the day, "There appears to be something artificial about it...."

The fleet changed course for the asteroid. If nothing else, it would at least be a decent place to rest down on. As they got closer, Black Arachnia’s examination proved it to be at least partially artificial, but native to Cybertron. "No mineral deposits or energon, but if I were to place a guess as to what it was," she declared, "A refueling station is what I’d wager."

"That’ll be good for us. Any materials will be of use now...." Cheetarus said.

The asteroid came within visual range quickly, growing to enormous proportions. As it rotated beneath them, a large structure came into view. At first, a trident-like tower appeared, but beneath it was a rectangular, stone structure.....with a huge carving of the face of Optimus Prime jutting out!

Fifteen ships landed scarcely thirty meters from the strange monument, riding down on the fumes of their thrusters. Most Maximal crews remained with their vessels, conducting repair jobs as swiftly as possible. Cheetarus got out with everyone except Springer and Botanica, who were both looking after Adam.

The six Maximals ascended the steps below Optimus Prime’s head, gazing at it with wonder. From the size of it, this monument, building, whatever it was, had been designed by Autobots presumably. There was Cybertronian text carved onto Optimus’ forehead, left in plain sight for any visitors.

"Let’s see if I can translate it," said Rattrap. He flipped down his visor and accessed a wealth of information. The text didn’t match modern Cybertronian styles from the past two hundred years, and any further translations were scetchy at best. "I....I think it’s written in Autobot style, tenth generation styling."

"Well tell us what it is, rat fink!" ThunderPaw growled.

"Well for those of us who don’t have any patience," Rattrap murmured, "It reads: Here lies the last resting place of the greatest transformers to possess the....name Prime. Though their sparks are....one....with the....Matrix.....here rests their old bodies." Flipping his visor back over his head, Rattrap summarized, "Basically, I think it’s a mausoleum for Autobots."

"Out here? In the middle of space?" asked Silverbolt.

"Wait....I think I know what this place is," Black Arachnia said, walking up to the faceplate, "When I read the Chronicles of Cybertron, the final resting place of Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime was known as ‘The Temple of Primus.’"

"Then this must be it...." RedStreak said.

"Amazing...." Cheetarus whispered. He slowly walked up to the face of Optimus, looking up into his eyes. "This," he said, reaching a hand to touch the smooth stone, "Is where the greatest of the Autobots lie."

"Not the sparks, to say the least..." ThunderClaw brought up.

"No, of course not. Just the bodies....shells." Cheetarus agreed, "But nonetheless, it’s incredible to think Optimus Prime is just lying inside here....in eternal rest."

Inside the command carrier, Obsidian and Strika looked down upon the Cybertronian asteroid. Their omnipotent sensors saw every square millimeter of it, spying upon both the temple and the fleet of Autobot fighters parked right in front.

"There it is," Obsidian said, eyes glowing dark red, "The old Temple of Primus, just as Omegracon said it would be. The Autobot Matrix must lie within...."

"There are also minor obstacles," Strika noted the Maximals, "Fifteen ships, forty-two Maximal signatures, plus one Autobot signature. A minor obstacle nonetheless...."

"So long as we accomplish the second task Omegracon has set before us." Obsidian stated.

On the asteroid’s surface, a wide cloud of lights appeared in the sky. At first they appeared to be a small cluster of comets or possibly a luminous nebula, but the Maximals didn’t think so once the blips appeared on their scanners.

In the Sky Lynx, a rain of plasma pounded against the hull. Botanica and Springer looked at one another, realizing the same thing. "The swarm’s back!" They rushed to the bridge to get weapons operating. Adam continued to sleep in his cot.

Dozens of Maximals were caught under fire outside, many flat-out vaporized. Ships raised shields that didn’t hold for long, and again they were under fire. One of the ships activated topside weaponry, firing lasers and missiles against the incoming drones. Entire rows of mindless machines were blasted into fragments, slowly turning the tide in the Maximals’ favor.

"Oh yeah!" Springer cheered, "This kind of fun I love!" The Autobot retargeted the weapons on another drone, instantly shattering it. Another seven were fired in a single volley, ten more with only a pair of rockets. More kept coming and coming, but Springer ensured they’d have a very tough time. "I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again, I’ve got better things to do tonight than die!"

Outside the drones weren’t acting as random as before in their attacks. As Cheetarus, Rattrap, and their fellows soon found out, they were distinctly headed for the temple. Many fired at the Temple of Primus, knocking off bits of stone, others colliding with the Optimus Prime’s face.

"Ack!" Rattrap hollered, ducking as a drone roared in. It struck the faceplate of Optimus, leaving a gaping crater.

Cheetarus growled with rage. "Nobody desecrates a tomb and gets away with it!" He broke out his old blades, the ones now lined with razor-sharp barbs and spines. The Prime flung them into the air, letting loose a pair of spinning buzz saws that sliced through eleven drones before returning. Cheetarus Prime grabbed both without a scratch, smiling proudly to himself. "Even after thirty cycles, I’ve still got it...."

The others kicked in, Silverbolt with his feather grenades and Black Arachnia with her electrified webbing, but in the end it was for naught. The had to escape, for the drones were innumerable and relentless.

Out of the Sky Lynx ran Springer and Botanica with Adam in a space suit. Their weapons array had just blown out nano-clicks before, leaving them with no choice other than abandon ship. Upon seeing the wide crater left by a drone, Botanica suggested they take cover inside. Cheetarus protested....until he saw the large shadow of a star cruiser looming overhead.

"Uh....on second thought, Botanica, let’s do it...." Cheetarus agreed.

They all dashed inside, save for Springer, RedStreak, as well as Black Arachnia. The Autobot declared, "I’ve never needed to hide before in my life, and I’m not about to start now. I’m the last of my breed and I want to make sure we go down fighting!" Springer jumped into the air, firing at the drones around him before transforming. In helicopter mode, he let loose all he had against the carrier above.

"Well that leaves the two of us!" Black Arachnia declared. She shot out another strand of glue-webbing, catching a drone. Swinging it like the end of a giant mace, Black Arachnia nailed a good twenty more drones, clearing the area. "Once we’re inside, I’ll set up an electric web to prevent any more from getting in!"

"Good idea! I just hope we’ll weather this out long enough!" quoted RedStreak.

Suddenly, the commad carrier whipped out a set of fusion cannons, aiming them towards the fighters. Two blasts fired, wiping out three whole ships. More blasts were fired, destroying more ships and clearing a path for the drones. Then one of the cannons aimed toward the faceplate of Optimus Prime....

"Let’s go!" RedStreak shouted. He and Black Arachnia ran for the hole in the faceplate. Another fusion cannon blast hit, shaking the ground. The both of them tripped, but Black Arachnia was the closest to the temple. She reached her hand to RedStreak, telling him to grab on so she could pull him in with her. The fox-bot reached out, just mere inches away.

The fusion cannon fired, sending a huge ball of hot plasma toward the temple. It hit the temple stairway, practically on top of RedStreak. Black Arachnia hollered as she was thrown into the temple, hitting the interior wall with a thud.

A few nano-clicks later, she was with Silverbolt, who dragged her inside. "No! Wait! RedStreak’s still out there!" she told him. However, when she managed to steal a glance, all she saw was a smoking crater deep in the stairs. "No...."

Deep within the Temple of Primus, the Maximals were sheltered. Amid the rumbles of the barage of firepower, they saw the ornate beauty of the temple’s interior. Pictograms of the Autobots and Decepticons were everywhere, portraying their battles on Cybertron and Earth for the countless centuries. On the rear wall, there was even a platform holding a stone sculpture of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Dominating the room were two giant slabs. On top of which was something spectacular. To the left was Optimus Prime, the greatest leader of the Autobots, with arms strewn over his broad chest. To the right rested Rodimus Prime, the first known Autobot to open the matrix, unleashing its power against Unicron himself. Both of these noble titans were rusted, covered by a light layer of dust over the years.

The Maximals huddled between the two bodies, cold and frightened. A mausoleum was even more frightening when it was caught in the middle of a war. Bombs echoed loudly, some shaking the dust from the rafters above. Botanica and Rattrap were hugging one another, fearing it would all be over too soon.

Then it stopped, all noise stopped. It was calm for the longest time. Then....there was an echo. Cheetarus Prime stood up. He heard it, a humming noise, accompanied by the clanking of metal, both growing louder and louder until it was a loud drum in their ears.

A wave of white-eyed drones were coming in through the main chambers, heading down the hallway towards them. At the last moment, Black Arachnia threw up a web, sealing off the entrance to the central tomb. Several drones bumped into it and shorted out, but the rest stepped back.

A large drone approached, one with bright red eyes and a noticeably larger pair of rockets on his back. It looked at the webbing for a microsecond, then extended a long sword-like blade from his hand. He sliced through the webbing in one stroke, causing it to split in two. Then it entered, followed by dozens more.

Black Arachnia and Silverbolt were the first to rise up in defense, ready to defend their comrades from all. The red-eyed drone gazed at them, then stuck its arms out at them. Bolts of yellow and green lightning flew from them, hitting not only Black Arachnia and Silverbolt but all the other Maximals.

"Fools," it muttered, "You’re not even worth my time here...."

It turned to the other drones and nodded. Three drones approached the sculpture of the matrix quickly. Two tried to grab it from either side, but failed to remove it. The third stuck out its blades, slicing through the stone the sculpture was bolted to. The other two caught it immediately, shaking the dust off of it.

Beneath, the handles were pristine white and the empty, central bulge a dull orange. It wasn’t just a model.....it was the real matrix!

"No!" Cheetarus begged, "The...matrix! Don’t take it!"

The red-eyed drone laughed, decreeing, "The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is now in the possession of Omegracon....progeny of Unicron."

"WHAT?!" gasped Cheetarus Prime.

The drone intensified its electrical bolts, knocking the Maximals out. "I shall deal with you all soon enough...." Obsidian promised, leaving the temple along with all his drones.

Returning to Omegracon’s command carrier, Obsidian brought before Strika the matrix. "Excellent," she said, "Now we have what we came to retrieve. Let us return to Omegracon and present it to him."

"No," said Obsidian, "First, we must destroy this temple, including the asteroid it’s perched upon..."

"But...that’s a waste of resources! Omegracon won’t be pleased...." warned Strika.

"He shall be pleased to know we stopped all that stood in our way. As his generals, we are obliged to conquer all, and as his weapons, we must destroy all that dare to oppose him. Let us....fulfill out duties....heh, heh...." chuckled Obsidian.

The former Vehicon continued to cackle as he reached for the lever controlling the fusion cannons, aiming precisely for the temple’s central tomb....