There was a storm brewing over a remote Egyptian oasis west of the great Nile. The first rain cloud to arrive in decades was hovering above the landscape. Then, an unnatural thunder boomed. The few trees that grew shuttered and swayed, five large planes sweeping overhead at supersonic speeds.

"We’ve got to get to that pyramid and guard it!" shouted Silverbolt.

A Harrier and F-15 jet flew towards the Concord’s starboard wing. "How are we going to do that, Silverbolt? We’re just five Autobots against an army of Decepticons and whatever else that’s after it!" Skydive blared.

"Yeah," Slingshot agreed, "I mean, I like kicking my share of ‘Cons, but hey, I also like seeing my tail fin in one piece!"

Silverbolt was stern. "Rodimus Prime gave us orders, and we’re going to follow them! Prepare to link up to form Superion….what the?!"

The aerial armada of Aerialbots transformed, descending over a broad basin with a distinct square impression left in the underlying black rock. "Whoa, it looks like the whole pyramid…got up and moved!" Fireflight said.

The sand sifted just behind the Aerialbots as they stood, overlooking the crater. Airraid jumped, quick to spy the rocks shaking and trembling in one spot. Training his gun on the largest boulder, Airraid shouted out, "Guys! Quick, check this out!"

The other Aerialbots turned and saw a modest pile of rocks wiggling in place. "Something must be buried under there," Silverbolt stated. He glanced to Slingshot and Skydive, still at his side. "Skydive, Slingshot, go find out what’s buried there. Airraid, Fireflight, and I will cover you."

The two Aerialbots nodded and walked out to the rock pile. Piece by piece the pair moved the rocks while the remaining three, with guns trained, watched from afar. Then, after Slingshot lifted up on last boulder, a hand jutted up from the ground, snatching his ankle.

"Slingshot!" Fireflight cried out. His gun let out a shot. Skydive leapt to the side, the beam burning a hole in the back of the grabbing hand.

"Agh!"

The Aerialbots swarmed around the site. More sand, pebbles, and rock sifted, exposing the battered frame of Scourge. Silverbolt was initially shocked, but then his surprise turned to rage. He immediately grabbed the Decepticon by the shoulders, shaking him hard.

"Alright you Decepticon piece of junk," Silverbolt yelled to Scourge’s face, "Where’s the pyramid? Where did the other Decepticons take it?"

Scourge coughed, his head weakly wobbling around on his pivoted neck. "Wow should I know?" he hacked, "I’M BLIND!" It was blatantly obvious – where two red optics should have been, two empty, hollow sockets laid with fine wires hanging from inside.

"But you still have audio circuits!" Silverbolt snarled, banging Scourge against the jagged crater wall, "Tell me which way Galvatron and his goons fled!"

Scourge frowned, the rocky crumbs in his synthetic beard falling away. "Why should I tell you anything, you filthy Autobot?"

Silverbolt’s arms trembled with his anger, but then a smooth grin formed on his face. "Perhaps a stronger form of coercion is in order." He slammed Scourge against the rock again, turning to the Aerialbots to shout "Aerialbots unite!"

Fireflight, Slingshot, Skydive, and Airraid stared blankly for a moment. Silverbolt gave them a fierce glare, snapping them back in line. All five then jumped skyward, bodies morphing and shifting, a dark head with gold antennas coming into place between massive shoulders.

"Now, Decepticon," Superion’s deep voice bellowed to Scourge as the Gestalt picked up the aforementioned transformer, "WHERE…DID…THEY GO?!"

The great pyramid blasted out green fire upon the desert. The Enneadmons’ Ra, now directed by the tainted mind of Galvatron, wrought havoc over all within its sight. Rodimus Prime ducked and rolled, the giant fiery beam passing over him by just a few feet.

"It is useless to resist!" Galvatron’s voice boomed from high up, "With the eye of Ra I shall destroy you all!"

The eye made a second pass, this time toward Sandstorm and Scamper. "Look out!" Scamper yelled, shoving Sandstorm aside. The massive beam just grazed the side of the black Autobot, blasting him away in an explosion.

Once more the eye caught sight of the Autobot leader, gleaming a cold, bitter gaze at him. Suddenly a pair of arms snatched Rodimus, and just as suddenly he found himself pulled into the air. Another blast from the eye obliterated the ground where Rodimus had laid barely two seconds before.

Rodimus looked up to the two Enneadmons, Horus and Annubis. "Thanks," he said, very much grateful.

The pair darted around the eye like dragonflies, desperate to avoid its blasts. "There is little to be thankful for! As long as our mutual nemesis controls Ra, none of us stands a chance!" Annubis stated in a melancholy tone.

RedStreak was on the ground, holding Isis in his hands. "Come on ma’am, lady…whatever you are," he grunted, dragging her limp body, "We’ve gotta get out of here! If only…ugh…I could transform!"

The eye swung this way and that, firing massive bursts, but then it halted, now fixed on Isis and RedStreak on the ground before it. Already it powered up, green light glowing at its pupil.

"Oh slag! Of all the times I didn’t want to be the apple of someone’s eye!" RedStreak moped.

"Oh no! RedStreak!" Rodimus Prime shouted, watching as Galvatron fired.

With Isis lying at his feet, RedStreak had no where and no time to run as the beam descended like a freight train from hell. He gritted his teeth as he raised up his arms in futile defense.

Where the two stood erupted a green blast, the beam enveloping them both in its unforgiving fury. Then, at the center of the blast, shined a faint beacon of gold.

RedStreak opened his eyes. "I’m…alive?" he said. He glanced up, finding his left arm enveloped in gold light. It was the gauntlet! As the beam continued to rain down, it absorbed it! In moments the gauntlet glowed with power, and then fired back at the pyramid’s eye a yellow light.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" In the bowels of the pyramid, something struck directly at Galvatron, causing him to cry out in pain. He fell to his knees, hands at his head. The pyramid, both inside and outside, flashed between darkness and light, steel and gold.

As quick as it appeared, the gold shimmer just as quickly faded, returning to dark, Decepticon steel. The radiant energy didn’t so much as fade…but concentrated itself right at the eye of the pyramid. For a few fleeting seconds a light greater than the sun shined. Then, like an exploding firework, five beams of light blasted out, reaching out in five different directions stretching beyond the horizons.

Isis awoke, just in time to glimpse at the five fiery contrails etched into the sky. Immediately she stood upright, a renewed glow in her eyes. RedStreak was surprised when she stood up, her wings arced high over her shoulders. "Hey…I though you were weakened! What the heck…."

"We should move," Isis uttered three words.

As if on cue, the pyramid turned from steel gray to night black. For a split second it was dead in the air, all silent and still for a short moment of eternity. Then the pyramid, with its immeasurable, mountainous mass, plummeted straight to the ground.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion of sand erupted, rippling out like tidal waves in a sea, dragging in its wake the Autobots and Enneadmons. Everything was engulfed and buried under hundreds of feet with a force greater than any earthquake or landslide. The pyramid itself sunk partway into the dunes, its formerly upright peak tilted, its former glory lost in its unbecoming ruin.

Something huge burst forth from the sand. A shimmering bubble of light flew out like a newborn firefly. Within Isis hovered with outstretched wings, Annubis, Horus, and all the Autobots concealed safely within her protection.

"We can not linger," Isis advised Rodimus Prime, "Ra will regain its strength, and the dark one will still control. Now, through the gauntlet, the ways to Osiris’ pieces has been shown. Autobots, you must...."

"Hold on," Rodimus Prime spoke up. Looking squarely at Isis, he flatly said, "We can’t go whipping about at your whim and call! We have our own concerns too! Six-Guns is still down and in need of repairs! Please Isis, you must take him and I back to Auotbot City!"

Isis frowned. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, sighing in frustration. "Very well," she gruffly said, "Because you wish it, I shall do as you say, but we must recover Osiris before…."

Annubis pointed his gold-tipped spear down. "Isis! Look!" he exclaimed.

Below, electricity seemed to ripple over the pyramid. In a flash, it changed once more to steel. The eye glowed a dull green as the base of the pyramid seemed to quake, as if struggling to hoist itself out of the sand. The eye turned toward them, emotionless and empty and yet full of rage…Galvatron’s rage.

"RODIMUS! I SHALL DESTROY YOU NOW!" the Decepticon’s voice roared from the pyramid.

Suddenly the great eye of Ra was blinded. Two giant hands clasped over it, Superion hugging the peak of the pyramid. "Rodimus! Run while you can!" the Autobot giant blared, "I will…distract him for as long as I can!"

"SUPERION! WE’VE GOT TO…" Rodimus began to shout, but Annubis’ hand fell on his shoulder.

The jackal-headed Enneadmon said, "We can not help him, not now!" Annubis then turned about toward Horus. In a growling tone, he said to his counterpart, "Horus, we shall seek out Osiris while we can…as will the red-one and whirling Autobots."

RedStreak and Sandstorm’s eyes grew wide as the Enneadmons looked to them.

"Now wait just a minute!" Rodimus Prime yelled.

"The time for talk is over!" Isis said. With a wave of her hand, an aura grew over RedStreak and Sandstorm, a smaller bubble of energy forming around them. "We now all have our parts to play! Go!"

At blinding speed, four beams of light ruptured from Isis’ sphere. Annubis on one, Horus on the second, RedStreak and Sandstorm the third, and Isis, Rodimus, Scamper, and Six-Guns on the forth, bound over the Atlantic in mere seconds.

Far off in the desert, a patch of sand began to stir. A growing wind began to circle around one spot, signaling the awakening of something ominous. The ground shook, and then….

"BWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Set’s voice roared from the Earth. A giant purple blast ruptured from the ground. In the small crater dug out, Set stood with staff still in hand, a ravenous, bitter scowl on his face. "I SHALL NOT BE DENIED!" he roared. Like a desert locust, he bounded into the air, seeking retribution.

Ultra Magnus received a disturbing call from Silverbolt on the emergency frequency. "Magnus here, what is it Silverbolt?"

"This is Silverbolt," the Aerialbot blared over the air waves, "We’ve got a situation here! Galvatron has gained control over the pyramid…and he’s taking it straight to Autobot City! We tried to hold him off, but believe me…."

Ultra Magnus’ fist smashed the console, his fist buried inside as he twitched. "WHAT?!"

"I said Galvatron has control over the pyramid. Right now he’s on a direct course to…."

"I heard you the first time Silverbolt!" Ultra Magnus yelled, "But I can’t believe it! We’re hardly in any position to defend ourselves! Not with Rodimus Prime as well as Scamper and Six-Guns away! You and the Aerialbots report back here at once! I’m declaring a code red alert as of…."

"We’re here, Magnus," Rodimus Prime spoke up from behind Ultra Magnus.

The tall blue Autobot turned around with wide eyes. "Rodimus! I…I am so relieved you’re here! I was just about to declare a code red…."

"Right, but right now we need you, Pipes, Swerve, and Perceptor stat! Six-Guns is down," Rodimus Prime began to say, "And…we have a few ‘guests’ you may want to see."

Roughly two thousand miles away, a rumbling was brewing over the Potomac. Just south of Washington D.C., an immense shadow fell. With a great boom it flew overhead, causing the human residence to pause and stare up with slack-jawed mouths.

A giant pyramid passed them by with little thought, its eye fixed north by northwest as it rumbled on.

Back in the desert, Sandstorm was driving over sand dunes with RedStreak on his roof, feeling every bump right between his skidplates. "Ugh! Man! As if our landing in the middle of nowhere wasn’t bad enough! I thought you had four wheel drive!"

Defiantly Sandstorm hit another dune…a big one on purpose. The bump flung RedStreak off him, flying straight into the sand. As RedStreak pulled himself out, Sandstorm transformed. "Hey! I swear for every inch of our trip you do nothing but complain! For Cybertron sake I’ve never seen…."

RedStreak, leaning into a burrow, grunted, "I can’t get out!"

The triple-changing Autobot rolled his optics. "Oh, great, and now this!"

"No," RedStreak said again, grunting as he tried to pull his left arm from the ground, "I…I really can’t…get out! It…it’s like a magnet’s pulling me in!"

Curious, Sandstorm walked over and grabbed RedStreak by the back. Together they tugged, pulled…but at best RedStreak’s arm only budged an inch before pulling back in. Sandstorm backed off, then pulled out his gun. "Hang on, I’m gonna try my sandblaster particle gun…."

"WHAT?! NOW?!" RedStreak blared, eyeing Sandstorm in disbelief as the Autobot already took aim. "NO! DON’T SHOOT MY ARM OFF FOR CRYING OUT…."

Sandstorm’s blaster fired in a wide beam. A spray of blue particles seemed to eat away the ground RedStreak was leaning over. Soon a pit formed, first two, then six, and then ten feet deep….

Finally a pit forty feet deep, deep enough for three Autobots piled on top of another to stand was excavated. Near the bottom, something solid was visible. The moment it became visible RedStreak’s arm jerked again, pulling him in its direction. "I…I think this gauntlet thing is telling me…to go…this way!" RedStreak grunted.

The pair slid down the side of the pit. Walking in jerky motions, RedStreak staggered over with Sandstorm jogging at his side. From the sand Sandstorm pulled out a rag-covered mass, aged with decay, the bandages encrusted and torn. RedStreak’s gauntlet glowed bright near it.

"It looks like a…piece of jerky those humans like so much!" Sandstorm said.

RedStreak took notice of one particular gap in the rags. Lifting it up, he saw a glimmer of metal. "No…it’s not!" Pulling off a few of the bandages, he revealed what was clearly a body, specifically a torso not unlike the frame of a transformer. "It must be one of the pieces the Enneadmons were seeking!"

"Then we’ll be taking it!" a whiny voice said from above.

The Autobots looked up and gasped. Mixmaster stood above with gun in hand, and worse still were four other Constructicons that appeared to his sides. Scrapper, their leader, stepped forward with mean-looking scars on his body. "We failed Galvatron before in battle, and he does overlook failure too readily, Autobots! However, if you give us those trinkets you’re carrying," he said, holding out one hand as his other held his weapon, "we just might be willing to overlook slagging two measly, stranded Autobots."

RedStreak frowned. "Easy for you to say! I’ve been trying to get this thing off my arm for hours without any luck!"

"Then let me help you!" Scapper replied with pleasure. A Decepticon laser sliced into RedStreak’s left shoulder, slicing it off in a flash. RedStreak howled with pain, falling to his knees as wires sputtered sparks from his wound. The arm clunked onto the sand, twitching briefly as it fell away from the agonized Autobot.

"Why you dirty…." Sandstorm gritted his teeth, pulling out his particle gun.

The clicks of five laser guns sounded, the Constructicons arming their guns as they aimed squarely at Sandstorm now. "There may be only five of us," Scrapper talked down to the Autobots, "but that’s more than enough to finish you off!"

Twin beams exploded from behind the five Constructicons. Falling face-down into the pit, the Constructicons staggered as Annubis and Horus appeared, weapons glowing with energy. They landed beside Sandstorm and RedStreak, taking up defensive positions.

As a firefight quickly ensued, the warriors were too distracted to notice the gauntlet uncoupling…and then, slowly, crawl away from RedStreak’s sliced arm. With its fingers it approached the wrapped torso, nudging its way up to the shoulder. It aligned, and slipped its end under the wrappings. Joints snapped together, a wrist and arm forming between the joined components…all silently restoring themselves.

Sandstorm got up, firing on the attacking Decepticons. The sound of a heavy engine’s roar came from behind. A large green crane suddenly rolled down into the pit at full speed. Sandstorm glanced back, only to get smacked by a swinging hook to the jaw, sending him toppling backwards into the sand as the construction vehicle drove on.

Hook rolled up and transformed behind the flanks of his comrades. "About time you showed up, Hook!" Scapper growled, "I thought you were too chicken to join a real firefight!"

"Hey!" Hook said back, "I had to drag myself out of a canyon without your help! Besides…I have a score to settle with those two…freak-things, especially that bird one!"

"Then let’s settle things Constructicon-style!" Scrapper suggested, "Constructicons unite!" The six stepped back, their bodies shifting and folding into feet, legs, hands, arms, until they merged into one.

"This time," Devastator yelled thunderously, "Devastator will crush you to dust!"

Annubis and Horus immediately leapt to the air, circling around the giant. Horus transformed, flying up and then swooping down with talons spread. Devastator was not caught unaware this time. A giant purple fist met the bird, grabbing and then throwing it straight at Annubis, flinging the two back to the ground.

Still in pain, RedStreak went for the pieces. He was surprised to find one whole piece in place of two, but that didn’t register in his logic circuits then. What he did notice was how Devastator now had his back turned….

Grabbing the fused pieces, RedStreak weakly grunted, "Sandstorm, whip out your sand blaster again. Fire at Devastator’s feet!"

"What good will that do? This can’t bring him down!" Sandstorm said.

"Oh yes it can! Remember how you dug this pit out?" RedStreak said.

Sandstorm smirked, catching onto Red’s plan. He nodded, and then reset his weapon. As Devastator marched to the pit’s opposite end, a familiar blue spray ate away the ground beneath. The pit deepened where Devastator walked, until, when the giant took one fateful step….

"GAAAAAAAH!" Devastator tripped, falling backwards like a tower.

"Alright!" Sandstorm cheered. Then, as Devastator’s shadow grew large over him and RedStreak, his smile turned to a worried frown. "Uh-oh."

As Devastator’s bulk fell faster, RedStreak looked to Sandstorm. "Well what are you waiting for? Transform and roll…err…fly us out!"

An orange helicopter flew from the underside of Devastator moments later, the giant’s limbs flailing as Sandstorm swooped over Annubis and Horus. From his open hanger the one-armed RedStreak pulled them both in with some effort. The ordeal over, the transformers flew off without haste.

Inside Sandstorm’s small bay, RedStreak nursed his wound as he exchanged glances with the oddly exhausted Enneadmons. "Hey, how come you guys are breaking a sweat? I remember you two taking Devastator on before with only him getting his bolts bent out of shape!"

Horus dropped his sickle to the floor, leaning over on his knees woozily. "Already our strength is waning. The fight…drained us."

Leaning on his spear, Annubis elaborated, "Already…we dwell on borrowed time. The hand…of Osiris…granted us a moment to restore ourselves when Ra’s control was broken. Now that…the one…you call…Galvatron…has it again…we…again grow…weak. We must…hurry!"

RedStreak looked up to the ceiling, at their host. "Hear that Sandstorm?"

"Hear it and shifting gears Red!" Sandstorm readily replied. His blades spun up, roaring as the flying Autobot zoomed fast over the landscape.

Across the globe, doom was approaching the Autobots. Rodimus Prime looked out from one of the towers in Autobot City, toward what radar and remote sensors already confirmed was just beyond the horizon. He stepped from the window and walked into a huge lofty hanger.

Numerous Autobots, among them Perceptor and Swerve, were working on Six-Guns and the brutal damage dealt to him. There were hundreds of crates full of equipment and spare parts, cranes lifting and lowering various components of Six-Guns from above, activity buzzing. Leaning against one wall was Isis, watching over it.

"Can’t you just heal him, as you did me and the others?" Rodimus Prime asked of her.

She shook her head wearily. "No…not anymore. I must conserve what…remains of my power for an even greater task ahead."

Rodimus began to ball up his fists in anger. "Not anymore? Don’t you see how hurt he was? He is dying for the love of…."

Isis frowned with eyes that could piece eighty feet of titanium. "And you don’t understand what I sacrificed to bring you here!" Isis stepped up to Rodimus, backing him into a wall as her wings seemed to take on a shade of red. "I could have helped find and reassemble Osiris…the one being I am most attuned to for the love I shared for him centuries ago! The one being who can save us all from the force of that which the Enneadmons are bound to!" She let out a gasp, turning from hate to despair. For a moment, Rodimus Prime thought a tear ran down her silver cheek.

Prime paused in thought, but his mind didn’t linger for long. He turned instead towards Six-Guns’ repair. "What’s the status, Perceptor?" Rodimus Prime asked.

Putting down his drill, Perceptor groaned, "Minimal progress I’m afraid. We’ve brought him out of stasis and critical condition, fortunately enough, but he won’t be anywhere near even half-strength before Galvatron…."

Rodimus Prime put his hand on his shoulder, quieting Perceptor as other Autobots overheard him, an obvious nervousness in their eyes. "Finish up what you can, soon. We’ll have to stow him away before the battle comes."

"Leaving Metroplex with half of his armaments gone?" Perceptor said with a bewildered face, "Rodimus, I can’t even begin to compute the strategic lack of logic in that…."

"Do what you can, Perceptor, do what you can," Rodimus Prime said.

Minutes later Rodimus Prime met with Ultra Magnus in the command chamber. "Are the contingency measures in order?" Rodimus asked of the city commander.

Ultra Magnus clicked on a monitor, displaying the Protectobots and Technobots on opposite sites at the mouth of a canyon. The groups were fitting together what looked like giant search lights, attaching giant power cables and antennas.

"Ready, and with the humans’ cooperation, we’ll be able to divert about four hundred gigawatts through the force field barrier," Magnus reported, "Their combined output from six local power stations."

"Barely enough to energize the projectors, let alone keep them up against who knows how much power lies in that monstrosity Galvatron’s bringing," Rodimus Prime dismally stated, "Still…it’s our best chance. Order our men to fire them up the minute the pyramid is within visual range, then to get the heck out of there."

Barely twelve minutes passed before the inevitable moment. The huge pyramid appeared, making its way through the narrowing walls of the canyon pass that would lead to Autobot City.

A switch was swung. The large projectors, sitting like twin search lines on the canyon heights, swiveled about autonomously. From their iris-like lenses poured out a wave of energy that moved like fluid. In seconds a transparent wall barricaded the canyon’s exit, just as the pyramid neared it.

From their station at Autobot City, both Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime watched. The pyramid came within fifty feet of the barrier, not even a stone’s throw away relative to its girth, and then stopped. The eye atop the pyramid just stared out for a moment.

Then something happened.

"HA!" Galvatron’s vile voice laughed, echoing in the canyon, "Is THIS the best the Autobots can do? BAH!"

The eye blasted out its green beam directly at the barrier. The force field wavered, holding but slowly warping into a bubble against the sheer force it was resisting. Ultra Magnus, Rodimus, and countless other Autobot eyes watched in anxiety.

In their monitors, they would have noted a small dot hovering above the height of both the pyramid and barrier, making its way towards Autobot City. Sandstorm, coming in at top speed from the Sahara, was making his approach.

His was not a pretty picture. "Man, that pyramid’s gonna break the force field any moment!"

Inside, Annubis spoke, "Nothing can withstand Ra for any length of time. You should have learned that by now."

Raising up his one remaining fist, RedStreak glared at the two Enneadmons, "Oh yeah? Well I don’t see either of you making a dent in that thing’s chrome!"

Annubis growled, but then his ears perked a bit. "Wait, there is something about, I am not certain." He glanced down towards the tarp loaded with the pieces. They faintly pulsed through the plastic material.

Horus bent down, also seeing the glow. "Another must be close…possibly the final one."

"Final one?" RedStreak spoke up, "You mean we just need one more lousy piece to save our data tracks? Finally some good news! Sandstorm, radio Rodimus and Magnus…."

"Not necessary," Annubis spoke, "Isis…and one other…already knows."

At the hanger, Isis jerked her head up, eyes glazed over with a gold glow. "The time has come!" she said aloud, spreading her wide wings. Her head and legs suddenly drew inside her body, those of a bird emerging as she transformed into a shimmering diamond crane.

Isis flew out, Swerve and Perceptor pausing their work on Six-Guns for but a moment in wonder. Swerve swiveled his red head toward Perceptor and asked, "What the heck was that all about?"

"I don’t know," Perceptor replied, slamming a hatch down and welding it shut, "But we’ve got bigger concerns with Six-Guns. There…I’ve done as much as I can. Swerve, reactivate his brain unit."

The slightly smaller Autobot nodded and walked over to Six-Guns’ head. Reaching into a vent-like slot in the back of the larger ‘bot’s neck, Swerve flipped a crucial switch. With a moan, Six-Guns awoke, managing to sit upright. "RedStreak, Scamper, Sandstorm…out of danger?" he grunted.

"Yes and no," Perceptor could only reply, "You saved them, but now we’ve got other problems to deal with. Galvatron…."

"Galvatron!" Six-Guns growled. He turned to his side, slowly shifting his great mass. Putting his feet onto the hanger floor, Six-Guns muttered, "Must return to duty. Merge with…Metroplex to protect Autobot Cit…."

"Wait! Wait!" Perceptor cried out, standing in front of the giant with waving arms. "You’re in no condition to fight! As head scientist and your commander, I must insist that you stay here…." Six-Guns simply strolled by, totally ignoring Perceptor. Perceptor sighed, saying, "Why is it no one listens to me?"

Outside, at the canyon mouth, the force field barrier was straining as the unlimited power Galvatron focused upon it blasted against it. Already it flickered, phasing in and out. Then, in one last burst, the barrier gathered its’ strength. The beam inevitably broke through, the barrier shattering as the projectors were left smoking wrecks. The pyramid made its’ way through the canyon’s mouth, Autobot City in clear sight of it.

"It’s begun," Rodimus Prime said. He sighed and shook his head. "Where are those Enneadmons when I need them now?"

As Rodimus sighed, Ultra Magnus went into action. "Attention all Autobots," his voice blared through the halls of Autobot City, "We have a code red alert! Galvatron has broken through the barrier! Repeat! Galvatron has broken through the barrier! To your stations…and prepare the city for battle!"

Autobots were running up and down halls, carrying weapons and equipment as the klaxons wailed. Doors sealed air-tight as corridors and panels changed, the city already beginning to transform. Outside the familiar towers shifted and folded, Metroplex coming online for one final battle it seemed. While others retreated inside, three teams: the Technobots, Protectobots, and Aerialbots took up positions outside, merging respectively into the Gestalts Computron, Defensor, and Superion. They, along with Metroplex himself, stood ready as the monolithic pyramid approached.

"At last! " Galvatron boomed as the Autobots stood defensively before his approaching pyramid, "The final hour of your extinction is at hand…MY HAND that is!"

Elsewhere Sandstorm met up with Isis over the skies of a near-by town. Isis transformed and landed, Sandstorm following her lead and setting down a few yards away. His ramp opened, RedStreak, Annubis, and Horus stepping out to greet her, Annubis carrying in his arms the bag loaded with the gathered pieces.

"Good," Isis decreed, "We have all the needed pieces…save Osiris’ head, which must be near-by."

"Maybe," Sandstorm said, his own body switching from helicopter to robotic mode, "It’s in that human city."

"But how would it get from the Sahara to Western America?" asked RedStreak.

"Heh, humans have a nack for collecting old things and taking them with, as Perceptor might say. Maybe they took it for an artifact…in a museum," Sandstorm suggested, "But…before...what did you mean by…one other knows?"

A small earthquake trembled beneath their feet. As Sandstorm and RedStreak wondered, the three Enneadmons simply looked to the northwest, toward the town. Then, at the height of the quake, a blast came from one of the larger buildings. Something flew out of the gaping hole. "What the Pit?" Sandstorm muttered in confusion.

A vile laughter soon began to fill the air. Annubis growled, Horus grinding his beak. Isis narrowed her eyes. "Set," she said.

"Indeed," Set’s voice said from above. RedStreak and Sandstorm gasped, both immediately drawing their weapons as they spotted Set descending towards them from above. While his staff glowed brightly in his left hand, the dog-like Enneadmon held what resembled a jade bust in the crotch of his right arm.

He halted before the group as Annubis and Horus readied their own weapons, hovering roughly fifteen feet above the ground. With a blink of his eyes, two beams hit the guns of Sandstorm and RedStreak, knocking their blasters away. "Pity you creatures are slow to learn. Such weapons are useless against us," Set spoke in his usual lofty, high-browed tone. Turning toward his Enneadmon counterparts, he smiled as he said, "Ah, my former brothers and sister. And, if we suspect right," he further said, glancing toward the large sack, "You have gathered the fragments…save one."

A second set of beams fired from Set, this time at the sack. Isis screamed as it burst into flame, rushing over and fanning the flames with her broad wings. The fires consumed the sack, but the pieces within were unharmed. As RedStreak and Sandstorm stood helplessly, Annubis and Horus gripped their weapons tighter, the spear and sickles glowing more brilliantly.

"Heh heh," Set chuckled, "Eager to counter us as always, but I’m afraid you both lack the strength Osiris once had." Slowly, but noticeably, the weapons dimmed, their masters looking weary despite their conviction. "Your own strength has left you all. Fortunately…" Set waved his staff, and immediately an aura of gray-white energy enveloped him. "MINE ARE STILL POTENT!"

Annubis leapt at Set first, his spear lunging at him. In but an instant, Set shifted to the side, the spear’s dimly glowing point missing him completely. He whacked Annubis swiftly in the back, smacking him directly into the ground. Horus acted next, hoping to catch Set while he was preoccupied. Set’s staff blocked Horus’ sickles, energy crackling as the weapons made contact. For a minute it seemed they were matched, equal strengths. Set endured, and with a forceful shove, flung Horus away. Flicking his wrist, Set pointed his staff at his opponent, a comet-like burst striking out.

Set floated down to the ground as Horus fell with a loud thud. Isis, her arms and wings wrapped over the pieces, stared up at Set fearfully. A grin on his face, Set approached. "Aren’t you going to try and strike us down, sister?" he humbly asked, "Or, no wait…I recall. You sacrificed those powers permanently in that scheme you conjured to trap us inside Ra! Ha! Such a vain plan when you look back now, isn’t it?"

Isis said nothing, even when Set stepped closer. "Come now, we know you are as weak as the others…but we can change that. Together we can retake Ra, and in exchange for abandoning your quest to restore Osiris…I…would restore you and your powers to their former glory. Come now." Set leaned down, smiling as he held out one clawed hand opened.

Isis scorned, "Not in a thousand lifetimes! I will restore Osiris, and this time, it will be YOUR end!"

Set withdrew his hands, eyes narrowing and glowing bright red. He held his staff with both hands, its tip already developing a ball of powerful energy waiting to be flung. "Again, a vain effort. For once we destroy you…who will be able to restore Osiris…and be left to challenge me?"

"RAAAAAGH!" RedStreak and Sandstorm tackled Set from behind. Set wobbled about, two Autobots hugging his body with all their strength. As he snarled and flailed his arms about, the final piece dropped to the ground, rolling within arm’s reach of Isis. Her eyes widened.

Isis raised up her wings, muttering in words not spoken for eons. In tongues unknown by modern men she uttered, gathering what remained of her power, "By our Dark Creator and Ra’s might, by my will and strength I wield, reforge the lord of Set, Isis, Annubis, and Horus, reforge Osiris."

Set flung RedStreak and Sandstorm away, Sandstorm smashing into a tree as RedStreak crashed down the hill. "NO!" Set roared, watching as Isis’ energy flowed into the inanimate pieces. Like magnets they came together, mending and weaving themselves back in place. Rusted metal seemed to grow new and without rust, the jade-like material of the face, arms, and shins shining like new.

RedStreak crawled back up with his one arm, gazing at the scene in bewilderment. "Whoa…."

A new Enneadmon stood upright, green-skinned and wrapped partially in rags with gold and silver glimmering beneath. He glanced down at his feet, seeing Isis lying lifelessly there. "My love…" he muttered.

As the entity seemed to lament over Isis, Set breathed irritably, his hackles raised with teeth glistening. "No," he softly growled, "I will not allow this. No…not again…" Immediately he raised up his staff, rushing towards him. "DIE AGAIN, OSIRIS!"

Sparks flew out. A second, pearly staff, clashed against Set’s. A powerful gold aura radiated out from Osiris as well as his staff, readily holding Set at bay. "You defeated me once," Osiris admitted with a stern face, "Destroyed me with your treachery and deceit!"

"Treachery?" Set growled, "You were the one to betray our true master! I was the only one who remained loyal to his will and cause!"

"Unicron," Osiris scorned, "Is our master no more! And you…are banished from my sight, now…and forever!" Osiris shoved the head of his staff into Set’s stomach, Set howling as his limbs and staff went limp. Osiris hoisted Set up into the air, and slowly, his energy began to build up. It enveloped Set entirely…then fired him into the sky.

Osiris paused, Set gone beyond sight…and yet another dark presence seemed to linger. He looked towards the south, hearing what sounded like thunder with green flashes and violent explosions shining. "Ra," he uttered. Osiris floated up effortlessly, and moved toward the battle.

The Autobots were fairing badly against Galvatron’s acquired might. Scorch marks were burned deep through even Metroplex’s armor, all three Gestalts either broken up with their component Autobots unconscious or groaning with exposed circuits and gears. And still the eye of Ra and its’ new master persevered.

Inside Metroplex, Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus were shook hard in his command chamber. "Ugh! We’re," Magnus said to Rodimus, "Losing, Rodimus! Neither Metroplex or any of us were prepared for this kind of a fire fight!"

Another blast shook them, tossing Rodimus Prime to the floor. With a grunt, he looked up at Ultra Magnus and ordered, "Keep fighting! Fire all of Metroplex’s remaining weapons and deploy Slammer! We won’t let Galvatron win this fight, even if it means costing us our sparks!"

On the left half of Metroplex’s chest twin maser cannon deployed from his shoulders, a missile launcher from his chest plate. They fired in unison, exploding and enveloping the pyramid in smoke. When it cleared though, not even a dent was left in its steel sides.

The hatch on the right half of Metroplex’s chest opened. A large gray tank with a large barrel rolled out. Metroplex tilted his head down, eyeing the little tank. "Slammer, target the Decepticon pyramid; use lethal force!"

A responding set of beeps replied from the otherwise mute Autobot vehicle. A series of blasts fired out from the tank over and over again. A few burn and ash marks were printed into the pyramid, minimal damage from a blast that would normally take out entire blocks of skyscrapers.

The pyramid began to turn towards Metroplex for another set of rounds, but before it had a chance to fire twin missiles and lasers fired, blinding it for a moment. Metroplex looked and found Six-Guns firing at his side. "Six-Guns!" he yelled.

Holding his damaged side, Six-Guns grunted to Metroplex, "Ugh…Metroplex, ready to…assist! Merge…and use me!" Before anyone could protest, the Autobot jumped skyward, fragmenting into weapons that bonded directly with Metroplex.

"Weapons systems fully restored!" blared Metroplex, "Now to implement them!" The twin guns he now held Metroplex turned on the pyramid, aiding Computron as he tried another volley at the gargantuan structure.

"We can’t keep this up, Rodimus!" Ultra Magnus tried to tell his commander, "Hitting this thing head on won’t stop it! We need a plan!"

Rodimus got back up, saying, "You’re right. Our troops can’t sustain this kind of punishment for much longer. Prepare to…hey…wait a minute." Something appeared on Metroplex’s sensors. "What is that?"

A new warrior entered onto the battlefield. From his position high up, Osiris watched as the Autobot warriors, just barely holding their position, struggled against the hovering pyramid. He shook his head. "Such brave warriors, but do they not now one must strike Ra from within to defeat it?"

In a golden flash, Osiris flew across the field, arcing down toward the pyramid’s base toward the one, single opening. Like a falling star he went through the dark interior, lighting it up as he went. He entered the core of the pyramid where Galvatron himself was.

The Decepticon was suspended in midair by bolts of violet electricity linking him to the pyramid. His eyes were aglow like twin red suns, so absorbed in Ra’s might and the devastation he was wreaking. "Yes….yes! The Autobot titans are down…all that remains is to rip open Metroplex and obliterate Rodimus Prime himself…and that wretched Matrix with him!"

"The power of Ra," Osiris loudly spoke, "Is not meant for those like you."

Galvatron turned his head, blinded by his own power. "What was that?" he said, looking blindly out towards the chamber, but his senses, now one with the pyramid, left him vulnerable.

The staff of Osiris met with Galvatron’s chin. Galvatron roared, thudding hard to the floor. His eyes flickered, returning to normal as his connection with the pyramid was disturbed. "What? Another one? How did you get in here?" he demanded to know.

Osiris loomed above Galvatron. "To become one with Ra is to lose oneself, servant of my former master," quoted Osiris.

Galvatron frowned. "Never mind then! I still control your precious Ra, even from within! I’ll use its power to destroy you!" The lightning binding him with the pyramid flashed, a plasma ball forming in Galvaton’s palm. Smirking, Galvatron tossed it square at Osiris.

Osiris stood calmly in place, motionless. The ball suddenly split in two, purposely flying around instead of through him. "Ra’s power will not harm me. I was the first, the original entity to harness it. Even when another harnesses it I still can divert its flow. Leave…now."

The Enneadmon simply tapped his staff into the floor. When it touched, the violet lightning and steel plating dissolved away, more vibrant gold and orange energy bolts taking its place. Galvatron yelled, power at first fading and then turning on him.

"Go back to the burned out world you came from!" yelled Osiris.

From outside, the pyramid changed to gold and bronze once again. Its peak suddenly split in four, pulling out from the center. Before the eyes of the watching Autobots, a pillar of orange energy bubbled up, Galvatron himself caught within like a fly in a wad of tree sap. He yelled and screamed in agony, until, finally, he vanished in a shimmer of light.

Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus blinked. "What in the galaxy just happened?" asked Magnus.

"Only Primus knows," Rodimus simply replied.

An hour later, things began to return to…almost normal. Sky Lynx escorted the Technobots among others back to their original duties on Cybertron while the bulk of the remaining Autobots resumed work on Autobot City. Only Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, RedStreak, and Silverbolt of the Aerialbots were away…to speak with the Enneadmons and their resting pyramid.

"I can not even begin to understand what happened in the past few days," Rodimus Prime bluntly stated, "But without your help, none of us would be standing here now I imagine."

Osiris shook his head slightly. "Do not underestimate your true role in this conflict, Matrix-bearer," the Enneadmon lord told the Autobot commander, "Without the efforts of your Autobots, my restoration would never have happened."

"I wish that could have happened under…more peaceful, circumstances," Ultra Magnus said.

"Whatever happens happens for a reason," Isis said, one arm wrapped around Osiris’.

Silverbolt groaned a little wearily. "This…more my fault than any of yours. If I had steered Scourge’s missile in a different direction, your pyramid would never have been unearthed and Set wouldn’t have awakened."

Annubis set a hand on the Aerialbot’s shoulder. "By not doing so, you would merely have delayed the inevitable…and the less adequate peoples of this world would have suffered the consequences."

Rodimus Prime smiled. "Thanks for all your help nonetheless," he said, shaking hands with Osiris, "I…would offer you to stay…but I fear we are too alien from one another to ever establish a dialogue."

"Don’t think us so," said Osiris, "While your kind slept, we were alive and awake upon this world centuries ago, living openly besides its people despite our differences. However, I must agree with your implications. We Enneadmons can not dwell here, not now certainly. This world is already engaged in your war, burdening it further with our own would do it little better."

RedStreak walked up, waving with a set of restored arms, "But we just kicked Galvatron’s skid plates…and you blasted Set away yourself! Chalk one up of the good guys!"

"Both were but temporarily measures, I must say," said Osiris, "It is imperative that we leave…for good. Neither Set nor the Decepticons must ever gain the power of Ra…least even darker powers be awakened. Now, we must bid farewell to you all, our friends."

After speaking his last word, Osiris turned about and walked to the pyramid. The other three Enneadmons did likewise without question or debate. The stepped inside, and a slab of bronze slammed shut, sealing the pyramid completely.

"Do you really think this is the end of it, Rodimus?" RedStreak looked to his commander.

The Earth rumbled once more. The Enneadmons’ pyramid floated into the air, this time higher and higher. It flew up directly at the sun, vanishing in its glare.

"I can only hope," Rodimus Prime said, "But then again, part of me can’t say for certain."

The pyramid left the bounds of Earth into orbit. Silently through space it sped by satellites and space stations, unnoticed and unseen despite its size. It approached the moon, Earth’s gray partner, and began to slow as it crossed into the dark hemisphere. There it descended, vanishing from sight somewhere in the cratered shadows.

Deeper, further out in space, something else sensed the passing of the Enneadmons. In high Cybertron orbit, Unicron’s fragments still orbited. The vacant holes where his eyes once rested glowed dull red for a brief instant.

"Soon, my children, soon.…"

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