The great power shield that enveloped Sapphire City was besieged by a pair of Decepticon ships. Wave after wave was pelted against the Nebulons’ protective barrier, but all for naught. The power shield hummed in a constant tone, its structure perfectly intact despite the firepower directed upon it. Naturally, the efforts of the Nebulon and Maximal forces weren’t purely defensive.

On the ground, Ironwood pointed up with his massive cannons and blasters, firing upon the two Decepticons with the power of an entire army. The guardian stood his ground just outside the city shield, fighting against the enemy entirely on his own. The Decepticons maneuvered around his blasts, missing them narrowly.

A plasma bolt hit DarkStar on her right wing. "AGH!" she yelled in pain, spinning uncontrollably. The giant Decepticon veered to her left, dodging several more of Ironwood’s energy blasts. Positioning herself alongside the smaller SkyScourge, she growled, "Oooh! That slaggn’…five-ton pine cone!"

SkyScourge snarled to himself bitterly. "This attack isn’t working!" he told DarkStar, "Our weapons won’t penetrate the city shield grids no matter how hard we try!" He transformed into his robotic form, hovering via a pair of jets on his back. Clicking on the com-link built into his arm, SkyScourge muttered, "SkyScourge to Galvatron…our mission is a failure. The power shield is impenetrable…."

Over a dozen kilometers away, deep within the mountains, Galvatron listened in through a rudimentary communications console built from the Scorpinok’s salvaged components. SkyScourge reported, blast fire evident even through the static of his com-link, "We rotated our weapon frequencies and pulse patterns, but nothing gets through. And the new guardian’s firepower is too powerful to withstand for long! We…can not continue this futile assault!"

Galvatron narrowed his red eyes and slammed his fist into the console. "No excuses you miswired junk pile! You will disable the power shield, regardless of how long it takes! I want no excuses, do you hear me? No excuses!"

As Galvatron stared at the console with rage in his eyes, the glowing light at the center of his chest intensified. "It would be wise, Galvatron," Omegracon began to say, "To withdraw your forces from this world. You already have what I…we…need."

"No!" Galvatron refused to listen, his madness already overwhelming him, "I will not let those Autobot descendents hide behind the Nebulons’ and their giant bubble! I will have them destroyed….AGH!" An aura of red light enveloped Galvatron, causing him pain and agony that was terrifying, even to a mad Decepticon.

"Do as I say…Galvatron. I may be a part of you now, but do not think that you can defy my will. Withdraw your troops…withdraw from this world." Omegracon commanded.

The Decepticon gasped, barely able to breathe. Finally, Omegracon released his grip on Galvatron. Galvatron collapsed on top of the console, his arms stretched out across it as his heavy torso leaned on it. SkyScourge’s voice was still audible over the com-link. He called out, "Galvatron! Come in! What are you orders?"

A moment later, Galvatron managed to grunt over the airwaves, his body and voice weak, "With…draw…to base. Prepare…for departure…." Another moment later, Galvatron’s head slouched down, the tyrant rendered unconscious temporarily.

Ironwood fired his arsenal of weapons persistently at the fleeing Decepeticons, lighting up nearly half of the sky. It was only until they were out of his firing range that he halted, watching as DarkStar and SkyScourge vanished into a distant cloudbank. Staring out with a blank face, the guardian went, "Hmmmm…strange."

His com-link switched on, Optimus Primal’s voice coming in through it. "Ironwood. City scanners show a blank on both DarkStar and SkyScourge. Can you confirm this?"

Ironwood grunted, reaching for the round button on his left breast. "Ironwood…confirms. Decepticons…retreat. Analysis…illogical." Suddenly, Ironwood’s eyes began to flash, dimming significantly. He moaned weakly, clicking on his com-link again. "Ironwood…weak. Solar energon cells…drained. Ironwood…require…rest."

Within the shielded city, Optimus Primal, Optimus Minor, and several other Maximals were at the central building, not far from the large twin towers generating the power shield. At the communication station, Primal clicked on a button to respond to Ironwood’s request. "We read you loud and clear, Ironwood. Stand by until we lower the power shield in a few cycles." Clicking off the com-link, Primal swiveled in his chair to look at Minor, RedStreak, and Coyotek at the various other computer consoles.

Optimus Minor pointed to a monitor displaying Ironwood’s low energy levels. "The battle’s taken a heavy toll on his power. Even with full sunlight beaming down on him, Ironwood’s weapons battery depletes most of his energon reserves. I fear if he keeps it up more intensely than this, he’ll experience energon drain and go into stasis lock."

Coyotek chuckled, glancing at Minor from behind his shoulder. "Heh…I know what you mean. The last chore I’d like to do is drag all nine hundred tons of his lumber butt to a CR chamber."

"Right," Primal agreed in a dry tone, oblivious to Coyotek’s joke. He turned toward RedStreak, wh½NSFRedStreak, lower the power shield so Ironwood can enter."

RedStreak hesitated for a moment, a barely audible groan exiting his throat. In that moment, he felt a brief pinprick of pain in his chest. With his left arm he opened his chest, exposing a pair of sparks nestled next to one another. One of the two flickered erratically, short bolts of electricity zapping near-by circuitry and wires.

"RedStreak!" Primal spoke up. RedStreak nearly jumped out of his seat. Quickly sealing his chest, he turned toward his commander. With his hands on his hips and a pair of icy blue eyes gazing steely at RedStreak, Optimus Primal repeated, "RedStreak, I said lower the power shield…if you don’t mind!"

"Right! Right!" RedStreak fidgeted in his seat. Immediately he reached for a lever and started to pull down on it. "Lowering power shield, per your orders Optimus Primal…."

Just as he finished deactivating the shields, a bolt of lightning shot out of RedStreak’s chest, launching him out of his chair and right into the base of Optimus Minor’s station. Minor jumped back barely in time as RedStreak’s shoulders dented a steel panel. The fox-bot groaned and yelled loudly, his body rippling with energon surges as a large spot on his chest began to glow a bright white.

"RedStreak!" Optimus shouted, running to the fallen transformer’s side along with Coyotek. Gently, the old bot propped the Maximal up, electricity still jolting from within his body. "What’s wrong?" he asked. RedStreak just looked up, gritting his teeth as his body continued to writhe in indescribable agony.

Within half a megacycle, RedStreak was taken to a Nebulon laboratory where he was laid in a large and circular scanning bed. He was rotated beneath a large eye-like probe mounted to the ceiling, the eye moving closer and further from the Maximal again and again.

Rembar, a green-skinned Nebulon scientist, manned the console controlling the scanners. Immediately to his left was Optimus Minor, his personal friend, and behind both stood all the Cybertronian Maximals waiting to hear Rembar’s diagnosis.

Rembar pushed one last button, deactivating the scanner, which quickly retracted back into a hole in the ceiling. Turning around, he addressed all the Maximals present. Shaking his head a bit, Rembar said, "It’s worse than I feared. Your young, hybrid friend is in a state of baryonic decay, an extremely rare and…sadly…fatal…condition."

RazorLeaf stepped forward with his fern-leaf hands held out. "Well what does that mean in plain, Cybertronian, lingo?" RazorLeaf frankly asked.

Rembar sighed, then addressed the Maximals. "I can not deduce the severity of his condition with my equipment, but in all other cases transformers with this condition go offline…always."

The circular pan RedStreak was rotating in stopped, allowing the Maximal getting back to his feet again with a dizzy head. "Oh great…" RedStreak muttered, "My spark is dissolving as we speak! And I was hoping it was just heartburn!"

Coyotek looked to Minor and Rembar, seeking answers for his friend. "What caused it?" Coyotek asked.

Optimus Minor stepped toward Coyotek, telling him simply, "Starscream is responsible. When his spark temporarily merged with RedStreak, it somehow damaged RedStreak’s own spark. Worse still…" Minor glanced at Coyotek’s chest, eyeing the dim glow of his spark through glass plating. Pointing at its exact center, he told Coyotek, "It means you may be at risk as well, since you were also possessed."

"For the moment," Rembar added, catching the Maximals’ attention once again, "The spark damage is minimal, but within the span of two, maybe three solar cycles, they’ll both go offline. There is nothing more I can do with my instruments here."

Suddenly, Gold Blade jumped up, rushing straight through the hologram. "Wait!" she exclaimed, nearly stumbling over her own feet, "We have more advanced instruments aboard the Perceptor2 science station, at Cybertron! Surely they could diagnosis RedStreak and Coyotek and even cure them!"

Before any of the Maximals could discuss the issue further, an alarm started going off. Primal looked over his shoulder toward a monitor in the wall. It flashed on and off, displaying a large violet Decepticon symbol against a red background. Minor rushed to it, pushing a button to deploy a console built into the wall itself. As he worked the controls, the monitor changed, next displaying an image of DarkStar in her vehicle mode with smoke coming out of her engines. She was perched on a rocky ledge just outside the entrance of a cave, apparently preparing for take-off.

"This is strange," Minor said, "Very, very strange. The Decepticons…are preparing to launch."

"Huh?" Rattrap gulped, rushing over to Minor’s side along with every other functioning transformer. Barely ten nano-clicks later, the DarkStar’s engines fired up, sending the Decepticon and her crew into the stratosphere of Nebulos.

Optimus Primal watched the monitor closely. "Can you calculate their heading?" he asked.

"Sure thing, boss bat!" Rattrap chimed. Pushing Minor away from the controls the rat plugged in his tail interface. On his scanner, he made the necessary calculations and estimates. "Computer, plot trajectory and destination!" Rattrap ordered the console.

The console beeped, processing Rattrap’s request. "Processing…. processing." it beeped over and over again. Finally, an electronic chirp sounded, and a scanning beam shot out from the monitor itself. The beam hit the medical hologram, commandeering the program and altering it into an interstellar map. "Trajectory confirmed: vector three, seven, three. Destination: Earth solar system. Estimated time of arrival at current speed: two point nine megacycles."

"What?" RedStreak blurted, gazing at the highlighted star representing his home.

Coyotek turned to Primal with a raised eyebrow. "They’re heading to…Earth?"

"No…" Primal disagreed, "More likely Cybertron itself. But to what end?"

"Well either way," Rattrap said, watching as DarkStar’s image disappeared from sight on the monitor, "It looks like the whole slew of Decepticons are heading straight for our stomping grounds, and we gotta act fast if we’re gonna beat them to it!"

DarkStar’s engines switched to transwarp upon clearing Nebulon’s outer atmosphere. With a mighty boom, the Decepticon spacecraft passed through a flash of white light and into a wormhole. Her hull buckled as she withstood the force of space ripping itself apart around her.

Megatron sat in his command chair, with Galvatron himself standing just below him, the Decepticon’s head level with the suspended chair. Both tyrants stood their ground as DarkStar was shaken back and forth repeatedly.

Another large bump hit the ship, causing Megatron’s chair to sway back and forth. "Keep it steady, DarkStar!" Megatron told her, "We must stay on course regardless of anything!"

DarkStar’s voice boomed from all around. "Ugh! It is…extremely difficult! This transwarp conduit is…highly unstable!" she said, grunting as she tried to level out, "Why are we even headed for that mud-ball of a planet you call Earth?"

"A legitimate question, I admit DarkStar." Megatron replied. His chair swiveled in Galvatron’s direction, Megatron staring keenly at the Decepticon. "Tell us…oh glorious Galvatron, as to why you’ve insisted that we travel to Earth?"

Galvatron growled softly, but continued to stare at the forward monitor instead. "Four words, my Predacon protégée," the Decepticon said to Megatron, "The heart…of Cybertron."

Megatron gasped, his command chair backing away. "What?! Are you serious?" he asked, "Do you really mean…."

"Yes," Galvatron replied, his mind drifting as he recalled an ancient memory, "That ancient crystal that held power beyond all comprehension. In my…earlier days…I once harnessed that crystal’s powers to battle the Autobots. If we are to succeed in destroying their descendents, the Maximals, it is vital that I reclaim it!"

Megatron’s chair lifted higher up, positioning itself near a suspended computer station. "Be that as it may, old Decepticon," Megatron began to say as he punched up some data files, "But according to all records, that same crystal was destroyed stellar cycles ago by the Autobots! Even if a fragment of it somehow survived…."

Galvatron smiled and chuckled deviously. "Oh…but a fragment did indeed survive." Looking down at Omegracon’s red, pulsing light, he added, "I…know it has…" as he tapped against the glass surface. The light brightened for an instant, then dimmed. Galvatron gazed fixatedly on the forward screen with a strange fire in his eyes. "Continue on at full power! We shall have that crystal within the next solar cycle!"

Back on Nebulos, a large, six-wheeled truck drove across a broad bridge traversing the perimeter of Sapphire City. In the back it was loaded heavily with glowing energon cubes. Up front, Optimus Minor’s assistant, Aquarius, drove the vehicle towards the hill Ironwood was perched upon, transporting with him Minor himself, Botanica, Gold Blade, Optimus Primal, and Coyotek.

"You sure this is a good idea, I mean…just leaving Nebulos unprotected?" Coyotek asked as the truck speeded out of the city.

Primal replied as the wind blew at his metallic bat ears, "No choice! Now that Megatron and DarkStar are on the Decepticons’ side, Ironwood’s our only means of transport off the planet!"

Minor leaned back and turned to face Coyotek. "Do not worry for us, my friend," he said to the gold canine, "We still have the city shield to fall back on in an emergency, and so long as your comrades keep the Decepticons at bay, the less danger my people have to worry about."

The transport truck came to a screeching stop at the tip of the hill. Just a few yards away there were several other trucks also loaded with energon cubes and supplies, all circled around Ironwood in his sessile tree-form. As one truck pulled away from him, another fresh with energon approached, a large pipe coming down and grappling one of the cubes. It seconds, the cube was sucked dry, leaving an empty, transparent box that faded away completely in minutes.

On one side of Ironwood’s trunk a large vertical display shot up, flashing when it reached the top. Ironwood bellowed loudly, "Power levels…at maximum. Systems…fully operational." Then, quite suddenly, Ironwood let out a tremendous belch that shook from the base of the hill to the tips of his green branches.

A ramp deployed from the side of Ironwood’s body. Rattrap stood in the doorway in his robotic form, shaking somewhat dizzily as he tried to steady himself. Looking out and up, he yelled to Ironwood, "Well excuse you!"

"Rattrap!" Optimus Primal greeted his rodent lieutenant. When Rattrap turned and smiled back, Primal asked, "Are Ironwood’s modifications complete?"

Rattrap nodded. "Yup! Ol’ redwood here’s fueled, prepped, and ready for lift-off!" Rattrap said, tapping Ironwood’s silver-plated sides.

"Good job. Get inside and prepare for a quick departure." Primal told Rattrap. As Rattrap, Gold Blade, Botanica, and Coyotek hurried up the ramp, Optimus Primal turned to his Nebulon counterpart, Minor. Grabbing the transformer’s shoulder, he reluctantly said, "I’m sorry we have to leave so rudely, and with your guardian for that matter…but…."

Minor held up his hand to Primal to interrupt, saying with a friendly smile, "There are no needs for apologies, Optimus Primal. You came to our rescue, saved us from an enemy we were never prepared for. We Nebulons are forever in your debt." Glancing away for a moment, Optimus Minor looked up at Primal to add, "And…may I add…you are a commander truly worthy of the name the original Prime held."

Primal chuckled. "As are you, Optimus Minor. You’ve cared for this world in the best of times…and the worst of times. Until we meet again, my friend." Optimus turned away from Minor and headed up the ramp.

"WAIT!" someone shouted from above. Optimus Primal looked up, seeing a great green and black dragon descending toward him. It transformed, becoming none other than Scaleblade. Landing with a bump, she grinned as she said, "You wouldn’t forget about little old me, would you?"

"Just in time, Scaleblade. I swear…even I nearly forgot you!" Primal told her.

Scaleblade made a cheerful chuckle as she shrugged her shoulders. "Eh! It’s not the first time I’ve been overlooked!" Quickly she boarded, entering the cabin and joining the other Maximals. Primal gave Minor one last look, smiled, and followed after Scaleblade.

Ironwood’s body began to shake, already beginning to transform. His branches retracted into a nosecone as fins and rocket engines emerged from his base. Optimus Minor and the other Nebulon transformers steeped well away as smoke started to spew out. Finally, the rockets kicked in, sending the silver and emerald rocket into the skies above, vanishing between two beautiful suns.

Waving as he gazed up, Optimus Minor said, "Journey well, my friends. Journey well…."

In space, Ironwood cleared the atmosphere of Nebulos, two of its three suns burning brightly as a third peaked out from the planet’s limb to watch the space-bound Maximals fly off. "Ironwood…ready for transwarp flight!" the giant transformer spoke as two nacelle engines emerged from opposite sides. The nacelles glowed a bright blue color, energy building up inside them. "Transwarp flight in five, four, three, two, one…."

A huge burst of energy shot Ironwood forward, vanishing in a burst of white light.

The interior of Ironwood’s cabin was the most uncomfortable place to be in during a jump into transwarp space. Sadly, the Maximals had no choice but to endure the powerful rumblings that jolted them about in their seats.

Optimus Primal grunted loudly as he gripped his seat, struggling against the G forces pushing him back down. Heaving in his breathing, Primal glanced back at his fellow passengers to check up on them. "Maximals," he called out to them, "In order to pass the Decepticons and reach Cybertron first, we must endure this acceleration! Coyotek, RedStreak…how are you two holding up?"

At the back end of the cabin, the two canine Maximals sat side-by-side. Coyotek glanced at RedStreak, who occasionally flashed with energon surges, then answered his commander. "We’re both fine for the moment! But RedStreak’s a little…."

RedStreak put his hand against Coyotek, forcing him back into his seat. Speaking for himself, RedStreak shouted to Optimus, "I…can handle it! Just get us there as soon as possible! Go!"

Optimus Primal then looked to his right, Botanica sitting at his side. She nodded, implying for him to give the word. Primal took in a deep breath, then yelled, "Ironwood…maximum acceleration to Cybertron! Pronto!"

With no more than a millisecond of hesitation, Ironwood powered up his engines to their full potential, the nacelles glowing their brightest and his rocket engines blowing out gigantic blue flames. The very fabric of space around him shook as he surged forward with a velocity thousands of times greater than light itself.

An explosion of light and raw power surged beneath the starboard wing of DarkStar, knocking her momentarily off course. The Decepticon passengers within her were thrashed around violently. Galvatron was flat-out thrown to the very back of the command chamber, smacking against the aft airlock. Megatron’s own command chair weaved back and forth until the very base at the ceiling snapped, knocking the Predacon to the floor.

Grunting painfully, Megatron looked up in time to see Ironwood emerge from the spatial vortex and skim right past them. "The Maximals!" he declared, "DarkStar, open fire on them immediately!"

Outside, DarkStar obeyed, training her weapons on Ironwood as he passed her. Whole volleys of fire were blasted at him, creating a storm around him. DarkStar’s weapons managed to ding the backside of the guardian well, but then one plasma blast hit Ironwood’s port nacelle in just the right spot….

A blue ball of fire exploded from the front half of the nacelle engine, causing Ironwood to tumble about chaotically. Inside, everyone screamed and shouted, Ironwood blaring, "Alert! Damage to control systems!" as numerous Maximals screamed, "We’re out of control!", "Agh! We’re doomed!", and "We’re all gonna die!"

In all the rattling and shaking, Rattrap dared to say, "Hey! That’s my line!"

Minutes later, Ironwood seemingly vanished from transwarp space completely. DarkStar reported to Megatron, "My lord, the Maximals…they’ve vanished! I-I-I can not detect them!"

"Hmmm," Megatron rubbed his chin, intrigued, "Continue on present course. With any luck, the blast out of transwarp space will destroy them…if not…." Speaking directly to DarkStar, Megatron ordered, "Engage the cloaking device! Just to…be on the safe side."

Elsewhere, Ironwood continued to tumble about in a pocket of transwarp space uncontrollably. Another flash of white light overwhelmed him. In that split-second he was blinded, he and the Maximals were suddenly brought into Cybertronian orbit. Less than a few kilometers away, the Perceptor2 science station was waiting there like a helpless duck in Ironwood’s path.

"Optimus Primal…alert!" Ironwood shouted to Optimus.

"What is it Ironwood?" Optimus replied, still struggling to hold on as Ironwood tumbled.

On Ironwood’s two view screens, the image of the Perceptor2 was shown, rapidly growing larger and larger in his sensor sights. "Collision…eminent! Course alteration…impossible!" Ironwood shouted.

"Oh man!" Rattrap moaned, already covering his eyes, "This is going to be messy!"

"There’s still a chance," Primal muttered to himself. Swiveling his head back, he faced Scaleblade, sitting just behind him. "Scaleblade!" Optimus shouted to her, "You’ve got to get outside! Go…steady Ironwood’s thrusters to avert the collision!"

Scaleblade’s eyes widened. "WHAT?! ME?! OUT THERE!" she blurted out in amazement.

"You’re got to!" Primal explained as best he could, "You’re the only one with sufficient flight capabilities! We’ve got no choice!"

Scaleblade groaned, then reached down to her seatbelt. Once unbuckled, Scaleblade was flung to the ceiling and pinned down hard. Grunting and pulling herself along, she crawled to a hatch on one side of the cabin. With her last ounce of strength, she grabbed the handle. As she was thrown back, her weight made the handle turn, the latch disengaging. The door was flung open, all the air in the cabin blasting into space.

"WHOA!" Scaleblade was nearly blasted out as well, her grip on the handle the only thing keeping her steady. Suddenly, the metal handle groaned, bending in the middle slightly. Barely three seconds later, it snapped in two.

Scaleblade was flung into black space, twirling among the stars. She spread her broad wings out and fired rocket engines built into her feet. She steadied herself, then flew back to Ironwood, who was still tumbling toward the science station.

She clung to one of the rocket engines clustered around Ironwood’s rear section. Securing herself against it, Scaleblade fired her boot rockets again, blasting in the opposite direction of Ironwood’s spin. Ironwood began to steady, his looping spirals becoming slower and slower, but the Perceptor2 continued to grow bigger and bigger in Scaleblade’s eyes.

"COME ON!" she grunted, trying to push Ironwood backwards.

The science station came closer and closer still, individual windows and ports becoming visible. Scaleblade growled, the rocket nozzle she was gripping cracking around her hands as she gripped it harder and harder.

Inside Ironwood, his screens turned blue. Ironwood shouted, "Systems…stabilized! Initiating emergency deceleration burn!" Just a few feet from where Scaleblade was, yellow-orange flames spewed out of the rocket nozzles, a burst of energy slowing the rocket transformer down greatly. Scaleblade gripped Ironwood’s side as best she could; trembling as the science station rapidly approached her.

Scaleblade flinched…and nothing happened. She slowly opened one eye, scanning her surroundings. No more than an inch for her eyelashes was a spear-like antenna poking out from the station, just frozen right in front of her. She let out a whimper.

Ironwood cooled down his engines, letting out brief bursts to let him hover about the station. He delicately approached a port on the station’s docking ring, his thrusters flaring occasionally. Scaleblade quickly reentered Ironwood as the giant clamped onto the station airlock, securing himself to it with a slight rumble.

"Deceleration…successful. Docking…completed." Ironwood said. Inside the cabin, all the Maximals let out a deep sigh of relief.

Leaning back in his chair, Rattrap said, "Awe man…I nearly ejected a load from my waste disposal unit back there!"

RazorLeaf moaned with discomfort, his face a paler green than usual. "I think my stomach is stuck back there somewhere…ugh…."

Primal unbuckled his seat and stood up, addressing his crew. "We’ve gotta work fast, Maximals. We managed to buy a megacycle or two’s worth of time over the Decepticons! Coyotek, RedStreak, we need to get the both of you examined. Hurry!"

RedStreak and Coyotek got up and followed Primal, passing Scaleblade by as they went through the airlock. Smiling devilishly as she leaned against the wall, Scaleblade eyed Coyotek. "What?" she said in a seductive voice, "Don’t I at least get a thank you for saving your life?"

Coyotek froze for a minute in front of Scaleblade, fidgeting as if his tongue got tangled somewhere inside his throat. "I…uh…well," he struggled to say at first, "Well…that was one heck of a job you did…I’ll give you that!" He reached out to give her a polite handshake, grinning nervously.

Scaleblade smiled, and grabbed his entire arm. "WHOA!" Coyotek shouted as he was enveloped by Scaleblade’s own arms. The dragon-bot grinned and proceeded to plant a huge kiss on his lips as the poor Maximal’s limbs struggled to resist.

"Ahh!" Coyotek finally broke free and ran through the airlock. Looking out from around the corner, he yelled, "You’re one crazy ‘bot, ya know that?!?"

After Coyotek ran off, Scaleblade chuckled to herself. "And you’re one heck of a smoocher…my sweet."

Coyotek strolled down the hall, spitting and wiping his mouth as he caught up with RedStreak and Optimus in a dimly lit control room. "Ugh…that crazy, psycho-masculatn’ fem-bot nearly sucked my faceplate off!" he muttered with obvious disgust.

RedStreak glanced at Coyotek for a moment, but then turned back to Optimus, who was busy figuring out how to operate the controls. Clicking on several buttons, he said, "This station’s been abandoned for several months now; not much chance of getting this place operational…however…."

Optimus Primal reached for a large red button on a small, octagon-shaped station. When he pushed the square button down, it glowed a bright green as a hum built up from all around him. Colored lights and buttons lit up on the surrounding consoles, flashing before the three Maximals’ eyes.

Just as the other Maximals entered via the airlock, the top panel of Primal’s station started to glow the same color as the button he pushed moments ago. A beam of light shot up to the ceiling, lines of Cybertronian text flying up and down it. Then, slowly, the lines and codes distorted, molding and condensing into a rounded helmet and face.

A pair of white eyes opened, and the holographic head gazed at the Maximals. "Greetings" it began to speak in an intellectual voice, "I am the Perceptor2 holographic interface program. How may I assist you?"

Gold Blade blinked her eyes twice. "Perceptor…as in…the Perceptor?"

"The same guy," Rattrap said aloud, wheeling his way up front, "That served with both Optimus and Rodimus Prime?"

The hologram sat there for a moment, then responded, "Yes…and no. When the original Perceptor went offline several stellar cycles ago, his knowledge and memories were uploaded into the computers and processors of this orbital facility. My…that is…his final request was to have all his accumulated wisdom to be used by future generations for the betterment of all transformers."

Gold Blade stepped forward, addressing Perceptor2. "Well…not to seem blunt, Perceptor, but we have a bit of a crisis." Directing the hologram’s attention to RedStreak and Coyotek, she explained, "Our two friends here have sustained irreparable spark damage, and there is no known remedy for their condition."

"Hmmm," Perceptor2 mumbled, glancing at the two Maximals, "Come forward, you two, so that I may scan you." Coyotek and RedStreak looked to one another, shrugged shoulders, and did as instructed. Out of the same station generating the hologram popped out a scanner resembling a pair of binoculars. It shot out a pair of yellow beams that passed through their bodies, exposing their sparks and internal circuitry in its light.

"Most interesting," Perceptor2 said with interest, "Binary sparks…one Autobot, one Maximal. How unique…."

"Can you focus on repairing their spark damage, if you would please?" Optimus suggested impatiently.

Perceptor2 continued with his studies. "Hmmm…their sparks are experiencing baryonic decay, a condition the original Perceptor had experience treating among Autbots and the then-prototype Maximals of his time. But I’m afraid your friends here are in a too advanced stage; the treatment would, at best, be only temporary."

"WHAT?!" both RedStreak and Coyotek blurted out.

The binocular scanner retracted just as a thin pair of robotic arms extended from the ceiling. They attached to first Coyotek’s and then RedStreak’s chest triangle-shaped devices that pulsed on and off. "There. These positronic-inducers will further slow the degeneration, but only for a limited time. This is, I’m afraid, the best I can do."

RedStreak frowned as he looked at his inducer, sighing disappointedly. "Awe man…we came trillions of kilometers only to get these cheap trinkets attached to our dyin’ shells?"

Perceptor2’s head frowned and looked downward, feeling sorry for them. "I am…afraid there is no…logical cure for your condition."

"No! There has to be!" Gold Blade exclaimed. She rushed straight up to the hologram, nearly knocking RedStreak off his feet. "You are the brightest transformer that ever existed! To slag with logic, there must be a cure!"

Perceptor2 sighed, then looked back at Gold Blade. "There is…one possibility…albeit an illogical one…" he mentioned.

"Well tell us! What could it possibly be?" Scaleblade demanded to know.

"The great Plasma Energy Chamber within the mantle of Cybertron; it may hold the key to saving your friends." Perceptor2 explained, "In times that predate known Cybertronian history, the Plasma Chamber was the foundry of the original Autobots. It may be possible that very same chamber could restore both the bodies and sparks of RedStreak and Coyotek. Of course…the only catch is that they must enter the chamber unexposed…and unprotected."

"What? That plasma-charged death trap?!" Rattrap exclaimed, "No transformer could just waltz right in and expect to live through roughly sixty thousand degrees unphased!"

Perceptor2 turned to Rattrap, reminding him, "As I said once before…it is an illogical possibility."

A tremble started beneath their feet. Slowly, but very steadily, it became noticeable, the panels in the walls shaking hard. RazorLeaf looked around, yelling, "Hey! What’s going on?"

A computer console activated quite suddenly. Perceptor2 sensed it, and turned toward the monitor as gigaquads of data scrolled down it. Eyeing the data closely, he deduced, "Someone has just remote-accessed the station’s quantum scanners! They’re downloading its findings as we speak…."

Primal’s eyes narrowed as he spoke one word. "Galvatron."

In space, DarkStar materialized roughly twenty meters away from the Perceptor2, her arsenal of laser weapons aimed directly at it. With a despicably cheerful voice, DarkStar said, "Time to die, Maximals! Ha ha!" A volley of laser blasts hit the side of the station, blowing whole chunks of its thin armor off.

Back inside Perceptor’s chamber, everything shook with a massive bang. The klaxons began to wail as the lights flashed deep red. "We’re under attack!" Perceptor2 alerted the Maximals.

"No need to tell us the obvious!" RazorLeaf replied, rushing out of the chamber with several others.

Just as RazorLeaf headed for the door, Optimus Primal stopped him. "No wait! This is precisely what the Decepticons want, to distract us!" He pointed to the active monitor. "They’re trying to download data from the scanners!"

RedStreak stepped forward, rubbing his hands together. "Well there’ one way I know to stop them!" Between his palms, an energon ball grew, crackling with energy.

"Wait, RedStreak!" Optimus tried to stop him, but too late. RedStreak released his energon blast, blowing apart the console in a single nano-click. Then, not even a moment later, the red Maximal gasped, falling to his knees. The inducer on his chest popped off, crackling with energon.

"He overloaded the inducer!" Perceptor2 stated, "His spark decay is entering the final stage!"

Coyotek grabbed his buddy and hoisted him over is shoulder. "Then we’ve gotta get him to the Plasma Energy Chamber, now!"

"But we don’t know if that will work!" Gold Blade pointed out.

"No choice!" Perceptor2 shouted to them, "If you want your friends to survive, it is their only option." Then, Perceptor2 grinned a little, cocking his hovering head to one side. "Don’t worry about the Decepticons! I’ll distract them long enough for you to reach Cybertron!"

"All right then!" Rattrap yelled, revving up his wheels, "Then let’s do this!"

The Maximals quickly exited the chamber to board Ironwood once again. Now alone, Perceptor2 attended to other matters. "Computer," he said, his holographic image taking on a shade of red, "Holographic Interface Program override. Code nine-one-two-two-three-Omega! Initiate battle protocol!"

The science station started to change on the outside. Panels shifted, exposing more armor plating that enveloped the central hub of the station. On the docking ring, numerous ion cannons deployed, taking aim at DarkStar. The Perceptor2 station fired on the Decepticon vessel, burning holes into its hull.

Inside, Megatron, SkyScourge, and Galvatron were given a rude awakening as DarkStar received a massive hit. They tumbled about inside, barely able to stand. DarkStar’s voice hollered to them, "We’re under attack! The science station is firing back on us!"

Rushing to the command chamber, the Decepticons assumed their positions and prepared to fight. "DarkStar," Galvatron ordered, "Unload all weapons and destroy that space station…."

As Galvatron spoke, Megatron noticed something on the main screen before them. "Belay that order!" he yelled to DarkStar, "The Maximals are up to something!"

"WHAT?!" Galvatron shouted to Megatron, "HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY COMMAND?!?"

"Galvatron, the Maximals are trying to escape, look!" Megatron said, pointing to the screen. Sure enough, Galvatron turned and saw Ironwood undock from the Perceptor2 as the station itself provided cover fire for the Maximals’ departure. Galvatron looked to Megatron, acknowledging him with only a stern and bitter grimace.

"DarkStar, pursue the Maximals. Destroy them at all costs!" Galvatron commanded.

DarkStar turned about, ignoring the station completely as she moved toward Ironwood himself. She raised her force fields; the station’s blasts bouncing off as she powered her engines for an intercept course. Onboard Ironwood, Optimus Primal noted this, seeing DarkStar close in as both groups left the vicinity of Perceptor2.

"They’re onto us! Ironwood…increase speed!" Primal shouted out.

Ironwood deployed his nacelles and fired his engines, speeding towards near-by Cybertron. The crew aboard DarkStar noticed this as well, Galvatron ordering, "Match their speed, DarkStar! I won’t have you lose them!" The two ships sped up, DarkStar rapidly gaining on Ironwood. The flying tree-bot deployed the weapon turret on his starboard side, firing on DarkStar with fierce intensity.

"You won’t stop me that easily!" DarkStar boasted, "DarkStar…transform!" In just under a minute, massive DarkStar turned into a giant flying robot, the engines now mounted to her sides guiding her straight to Ironwood. Like a rider mounting a horse, she grabbed onto Ironwood and smashed her fists against his sides.

The ceiling dented inwards above the heads of the Maximals, a clear sign of DarkStar’s anger. "AHH! WE’RE GONNA BE CRUSHED LIKE SARDINES IN A CAN!" Rattrap shouted.

Ironwood and DarkStar continued on towards Cybertron as their respective passengers were shaken inside both their hides. Soon they passed through the Cybertronian atmosphere, friction heating both transformers to hundreds upon thousands of degrees. Her fingers losing their grip, DarkStar shrieked as she was thrown off by wind sheer.

Moments later as the Maximal vessel dove deeper, the cloudbanks parted, revealing beneath them Cybertropolis and the Council Citadel. Below, hundreds of transformers looked up and started screaming, running in terror as what appeared to be a giant missile plunged toward them. Then, reminiscent of a dart hitting a bull’s eye, Ironwood plunged straight through the complex of walkways next to the Citadel, plowing deep into the city’s catacombs and into the planet’s crust.

With a loud blast, Ironwood broke through the barrier of rock surrounding the Plasma Energy Chamber itself. He smashed against the metal planks and walkways, skidding and spinning as sparks were spat out from the underside of his hull. Then, after coming to a complete stop, Ironwood let out a deep moan. "Ironwood…hurt…VERY badly!"

A hatch blew open on the side, the Maximals piling out as gray smoke exited the cabin with them. As the others gagged, Primal looked on towards the massive blue generator. "Well…we’re here at least." Primal pointed out.

A rumble echoed from above, rocks falling down from the hole Ironwood made. The ceiling exploded yet again, entire boulders crashing down along with DarkStar herself. Her voice echoing loudly in the wide cavern, she exclaimed, "No one escapes the wrath of DarkStar!" Then, as if to worsen the situation, Galvatron, SkyScourge, and Megatron all emerged with weapons ready.

"Nor any of the Decepticons!" Galvatron further stated.

Rattrap gulped the thump forming in his throat. "Oh boy…we’re gonna die for sure this time!"

"NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!" Optimus Primal boldly shouted. He flew into the air with his mechanical bat wings, launching over a dozen of his blue energy balls at the Decepticons. His enemies backed away, blinded for a few seconds by the smoke and dust thrown up. Still flying up above, Primal gazed down at Coyotek and RedStreak. "Quickly! Get to the Plasma Chamber; we’ll cover you!"

RazorLeaf and Rattrap blinked and turned to one another. "WE?!" they said unanimously.

DarkStar roared loudly and stomped her foot down. The surrounding walkways quaked, breaking apart almost completely. The Maximals wobbled up and down, the metal and ceramic flooring beneath them cracking and buckling. Ironwood, still stuck in his rocket mode, rolled back and forth. One of his nacelle engines snapped off, thrown into the air. Just seconds later, it came back down.

RedStreak eyed the falling engine as it fell further and further down. "Oh man!" he murmured.

Suddenly, Coyotek ran up to RedStreak, transforming into a Coyotek and nabbing RedStreak’s thigh with his jaws. "DON’T STARE…RUN!" he shouted with a full mouth as he dragged the red Maximal across the walkway. RedStreak quickly transformed to beast mode, running beside Coyotek once he let go of him. They were nearly at the Plasma Energy Chamber when the nacelle came crashing down right in front of them.

The walkway broke apart, tossing the two canines into the air as they screamed, "AHHHHH!" Moments later, they were tossed back down on the stub of a walkway still linked to the great chamber itself. RedStreak plunked down on top of it, missing the jagged edge by just a few meters. Coyotek plunged down, unable to save himself.

A red paw grabbed Coyotek’s left arm, preventing him from falling into the bottomless chasm below. Coyotek looked up with wide eyes at RedStreak, who caught him at the last second. "You…you saved me man!" he laughed. RedStreak smiled, but then a surge swept over his body. His jaws were clenched in pain as the fox-bot’s muscles tensed briefly.

"Ugh… think that…barya-whatsa decay…is…catching up to me…’Tek!" RedStreak groaned.

Coyotek looked to RedStreak, then glanced down. Making up his mind, Coyotek said to his friend, "Then let me fall! Save yourself!"

Still surging, RedStreak asked, "That’s hardly the Maximal way!"

Grunting as his grip started to slip, Coyotek replied, "But…it’s the logical thing to do! You need to get to that chamber or we’ll both go offline! Just let me fall!"

RedStreak groaned in pain yet again, closing his eyes for a minute. Then, he laughed. Coyotek was puzzled at first, but then RedStreak told him, "You…forget…my friend…I’m…also…human! UGH!" With a heave of strength, RedStreak pulled Coyotek up and onto the walkway.

The two robots transformed, standing upright in their robotic forms. RedStreak breathed heavily, then looked up at Coyotek, who smiled down at him. Shaking his head a bit, Coyotek said to him, "You humans always are so passionate about things, aren’t you?" RedStreak chuckled as Coyotek put an arm over his shoulder to help him up.

Now standing before the Plasma Energy Chamber, the two transformers stared at it, unable to believe how huge it truly was. "Uh…how do you work this thing?" Coyotek asked.

At the opposite side of the chamber, the Maximal forces were being licked by the Decepticons. DarkStar chuckled evilly as she held Botanica, Rattrap, and Gold Blade in the palms of her hands. Optimus Primal whirled about her, firing his energy sphere constantly. DarkStar simply smacked him away with the back of her free hand, sending Primal hurtling into a rock wall.

RazorLeaf was in the worst of it, fending off both SkyScourge and Galvatron himself. The two Decepticons fired their weapons at him, blowing holes in the surrounding walkway. The fern-bot shouted, "HEY! THIS IS HARDLY FAIR…BUT IF YOU WANNA PLAY THAT WAY…."

He transformed into his plant mode, plunging his roots into the metal below. Seconds later, two giant roots exploded out from behind the Decepticons, proceeding to rip the walkway from beneath them. RazorLeaf chuckled as they fell. "Decepticons…low-grade armor, low-grade brains." RazorLeaf chuckled.

Then roar of engine jets sounded from behind RazorLeaf then and there. Turning around, he saw SkyScourge in his rocket plane mode and Galvatron hovering beside him. "Foolish dolt!" Galvatron said to RazorLeaf, "Didn’t you know ALL Decepticons can fly?" With that, Galvatron blasted the ground in front of RazorLeaf, tossing him aside.

Gagging from beneath the pile, RazorLeaf weakly muttered, "Apparently I skipped that part in the history tracks…."

Scaleblade roared in, transforming into a dragon as she charged at SkyScourge. The Decepticon rolled, grabbing her front claws and swinging her around, causing her to slam into the rock wall just a couple of meters away from Optimus Primal.

Still standing by the Plasma Energy Chamber, Coyotek searched for any form of a latch or control mechanism, his fingers feeling its surface. "Blast! There’s nothing here! No key, no doors, nothing!" he shouted with frustration.

"Even if we did get it open, how would we know it would restore us?" RedStreak asked.

A white light shined from RedStreak’s chest. When Coyotek turned and saw it, the same happened to him. The sparks of Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod emerged from their bodies, hovering in front of them momentarily. The faces of the disembodied Autobots appeared within their respective sparks, staring at the two strayed Maximals.

"Do not give up hope, Maximals. We are still a part of you." Ultra Magnus said to them.

"United," Hot Rod said, "The two of you shall overcome all opposition, and with us to help you even in the darkest hour!"

"But Hot Rod," RedStreak said to the sparks, voicing some concern, "We don’t know if this will work at all! If we go in, all of us could be destroyed by the power of this…thing!"

Ultra Magnus’ spark floated up to RedStreak. "Fear not, our friend. If this fails, we’ll rejoin the Matrix together…if it succeeds, we shall become a part of you forever, adding our strength to yours...forever transformed."

The two Autobot sparks merged together, becoming a bright ball of light. The light drifted to the great Plasma Energy Chamber, touching its surface for but a brief instant. The massive device quaked, rumbling from deep within. A huge latch opened, bright green light blasting out as lightning crackled from inside the Plasma Chamber. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time, like staring into the Pit itself.

The sparks separated and remerged with the Maximals. Coyotek looked to RedStreak, and RedStreak looked to Coyotek. Coyotek nodded, saying, "Let’s do this." They both turned to face the fury of the Autobot forge…and stepped into it.

Amid the battle, the Predacon, Megatron, watched as the canine Maximals stepped into the chamber. "What?" he muttered to himself. His curiosity caught him, impelling him to fly over to the chamber and investigate. When the silhouettes of RedStreak and Coyotek vanished in the luminescent light of the Plasma Energy Chamber, a huge column of raw plasma energy blasted out from the chamber, grazing Megatron’s shoulder.

"AGGGGH!" Megatron howled, falling to a rocky ledge down far below the chamber itself. He thudded against it, flashes of green plasma energy flowing through his circuits. In his mind, he had a memory flash; the images of a mighty, ancient Predacon appeared before him. He saw its alternate forms as a giant hand and a two-headed dragon, all appearing before him in the span of a single second. His circuits damaged badly, Megatron went into stasis lock.

Optimus Primal groaned, freeing himself of the rock he was slammed into. He saw the Plasma Energy Chamber spewing out bolts of energy all over the place, lighting up everything around it with its green light. "By Primus…" he muttered in disbelief.

DarkStar grinned as she proceeded to squeeze the Maximals caught in her grip. Then, flying right out of the Plasma Chamber itself, a red missile charged right at DarkStar herself. It exploded, knocking her back into the surround rock face. The Maximals fell from her hands, a bit dizzy from the fifty-foot fall but otherwise functional.

Rattrap shouted, "Where did that come from?"

Gold Blade pointed to the Plasma Energy Chamber and hollered out, "LOOK!"

Rolling out from the chamber’s open entrance came a huge Autobot truck. Purely by appearance, it bore a distinct resemblance to Rodimus Prime’s vehicle mode, complete with red chasse, painted-on yellow flames, and triple exhaust pipes. The strange new Autobot revved its engines loudly, flying over the broken stretch separating it from the battle.

"FIRE! FIRE!" Galvatron shouted, quick to blast at the charging Autobot.

The massive truck landed with a heavy thud, skidding around in a circle as the Decepticons pelted the armor on its trailer. As it swerved, the trailer end smacked hard into SkyScourge, throwing him away. Galvatron stared with wide eyes at the Autobot, unable to believe it.

"NO! IT CAN’T BE! RODIMUS PRIME?!?"

"Whoa!" RazorLeaf said in wide wonder, "An actual Autobot!"

Rattrap jumped straight into the air yelling, "Hurray! We’re gonna live!"

Galvatron gazed steely at the Autobot, the weapon attached to his arm fully charged. "So, Rodimus Prime…you’ve returned to vanquish me again, have you?"

Revving his engine more loudly, the strange Autobot spoke in a deep electronic voice. "No, Galvatron! You are mistaken! You face far more than Rodimus Prime!" The truck-bot transformed, the trailer dividing in half to become a pair of legs and arms as the cab became the torso and head. The pieces merged together, and a strange Autobot resembling Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus combined with a pair of large, green eyes glaring at the Decepticon.

Wielding a ruby sword made from the tail of RedStreak’s beast mode, the warrior robot declared, "Prepare to face…. RED ‘TEK!"

"Red ‘Tek?" Scaleblade muttered, pulling herself out of the depression she left in the rocks. Eyeing the transformer, she sighed, her dragon claws clasping together. "He’s even dreamier that Coyotek!"

RazorLeaf nudged her hard. "Hey! Unless I’m mistaken, RedStreak’s in there too!"

"MY BROTHER! ECK!" Scaleblade gagged.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Galvatron said, transforming into a large cannon, "Die again, Autobot!" He yelled like a madman, firing nonstop at Red ‘Tek. Red ‘Tek deflected the blasts using his sword, but all too soon it was knocked out of his hands.

Galvatron then yelled angrily, transforming back into a Decepticon and rushing at the Autobot. Thinking quickly, Red ‘Tek popped off the red hood on his chest and held it up as a shield. When Galvatron charged, he shoved it into the Decepticon’s face, throwing him back.

As Galvatron slowly got to his feet, SkyScourge reappeared, transforming from plane to Decepticon. "Now the odds are in my favor, Autobot!" Galvatron said to Red ‘Tek confidently.

As Galvatron and SkyScourge proceeded to surround him, Red ‘Tek grinned slightly. "So it seems, Galvatron, but you must know the old saying: ‘the only thing better than one Autobot…’"

Suddenly, Red ‘Tek broke apart yet again, this time dividing into two smaller, yet clearly familiar transformers. RedStreak, now donned in armor reminiscent of Hot Rod’s, shouted out, "Are two Maximals!"

Coyotek stood alongside RedStreak, nearly twice as big now that he had massive silver boots and an enhanced frame overlaying his golden body. "Time to take out the old slag!" Coyotek shouted before rushing at Galvatron. He rushed at the Decepticon, quickly locking arms with the tyrant.

"You won’t defeat me, Autobot! It was I that destroyed both the original Prime AND Ultra Magnus!" Galvatron spoke with bravado, desperately forcing himself against Coyotek.

"Enough talk! You’re facing a Maximal this time! New body, new philosophy…" From the tips of his arms, two red missiles emerged and zeroed-in on Galvatron. "And new tricks!" Coyotek added. The missiles fired out, creating a blast that knocked both Coyotek and Galvatron away from one another.

RedStreak fought with SkyScourge, but SkyScourge was the one overpowering him. With his arms wrapped around and crushing the Maximal’s chest, SkyScourge laughed, "You can’t win, Maximal! I am more than twice the transformer you are!"

"Oh yeah! But you can’t do this, metal-butt!" RedStreak stated. Suddenly, the armor around his body disengaged, letting him slip between SkyScourge’s arms and transform into a fox. Howling, RedStreak then bit down on SkyScourge’s ankle until black oil and green lubricants bled out. SkyScourge bent down to grab his foot, hopping around like an idiot, to which RedStreak took advantage of.

"Rodimus armor, engage!" he shouted, transforming into his robotic form. Like magic, the armor he dropped off returned to him, reattaching itself to his body. He then transformed yet again, this time into a red car with a wide and yellow, V-shaped spoiler in the rear. In his new vehicular form, RedStreak plowed into SkyScourge, leaving tire treads across his face and chest.

Coyotek walked toward RedStreak, the altered fox-bot transforming back into robot mode again. "Well that takes care of those two at least!" RedStreak said to his friend.

A loud roar echoed throughout the entire chamber, the ceiling itself shaking. DarkStar burst through the rock wall, angrier than a swarm of killer bees. Her shadow looming over all the Maximals, she declared, "I DARKSTAR WILL OBLITERATE YOU ALL! RAGGGGGH!"

"Oh boy, we’re in trouble now!" Rattrap said.

RedStreak glanced at Coyotek, knowing there was one and only one option. "Think we should double our efforts on this one, ‘Tek?" he asked.

"My thoughts exactly, Red." Coyotek replied.

A white aura surrounded both Maximals, their bodies again breaking into pieces and merging together. Coyotek decoupled from his armor, which become Red ‘Tek’s arms and legs while RedStreak’s chest plate detached to become part of Red ‘Tek’s torso. In less than a minute, the two Maximals merged to become one Autobot.

"HA!" DarkStar laughed at the sight of Red ‘Tek, "NO PUNY AUTOBOT CAN WITHSTAND MY POWER!"

Quoting the recently-departed Silverbolt, Red ‘Tek shouted to his Maximal allies, "STAND BACK, CITIZENS!" He extracted from his back a large, bazooka-sized blaster with a gold coyote’s head at the end of it. "Time to try out a new trick!" he said, readying his weapon.

The Maximals quickly gathered behind Red ‘Tek, even as DarkStar marched toward them. Red ‘Tek aimed the gun’s sights at DarkStar’s face, the pulled the trigger. Out of the coyote head came a sonic murmur that slowly grew louder and louder.

"Ha!" DarkStar laughed, unaffected by the weak pulses from the weapon.

"It’s not working!" Botanica cried out.

Red ‘Tek, still steadying the weapon, replied, "Just give it one cycle…" Second by second, nano-click by nano-click, the sonic waves intensified, shaking the walls around the chamber. DarkStar moaned slightly, covering the sides of her head. Soon she was pushed back, the waves becoming more powerful. She tried to rush at the Maximals, but she was held back, then forced against the ceiling. The rocks above her started to crack, weakening more and more. Then, as the sonic scream climaxed, DarkStar screamed loudly as roughly half of the ceiling collapsed, sending her along with huge boulders flying straight up.

Red ‘Tek sighed heavily, dropping his weapon on the ground. He fell to his knees, transforming into RedStreak and Coyotek simultaneously. The both moaned exhaustively…tired, but fully functional. Soon the other Maximals cheered and gathered around them, patting both on the back.

"You did it!" Primal cheered both RedStreak and Coyotek.

"I can’t believe it!" RazorLeaf laughed, "You whomped the butts of all the Decepticons!"

Coyotek panted in his robot mode, glancing at RazorLeaf as well as the others. "It was…very difficult to…channel all that power. Even with…Ultra Magnus’ spark…merged with my own!" He then looked to RedStreak, who grinned back at him. "But with you, RedStreak," he said, reaching out with an open hand, "We did it…."

"You can say that again, brother!" RedStreak shook Coyotek’s hand in agreement.

Down below, in the chasm beneath the Plasma Energy Chamber, Megatron still laid unconscious on the rock ledge. A large hand attached to a purple-colored arm grabbed him by the shoulder, dragging him into a modest cave. Megatron was unaware of his surroundings, unaware of who was stealing him away.

A small, circular eye stared down at the Predacon from the shadows, its voice full of joy. "Yessss…it is you…Megatron…."