The planet Nebulos orbited two brilliant stars vigilantly, a third orbiting further out to shine upon the planet’s night side. High above Nebulos’ tranquil lilac-colored clouds and marine-blue oceans, a blue spark drifted from beyond. It pulsed slowly, weakened by countless years of travel amid the stars, but now it had finally arrived.

"Galvatron..." the spark hissed in a high-pitched tone as it floated downwards to the planet.

Perched upon a range of jagged, volcanic mountains, two titans of mythic proportions stared at one another. Megatron, renegade Predacon and scheming tyrant, came face to face with Galvatron, the crazed lord of the last Decepticons.

Staring closely at the slightly smaller transformer, Galvatron muttered with gritted teeth, "Who are you? And what do you mean…grant me the key to my victory?"

Confident in himself, Megatron was more than glad to introduce himself. "Galvatron, I am none other than…Megatron. The heir to your prior name and…future leader of the Predacons."

Galvatron seemed…almost flattered. "You have my name," he said, eyeing Megatron closely, "But no doubt…you also have the key to Vector Delta!" Immediately the Decepticon pointed a blaster toward him, ready to blow the Predacon’s head clear off. "Return it to me, NOW!"

Megatron again chuckled. "Oh mighty Galvatron, please do not let your anger deter you. It is not I who has the key…however…."

Clicking a switch on his left arm, a crackle of light appeared in the air above both Megatron and the Decepticons. In a nanoclick, Megatron’s ship, the DarkStar, materialized with its cannons and blasters trained on the Decepticons.

"Let me destroy it, Galvatron!" SkyScourge insisted, practically jumping from behind Galvatron, "I’ll blow it out of the sky before…."

Galvatron raised his hand, silencing his minion with a mere motion. "That will not be necessary, SkyScourge. I sense…that we can make a deal with this one." Galvatron approached Megatron with his weapon lowered. Glancing at the Predacon symbol Megatron wore, Galvatron said, "You may not be a Decepticon…but somehow…I sense that the same…current runs through our circuits."

"Indeed." Megatron agreed.

As Megatron developed a dialogue with Galvatron, in the background a blue star seemingly descended from the skies. It swung back and forth, meandering its way toward the mountains until it came to a rest just behind a boulder in clear sight of both Megatron and Galvatron. The strange spark waited and watched, the objects of its attention completely unaware of its presence.

"So…Megatron," Galvatron spoke, hesitant to repeat a name he once had, "You state that you’re aware of the key’s location…and certain that the Maximals helping the organic Nebulons have it in their possession?"

"Exactly," Megatron said.

Smiling a bit, Galvatron then asked, "Then…why not give it to me…so that…we might get it?"

Megatron laughed. "I’m not as foolish as they might be, Galvatron. Although I was once allied with them, I am not one to let down my guard…even to one of my own ancestors!" Waving a hand toward Vector Delta, Megatron further said, "And with the destruction of Devastator…and the added loss of the key, you are at a significant disadvantage, Galvatron."

"So…in exchange of sparing your life and allowing you to join me, you will grant me the key to Vector Delta, Megatron?" Galvatron asked.

The spark overheard the two, and chuckled softly to itself. "So…they seek the key to Vector Delta, do they? Heh! I shall steal the key myself and get my revenge on both the Maximals and Galvatron! Ha ha! In a flash, the spark fled from the mountains, heading toward Sapphire City in the distance.

Inside one of the twin towers forming the heart of Sapphire City, Rattrap lowered himself via a crane to one of the damaged power generators. "Hmm…" Flipping down his visor, he scanned the generator with as much detail as possible. Reaching through a triangular notch, Rattrap pulled out a small and sharp piece of metal.

"From what I’ve seen thus far," the rodent reported, speaking to Primal and the others perched high up, "Somebody jammed this thing good!"

Rattrap tossed to metal scrap up into the air, where Coyotek caught it in his bare hand. "Humph…another piece of the puzzle," he said, sticking the metal fragment onto a jagged, glued together reconstruction of the hatch door. Finally completed, Coyotek lifted it up and put it back on its hinges. Wiping his forehead, Coyotek sighed in relief. "Well that’s back together!"

The door was suddenly pushed out gingerly. Wobbling unsteadily, the metal door immediately broke off its hinges, falling to the floor where it shattered back into a hundred pieces once again. RedStreak, who just entered the room, gazed at the mess he accidentally made with wide eyes. Coyotek snarled irritably as he bent down to clean it up all over again.

Standing just a few feet away, RazorLeaf, back from the repair bay, was beside Optimus Primal as the two leaned against the railing. "Clearly this was an act of sabotage." Primal stated clearly.

"Yeah," RazorLeaf said, looking at all the wreaked generators, "Whoever did this wanted the Decepticons to attack the city. Heh, but luckily old big green came online before they could trash it!"

"Yes…" Primal said, reaching down to open his chest plate. It opened, and stowed beside his pulsing spark was the key to Vector Delta, shining like polished jade. He pulled it out and held it up before RazorLeaf. "And I have a distinct feeling they were after this."

Unknown to any of the Maximals, the same strange spark that visited the Decepticons in secret watched them from a corner in the ceiling, eyeing the key with great interest.

Coyotek stood up with a hand broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. "Well then," he said, dumping the last broken bits of metal into a convenient trash can, "You should stow it someplace safe and secret, least someone like Galvatron tries to steal it."

"Exactly Coyotek," said Primal, turning to the gold-plated canine, "Which is why I’m putting you in charge of keeping the key safe."

Coyotek and RedStreak’s eyes widened. "Me…Optimus?" Coyotek asked, feeling more than humbled.

"Yes, you are one of the smartest and most trustworthy on our team, and no doubt your new form will allow you to better protect it from the Decepticons." Primal said to him, handing the key over to him.

As Coyotek accepted the powerful key from Optimus Primal, RedStreak looked on with narrow eyes. He was slightly jealous; but then, something caught his attention…a brief flash of movement up in the rafters.

The strange spark saw Primal hand over the key to Coyotek, and decided to make its move. It buzzed to a wall in a blue flash, flying into an open tube filled with cross-circuited wires and cables. Cackling evilly, the spark muttered, "Heh heh heh heh! Now to give Primal and his Maximals a SHOCK they’ll never forget! Ha ha!" The spark then leapt into a large circuit board, causing everything around it to start spurting out flashes of electricity and smoke.

An explosion went off inside the chamber, and soon more and more started going off. Still standing on the catwalk above, Coyotek, RedStreak, Optimus Primal, and RazorLeaf were thrown against the railings.

"W-Whoa-whoa-whoa!" RazorLeaf shouted wildly, "Who or-or-ordered the tossed salad?!"

The catwalk started to groan, the middle section sagging as explosion after explosion proceeded to tear its supports apart. Leaning over the edge, Optimus saw Rattrap still stuck by the generators, his transport crane snapping and collapsing over both him and the generator he was investigating.

"Rattrap! Get out of there!" Primal shouted, but it was no good. Generator after generator began to blow, the explosions getting progressively closer to Rattrap. Turning to the three Maximals at hand, Primal shouted out, "RazorLeaf, you get Rattrap out of that wreckage! RedStreak, try to contain the explosion! Coyotek, you take the key and get out of here!"

"But…Primal!" Coyotek stuttered.

Raising his voice louder, Optimus blasted, "That’s an order!"

While Coyotek ran down the catwalk towards an exit, Optimus transformed into his bat form, flying out and circling around Rattrap’s position. Lashing out a vine, RazorLeaf slid down to the ground level, RedStreak following closely behind.

"Man, I wish I still had my helicopter form instead of this…lame red suit!" RedStreak griped.

Landing on his brown root-feet, RazorLeaf turned to the red Maximal and said, "You just do what Optimus ordered! I’ll handle getting the rat out of his cage!" RazorLeaf then turned and headed for Rattrap, leaving RedStreak to contain the blasts.

RedStreak snarled bitterly for a second, but then returned to focusing on his job. "All right, bod," he said to himself, "Let’s see what we’ve got!"

From the sides of both his hands, triple-barrel blasters emerged and extended out. "All right! Something useful!" RedStreak grinned as he started firing laser bolts. He fired again and again in the direction of the shockwave, but it did little to help. Another generator went off instead, throwing RedStreak into an open circuit panel.

"AAAGH!" he hollered as over a thousand volts of electricity zapped him, his arms twitching as he was slowly electrocuted. Along a single strand of wiring a blue-white energy surge passed, entering the circuit panel directly behind RedStreak’s back. In a final burst, the panel exploded.

"RedStreak!" Primal yelled, flying straight at the fried Maximal. With his clawed feet he grabbed RedStreak by the shoulders. To his right, RazorLeaf had pushed away the fallen crane, grabbing Rattrap in his arms. "Let’s get out of here!" Optimus Primal hollered to RazorLeaf, who quickly obliged by shooting a vine straight into the ceiling. Retracting his outstretched limb, RazorLeaf was pulled upwards, Optimus Primal flying after him as a giant explosion enveloped the entire level.

It seemed like days passed while RedStreak was unconscious. In his slumber, the Maximal had the weirdest dream ever. Upon opening his eyes, the hybrid Maximal-Human found himself floating in a cloudy sky, just drifting weightlessly upon the zephyr. Then, a laugh started to echo from all around him. The strange laugh grew louder and louder, but still RedStreak couldn’t find where it was coming from. Soon the laugh turned into a roaring thunder booming from just behind.

Looking back, the Maximal saw a thick, fluffy cloud burst apart. Flying out of the exploding cloud was an old, twentieth-century jet fighter plane. It flew straight at him faster than anything he ever saw, and immediately it caught up with defenseless RedStreak.

A second later, RedStreak somehow found himself clinging to the same red fighter plane, a powerful gust blasting him in the face as he struggled to hang on. The same laugh he heard before again echoed from all around him, cackling and snickering in the same high-pitched tone.

As he flew with the strange fighter, the heads of his fellow Maximals started to pop up around him. They all were laughing as they gawked at him, mocking RedStreak in their own ways. The heads of Optimus Primal and Coyotek popped up and smiled fiendishly at him, Primal saying, "He’s so stupid and ignorant Coyotek…that’s why I’m handing the key over to you instead of him! Ha! Ha!" Laughing with Primal, the image of Coyotek chuckled, "Oh you’re right! I am smarter and more trusting than him! What he can do, I can always do better! Ha! Ha!"

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? WHAT IS ALL THIS?" RedStreak cried out in his dream.

The same, high-pitched, sniveling voice whose laughter echoed about replied, "They are your friends, RedStreak…or so you say they are! But see how they mock you…betray you! Soon, with my help, you’ll see what kind of friends they really are! Heh heh…."

RedStreak looked ahead, his eyes widening and his jaw hanging open in terror. The giant, blocky head of a dark transformer appeared directly in front of both he and the jet, the laughter emanating from the sinister smile on its face. With red eyes it glared at RedStreak, and then opened its mouth to swallow both him and the jet carrying him in.

RedStreak awoke with a yell as he jerked up from the operating table. "AHHHHHHHHH!"

"Ack! My ears!" Rattrap exclaimed, dropping the drill-bit he’d been holding in his hands to cover his ears.

RedStreak gasped, holding one hand on his chest and the other on the table. With a quick glance about, he discovered that he was in a small repair chamber, complete with primitive-looking CR chambers and robotic tools for healing battle-damaged ‘bots. In addition to the rodent there was Optimus Primal, Coyotek, Botanica, Gold Blade, and RazorLeaf standing around him with surprised looks on their faces.

Botanica laid two of her limbs down on him and gently laid RedStreak back on the table. "Easy," she calmly said to him, "You’re all right. We brought you to the Nebulons’ repair facilities. You were badly damaged."

Coyotek approached him from behind, smiling as he set his hand on RedStreak’s shoulder. "Yeah, you took quite a blow from that electrical blast! A volt more and you would have been fried fox on a stick! You ‘ought to be more careful Red!"

RedStreak’s eyes turned bright red for a minute as he stared at his golden comrade. For a brief second, RedStreak saw instead of Coyotek a large transformer with silver wings and red jet intakes for shoulders, clearly marked with the icon of the Decepticons.

The Maximal shuttered in fear as the strange Decepticon leaned over him. "What’s the matter?" it spoke in Coyotek’s voice, "Are you ok?" Terrified, poor RedStreak jerked back, falling over the other side of the table, taking a load of lab instruments on neighboring trays with him. RedStreak landed with a thud, instruments clattering around him. Suddenly, one of the trays fell, smacking the fox right on the head.

In his head, little stars and birds went spinning around as he smiled goofily before passing out on the floor. For a brief moment, RedStreak’s chest plate opened up. Inside there were two glowing spheres, both bright blue and pulsating in sync with his circuitry. One of the two flashed briefly, sending energon surges throughout RedStreak’s body. A slight chuckle came from the glowing spark as the chest plate automatically closed.

Optimus Primal leaned down and lifted RedStreak’s limp body up. "RedStreak? You all right?" he asked, shaking him slightly.

Just a moment later, the Maximal’s eyes started to flicker on and off. His head jerked up and his eyes glowed with a crimson red glow. Staring straight at Primal, RedStreak jerked. Immediately he grabbed Optimus Primal by the hands and shouted, "Hey! Let go of me!" in a high-pitched voice. Pushing Primal away, the other Maximals watched in wide wonder at RedStreak’s strange behavior.

RedStreak looked around him, realizing the others were watching him. He chuckled politely, and reached out a hand to Optimus Primal. "I’m…sorry…Optimus," RedStreak apologized, his voice constantly cracking into the same high-pitched tone, "I…was a bit…startled…at seeing you again."

Primal took a long look at RedStreak with one squinted eye. "Apology accepted. Are you…fully functional, RedStreak?" he asked out of concern.

The red Maximal cleared his voice, returning to his normal voice. "I…am fine. Just some sort-of minor fluctuation in my vocal processors…because of the blast! Yes…" RedStreak quickly said, smiling a little.

Coyotek marched over and looked at RedStreak as well. "You look like you could use a little lubricant around the eyes, Red. They’re red as a fire storm!" Coyotek pointed out.

"Red?" RedStreak muttered. He quickly grabbed a mirror off of a counter and pointed it at his face. Immediately he saw his eerie red eyes sticking out like two headlights mounted into his face. "Heh, heh…" RedStreak chuckled with a strange laugh as he faked a smile. Tossing the mirror into the wall behind him, the Maximal said, his voice again cracking a bit, "Oh! Uh…I think you’re quite right! There’s definitely something weird about them!" Turning to Coyotek with a cheerful grin, RedStreak jumped to his side with an arm over his shoulder.

"Say…old friend," RedStreak said, a bit too cheerfully, "You mentioned something about…lubricants, no? Perhaps you can show me where they’re stored, right?"

Just as RedStreak began to lead Coyotek out the door, Primal shouted, "RedStreak!" Jerking as he froze his tracks, the named Maximal turned around slowly, holding a smile with gritted teeth. "You’re not exactly acting like yourself. Are you sure your diagnostic circuits don’t indicate any problems…particularly in your neuro-processors?"

RedStreak rolled his eyes a little, seeking out an answer. "Uh…nothing too out of the ordinary, except my eye and voice, of course!" he quickly answered, his voice cracking yet again.

Primal rubbed his chin, wondering a little. He looked down towards Rattrap and ordered, "Go with him and Coyotek to the storage area. There should be some parts there that can remedy RedStreak’s problems." Glancing at RedStreak again, Primal bent down to Rattrap’s side and whispered, "And give him a double-look over, no?"

Rattrap whispered back, "Don’t have to tell me that twice!"

RedStreak narrowed his eyes a bit, noting Primal and Rattrap’s whispering with bitterness.

On the dark mountains to the east, Megatron opened the doors to his battleship, letting in the light of day once more. His shadow, and those of the larger Decepticons, blotted out the sunlight as they walked inside the DarkStar. The internal lights of the operations bay and the roomier command chamber activated, illuminating the ship well.

"Hmm…amazing what my descendents have done in the three centuries since my…disappearance." Galvatron said, already admiring the technology abounding around him.

Megatron’s command chair lowered to his level. In the seat slept a tiny wasp-like creature, its head pink-colored and blocky. It slowly opened its eyes and woke up as Megatron’s shadow passed over it. "What?" tiny Waspinator mumbled, arcing his neck up in time to watch Megatron’s skid plate come down right on top of him.

A squishing sound came from beneath Megatron’s rear, Waspinator shrieking out, "Nooooo!"

Sitting in his command chair and rising up, Megatron replied, "This particular vessel is outdated, actually…but it will serve us just as well." Clicking on his armrest, Megatron activated his com-link to the DarkStar’s primary systems. "Computer, bring all systems to alert status. Bring scanning array online."

With a feminine voice, the DarkStar’s computer replied, "Complying." A few nano-clicks later, a large orb mounted on a robotic arm descended before Megatron, projecting a holographic display. "Scanning array…online."

Galvatron lofted himself into the air, hovering just behind Megatron’s command chair. "Most…amusing devices you have…Megatron," he said, staring into the orb, "What can you do with them?"

Megatron clicked on yet another set of controls, causing the orb to project various images within it. "With my ship’s scanning systems, it is possible to detect objects millions of kilometers away…" Pausing for a moment, Megatron made a sharp turn to his left, staring at SkyScourge straight in the face. "And," he added, frowning at Gavlatron’s minion, "They only respond to me, in case there are those that wish to scrap me!"

SkyScourge simply growled to himself.

Clearing his voice and clicking on his controls, Megatron pardoned himself from Galvatron. "Now if you excuse me for one moment, Galvatron, I’m going to attempt to scan for spark signatures." He zoomed in on the twin towers of Sapphire City, hundreds of energy signatures already detected. "Now, to effectively search for the key, we must isolate where the Maximals are precisely…."

An alarm beeped on the computer repeatedly. Megatron jumped slightly, but then moved closer to the holographic display. The computer beeped to him, "Decepticon spark signature detected. Coordinates: nine, six, three."

Megatron and Galvatron were both surprised. "A…Decepticon…in Sapphire City?" Megatron mumbled, turning to Galvatron.

The large Decepticon stared at the orb for a long time. He noticed the spark signature’s variables on a graph, his eyebrows lowering and a bitter grimace forming on his face. "That…spark signature, I…I recognize it." Galvatron muttered.

"One of your units?" Megatron asked.

Galvatron growled to himself. "No," he answered Megatron, eyes still on the orb, "One…that I thought I rid myself of stellar cycles ago."

Coyotek, RedStreak, and Rattrap all traveled down the halls within one of the two twin towers. RedStreak, eyes still bright red, frowned to himself as Rattrap accompanied him at his side. Suddenly, RedStreak groaned and fell to his knee, a ripple of energon flowing up his leg and into his torso. A white glow emanated from his chest momentarily, his eyes flashing red and then blue-green alternatively.

Rattrap and Coyotek stopped, looking towards the third Maximal. "You ok, RedStreak?" Rattrap asked, "’Cause it looks like you’re gonna bust a mother board in a millicycle!"

His eyes still flickering, RedStreak replied, "I…I’m fine. Just a minor…glitch."

Rattrap raised an eyebrow, but then turned around and moved onward. After taking a right, the rodent stopped with Coyotek right behind him. "Ah! Here it is," Rattrap said, a door automatically sliding open to his left, "Transistors and other spare parts for the miswired! Nebulon-made, but hey, good enough for us all, eh?"

Coyotek followed Rattrap in, his back turned towards RedStreak. The fox-bot chuckled, raising up his arms to point his mounted blasters toward him. He chuckled deviously, again with a different voice. "In just a nano, that key will be…."

"Hey Red!" Coyotek spoke up, starting to turn back.

RedStreak gasped, stepping back. Another flash of energon went through his body, his eyes changing back from red to blue-green once more. Coyotek turned and gasped, finding RedStreak’s blasters pointed right at his torso plate. RedStreak moaned, then looked at his arm with a blank look on his face. "What am I doing?!" he shouted, quickly lowering his arm in surprise.

"Red! What are you trying to do? Shoot me?!" Coyotek yelled at him.

Suddenly, RedStreak’s eyes turned red yet again, a grin forming on his face. "If necessary, YES!" he gleefully replied, pointing his blasters once more at Coyotek. Without hesitating, his weapons fired, blasting Coyotek’s left arm.

"AGH!" Coyotek howled in pain, grabbing his arm. "WHAT THE COLD SLAG WAS THAT FOR?!"

"ENOUGH OF THIS FAÇADE!" RedStreak exclaimed, speaking in a strange, high-pitched voice, "SURRENDER THE KEY TO VECTOR DELTA OR ELSE I’LL…."

RedStreak groaned, his eyes turning blue-green again, energon and sparks jolting from his body. "No! You…won’t…make me…hurt him!" he moaned in his normal voice.

Rattrap rolled out of the room, muttering, "What the heck is…GAH!" He watched as RedStreak grabbed his own arm, holding his weapons down. He heard RedStreak yell at himself, his voice changing frequently. "Holy slag! He needs more than a repair-job! He needs an exorcist!"

"YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" RedStreak yelled at himself with his high-pitched voice, "YOUR BODY NOW BELONGS TO DECEPTICON STARSCREAM, AND I WANT THAT KEY NOW!" Groaning once again, RedStreak pointed his arm blasters at Coyotek one more time…and fired square at his chest plate.

"AGH!" Coyotek was blasted back into a wall, falling straight down on his face.

Chuckling in Starscream’s voice, RedStreak next pointed his weapons at Rattrap. "Now to eliminate the vermin!" He fired again, but missed. Rattrap squeaked in fear, ducking inside the spare-parts room. For a moment, Starscream contemplated chasing down the remaining Maximal, but decided against it.

With RedStreak’s hands, Starscream reached down toward Coyotek, saying to himself "Now…to reach inside his hide and extract the key I need so very…GAH!"

Again RedStreak’s body jolted, his true spark coming online again. "No!" RedStreak shouted once more, "I…won’t let you hurt…my friend!"

Growling bitterly, Starscream replied angrily, "Stop resisting me! The pain for both of us will only worsen if you resist me, Maximal!"

Inside the room, Rattrap panted heavily. "Oh man! The fox has really gone crazy now!" He clicked on a com-link and swung his visor down. "Rattrap to Optimus Primal and Minor! We’ve got a serious problem here! Code X! I repeat…."

Out of nowhere an explosion rang out through the halls. RedStreak turned around, the spark possessing him also caught by surprised. Just a few meters down was a hole in the wall leading out to open skies. Through it they saw a massive cruiser hovering about just outside the building. Through the hole leaped out a huge blue wolf with sharp, silvery teeth.

"What the?" Starscream and RedStreak muttered at once.

The blue beast chuckled proudly. "Surprised to see me in my new form, Starscream?!"

"Megatron!" Starscream exclaimed, unable to believe it.

Transforming to robot mode and deploying two rockets on his left arm, Megatron calmly said, "Now be a good Decepticon and surrender yourself! I have no desire to pick up your wreckage after I…."

Out of nowhere a large wasp with a robotic head flew in, buzzing around Megatron’s head fast. The Predacon groaned, trying it swat it away. A buzzing voice muttered, "Ooooh! Waspinator want to help! Waspinator want to…." With a fling of his wrist, Megatron sent his former soldier flying off, screaming, "Oooooh nooooo!"

Starscream didn’t waste one second of this opportunity. "Sorry to disappoint you, Megatron…" he said, reaching down to touch Coyotek’s body. A flash of energon ran through RedStreak’s fingertips and down into Coyotek’s chest. Through the windows in his torso plate, a white light filled Coyotek’s torso. His eyes turned red, and he sat up without hesitating.

Megatron yelled, and fired on Starscream’s new host. Coyotek jumped into the air, transforming fast. Upon landing, four yellow legs with titanium claws deployed, a canine head with shimmering teeth snarling at the Predacon as a long and partially metallic tail swung in back. Finishing himself, Starscream said, "But I have other matters to take care of!"

Rattrap’s eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing as he watched the battle from around the corner. Clicking on his com-link one more time, the rat shouted, "Scratch that last report! We’ve got a MAJOR situation here! Megatron and Starscream, believe it or not!"

"What?" Primal’s voice crackled in through the com-link, "Are you certain?"

"Yeah!" Rattrap replied earnestly, "He’s back…and just possessed Coyotek for that matter! Now he’s got the key to…."

Using Coyotek’s body, Starscream let out and long and powerful howl. Megatron held his ears and gritted his teeth, forced back by both the force and the piercing sound of the coyote’s howl. Rattrap cowered in the room, also unable to bear the noise. In the span of a few seconds, hundreds of glass windows shattered throughout the building. Now with an opening just ahead, Starscream smiled, then leaped over Megatron, flying straight out a window.

Megatron got up as quickly as possible, rushing over to the same window Starscream jumped from. He watched as the coyote fell roughly a hundred feet downwards with a wicked smile on his face. Nearing the bottom, Starscream transformed once more, assuming Coyotek’s robotic form.

The cement below cracked, a large golden transformer landing upright on his feet. "There, that was easy enough," Coyotek muttered in Starscream’s voice, brushing the dust off his hands, "Now to…agh!" Starscream and Coyotek both groaned, grabbing their shared shoulder as the grunted in pain. The metal groaned and stretched, becoming a large jet intake next to Coyotek’s head. Soon after a wing sprouted out of his back as well, stretching until it was big enough for a small plane. The Decepticon symbol began to appear on it, shimmering in vivid violet.

"Gah!" Coyotek gasped, momentarily regaining control of his body, "What…are you…doing…to me?"

His eyes filling with red light again, Starscream replied, "My…spark must be…assimilating your exostructure…Maximal! It appears that soon…we…will become…one!"

His eyes turning back to yellow for a second, Coyotek painfully grunted, "I…think not…you freak-bot!"

A bolt of purple energy blasted at Coyotek’s feet, blowing a sizeable hole in the ground. He looked up, spying a weird-looking cannon near the end of a street. Surprisingly, the weapon changed, feet and arms emerging along with a three-pronged helmet from the cannon’s base.

"Galvatron!" Starscream said, balling up one of Coyotek’s fist.

Galvatron, taking a step forward, yelled to Starscream, "Give us the key, Starscream! I destroyed you very easily once before, and I can just as easily do it again! Hand it over…traitor!"

"Ha!" Starscream laughed defiantly, "Never! So long as I possess this body, the key you seek, Galvatron, shall forever be mine! Ha ha ha!" Grunting with effort, Starscream forced Coyotek’s right shoulder to morph, becoming a second jet intake. His chest changed, becoming the cockpit, and his feet sprouted engines at the heels. A second later, flames spewed from Coyotek’s heels, launching the possessed Maximal into the skies as Starscream laughed insanely.

Galvatron followed immediately after, closing in on the fleeing Decepticon. Starscream simply laughed, flying circles around him, aggravating Galvatron further. "You won’t catch me now, Galvatron!" Starscream boldly stated. The cockpit in Coyotek’s chest folded over his head as his arms retracted and his feet merged together. Now an F-14 fighter, just like his original body, Starscream took of for the remote Darkblade Mountains where Vector Delta itself awaited the key.

Watching Coyotek fly off from his window perch, Megatron growled to himself banging his fist into an already bent railing. Clicking on his com-link, he spoke into it, "Computer, pick-up sequence five-nine-nine, mark two. Initiate!"

As Megatron waited, RedStreak groaned, getting to his knees. His moaned, his chest feeling like a pole was impaled through it. He looked down the hall, spying Megatron waiting there for some reason. RedStreak tried to get up, but a sharp pain struck him in the chest once again, making him freeze once more.

Strangely enough, RedStreak’s eyes began to glow once again, but this time white instead of red. The center of his chest began to glow the exact same color, something within it generating the light. RedStreak stared at Megatron long and hard, muttering to himself, "Got to…help…Coyotek!" He got to his feet, waiting for just the right moment.

Sure enough, Megatron’s ship passed in front of the hole in the wall, a docking port in its side opening just long enough for the Predacon to jump inside. RedStreak then made a run for it, charging straight at the ship just as it began to pull away. As the DarkStar turned about, RedStreak yelled and bounded out. For an entire minute, he hung in the air, hundreds of feet above the cold, unforgiving ground as the battleship’s stern section drifted further and further away.

With a loud clunk, RedStreak landed on the tail end of the ship. The DarkStar’s powerful engines ignited, thrusting the ship forward. RedStreak groaned, and awoke to find himself on the back of the DarkStar of all places. "H-How did I get here?" he mumbled, his mind a blank.

Then, like a movie in his mind, he saw blurred images of himself chasing after Megatron and leaping out towards his ship. But, at the same time, he saw flashes of something else. For a brief second, he saw flashes of a tall, red transformer holding the matrix of leadership, its light shining out brilliantly. RedStreak was left baffled, but he knew something. Something else made him jump…something…or someone...and it wasn’t Starscream for that matter…

On the ground, the Maximals watched from the eastern edge of Sapphire City as the DarkStar flew off at subsonic speeds, chasing Coyotek’s possessed body. "Ugh," primal moaned, the DarkStar already vanishing from view, "There’s no way any of us can travel that fast, even my in my own flight mode!"

Thunderous footsteps echoed from behind them, and the shadow of a mighty guardian engulfed the worried Maximals. Gold Blade looked up, and smiled at the sight of Ironwood. Primal, Rattrap, and all the others beheld him as well, wondering why the giant had come to their aid so readily.

Leaning down, looming even more over his smaller companions, the new-born giant simply said, "Ironwood…help"

"Help? You’re a giant tree! You have the firepower, I admit," Rattrap said, "But you can’t possibly fly!"

For a moment, Ironwood gazed at Rattrap, then took a step back. "Watch…tiny-bot," he told Rattrap, "Ironwood…transform!" The guardian began to transform, his arms coming together as his head folded inside. He resumed his original and immobile tree-form, complete with redwood leaves and branches, but something else happened as well. The branches on top retracted slightly, forming a green nosecone. At the base of his trunk tail fins popped out and the exhaust nozzles of rocket engines pushed out. Finally, a large panel unfolded, becoming a ramp leading into a hollowed-out cabin inside.

"Rocket mode…initiated! Preparing for immediate departure!" Ironwood’s voice boomed from inside.

Rattrap grinned as he looked Ironwood over twice. "Well strip my servos and call me a microwave! A good-old-fashioned rocket!" Rattrap chuckled.

Looking to his troops, Optimus Primal said, "Well you heard the ‘bot! Let’s belt-up and get after that Predacon!"

Within minutes, Primal, Rattrap, Botanica, Gold Blade, and RazorLeaf were all inside Ironwood, strapping themselves into cushy green seats stowed away roughly in Ironwood’s lower torso. Up front, Ironwood’s head formed a console, his eyes monitors with pictures of the DarkStar within them. His voice rumbled, "T-minus ten nano-clicks to launch. Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…."

"Oh man!" RazorLeaf exclaimed, feeling Ironwood’s engines start to rumble in back, "I betcha none of us were planning to ride a log quite like this!"

Still counting down, Ironwood muttered, "Three…two…one…ignition." With a humungous BOOM, Ironwood’s engines spewed out orange flames, his entire structure rumbling from the blast. Soon, the rocket was forced into the atmosphere, riding a stream of fire that followed behind. A few miles up, Ironwood’s steering fins leveled him out, letting him fly parallel to the ground.

On his monitors, Ironwood zeroed in on the DarkStar. "Targeted vessel in range. Interception in eight cycles at present speed and course." Ironwood reported to Optimus Primal.

"Kick in the afterburners, we’ve gotta get as close to Megatron as possible!" Optimus ordered.

Complying with the Maximal leader, Ironwood turned his engines to maximum, thrusting himself further ahead and towards Megatron. Within the DarkStar itself, Megatron was monitoring an image of Starscream zooming just ahead of him. Suddenly an alarm went off, and a second view screen maneuvered into position in front of him. "Alert!" the computer beeped, "Unidentified vessel closing in from vector twelve, eight, two. Multiple Maximal signatures detected aboard."

Megatron growled, "Agh! I don’t have time for this! Open fire on them, NOW!"

Outside, various blasters and cannons mounted beneath the wings turned completely about, targeting Ironwood as he closed in on the DarkStar. In massive bursts they fired, unloading virtually every weapon in Megatron’s arsenal.

Numerous blasts refracted off Ironwood’s nosecone, leaving scorch marks and streaks along his hull. "Ugh! Encountering enemy fire! Unable to maneuver! Recommended action?" Ironwood shouted to the Maximals as he weathered a potent wave of blasts.

Tossed about in his seat, Optimus Primal shouted, "Don’t let Megatron deter you, Ironwood! Fire back…disable his weapons array!"

"Deploying port blasters. Targeting DarkStar weaponry, Optimus Primal." Ironwood complied. A large turret deployed from the side of the rocket, plasma building up as its numerous gun ports fired up. Rotating about like a gatling gun, Ironwood’s plasma blasters fired persistently at the DarkStar, scalding huge portions of the left wing as rows of weapons were blasted off.

On the DarkStar, a small explosion went off, jolting Megatron inside the command chamber. All around the lights dimmed, various systems going offline. "Warning," his computer alerted him, "Critical damage to stabilizers and weapons array. Shields failing. Recommend immediate landing."

"No! Not now!" Megatron yelled. Despite his rage, the DarkStar started to fall, smoke spewing from its left wing. It circled round and around until it skidded on the ground, plowing through boulders and dead tree stumps as it charged straight for a rocky cliff looming dead ahead.

Still hanging on, RedStreak saw the massive cliff destined to halt the DarkStar. But, glancing upwards and to the right, he spied an emerald sphere perched on a ledge above. "Vector Delta!" RedStreak muttered to himself, "If only I could fly up to it…."

Again, RedStreak was possessed by something from deep inside himself. From his own throat, the voice of another transformer spoke. "RedStreak! You have the power inside yourself…you know this! Use the strength of my own spark to aid you." From his chest came that same white light, and the image of a transformer holding the matrix reappeared in his mind again. RedStreak shook off the sensation, trying to focus on the ledge above. He narrowed his eyes, again glowing white, and jumped up….

The DarkStar ran straight into the cliff, crashing into over a million tons of solid granite. From above, Starscream’s cackled with delight. Transforming to robot mode, he gave a belly laugh as he watched a hatch open, the glorious Megatron crawling out with his head spinning dizzily. "Oh this is just too good to be true!" He then reached down, opening up Coyotek’s chest, removing the key from its hiding place. "Now to use this device to give me power enough to destroy…what the?" Starscream glanced toward the mountain ledge with surprise, watching as Vector Delta was pulled away by a red Maximal.

"NO!" Starscream hollered, flying toward the mountain. Far below, cowering in a bush, tiny Waspinator looked up to see the Decepticon rush overhead. "Hmm…key give power?" Waspinator said to himself, rubbing his chin with one of six limbs. "Waspinator…want…power!" His wings buzzing, the insect-like Predacon flew up, following behind Starscream in the background.

RedStreak heard a loud booming noise, and turned barely in time to see Starscream charge straight at him. With both fists he slammed RedStreak away, knocking the Maximal away from Vector Delta. "What the…Coyotek?" RedStreak muttered in surprise.

"Correction, Maximal buffoon! I’m Starscream, reborn once again! And now using your comrade’s exostructure, I’ll crush you like tinfoil!" Starscream swung a fist at RedStreak, ready to pummel his face in. With a sudden jerk, his arm halted inches before colliding.

Starscream’s body changed, returning to Coyotek’s previous form. "No! You’re…not going to use me…like some…cheap puppet…Starscream!" Coyotek told him.

Coyotek’s body altered once again, becoming a near-perfect duplicate of Starscream. Eyes glowing red again, Starscream grumbled, "You can’t stop me! I’ve waited too many eons for this moment!"

A series of blasts hit the ground around both RedStreak and Coyotek, dust thrown into the air. As it settled, Galvatron appeared once again, hovering barely three meters away. His cannon smoking, Galvatron growled, "I…want…the key! I…want…Vector Delta! I want you all to DIE!" He fired on Coyotek, blasting him in the chest, the key knocked away.

"You’ll pay for that, Galvatron!" Starscream shouted, aiming his arm blasters at the Decepticon.

In the sky, Ironwood flew closer to the mountains where Vector Delta sat. "Optimus Primal," Ironwood reported, "Three spark signatures detected!" Instantly Ironwood’s monitors threw up images of Galvatron, Starscream, and RedStreak all gathered around Vector Delta, firing at one another.

Primal saw, and immediately said to Ironwood, "We’ve gotta help them! Ironwood, prepare to transform and land us near…"

Before Primal could finish his command, a blast shook Ironwood from his starboard side, tossing him and his occupants about. Another plane appeared in the sky, its weapons trained on Ironwood. Firing relentlessly, the Decepticon flyer yelled, "You will not interfere, Maximals! Not as long as SkyScourge rules the clouds!"

On the ground, RedStreak watched as Starscream and Galvatron fought a firefight against one another, neither winning. He looked around for something to use as a weapon, but found nothing. Then, looking up, RedStreak saw an unstable rock on a higher ledge. He aimed his arm blasters at it, shouting out before firing, "Coyotek! Look out!"

Starscream’s control lapsed, allowing Coyotek to utter, "Huh?" and look up. A blast went off, and a large boulder came tumbling down. He immediately jumped to the side, the boulder rushing at Galvatron with incredible speed. Galvatron yelled as he was thrown down, crashing into a field of rough rocks below.

Now it was just Starscream and RedStreak…and Coyotek for that matter. RedStreak had his weapons trained on Coyotek, ready to fire, but he couldn’t. "Ha!" Starscream laughed, regaining control once again, "Your Maximals sentiment makes you weak! While you stand there and whimper, my spark will take control of this body permanently!"

The sound of grunting and metal grinding came from the direction of Vector Delta. Both Starscream and RedStreak turned. "WHAT?" Starscream blurted out, watching as a tiny wasp-creature shoved the key to Vector Delta into place.

With one final shove, Waspinator chuckled happily. "While idiots fight, Waspinator get key! Now Waspinator shall have power to Vector Delta! Ha ha ha ha! Oh happy day!" the bug chuckled deliriously. The spheroid computer began to glow beneath Waspinator, its power already charging up. "What?" Waspinator said, glancing down at the computer. Humming to life, Vector Delta shot Waspinator with a bolt of its power, knocking the insect away. "Noooo! Not again!" Waspinator yelled.

At its finale, a port on Vector Delta opened, releasing one giant spark as big as the computer itself. RedStreak and Starscream watched as it floated away on its own power, floating downwards toward the ledge below where Megatron grunted as he got back up. The Predacon, Decepticon, and Maximal all saw the spark enter the downed DarkStar, its light disappearing.

"Ha ha ha ha!" a chuckle emanated from the starship itself. The DarkStar shook, rumbling the entire mountainside. Megatron gasped, watching as his ship began to change. The front and rear halves extended out, arms popping out from the sides. The bow of the ship divided in two, becoming feet as the entire structure began to stand on two bronze legs. The stern of the ship divided in half yet again, revealing the head of a brand-new transformer within. Beneath a red crown-like helmet, a pair of orange eyes turned on, a grin forming on its face.

A giant towered over Megatron, rendering the Predacon speechless. "By the Pit! What are you?!" he shouted in amazement.

A girlish laugh exited from the giant’s mouth as it looked down at Megatron. Bending down to face her creator, the giant replied with a distinctly feminine voice, "I am as I’ve always been, my lord Megatron. I…am…DarkStar!"

"DarkStar?" Megatron mumbled, still unable to believe it, "You…are…my ship?"

Watching from higher up, RedStreak was awe-struck and terrified at once. "DarkStar? Ah man, we’re totally screwed!"

Waspinator, lying on the ground, lifted his head up and beheld the giant. "NOOOO!" he hollered in his buzzing voice, "Power was supposed to be Waspinator’s! Not fair!"

High in the sky, Ironwood fought off SkyScourge, blowing out the Decepticon’s engines and sending him flying straight down. "SkyScourge menace…eliminated." Ironwood said.

RazorLeaf looked out a port to his left, then side a double take. "By Primus himself, look!" he shouted, pointing to the giant DarkStar standing on the mountain.

Optimus Primal’s eyes widened as he gazed at the new transformer, the words he spoke were "I don’t believe it…."

Ironwood’s scanners focused on the new giant standing on the mountain, locking in on her position. "New transformer…identified! Transformer…Decepticon in nature! Must apprehend immediately!" Without much regard for his passengers, Ironwood banked to his left, diving towards the mountains.

"Ironwood!" Gold Blade shouted loudly, "You can’t engage a whole new enemy just like that!"

The giant’s reply was, "Combat…necessary! Must prevent Decepticon from harming…Sapphire City! Ironwood…transform to guardian mode!" With a load of Maximals still inside, Ironwood started changing, becoming a giant robot once again. His rockets flared beneath his feet, briefly allowing him to hover. As DarkStar watched closely, Ironwood landed on the far end of her ledge, the mountain itself rumbling.

From his back a ramp deployed, allowing the Maximals to get out quickly. As his ramp withdrew, he glanced behind his shoulder to his friends, saying, "Maximals evacuate area…immediately! Danger high…."

A huge blast hit Ironwood square in the chest, nearly knocking him right on top of the Maximals. DarkStar, with weapons bristling from her underarm, chuckled, saying to Ironwood, "You’ve got that right my wooden friend!"

Once back on his feet, Ironwood immediately engaged DarkStar. He deployed his own weapons, unleashing them upon her in full force. His blasts nicked her thick armor plating here and there, but little damage was done overall. "Ha! Is that the best you can do?" DarkStar mockingly asked.

A giant fist flew at her, punching DarkStar right in her torso plate. She groaned as she was forced into a cliff, a growl coming from her mouth as she glanced up at Ironwood, retracting his launchable fist. "You would actually hit a lady, pine-face?" DarkStar dared to ask.

"YOU," Ironwood pointed his arm at her, "NO LADY!" He opened up his chest, deploying the largest cannon ever seen. A ball of green light charged up, firing at DarkStar in one massive blast. DarkStar screamed as she was blasted through the mountainside, flying out from the other side of the mountain.

DarkStar growled angrily with a huge frown plastered to her face. "You…WILL…regret that, pine-face! DarkStar…transform!" The new Decepticon changed, becoming a battleship once again. At first she came at Ironwood, who stood ready to fight, but swooped up, flying into the triple-suns above. Thick black smoke started to spew out of her engines, leaving giant streaks across the sky. She swept back and forth, blowing out more and more smoke until the sunlight was blotted out.

"What is she trying to do?" Rattrap asked. Loud, weary moans started to come out of RazorLeaf, Botanica, and Gold Blade, their leaves losing color fast.

"Oh no!" Primal said, shaking his head, "He’s cut out all the sunlight! Without it, all chlorophyll-based transformers depower…including Ironwood!"

Already Ironwood was getting weak, his blue eyes flickering on and off frequently. It was becoming a struggle merely to stand upright. Soon after, DarkStar landed, transforming back into a robot. "Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm!" she chuckled, watching Ironwood fall to his knees, "I knew a robot with a form as a pathetic as a tree would fall without his precious sunlight! I, on the other hand…" DarkStar pounded her tritanium torso plate, hearing it rumble like thunder. "I can stand up to anything!" Without mercy she kneed Ironwood in the chest, sending him flying into a rocky hill near-by.

"No! Ironwood!" shouted RedStreak. He rushed toward the cliff edge, looking down at the fallen guardian. From behind came the click of a blaster, RedStreak freezing at the sound.

Pointing his blaster at RedStreak’s back, Starscream muttered, "I’d be more concerned yourself right about now, Maximal! Surrender to me!"

Slowly, RedStreak turned around with his arms in the air. He stared into what used to be Coyotek’s face, seeing Starscream’s red eyes staring back at him. "Coyotek…if you’re in there, you’ve gotta hear me! Break free of Starscream’s control! You must!"

Starscream chuckled. "Sorry, but your friend’s exostructure belongs to me now! No Maximal can resist the power of my spark!"

RedStreak looked straight at his former friend, unable to believe it. But then, RedStreak noticed Coyotek’s chest; behind the glass frames he saw three blue-white sparks: one was Coyotek’s, and the second Starscream’s, but then there was a third spark, which started to glow white.

Coyotek started to lower his arm, despite Starscream’s control. His eyes changed to bright blue, his head jerking up a bit. "He may not be able to stop you, Starscream…but I can!" the voice of another transformer decreed. With a heavy grunt, Coyotek ripped open his chest place, exposing all three of his sparks. The enigmatic third spark within was flashing brightly, jolts of electricity leaping from it. Starscream’s spark was pulled away, tossed out of Coyotek’s own body.

"NO!" Starscream hollered. A ghost-like image of him surrounded his spark, pale and gray. He turned around to face Coyotek, yelling, "How could you do that? My spark is all powerful!"

"Not to an Autobot!" the other entity within Coyotek replied. Around Coyotek’s body a blue aura formed, taking the shape of a tall, mighty Autobot.

"Ultra Magnus!" gasped Starscream.

"And he’s not alone!" RedStreak’s eyes widened as he looked down at his own chest, a spark slowly emerging from it. It expanded, becoming the ghost-like image of yet another Autobot. He was tall with fiery stripes on his chasse, his head and face almost identical to RedStreak’s own.

"By Primus…Rodimus Prime!" RedStreak exclaimed.

The Autobot turned back to RedStreak and winked. "You can call me HotRod, if you prefer!" Turning back to Starscream, HotRod charged, hitting the Decepticon right in his chest plate. Starscream was knocked back against Vector Delta, falling with a thud to the ground.

The disembodied Decepticon heaved, weakened slightly. Glancing up at HotRod and Ultra Magnus, he narrowed his eyes. "You may have beaten me, Autobots, but your victory will be short-lived!" Starscream’s body condensed into a floating spark hovering a few feet off the ground. "But once I merge with Vector Delta itself, you all shall be reduced to scrap!"

The Decepticon spark flew up, circling around before diving back at the emerald computer. Coyotek and RedStreak watched as the spark flew by. In seconds, Starscream would become one with a device containing power beyond belief.

Then, a split-second beforehand, tiny Waspinator flew between Starscream and Vector Delta. Starscream cried out as he merged with the insect, screaming in agony. "NOOOO!"

Waspinator’s wings and legs were stretched out as energon surges pulsed through his body. "NO!" Waspinator shouted out, "WASPINATOR WANT GLORY! WASPINATOR WANT POWER! IF WASPINATOR CAN’T HAVE…THEN NOBODY WILL!"

Unbelievably, Waspinator’s tiny body doubled in size, then tripled. Within minutes his once tiny and frail wasp body became a large metal frame with silvery wings and green jet intakes for shoulders. A strange new airplane transformer, half Waspinator, half Starscream, gazed at its body with red glowing eyes.

"NO!" Starscream hollered with his whiny voice, "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I’VE MERGED WITH AN INSECT!"

The spark of HotRod reentered RedStreak, the auras of both transformers fading away as Coyotek and RedStreak pointed their weapons at Starscream in his new body. "Game over, Starscream!" Coyotek yelled.

"You two? Ha!" Starscream laughed. Reacting quickly, Starscream jumped to his right, grabbing Vector Delta in his large arms. "Now that I have both Vector Delta and this new body, I’ll destroy you and rule…."

A blast of energy hit one of Starscream’s arms, knocking Vector Delta out of his grasp. It rolled, stopping under the foot of Galvatron. He picked up the computer with one arm and then grabbed Starscream by the neck with the other. "Only Galvatron rules…Starscream." He squeezed his grip on the Decepticon more tightly, choking Starscream. Next he glanced at the slightly smaller forms of RedStreak and Coyotek, both now aiming at Galvatron. "Sorry I can’t stay and scrap you both, but I have a prize and a traitor to attend to!" The cannon mounted to his right arm fired straight down, launching Galvatron and Starscream into the sky like a rocket.

Coyotek tried to fire on the escaping Decepticons, but to no avail. "Slag!" Coyotek stomped his feet to the ground, "They’re getting away!"

"No time to worry about them for the moment," RedStreak said, pointing down towards Ironwood below, "Ironwood’s down, and he needs help!"

Coyotek glanced down, seeing Ironwood lying on a pile of rocks, completely powerless. "Yeah, he’s in trouble, but what are we gonna do to stop that?!" he asked, pointing towards giant DarkStar.

"We’re gonna get Ironwood the power he needs." RedStreak smiled.

Coyotek raised an eyebrow, looking at RedStreak from the corner of his eye. "Say…what?"

RedStreak chuckled. Reaching down to his chest, he said to Coyotek, "Ironwood is solar powered, and without any light, he’s drained. But then again…" His torso plate opened up, a brilliant white spark shining from inside. "I don’t have the spark of light for nothing."

A bright light flashed DarkStar in the face. She groaned, blocking the light with her hand. "Gah! What is that?" she mumbled, looking towards the ledge. As she looked toward RedStreak and Coyotek, Ironwood felt the rays of light shining down on him. A moan exited his mouth, his eyes slowly brightening. He started to stand back up, his feet causing the ground to quake.

"What?" DarkStar muttered, turning around.

Her face was met with a giant fist that knocked her block off. DarkStar fumbled, staggering backwards. Ironwood quickly reacted, deploying every weapon in his arsenal and unleashing it upon his opponent.

"Agh! No!" DarkStar grumbled, holding her arms up in defense. Ironwood pounded her persistently with blast after blast, forcing her back relentlessly.

On the ground below, Megatron growled as he watched Ironwood fight back with his full strength. He glanced to his left, seeing Ironwood and then RedStreak and Coyotek perched on a cliff. To his right he saw Optimus Primal and the other Maximals coming, ready to join the fight. He knew he had no other choice. "DarkStar!" he shouted to her, "Transform and retreat! Retreat!" Megatron transformed into a stealth jet, flying up.

Bitter, DarkStar backed away from Ironwood. "This is not over…yet!" she told Ironwood. She jumped straight up with her powerful legs. In the span of a few seconds her body changed back into a huge battleship, flying off alongside Megatron.

Soon after they left, the sky began to clear up. The three suns of Nebulos shined down once again. Ironwood closed his eyes and stood in their light, soaking in their light. For the first time, Ironwood smiled. "Ironwood…take…nap." The guardian began to transform, becoming a giant redwood of silver and emeralds. He heaved in his beast mode, his branches first stretching out and then settling down peacefully.

In the following minutes, the Maximals gathered around Coyotek and RedStreak. The two opened their chests, releasing a pair of Autobot sparks. Ultra Magnus and HotRod appeared yet again, gazing down at Optimus Primal with their shimmering eyes.

"You are really HotRod and Ultra Magnus, the Autobots of the past?" Primal asked.

"We are," Ultra Magnus said, "We were sent by the Matrix itself to aid these young two, granting them our powers to strength their own."

"This is simply amazing!" RedStreak blurted out excitedly.

HotRod glanced at RedStreak, then at all the other Maximals. "But our task is not over yet. Galvatron has infused himself with the power of Omegracon, and the both of them plan to use Vector Delta as part of some grand scheme." The limb of his helmet arcing down to form a v-shaped eyebrow over his eyes, HotRod added, "And you Maximals are the only ones that can stop it…."