Generation’s End: Part 3
A fanfic by Bill T. Taylor
a.k.a. RedStreak
From Prime’s carrier, Silverbolt’s battleship, and the Kaon it loomed larger than life itself. A great floating black mass of evil design as ever there was. Ravaged, still scared from a battle lost some time ago yet brought to life once more, drawn here to the battle over Char. It was larger than life…it was…Scorpinok.
Optimus Prime and his bewildered crew stared at the image of the Hive monstrosity before their monitors and windows. “By the Matrix of all that’s holy,” Prime uttered, eyes locked onto that terrible site, “how can this be? Scorpinok?”
Onboard the Kaon, a similar terrifying revelation overcame the Decepticons. “Scorpinok? This is impossible! Prime terminated it and Zarak decacycles ago! It can’t be real!” Galvatron declared.
From within the mind of Mindwipe, sitting at his post, Vorath received the sight of Scorpinok with no fear but joyous revelation. “Zarak returned to us! Scorpinok lives!” he declared happily.
The other Headmasters were at a loss to explain the event. “But…how can this be?” Krunk asked aloud from within Snapdragon, “Prime and High-Q destroyed the head of Scorpinok…just as Galvatron said.”
Cyclonus, getting up off the floor from beneath Galvatron’s feet, glanced up at the screen. “I don’t think it matters much now…LOOK!” he yelled, pointing to one of the monitors.
From behind retracting, battered plates of armor armaments deployed. Great blasters and plasma cannons swung out and into position, targeting the swarm of Autobot and Decepticon ships before it. Dark blue-violet energy beginning to charge within the barrels of its guns, the voice of Scorpinok uttered in a rumble, “DESTROY! AUTOBOTS…DESTROY! PRIME…VENGENCE!”
All at once, a massive firestorm erupted of such intensity as to make the prior battle nothing more than a mere firecracker. Prime’s carrier and the Kaon were pelted hard, Silverbolt’s battleship sliced in the middle, while the other numerous Autobot and Decepticon vessels were totally destroyed. Triggerhappy and Misfire, as well as their Hive Targetmasters Blowpipe and Aimless, glanced out their cockpit window just seconds before a giant purple plasma blast vaporized them and their fighter craft. In a second, smaller one-man ship Run-Amok swerved desperately, but a laser blast struck him aside, sending him careening into Rub-About’s similar ship, both exploding in an orange fireball.
Sandstorm grappled the controls of his station, yelling to Prime, “We’ve lost all shields! Critical hits to propulsion and stern sections!”
“Hold your ground Autobots!” Optimus Prime yelled, “We’ve got to weather this firepower!”
An explosion ruptured from RedStreak’s console. He jumped away just in time, thudding hard against the floor with arms over his head, but the damaged station started to groan and bend. Metal tore away with a shriek and in the span of a second the whole wall around it blew out, the void of space exposed directly to the bridge.
A swirling wind tore through the bridge like a whirlwind, the air onboard getting sucked right out of the ship. Sandstorm remained latched to his console, Optimus Prime grabbing Ultra Magnus as he himself gripped the side of the helm station while Quickswitch transformed to panther form, claws gigging into the wall.
RedStreak looked up, his hands slowly slipping. Panting, then moaning fearfully, he tried to reach for something, anything around him as he got dragged out. Just as he was flung through the breach, he snagged an exposed pipe amid the torn wire and shards of metal. It crushed like cheap tinfoil in his grip, barely holding for a few precious moments as RedStreak gazed with wide eyes back at the bridge and his fellow Autobots.
The pipe snapped in two.
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” RedStreak screamed as he was blown out into the black of space, spiraling into nothingness.
“REDSTREAK!” Quickswitch shouted. He released his grip from the wall, changing from panther to robot and to starfighter forms. His engines flamed bright blue-white, the six-changing Autobot yelling, “Hang on Red!” Even as Scorpinok continued to fire, Quickswitch pursued his lost comrade as they both fell toward Char.
Prime, gazed out into the hole in the bridge as Quickswitch’s bright engine glare faded, but then a strange new light shined with blinding intensity. Prime dared a glance back to the front of the bridge, a point of light turning everything stark fluorescent green. Outside, a wide beam of energy was drawn over all the remaining ships, shining out from a beacon on Scorpinok. Like some great cosmic net, it drew them in slowly toward a rectangular portal in its side.
Onboard the Kaon, Galvatron watched as Scorpinok grew much larger in the monitors. “Quickly!” he said to his men, “Turn this ship about! Break us free of that tractor beam by any means necessary!”
With only one functional nacelle still attached, the Kaon started to jerk about like a flopping fish. At the rear, the engine attached to the core of the ship fired up, and slowly the Kaon rotated…and then finally slipped free, flying about the massive, reincarnated derelict.
“Now,” ordered Galvatron, “Find some way aboard him! Let’s bring Scorpinok back under our control now!”
A handful of Autobot vessels were drawn inside the portal leading deep into the bowels of the mechanical beast. With Prime’s carrier inside, two massive airlock doors closed shut, the mouth of the beast swallowing them whole.
Blaster and his two Cassetticon partners, Eject and Rewind, peered over the limb of a dusty hill. Beyond it, amid blocks of rubble that may once have been the foundations of an ancient native building, was a swarm of Decepticons. Among them were the Combaticons and Stunticons who seemed busy loading up Motormaster and Onslaught. Once complete, the pair drove toward an open gateway guarded by Apeface and Astrotrain’s hulking forms.
“This definitely looks like the place,” Eject stated, “Now how do we get in?”
“Eject’s gotta point. The ‘Cons have this place guarded like an energon depository,” said Blaster, his rifle tight against his chest plate.
“Hmmmm,” Rewind uttered in thought. Giving a quick overview of the complex, noting its blockier, aged foundation, the Autobot cassette spoke “The Decepticon facility appears to be built atop an older, indigenous complex. There’s a good chance that, maybe, there’s a network of tunnels leading into it…perhaps even one that’s unguarded.”
“Yeah that’s good in theory, Rewind, but none of us is equipped with a handy-dandy x-ray scope right now…and every minute we waste here another of our buddies in orbit gets scrapped!” griped Eject.
Rewind’s brows narrowed as he glared at his counterpart. “Well I don’t see you giving any useful suggestions….”
Something shrieked in from the sky. The trio of Autobots ducked, fearing a Decepticon air patrol. Instead a pair of meteors streaked down, careening down just above Blaster’s position and smashing into another hill less than a mile away. “What was THAT?” Eject blared in surprise.
Blaster glanced back at the hill, his sensors detecting something strange. “I dunno, but I’m picking up a pair of energy signatures there! Our guys!” Blaster informed his comrades.
Alarms began to sound from the Decepticon complex. Promptly the three Autobots slid down the hill, sounds of Decepticons rushing toward their position. At the bottom of the hill Blaster got to his feet, stowing away his rifle for the moment. “We better get to our friends before the ‘Cons do!” With that, he, Eject, and Rewind ran to the other hill just as Blastoff and Astrotrain soared into the sky.
High above, Scorpinok drifted in orbit silently, a cloud of debris about it. The remains of Autobot and Decepticon ships vaporized by its awesome power floated helplessly, parts of dead transformers mixed in as well. The great Hive creation was still, content with its work seemingly.
A giant armor-plated wall ripped wide open, a molten hole forming through it. Galvatron stood on the other side with his arm cannon smoking as melted metal continued to drip down. “Quickly! Get into the control chamber! We can not continue to hold off Scorpinok’s defenses!”
Quickly Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Decepticon Headmasters filed in through the door, accompanied by the sleek feline form of Ravage and Laserbeak flying in above them. Galvatron himself transformed to cannon mode, blasting over and over again at wall-mounted weapons that seemed endless and ever-persistent.
“Hurry! Galvatron can not fend off Scorpinok’s entire defense grid you lazy bums! Shut them down now!” Scourge demanded.
Cyclonus and Snapdragon rushed to a pair of consoles, trying to access the controls. A small screen gave a directory of programs in Cybertronian text, but locked up automatically. Cyclonus turned toward the two Cassetticons, ordering, “Ravage, Laserbeak, decrypt the access codes to Scorpinok’s systems!”
Instantly the pair of animal-like Decepticons bolted. They each transformed into their cassette forms, sliding into two drives with a click. The computer screens scrambled, sparks flying out from them. Outside in the halls, the wall blasters slowed, and then ceased firing altogether, frozen in their place.
Galvatron transformed back to robotic form and stormed inside the control bay. Glancing around, he bellowed, “WHERE IS ZARAK! I WANT TO CRUSH HIS MISERABLE ORGANIC HIDE IN MY HAND! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU TRAITOR?!”
Cyclonus mumbled, “But Galvatron, he’s not here at all!”
Clenching a fist, Galvatron growled, “Then explain why his security turned on us!”
Scourge looked to the bat-winged Headmaster, Mindwipe. “Perhaps our pscionic colleague here can give some answers.”
“As you wish,” Mindwipe uttered with a sneer at Scourge. With Cyclonus and Galvatron also watching, the Decepticon moved toward one of the consoles, putting one hand on the board, the other against the side of his head. Concentrating, waves of Mindwipe’s telepathic energies entered the machinery, scanning, listening in. Through the console echoes seemed to resonate…throughout the whole of Scorpinok for that matter. Zarak’s voice…but nothing more.
“Strange,” stated Mindwipe to his superiors, “I sense Zarak’s thoughts coursing through the wires and transistors of his creation…his anger, his will…and yet he himself is not with it.”
Galvatron’s frown only deepened. “What nonsense are you babbling?”
“It’s simple, mighty Galvatron!” Vorath detached from Mindwipe, the Decepticon head transforming into the exosuit of the Hive member. Stepping submissively before the much-larger Decepticon, Vorath explained, “When Zarak perished, he was still linked to Scorpinok in robotic form. Part of his mind must have been copied into Scorpinok’s mainframe...granting it some limited form of awareness.”
Cyclonus looked down upon the little Hive member. “You’re saying Zarak has merged with his machine?”
Mindwipe, now in his beast form, hobbled forward. “No,” he uttered in his thick accent reminiscent of Transylvanian Earth-tongue, “Only the subconscious of Zarak entered…his hatred of the Autobots, of Prime…and, to some extent…you, Galvatron.”
Galvatron reached his limit. He stomped forward, shoving Mindwipe aside uncaringly. Reactivating his arm cannon, the Decepticon lord bellowed, “Well then it’s time to debug the ghost in Zarak’s machine then!” He aimed his weapon at the main console….
“NO DON’T!” screamed little Vorath, rushing between Galvatron and Scorpinok’s controls. “Destroy the control console, and you’ll only worsen Zarak’s influence!”
“Out of my way you slagging Nebulon…” growled Galvatron.
Vorath continued his protest. “Please! As long as the internal defenses are deactivated, we have nothing to fear! I…I’ll find a way to debug the glitch myself! I swear it!”
Galvatron was very hesitant to lower his weapon. However, Cyclonus turned toward one side console, smirking. “Besides, Galvatron,” his lieutenant cheerfully added, “we have…other pleasant surprises awaiting.” The console beeped, indicating a presence of Autobots in Scorpinok’s holding bay.
Elsewhere within Scorpinok, Ultra Magnus awoke in darkness. Groaning, he struggled to prop himself up on his bulky arms. “Ugh…Prime! Sandstorm! Quickswitch! RedStreak!” he called out to his comrades.
Another groan sounded from just a few yards away. Slowly, the dim overhead emergency lights came on, flickering on and off as shadow continued to fill the bridge. Prime was laying in front of one station, rising to his knees. In front, Sandstorm grunted, his optics glowing blue as he lay atop his gunner’s position. All three Autobots got to their feet, looking to one another.
“It’s good to see your auto-repair systems restored you, Magnus,” Optimus Prime said to his subcommander, “You’ll be needing them all-too-soon I fear.”
“Where’s RedStreak and Quickswitch?” Ultra Magnus said, glancing around the room, “Where did those two get to?”
Sandstorm glanced toward the torn, gaping hole in the side of the bridge, and then toward Prime, who in turn looked to Ultra Magnus. “The side of the ship exploded just before Scorpinok locked onto us. Quickswitch and RedStreak…were both…sucked into space,” Optimus Prime reluctantly said.
“Then that leaves us three,” Sandstorm bluntly stated.
Suddenly a rumbling echoed just outside. The three Autobots let out a startled gasp, quickly drawing their guns and aiming them toward the ruptured side of the bridge just as a beam of light wandered toward it. The beam shined directly into the bridge, illuminating the three battle-ready Autobots.
“PRIME!”
“WHO GOES THERE?” Prime barked out.
The flashlight attached to his arm dimmed, retracting back and a hand taking its place. Silverbolt jumped into the bridge, joined by Skydive and Fireflight. “What? Don’t recognize your own team mates?” Fireflight smirked.
“We weren’t sure you survived at all!” Skydive said.
Prime lowered his weapon, as did Ultra Magnus. “We’re functional, although I can not say the same for RedStreak and Quickswitch. What happened Aerialbots?” Optimus Prime asked them.
Silverbolt addressed Prime directly. “Our ship is scrapped, as is what’s left of our fleet. Slingshot, Airraid, and us survived though. However the tractor beam Scorpinok projected seemed to have a lethal effect on the rest of our troops.”
“What? You mean there aren’t any other survivors?” blurted Ultra Magnus.
Silverbolt sighed and shook his head with a melancholy expression. Optimus Prime, as his name suggested, wasn’t so entirely pessimistic. “Aerialbots, I want you to salvage what’s left of your ship…and any others, and get to work restoring the carrier with Ultra Magnus and Sandstorm.” Prime pulled out his larger rifle, cocking it. “I’m going to Scorpinok’s cerebral chamber and shut things down personally.”
Ultra Magnus’ hand grabbed Prime’s arm. “Are you crazy Prime? We don’t know who’s controlling this flying fortress or if….”
KA-BOOM!
All six Autobots were rattled where they stood. An explosion came from the front of Scorpinok’s massive holding bay. Light from a blasted airlock shined in, eleven figures standing before it. Scourge, Cyclonus, Mindwipe, Ravage, Laserbeak, and the six Constructicons were gathered, all in robotic mode with weapons drawn and ready.
“AUTOBOTS!” shouted out Cyclonus, “DIE!”
More explosions shook the bay, forcing the remaining Autobots to retreat into Prime’s already damaged carrier. Silverbolt, glancing around the corner with his electrostatic rifle in his hand said, “Well looks like we know who’s in charge now!”
“Galvatron with a capital G!” Sandstorm added, reaching around to fire off a few shots. “What should we do Prime?” The triple-changer glanced back inside the bridge. “Prime?”
A huge blare of horns echoed off the port bow of the carrier. Optimus Prime with his battle trailer came storming straight at the platoon of Decepticons. The two black turret-cannons mounted atop the trailer blazed hot. Scourge bolted, leaving Cyclonus and Mindwipe to take to brunt of the damage. As Scourge rolled on the floor, he aimed his blaster at Prime’s trailer, shooting…blowing out one of Prime’s rear tires in the process.
Optimus Prime swerved hard, smashing against the side of the wall hard. Silverbolt and Ultra Magnus both saw this, eyes wide. “Prime needs us!” Ultra Magnus yelled out, rushing out of the open hole in the bridge’s side. He aimed his own rifle and fired at Scourge, shooting one of the Decepticon’s back-mounted wings.
A firefight quickly broke out amongst the factions. Ultra Magnus, backed by the Aerialbots, fired with all their guns. Sandstorm rode down the carrier ramp in dune buggy form, shooting with his mounted weapons in concert.
“Time to take this up a notch!” said Cyclonus, “Constructicons, unite!”
Scrapper stepped forward, confident as ever. “Right!” Turning to his comrades, he said, “Constructicons, merge into….UGH!”
As the Constructicon commander fell forward, one of Prime’s trailer-mounted turrets smoked, still turned in Scrapper’s direction. “Not today, Cyclonus!” Prime declared. His trailer backed up and swerved slowly, headlights beaming at the remaining nine Decepticons.
Ravage growled as he stood his ground at Cyclonus’ feet. Cyclonus glared at Prime. “This WILL be your last day, Optimus Prime!” Then, just as Cyclonus dared to take a step forward, a giant foot slammed down before the congregation, shaking the interior. Superion, his head nearly grazing the top of the lofty chamber, stood before them. Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Decepticons drew their guns instead upon him in an instant…but before a shot was fired, Superion fired his own rifle.
BOOM!
As the Decepticons were scattered, Ultra Magnus with Sandstorm, standing a short ways from the Aerialbot giant, called out to Optimus Prime. “Prme!” Ultra Magnus yelled, “Go for it! We’ll stop the Decepticons here!”
Without haste, Prime’s engine revved hard, the Autobot commander making tracks out the open hatchway. However, as Prime left, from beneath the piled bodies of Long Haul and Bonecrusher, Mindwipe let out an angry groan as he crawled out. Glancing toward Superion as the giant focused on Cyclonus and Scourge, he focused himself.
“You may be powerful, Superion,” he softly spoke, “But mind over matter always wins out over crude brute strength!” Psionic energy emanated out at Superion, catching the giant by surprise. Struggling for barely half a minute, the Autobot Gestalt was possessed, turning away from the Decepticons and, instead, aiming his rifle at Ultra Magnus and Sandstorm.
Ultra Magnus could only stare up with the equally stunned triple-changer. “Oh damn…”
On Char, Astrotrain and Blastoff transformed and descended from above. Driving over the ridge quickly came Onslaught, Brawl, Swindle, and Vortex, the last of the Combaticons in robotic form. They gathered around a crater set in a carved-out hill.
“Well, what the Pit did we get dragged out here for?” Swindle bluntly asked.
“From what I saw it was just some lame meteor blasting into this dead landscape,” Blastoff scoffed, “Soundwave’s having us chasing debris of all things.”
Onslaught turned with a peeved look. “Soundwave says his sensors detected Autobot signatures! Galvatron put him in charge here so what he says goes! Search the area!”
The Combaticons and Astrotrain began to break off into groups. Blastoff and Vortex went past a scruffy looking rock formation, Blastoff uttered, “What a waste of a command post,” in regards to Soundwave’s directive.
Two blue optics watched from slits in the rock face. Behind the rocky exterior, the formation was really some buried bunker, rusted out and eroded with age. Once the Decepticons passed, Blaster turned away toward his group, Rewind and Eject, now joined by Quickswitch and a damaged RedStreak.
“The ‘Cons are gone,” Blaster told his crew, “But I dunno how much longer I can keep jamming our signatures out. My transistors are killing me!” Already shots of static sparked from the switches on his lower torso, his circuits nearly overloading from the effort of masking five Autobot signatures at once.
Rewind looked toward the new arrivals from above. “Lucky for you we found you first, as well as this hideout too!” Quickswitch stood beside RedStreak’s body, Eject working on an open hatch in his stomach. “It’s amazing you two survived in as good as condition as you are,” Rewind further spoke, “Apart from the damage to RedStreak’s servo systems.”
“Thank you, Rewind,” Quickswitch politely said to the Cassetticon, “and I’m sad to hear about Skylynx too. The battle in orbit was not going well when myself and Red were blown into space.”
Blaster stepped forward. “All the more reason to get our job done here! At least now with you and RedStreak we also have a way of getting off this death rock with a little transwarp zip-drive!”
Eject wasn’t so enthusiastic. “Dunno about that. Red’s online but flight is not an option for him right now…or walking…or movin’.”
“I’m just fine!” protested RedStreak, “I can move when I…agh!”
“Perhaps you should sit this one out, Red,” Chip suggested. RedStreak’s head detached, Chip hoping down onto the Autobot’s chest plate. “You should just concentrate on your auto-repair systems; Blaster and the rest of us should handle things at the antimatter plant easily.” Glancing up at Blaster, Chip further added, “Besides, the fewer energy signatures, the better.”
RedStreak groaned a bit, unable to move or really protest. “Rrrrr…fine! Not like I could stop any of you anyway. Just don’t think to leave me behind guys.”
Minutes later, Blaster, Rewind, Eject, and Chip made their way further down into the bunker…toward the main antimatter reactor as Chip’s advanced sensors could deduce. However, the tunnel came to an abrupt dead end, a sheer face of rock jutting directly into the path. “Slag! An earthquake must have occurred years ago, after the natives died out with no one to repair this!” stated Rewind.
“Looks like we’ll need to find another route,” Chip said disheartedly.
Quickswitch looked to Chip. “Do you humans always give up so easily?” The six-changer’s body shifted, components folding and unfolding at once. Assuming his old drill form, Quickswitch said, “You forget my first function on Darius as a tunnel-maker!” With a loud whirl, Quickswitch’s drill dug into the solid rock, plowing through the gray stone layers like light snow.
Blaster smiled down at Chip as they watched Quickswitch excavate. “You’ve got to hand it to him! He’s literally six-times the charm!”
In a remote section of the Decepticon complex, a distant rumbling could be heard. A single console attached to a wall started to rattle. Like some cheap washing machine it shook more and more until, with a crunch, the shinning tip of a drill poked through. The drill pulled back in, muffled voices coming from behind the panel.
“Lemme through first,” Blaster promptly said. Slowly, two sets of hands broke through, metal crunching as the large red Autobot made a large enough opening. First Blaster, then Quickswitch, and finally Rewind, Eject, and Chip emerged. They had arrived.
The room was a stowage bay, just barely large enough to hold a striped-down Autobot battleship. Instead of ships though, numerous missiles were stored, some with glowing green-blue cores shining like pools of moonlight in the dark confines. “Man, the jackpot,” Blaster said, he and the others looking close at one loaded missile, “Galvatron must be shifting their antimatter production into full-gear! Enough here to blow not just Cybertron, but a hundred planets man!”
“Maybe we could set one of these off,” suggested Chip, “Doesn’t matter which one blows first…so long as we’ve got time to escape!”
“Negative Chip ‘ol pal,” said Blaster, “Prime wants the main reactor blown, not some dinky missile. I think that was part of Perceptor’s calculations or somethan’.”
A door suddenly cranked open. “Quick, hide guys!” Blaster suggested. He transformed, shrinking down into a boom box with Eject and Rewind both ducking inside him. Quickswitch immediately grabbed Chip and ducked behind a row of missiles, quietly peaking around the corner as a few Decepticons walked in.
Breakdown, Thrust, Dirge, and the Decepticon clones Wingspan and Pounce entered with heavy feet. Quickswitch and Chip cringed as the group passed close by, two loaded missiles carried by Thrust and Dirge and Wingspan and Pounce respectively. Breakdown grabbed two empty missile shells, the others setting down the loaded warheads in their place.
Dirge stumbled, his end of the missile clunking down onto his foot. “OUCH!” he yelled.
“Careful you goon!” Thrust scorned him, “One wrong flick and you’ll blow us all to kingdom come!”
“Sorry,” moaned Dirge. With no further incident, the five Decepticons left once again. Behind Breakdown the doors began to close to seal the armaments bay. Quickswitch pounced, straddling the heavy doors open with his bare hands.
Grunting, he said to Chip in a strained voice, “Uh…Chip! Get Blaster, now!” Chip quickly ran from his hiding spot. He snagged Blaster, still in his small and compact form and ran between the doors. Quickswitch gave a final grunt, then he himself rushed between the doors, slamming hard behind them. The six-changer leaned on his knees, groaning.
“Whoa! That looked tough!” quoted Chip.
Still in Chip’s hands, Blaster spoke aloud, “Not bad, but we still need to find that core and take it down ASAP!”
Chip glanced about the room – numerous hallways leading out in all directions, but not one aimed in the direction of the main reactor. Then his eyes spied a large vent cover mounted to a wall not even at his height – little more than ankle height to an Autobot. “Bingo! A vent!” he said, rushing to it, “If this vent leads down to the reactor room, we could slide you, Eject, and Rewind down to set the charges!”
“Hold on there buckaroo,” said Blaster, “We need to scout ahead…make sure the way’s cleared.” He clicked one of the buttons at his waist, ejecting Rewind from his chest. The Cassetticon now standing before them tore off the hinges of the vent. “Alright Rewind,” Blaster said, still in his transformed state, “Slide down and see what you can see.”
Rewind nodded, and slid feet-first down the ventilation shaft, which led deep, deep down. Crouching down at the end, Rewind peered through yet another vent cover. There it stood, just as he’d seen it before: the Decepticon’s antimatter core. It stood there in its chamber, glowing bright green with blobs of blue-green circulating…not unlike the weird lava lamp the human Spike kept in his room.
Rewind glanced back and cupped his hand to the side of his mouth. He whispered up through the vents to Blaster and the others, “All clear down here…and the reactor core’s unguarded!”
“Good recon Rewind!” Blaster. Turning toward Chip, Blaster said, “Alright, I want you to slide me and Eject down the shaft. Once we got that beauty of a bomb in place, we’ll set the timer and get ‘da slag outta here.”
“Sounds good to me…assuming RedStreak’s systems will be operational,” stated Quickswitch.
“Let’s hope so, ‘cause if we’re not gone we’re all going to look like burnt-out toaster ovens,” Blaster frankly stated. Once again Blaster transformed, shrinking down with his legs wrapping around the sides of his body. Chip immediately grabbed the handle and gingerly set the boom box into the shaft. By himself Blaster slid down the slanted shaft. Near the end, he started to transform, yelling out to Rewind, “Look out Rewind! The Blaster’s coming through!”
Blaster’s two giant feet crashed through the vent leading into the reactor chamber. Once on his feet, Eject emerged from within Blaster’s torso and transformed, landing on his feet with one of his gold guns in his hands. Rewind jumped down and joined the duo, all three Autobots armed and ready.
After glancing around for a minute, Blaster reached into his chest compartment, pulling out the bomb. “Well…no sign of Decepti-goons or any booby traps. My sensors show things as all clear here.” Glancing at his vague reflection in the bomb’s glossy casing, Blaster said, “Let’s just plant this thing and move.”
Blaster and Rewind went to the cylindrical reactor core and started prepping the bomb. Eject patrolled the chamber…his finger twitching on his pistol’s trigger. Rewind located the best place to attach it and Blaster opened its casing, flipping the proper switches in sequential order. Eject continued his vigil regardless, but then, on his forth walk about the room he paused. He glanced toward a corner…a small, boxy blue and white device just sitting there unobtrusively. “Say…what the heck is this?” Eject muttered, bending down and looking at it. Then his optics went wide.
A small, purple Decepticon icon was emblazed on the glassy front.
Blaster, sticking the bomb to the side of the transparent reactor wall, said greatfully, “There! Blaster’s little blaster is set and ready to rumble this planet! Alright, now to trigger the timer and….”
“Buzzsaw eject! Operation interception!”
Suddenly a cassette popped out of the device, transforming into a gold avian Decepticon. With a loud squawk it flew out, knocking Eject onto his back. With outstretched talons it snatched from Blaster the small remote and circled back. Immediately the device Eject spotted grew large and unfolded itself. A distinct-looking blue Decepticon took shape with a cannon mounted to his right shoulder and a red visor-like eye glaring emotionlessly above a broad faceplate.
“Soundwave!” Blaster declared.
“Correct, Autobot,” Soudwave replied in his rumbling, electronic voice. Buzzsaw dropped the remote into Soundwave’s palm then fluttered down onto Soundwave’s left shouloder, cooing and cawing a bit.
“The remote!” Rewind yelled, and rushed at Soundwave.
With a flick of his wrist, Soundwave pressed a button, his clear chest plate opening with another pair of cassettes flying out. One blue and the other red and black transformed, Rumble and Frenzy landing with twin guns in their hands. They fired dead-on at both Blaster and Rewind, leaving smoking burn holes in both Autobots as they fell to the floor with a loud clank.
A laser bolt suddenly struck Buzzsaw, the bird Cassetticon letting out a scream as it fell from its perch on Soundwave’s shoulder to the floor…his red optics fading. The blue Decepticon turned about and discovered Eject still up and about. The tiny Autobot fired twice on him, but left nothing more than miniscule scratches on his shoulders and chest.
Grabbing Eject around the waist with his bare hand, Soundwave uttered, “Autobot persistence…futile. Your termination is now!” He flung out Eject into the air, and with his other pulled out his large blaster gun. Soundwave fired once, hitting and blasting straight through Eject’s torso. What landed on the floor was little more than a blackened husk.
Rumble and Frenzy reached up and gave each other a high-five. “Alright! Three points for Soundwave’s team!” Rumble declared.
“Yeah!” Frenzy cheered with a broad smile.
As his underlings ranted and cheered, Soundwave activated his com-link. “Soundwave to Galvatron: Autobot attempt at antimatter reactor core sabotage…averted. Autobot infiltration unit…non-functional.”
“Excellent,” Galvatron’s grainy voice replied from the other end of Soudwave’s com-link, “My faith in you was very much justified. Proceed with missile production; soon we’ll be loading them aboard Scorpinok for an assault on….”
Suddenly static filled the air. A second transmission was interfering with Soundwave’s communication! “Chip, Quickswitch! Get out of here! The Decepticons have us pinned down….”
“Autobot still online!” Soundwave blared. He turned about, catching Blaster speaking while flipping down one of his switches. Soundwave paused before preparing to fire, glancing up high up on one wall, spotting the busted-open air duct. Soundwave clicked on his com-link once again, calling out on a different frequency. “Attention all Decepticons! Autobot intrusion in reactor complex! Search and destroy all intruders!”
Chip managed to hear Blaster’s signal, as did Quickswitch. “Oh shit!” Chip swore, “We’ve got to get out of here!” From around one corner of the halls came blaring alarms and the tromping of metal feet rushing toward them. Quickswitch fired down one of the halls, sealing it shut momentarily.
“What should we do? Blaster is….” Quickswitch began to say.
“It’s his mission,” Chip flatly told the six-changer, “Besides Blaster is not out of it yet! We’ve got to get back to RedStreak before they find him too!”
Quickswitch turned toward the hall from which they came. “Then hop on,” he suggested. He transformed to his winged panther form, Chip quick to jump onto his back. Growling and huffing, Quickswitch ran, getting up to speed. His wings stretched and flapped, increasing the strides in his great leaps.
Around one corner came Six-Shot and a platoon of Decepticons. “Get them!” he exclaimed angrily. They fired massively, but Quickswitch was already bounding away to the storage bay. When the doors sealed behind, he transformed back to robot mode and used one of his rifles to weld the doorway shut. “Hopefully that will grant us a few more minutes,” he stated with Chip at his side.
A large white fist suddenly punched through the wall. Chip, gulping, added, “Yeah…about two!” He and Quickswitch fled instantly, the sealed panels receiving several more poundings before ripping wide apart. Six-Shot stomped forward, seeing the gouged-out exit in one of the consoles. Another Decepticon stepped forth, but Six-Shot shot up an arm to block him.
“No…this one is mine,” he said.
“Soundwave…Soundwave!” Galvatron yelled into his com-link. “Damn it! What the Pit is going on down there?”
As Galvatron stood in the control room, the thick bulkhead door guarding it groaned loudly. A giant metal foot smashed through it, and behind it suddenly marched Optimus Prime in his decked-out Powermaster form, looming over both Galvatron and the control room itself.
“SOUNDS LIKE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED A LITTLE INTERFERANCE, GALVATRON!” Prime’s voice boomed as Galvatron stepped back, “I’M ENDING THIS HERE AND NOW!”
Gasping as the enlarged Prime tromped toward him, Galvatron managed to say, “So…you’ve come to kill me Optimus!”
Prime stopped just a few yards from Galvatron, standing nearly three times higher than him. “No,” his voice droned, “I’ve come to stop you, not kill you Galvatron.”
Galvatron smirked. “A shame….”
With a jerk, his right arm lashed out with its glowing cannon. He fired square on Prime’s chest, hitting the spot that would have been occupied by High-Q in engine form. Prime yelled and stumbled to his knees. He detached from his trailer and fell, transforming back into his smaller, normal robotic form, still bearing the wound Galvatron dealt him.
“I’d almost call your new form…impressive Optimus,” Galvatron smiled upon his weakened opponent, “but clearly without your new binary-bonded partner it is flawed.” Leaning down as Prime struggled to his knees, Galvatron further bragged, “That is why I’ve never undergone the binary-bond process.”
Suddenly Galvatron’s foot swung out, delving bluntly into the wound, knocking Prime back. Storming forward, Galvatron shoved Prime with his elbow into a wall hard. “It leaves one dependent…weak!” Delivering a punch that made Prime groan in pain, Galvatron gloated further still, “Whereas I…I am strong as ever!”
Coughing, Prime glared up at the Decepticon tyrant. “And arrogant! RAAGH!” He charged directly at Galvatron, knocking him against the opposite row of consoles forcefully. Galvatron growled, and shoved Prime back as he leaned against one battered console.
Galvatron smiled, whipping the mech-flood oozing from the side of his mouth. “Finally Prime...I’ve been waiting a long time for this! A long time indeed!”
Chip rushed through the long corridors of the underground, gasping and nearly choking with exhaustion. Frequently he glanced back, holding the green and red gun in his hand firmly with a twitchy demeanor. He never hesitated for more than a second though – the Decepticon alarms could still he heard.
“I think we gave ‘em the slip for now Quickswitch,” said Chip, tossing the gun into the air. The weapon transformed, enlarging itself and landing in the form of the six-changing Autobot. Together both he and Chip ran the final stretch of the tunnel.
Everything was dark as he sat there, but he was not deaf or numb. RedStreak, laying for what seemed like hours in pseudo-stasis-locked against the wall of the rotted-out bunker, with nothing to do but wait…after all without a head what more could a Headmaster do? He stirred to life when his auxiliary audio sensors picked up sounds coming from one of the tunnels. RedStreak’s frame rose up, his hands bracing him against the wall. “About time you two showed up! Where’s Blaster and his guys though?” he asked.
“No time to explain RedStreak,” Chip quickly stated. The human in his exosuit leaped up and bonded to the Autobot, returning to him his head. “We need to jet out of here and recontact Prime and the fleet, stat!”
“Terrific,” RedStreak muttered, “Two hours of doing nothing and then two minutes to jet out and save our skidplates!” From the wings to his sides swung down his torpedo launchers. A double-round fired simultaneously, blasting a huge gaping hole in the bunker ceiling with nothing but blue-gray sky above. His launchers snapping back against his wings, RedStreak arched his legs, preparing to jump through the opening. “Well this ‘bot’s not one to hesitate in an already bad….”
A violet blast struck RedStreak in the shoulder, the Autobot yelling and tumbling to his left side on the floor. Quickswitch glanced to his left and saw him…holding his twin white rifles in his hands, one smoking. “Father,” muttered Quickswitch.
“Son,” came a reply. Six-shot stepped forward, his face plate stern and fixed on the Autobot six-changer. Still staring at Quickswitch, Six-shot stowed away one weapon but kept the second still in his hand. “This is you final chance, Quickswitch. Throw down your arms and surrender that pile of junk. You can still be with me…my former son. Your mother…would want it that way.”
Quickswitch narrowed his eyes. “There were a lot of things mother wanted,” Six-shot’s son stated, “But not like this.”
Six-shot stepped forward, his free-hand balling up. “You refuse? Then…DIE!” Six-shot’s body flung itself up, transforming into a laser pistol. He fired over and over again, the bunker set aflame with his fires.
A single shot penetrated the smoke and embers, striking the hovering weapon down to thud against the floor. RedStreak staged out, holding Quickswitch in blaster mode in his own hand. He released Quickswitch, allowing him to resume his robotic form. RedStreak tumbled forward, the six-changer catching him before he fell to the floor.
“You’re hurt!” Quickswitch noted RedStreak’s limp.
“Heh,” chuckled RedStreak, “Not to sound like ‘ol Megatron but…I still function.”
“Chip,” Quickswitch spoke to RedStreak’s head directly, “What’s the stats?”
“Slag,” Chip replied through RedStreak’s com-link, “That shot didn’t just damage his servos, but his transwarp drive as well.”
Quickswitch looked at his friend, then heard a rumbling from behind him. Glancing back he saw the rubble where Six-shot landed, and saw a hand twitching from out of it. “Quick,” he said to RedStreak and Chip, “Transform to flight mode. I have an idea.”
As RedStreak shifted to his starfighter from with Chip sitting in his open cockpit, Quickswitch reached down to his ankle and extracted a glowing crystal encased in a transparent module. Reaching to the engine section of RedStreak, he opened a partially damaged slot. Inserting the faintly glowing module, he said to the Headmaster, “There. I’m jury-rigging my transwarp cell to your drive system. Take the first star out and head on to Earth.”
Chip peared out at Quickswitch. “But you’ll be stranded here! We can’t leave both you and Blaster….”
“RAAAGH!” Six-shot erupted out of the rubble in the form of an angry wolf-beast. He leered his eyes in their directions, growling with gaping, fanged jaws.
“JUST GO!” Quickswitch said, slamming down the cockpit canopy over Chip. Quickly he reached back and pressed a button within his installed transwarp module. Instantly RedStreak’s engines fired up, the starfighter arcing straight up without stopping. A streak of crimson light shined through the bunker ceiling, diminishing to a fading red star.
“Farewell…my friends,” said Quickswitch. He turned toward Six-shot, the Decepticon still in his beast mode with a bitter snarl on his mechanical mug. “So it comes to this father!” he boldly said, “We shall indeed be together…to the very end!”
Prime and Galvatron exchanged blows over and over again in Scorpinok’s control chamber. Sparks flew and weapons fired streaks of vibrant light. Prime smashed against one wall, his indent left hard in the titanium casing. Galvatron laughed, standing with burn marks left by Prime’s own guns on his chest, arms, and knees.
“Just like some many times…so many years ago,” Galvatron laughed, “Oh somehow despite my hatred for you and your kind Prime…I’ve enjoyed these little battles of ours!”
Getting back up, Prime reassuringly spoke to his nemesis, “This is the last time Galvatron! No more battles after this!”
His smile growing wider, Galvatron replied, “Oh I so readily agree with your words Prime!” He transformed, his head retracting and gold cannon reattaching as the tyrant lord shifted to cannon form. “THIS IS INDEED THE END!”
Mustering ever ounce of energy within him, Prime ran. Like a machine gun Galvatron fired over and over again, leaving a trail of fiery holes in the already battered walls and consoles. He kept on Prime with his targeting systems, blasting over and over again relentlessly.
Suddenly, Prime stopped entirely. Galvatron swiveled into position with the treads on his support mounts, taking special aim with his golden weapon. “The Great War of the Autobots and Decepticons ends now, Optimus Prime!” Galvatron fired his final shot….
There was a blast, smoke wavering out. Spark sputtered out from wires as they wobbled like dying snakes. Circuits were blackened and the glass framing was torn open, revealing what lay within in total disarray.
Prime stood back up slowly with the pride only an Autobot leader could know. He had ducked, and instead of him, Galvatron…in his rage, his arrogance, and his loathing…struck instead….
“THE MAIN CONTROL CONSOLE! NOOOOO!” Galvatron bellowed.
With one eye cocked a little higher than the other, Optimus Prime said to the Decepticon, “You should have been watching where you aimed.”
The remaining consoles in the room suddenly switched on, glowing with renewed life. A deep hum echoed through the halls and corridors. Scorpinok was stirring to life once again.
A row of screens on the back wall switched on, fuzzy images forming on them. The face of the dead Hive commander, now nothing more than a mere static ghost in the machine, stared out at Galvatron remorselessly. “GALVATRON,” boomed Zarak’s voice through the computers, “DESTROY…GALVATRON! VENGENCE…NOW!”
“NO!” shouted Galvatron in his robotic form. Angrily he fired at the screens, trying to wipe away Zarak’s frowning face with his one eye gleaming at him. As the Decepticon fired away, slots in the ceiling and floor opened. Metal tentacles, robotic arms, and shackles all emerged, all grabbing and wrapping around Galvatron’s body. The Decepticon fired futile shots but was overwhelmed too quickly. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Optimus Prime briefly saluted the Decepticon before transforming and rolling out.
“DAMN YOU PRIME! DAMN YOU TO THE DEEPEST PITS OF THE INFERNO!” yelled out Galvatron as more robotic traps encircled him, “YOU’LL NEVER GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE!”
Optimus Prime drove at full speed in the halls in truck form. His trailer maneuvered awkwardly with one flat tire, but its armaments made up for it by blasting emerging defense weapons and grasping claws from the walls. “Got to get back to the hanger! Got to get everyone out of here!” he told himself.
Back at the antimatter facility on Char, Soundwave stood over Blaster’s wreak with his optics trained on him. “Your mission has failed, Blaster. Autobot plan to devastate Char and the Decepticon forces…failed. Anticipation of this maneuver was made on my part,” Soundwave said to Blaster as the Autobot laid on the floor. In his bare hand, he crunched the remote control for Blaster’s bomb into dust.
“Yeah,” Frenzy said with a smile, “Soundwave’s the greatest! You stupid Autobots never saw it coming!”
Blaster groaned, gritting his teeth. He glanced over the room, seeing Rewind and Eject’s dead bodies just yards away from him. Blaster’s own legs were crippled, his internal systems mortally wounded. His end was going to be in this room, this chamber at the Decepticon’s lair.
Blaster made a sudden realization. THE BOMB!
He saw it…still attached to the reactor core casing. Without the remote, there was no way of activating it. But before…he recalled something…specifically what Perceptor warned of. It was something about the casing…a flaw in it….
Blaster smiled.
The Autobot pulled out his rifle. Frenzy, Rumble, and Soundwave immediately drew theirs, aiming directly at his head. “Cease your actions, Autobot!” stated Soundwave, “Your mission…failed. Further resistance to us…useless.”
“Oh…I ain’t aiming at you guys,” Blaster smiled. With his smiling face, he turned to the reactor. His arm he raised up and swung about, the end of his rifle taking aim at the bomb.
“Oh slag! He’s aiming for the bomb!” shrieked Rumble.
Blaster was always cocky for an Autobot. His trademark confidence and grin remained with him when all else had left him. His rifle aimed and charged, he pulled its trigger. “LOOK OUT AND SHOUT! YOW!” Blaster exclaimed.
The bomb’s casing vaporized in less than a millisecond. The antimatter core shattered, and in that same instant, a chain reaction occurred in the blink of an eye. Matter and antimatter reacted, annihilating each other and throwing out a shockwave of pure, unfathomable energy.
Like a stick of dynamite the entire Decepticon facility exploded in the multi-megaton blast. Rock and metal vaporized…the energy cloud rapidly dissipating and turning into a cool, transpartent and expanding shockwave of electrostatic energy. The few surviving transformers not caught in the blast were engulfed, spasming in agony before their bodies turned dark gray and crumbled like dust.
Six-shot and Quickswitch, father and son, were still locked in combat when the wave swept over them. They too turned dark and fell to pieces within their cavernous battleground. As Quickswitch assured his father, they remained together to the end….
From orbit Char had become engulfed in a faint, fuzzy bubble…one that was growing and expanding out into naked space. Scorpinok haplessly drifted in its wake…awaiting oblivion as those aboard struggled for survival.
A set of heavy hanger doors blew open from inside. Once the explosion subsided, a might carrier flew out at top speed like a canary through the open door of its cage. The Aerialbots, Sandstorm, Ultra Magnus, and Optimus Prime were aboard, Prime at the command seat himself. “Let’s roll out Autobots!” he commanded.
The gold carrier, battered but its icon of the Autobots still red and readily visible, blasted off, fading to a gold point of life amid the stars.
In the control chamber Galvatron growled angrily and tugged hard. The metal tentacles and wires binding him snapped. Forcefully he tore himself free, even as more and more of Scorpinok’s internal defenses rushed at him. His cannon took care of the rest.
Gazing out through a narrow slotted window, the Decepticon lord saw it coming at them from Char. Already the wave was large, expanding beyond the limited view the windows provided. Silently, Galvatron stared, then stepped out of the control room.
Silently and expressionlessly, Galvatron made his way to a special room. There, a throne…his throne, donned with the Decepticon symbol as well, sat, waiting for him. Solemnly Galvatron walked to it and turned about, taking a seat in it. He put his hands together as he sat there, staring blankly.
“My time…has yet to pass,” uttered Galvatron.
In the span of a single blink, the electrostatic wave enveloped Scorpinok. In a matter of seconds all the lights went black. Within Scorpinok’s now dark halls the bodies of Cyclonus, Scourge, Scrapper and his Constructicons, Mindwipe and the Headmasters simply drifted…totally devoid of life. Galvatron alone remained fixed in place. The lord of Decepticons still sat on his throne with that determined, menacing expression. Galvatron knew not what the future was…but was certain his time had not yet passed.
Ultra Magnus, staring out at a screen with the faint dot of Char visible, muttered three words. “We did it.”
It ought to have been a time of joy, of jubilance…but aboard Optimus Prime’s carrier it was not. For a long minute…the longest minute in all the eleven-some million years of transformer history…from the Great Revolution to the ancient war games…to the departure of the Ark…to the battle at Sherman Dam to the battle of Unicron…no other moment in history was ever so quiet.
Optimus Prime let out a calm sigh. “Yes…we did it. The Decepticons are no more. The Great War…has finally ended.”
Just as smiles finally began appearing on the Autobots’ faces, something suddenly shuttered through the ship. Stumbling, Silverbolt asked aloud, “Enemy fire?”
Prime and Ultra Magnus gazed out the window. “No,” Prime replied, “Something far worse….”
A wave of blackness, of evil…was flying through space. It had merely passed by them uncaringly, that force of entropy focused elsewhere in the cosmos…determined to ravage and consume….
To Be Continued…