03.Mar.07

Beast Wars Rekindled
By Spectre the Hechidnat

Chapter 13: Dinobot’s Dilemma

Sitting in his command chair, Dimitri was at a loss. Despite the use of his Chaos Emerald bomb, both Knucklehead and Deathstreak had survived, only to return more powerful than ever. In addition, Speedbat's Maximal programming had been restored, and now four Maximals were aligned against the Dark Legion.

Dimitri sat back, staring at the ceiling. He now wished he had never gotten involved in this matter, wished that he had never heard of the Transformers. Now that they were here, he just wished they were gone.

Suddenly, an idea came to Dimitri's mind. Activating a communication channel, he sent a transmission to the city of Albion. Soon enough, his screen depicted Gala-Na, High Councilor of Albion. Given her reputation for preemptive strikes to eliminate threats to the city, Dimitri was sure he could convince her to aid him in his cause.

"Dimitri? What do you want?"

"Councilor, I call to make a deal with you."

"And why would the Dark Legion want to make a deal with Albion?"

"Because we can help each other. In recent weeks, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix have proven their insanity by activating several dangerous robots from another planet. These entities are a threat to all on Mobius, and they must be eradicated!"

"So why are you calling me?"

"Because I know of your sense of caution. I also know that my Legion cannot defeat these creatures alone. I wish to propose an alliance between us. Working together, we will capture and destroy these Transformers. If we are successful, Albion will be safe from their threat, and I will have peace of mind. In addition, I promise to assist you in any way I can with the gathering of the Echidna race in Albion."

Gala-Na was silent for a moment, mulling over his words. She did not trust the Dark Legion, but she did not want to take the risk that he could be right. On top of that, her ultimate goal was to reunify the entire Echidna species within the confines of Albion. Finally, she nodded.

"I agree to your terms."

Dinobot and Twinbrush walked through Great Forest, collecting various samples for research purposes. Dinobot had informed all the Maximals of their mission as explorers, and as such dedicated them to learning more about planet and animal life on this reincarnated Earth. Twinbrush was more than happy to help, her only complaint being that Knucklehead was not her partner.

Dinobot paused, his sharp audio sensors detecting something. "Do you hear..."

He was cut off as a barrage of laser beams sliced through the foliage, knocking Twinbrush to the ground. Before he could help her, another barrage fired, every beam aimed at him. After several more bombardments, Dinobot fell to the ground, unconscious.

Twinbrush, hanging on to the edge of awareness, saw Dark Legion troops and several other non-cyborg Echidnas emerge from the trees. Sensing the danger, she drew upon every reserve of strength she had and leaped to her feet. Unable to help Dinobot in her damaged condition, she ran back towards Knothole, moving faster than the Echidnas could hope to go.

Some time later, Knucklehead watched gravely as Twinbrush lay down to go into regenerating stasis lock. She had arrived back at Knothole badly damaged to tell her friends of Dinobot's peril and of the attackers. After that, the others had insisted that she get some rest to heal.

"Those other Echidnas have to be from Albion," Knuckles growled.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Julie-Su asked.

"It makes sense; those guys would try something like this," Rotor replied.

"But why would they work with the Dark Legion?" Speedbat enquired.

"They've probably been duped. What matters now is that Dinobot is in trouble, and we need to get to him," Knucklehead put in.

Rotor nodded. "I've got just the thing. It's a special teleporter that won't give of any energy signature, so you won't be detected by Albion's sensors."

Taking the device from Rotor, the other four huddled together as Knucklehead activated it. With a flash of light, they disappeared.

Opening her eyes, Julie-Su looked around at the forest of Mercia. It was almost the double of Great Forest, except for a few location differences. Knuckles glanced around, breathed in deeply and sighed. "Cleanest air on the Mobian surface that isn't filtered. Great Forest has a bit of pollution in it from Robotropolis."

"Of course you're the only one who'd notice that," Knucklehead replied.

Before they could continue, a voice rang out. "Halt, knaves, or my bow's song shall give you more quills than I possess!"

The Maximal leader whirled around to find the speaker standing in a nearby tree, an arrow drawn back on his large bow. Except for the difference in fur color and his brown shirt and hood, he was a Hedgehog nearly identical to Sonic. However, by his accent and odd manner of talking, Knucklehead guessed that the two weren't even related.

Before he could react further, Knuckles came walking around from behind him. "Well if it isn't Mercia's resident Freedom Fighter. I might have known we'd run into you, Rob!"

"Sir Knuckles! Forgive me, fellow warrior, I did not see you beyond your large companion." With that, the Hedgehog relaxed his bow, putting the arrow into a quiver on his back. He then jumped to the ground, bowing to his visitors. "Rob O' The Hedge, at your service."

The others made their introductions. "If I may ask, Sir Knuckles, what brings you to Mercia?"

Julie-Su answered, pointing at Speedbat and Knucklehead. "One of their companions has been abducted by the Dark Legion and Albion. We came to get him back."

After hearing the whole story, Rob's eyes narrowed angrily. "I believe I saw your friend being taken there; he had the look of a warrior. The Echidnas of Albion are all gutless curs! With the exception of my wife, that is," he said.

Remembering the proud Echidna Rob had married, Knuckles spoke up. "That's right, where is Mari-An? Didn't you two have a child or something?"

Rob smiled proudly. "Indeed, a fine and healthy infant it is too." Then his expression turned to one of sorrow. "But both are gone from me, I fear. Those accursed Legionnaires took them from me days ago, when they first went into league with the Albion Echidnas. I'm sure they wanted to prevent my interference. I wanted to save my family, but I can do nothing! I have no vessel to take me across the long channel to Albion, and if I did, I would be detected instantly! They have sensors monitoring the entire surrounding area; the only way in is to come from above."

"Did you say above?" Knucklehead asked. Rob nodded, and Knucklehead smiled as a plan formed in his mind. "This is what we do."

Rob fought to remain calm as Speedbat carried him high into the air above Albion in her Beast Mode. Nearby, Knuckles and Julie-Su gripped the wings of Knucklehead's jet fighter mode. Once they reached an agreed upon altitude, the two Transformers dove, flying down towards the island where Albion stood.

Following Knuckles' directions, they landed on top of Albion's main laboratory building. They broke into the top floor, and proceeded to descend to the ground level. However, they emerged into the lobby of the building to find Gala-Na and a squad of Dark Legion and Albion soldiers blocking their path.

"Hello, Knuckles," the politician greeted flatly.

Knuckles' eyes filled with loathing towards her, and it was only Julie-Su's hand on his arm that prevented him from lunging at Gala-Na like an animal. Calming down slightly, he replied. "I'm surprised that you haven't come after me sooner. After all, weren't you ever so desperate to strip me of my Chaos Power?"

"Those abilities are dangerous and not meant for anyone— especially hot-headed teenagers such as yourself," Gala-Na replied sharply. "And your Transformer friends are a menace that must be eliminated.” She paused.

"Guards, seize them."

Five minutes later, Speedbat pouted. "That was too easy!"

Stepping over the unconscious troops, Rob grabbed Gala-Na by the collar of her robe and dragged her close to her face. Gala-Na, only slightly perturbed, spoke. "Tell me, Rob, why is it that you side with them against Albion? Despite your distaste for our politics, you did agree to protect the city from harm."

"That was before your 'allies' kidnapped my wife and child!" As Gala-Na's eyes widened, Rob continued. "And here's what I think of you and your city!" Drawing his head back, Rob slammed it into Gala-Na's forehead with all his might. Gala-Na's eyes lost focus, and when Rob released her, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Julie-Su whistled. "Knuckles is always saying that Hedgehogs are hard-headed, but I didn't realize that was literal."

Knuckles laughed. "Neither did I!"

"As fun as this is, we need to move," Knucklehead reminded them. They all squeezed into an elevator, which descended to the level where they had determined Dinobot would be held. However, while everyone else got off, Rob remained on.

"I must leave you now, my friends. My family is being held on another level, and I intend to rescue them."

The others nodded, then rushed off.

Knucklehead and the others ran into a room adjoining the lab they were looking for. All four of them stopped dead at the sight of Deathstreak in their path. However, his folded arms indicated that he was not threatening at the moment, so they didn't go for their weapons.

"Hello, Maximals. Pleasant evening, isn't it?"

"What do you want, monster?" Speedbat hissed.

Deathstreak clucked at her disapprovingly. "Come now, Speedbat, what kind of name is that for your old comrade. I'm not here to oppose you; rather, I'm here to warn you. Dimitri has given up turning Transformers to his cause; he wants us all dead."

"Why tell us this?" Julie-Su asked.

"Because I prefer to keep my greatest rival on equal footing with me," he replied, looking at Knucklehead. "This is a one time deal, of course." With that, he teleported away.

Xenin stood calmly outside the small holding cell, flanked by two Dark Legion Mechanauts. Inside the small cell were contained Mari-An and her child, as well as her brothers Zax and Raynor. To prevent the interference of Rob O' The Hedge, Dimitri had ordered that the four be imprisoned.

The orders did not sit well with Xenin. The woman and her brothers were Echidnas, his kin however distantly. On top of that, the fourth hostage was an infant, no threat to anyone or anything. It was only fear of the Grand Master's wrath that had prevented Xenin from refusing his superior.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened. Before Xenin could react, two arrows shot out almost simultaneously, striking the Mechanauts in the eyes. Pierced through their cybernetic brains, the robots fell to the floor. Xenin then locked eyes with Rob as he entered, bow held at the ready.

As Xenin's mismatched eyes met Rob's green ones, a measure of understanding passed between them. Moving at a fraction of the speed that he possessed, Xenin rushed the Hedgehog. Rob easily moved to the side, and Xenin dropped as he felt the bow make contact with the back of his neck. Lying face down on the floor, he couldn't help but feel a measure of satisfaction in the knowledge that he and the warrior Hedgehog had managed to come to an agreement without words that would have condemned the Legionnaire.

Inside the cell, Mari-An rocked her baby, whispering a soothing lullaby to the fussy infant. Across from her, her brothers watched her, not speaking so that they wouldn't disturb the child. However, as they heard the door opening, they stood, prepared to fight to protect their sister.

Mari-An was overjoyed as the two stepped away from the door, revealing the athletic form of her husband. "Rob!"

The technicians in the lab turned to face the door as it opened. They gasped as the two Echidnas and the Maximals entered the room. To Knuckles' pleasure, most of them paled upon catching sight of him, remembering their failed attempt to remove his powers.

Cracking his namesakes, Knuckles moved forward, grinning. "Hello boys, remember me?"

While Knuckles took out his vengeance on the unfortunate Echidnas, the other three entered the lab. Seeing Dinobot strapped to a table, they ran over and released him. The old warrior grumbled as he stood up. "About time you got here!"

Their mission accomplished, the group returned to the top level and escaped into the night sky. Landing in the forest, they found Rob waiting for them. "Excellent work, my comrades!"

"Did you find your wife?"

Rob smiled. "Indeed I did, Sir Knuckles. My wife, brothers-in-law, and child are even now heading deeper into the forest. We are finished with Albion; we shall not return while Gala-Na rules. Until we meet again, my friends."

After Rob disappeared from sight, the group of five huddled together. With a flash of light, they were on their way home.

Gala-Na faced her communication screen with a splitting headache. Dimitri looked at her blandly, though he raged inside at her failure to destroy the Maximal she had captured. "Councilor, I'm afraid the deal is off. It seems that you and your people are incompetent."

"You cannot blame me for the interference of Rob O' The Hedge! You shouldn't have taken his family prisoner!"

"A necessary precaution. However, I assume that he and his family are now far away. Worse news for you, Councilor, while my troops were stationed in Albion, they took the liberty of commandeering all your defense systems. Albion is now defenseless from invaders, and its citizens are trapped."

Gala-Na was left speechless as Dimitri cut off the connection.

Elsewhere, Deathstreak cackled at the recent defeat of the Dark Legion. "So, Dimitri, you have learned once again that Transformers are superior to you. It won't be long before I prove it to you again. Of course, any awards you receive for comprehension will be awarded posthumously!"

To be continued...