14.Sept.07

Chapter 5: Heralds

 

On the fringes of Earth's solar system, two glowing forms emerged from the black depths of space and rocketed towards the planet. Looking closely, combatants in the Beast Wars would have recognized them as Tigatron and Airazor, two Maximals who had not long ago been abducted by the Vok. Now, with negotiations made between their former comrades and their former captors, the pair were on their way home.

Moving at a speed equal to that of his love, Tigatron smiled at her as they flew to Earth. Airazor smiled back at him, each eager to return to their companions and to the world they had come to see as their birthplace. Unfortunately, their elation was stolen by the urgency of what the Vok had told them about Shokaract.

"Whatever happens, Airazor, my promise to you still stands. My Spark will find yours, no matter if the journey takes a thousand lifetimes. Even should one of us perish in the coming battle, we shall be together again."

Drifting closer to her love, Airazor reached out and gripped Tigatron's hand. "You don't need to remind me of any promises, Tigatron. We've both said what needs to be said, and each of us knows the commitment of the other. For now, let's try and enjoy the trip home; neither of us have really seen Earth from space. Both of us were in stasis when the Axalon crashed, and our abduction didn't afford us the luxury of sight-seeing."

Chuckling, Tigatron returned her grip firmly. Flying so closely together that they appeared to be a single mass of energy, the pair dove into the atmosphere surrounding the blue planet. Neither of them knew that they were being watched by a malevolent pair of green eyes, nor that their happiness would soon be brought to a crashing end.


Shokaract heaved a sigh of relief as he got a full scan of the arrivals. Despite his earlier fears, neither appeared to have been enhanced by the Vok. It must have been a trick caused by the Vok energy enveloping them. Then, as he looked closer, he saw the truth.

"By the stars and galaxies...a link! The Vok have created a way for these two to join together to become a single Transformer, one of infinitely greater power than even that Transmetal who attacked me! Now I understand that my fears were justified!"

Perched on his master's shoulder, Terrorsaur broke into his master's musings. "Then why not just destroy them before they can merge? No Maximals, no chance of them using that link against us!"

"No...I already have a far more delicious plan in mind for those two," Shokaract replied, grinning wickedly at his genius.


Concealed from view by thick brush, Dinobot used a pair of binoculars to get a closer look at the falling objects. Focusing as tightly as was possible, he was able to make out the familiar forms of Tigatron and Airazor. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he activated his comlink. "Dinobot to Optimus Primal, come in."

"What's the report, Dinobot?"

"I have identified the incoming bodies as Tigatron and Airazor. Both of them are protected by Vok energy, and appear to be fully functional. Shall I move to intercept?"

"Negative; Cheetor, Silverbolt, Rhinox and I are already on the way there. You get back to camp and help Rattrap— he's trying to construct a more efficient shelter. Optimus out."

Growling, Dinobot transformed to Beast Mode and turned back towards the camp. Before he started running, however, he looked back one last time at the light marking his comrades' descent. Then he took off, powerful legs rippling as he charged across the landscape.


Airazor and Tigatron's landing caused a slight tremor, startling the local animal life into fleeing for their burrows. Of the four Maximals closing in on their crash site, only Rhinox felt the brief shaking, and quickly recovered as he pressed on. High above him, Optimus flew between Silverbolt and Cheetor, leaning forward on his flight board in anticipation.

Landing at the rim of a large crater caused by the impact, the three fliers transformed into their Robot Modes. Rhinox joined them just as two figures emerged from the cloud of smoke rising from the indent in the ground. Cheetor's lips curved up in a joyful grin as Tigatron and Airazor became visible, holding hands as they walked up the slope towards their welcoming party.

Silverbolt bowed to the two as they emerged, demonstrating perfect chivalry in his manner. "Welcome back to Earth, fellow Maximals. Permit me to introduce myself: I am Silverbolt. We didn't get the chance to meet before the Vok took you, but I hope that we shall become good friends."

Tigatron smiled faintly, recognizing elements of his own code of behavior in the odd-looking Maximal. Extending his arm, he took Silverbolt's hand in his powerful grip and shook firmly. "My greetings, Silverbolt. I am Tigatron, and this is my partner, Airazor."

"I don't remember asking you to introduce me," Airazor put in. For a moment, Rhinox was surprised, but then he saw the grin tugging at the corners of Airazor's mouth and the obvious mirth in Tigatron's expression. "Pleased to meet you, Silverbolt; it's nice to know that we've got another Maximal with manners on the team."

"Glad to have you back, Big Cat," Cheetor broke in, drawing smiles from both of the returned Maximals. Tigatron clasped hands with the younger Maximal, the brotherly bond between them clear. Airazor surprised the Transmetal by greeting him with a hug, doing the same with Optimus and Rhinox.

Once the greetings had been exchanged, Optimus smiled warmly at his long absent friends. "I'm truly happy to have the two of you back with us; I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances. Let's head back to our base camp; we'll fill you in on the way."


Back at the Predacon base, Tarantulas watched the monitor screen in front of him in a bored stupor. Despite the loyalty he had shown Shokaract, the titan Predacon relegated him to the most menial tasks. Tarantulas almost wished that the Maximals would attack, just so he could find a way to relieve himself of his boredom.

Without warning, he was struck from behind by an energy blast. Completely unprepared for such an attack, Tarantulas was sent flying, nearly toppling off the edge of the command platform and into the lava below. While he had deduced that his Transmetal body would allow him to survive the high temperature of molten rock, Unicron's spawn had no interest in putting it to the test. He soon had other worries, however, as the other Predacons appeared and formed a semicircle around where he hung.

"Don't just stand there; help me up!" Surprisingly, none of the six made a move towards him, all of them fixing him with the same emotionless stare. Letting his optic sensors sweep over them, he gasped as he realized that Megatron's weapon was hot from a recent discharge. Megatron had fired on him! "How dare you attack me, Megatron!? Shokaract will destroy you for your impudence!"

"Shokaract will destroy no one, Tarantulas, except for himself. The true Predacons—those who serve under me— are now leaving you and your foul master to this useless vessel. Ravage's ship awaits us, and though it is too Energon depleted to fly at present, we shall soon use its power to destroy Shokaract and continue our mission of galactic conquest! Victory, and Cybertron, shall belong to me!"

Realizing that Megatron was either insane or serious, the scientist tried to appeal to the other Predacons. "You can't all seriously think that this is going to work! Shokaract is more powerful than all of us; opposing him is foolhardy at best! If you value your Sparks, subdue Megatron so we may present him to our master for treachery!"

"Waspinator rather get blown up fighting for Megatron than for Monster-bot!"

Quickstrike, not usually a Predacon known to agree with popular opinion, nodded in accord with Waspinator's exclamation. "Way I figure it, that oversized crab cake'll slag us all if we don't get away quick! I ain't afraid of anything that walks, flies, crawls, or swims, but his is one keister I don't want to try kickin'!"

"Our allegiance is to the Royalty, not some pretender who has taken Rampage's form!" Inferno threw a salute to Megatron as he spoke, which brought a faintly amused expression to the Predacon leader's face.

"You've always been crazy, Legs, but siding with Unicron is too crazy for my processor. Siding against him doesn't sound too sane either, but it's better than waiting around for him to eat me." Blackarachnia's wisdom caused the others to nod their heads vigorously, with the exception of Megatron.

Ravage, looking down at his former colleague as one of the Tripredacus Council's covert agents, shook his head. "Siding with that abomination is akin to boarding the Ark and driving an Energon dagger through the original Megatron's Spark. I was there when Unicron devastated Cybertron with his onslaught, and I fought against him. To act as his underling is to betray the Decepticons, the Predacons, Cybertron, and the universe itself. May Primus cast my Spark into the Pit before I should think of doing such a thing!"

"It would seem that the votes are in, Tarantulas. Goodbye, and may your ever-so-mighty Shokaract devour your Spark when he grows tired of your incompetence as I have!" With that, Megatron kicked Tarantulas in the face, sending him falling into the lava. Just before he would have fallen in, the spider launched a stream of webbing at the underside of the platform, catching himself about a foot above the dangerous substance.

Transforming into Beast Mode, Tarantulas quickly scaled the webbing. Climbing back onto the platform, he found the other Predacons gone. Lamentations rose in his mind as he thought about how Shokaract would punish him for allowing six underlings to defect. His gaze dropping to the platform floor, Tarantulas began to wonder if he should have let the lava consume him. "Blast you, Megatron."


Megatron wore a slight smirk as he flew towards Ravage's cloaked ship, traveling high above the barren wasteland of Predacon territory in his flight mode. Waspinator and Inferno kept pace with him, the latter carrying Quickstrike, the former serving as a mount for Blackarachnia. Megatron himself also carried a passenger, Ravage having taken his compact disk form.

"Are you certain that the Maximals will receive the transmission?" Ravage's inquiry was in regards to a message Megatron had sent, giving the Maximals the location of Tarantulas' cave lair. His intention was simple: to give the Maximals back the advantage of having an established base with usable equipment. Since Shokaract had refused to allow Tarantulas to recover anything, all of it should still be intact.

"Of course they will; I sent it directly to Dinobot." Thinking of this particular part of his plan, Megatron couldn't help but chuckle. "Shokaract will have to divide his efforts between fighting us and the Maximals, and that will hopefully weaken him to the point where I can strike him down."

"An ingenious plan— assuming it works," Blackarachnia remarked.

"Funnily enough, Blackarachnia, it has often been said that madness and brilliance coincide. If a conqueror proves successful, he's brilliant; should he fail, he's mad. Then again, there is nothing to say that he can't be both." Closing with that remark, Megatron gave a full-bellied laugh as he shot towards his new base.


"The Vok were most gracious to send us back to you," Tigatron remarked once the welcoming party had finished filling him and Airazor in. "Had they not, you would have remained outnumbered and outmatched. At least now we have more of a chance of victory."

"Unless Shokaract pulls something like destroying the Axalon out of his hat again," Cheetor muttered.

Rhinox shook his head at the younger Maximal's pessimism. "Cheetor, he's destroyed our base and left us bereft of all but the most standard technology. No CR Chambers, no auto— defenses, nothing but the weapons and tools we carried with us. I seriously doubt that he can do anything short of killing us to lower our morale further."

"Given the beings that make up his personality, I wouldn't be too surprised if he managed to accomplish something, Rhinox." Silverbolt's grim tone reminded them all of Shokaract's origins, and for once no one could give a reply that sounded convincing.

Had the Maximals been familiar with old Earth motion pictures, they would have known that their silence left the perfect gap for an attack by some monster. Unaware, they were caught completely by surprise as Shokaract burst out of the ground in crab mode, laughing insanely. "Your confidence in me is inspiring, Silverbolt! I'll try not to disappoint!"

Opening his mouth wide, Shokaract released a cloud of blackness over the Maximals. Sensing that something was amiss, Tigatron immediately leapt away, followed quickly by Optimus and Silverbolt. It was only when they heard a trio of screams splitting the air that the three realized that their comrades had not escaped the dark mist. All three transformed, facing the gaseous barrier, fully prepared for anything— or so they assumed.

Screams were suddenly replaced with laughter, and three ominous forms emerged from the smokescreen. They were recognizable as Airazor, Cheetor, and Rhinox, but only just. Their color schemes were different, darker and somehow villainous. Worst of all were their optics, all glowing with malice as they moved towards their companions.

Airazor stood to the far left, obviously Transmetalized. Her wings were much larger, and her body was covered in dark blue and silver armor. The only exceptions to this were her torso plate and blade-like wings, both of which were colored red, and her feathered head, which was all light blue except for red cheeks and chin. Her hands, once similar to those of a human, were now bird talons, razor-sharp and ready to slice. Yellow optic sensors burned out at Silverbolt from this forbidding visage, and a wicked smile twisted her face.

Rhinox, by contrast, looked almost exactly as he had before. Where his armor had been silver and blue, however, it was now red and black. Optics even paler than Airazor's came to rest on Optimus, and a toothy grin greeted the horrified Maximal commander.

Last, but not least, was Cheetor. Like Rhinox, all that had really changed about him was his color scheme. Blue had become black, yellow had become purple, and silver had become green. His eyes, though the same color as they had been before his exposure to the mist, shone with hatred as he gazed upon Tigatron.

"Shokaract, Terrorize!" Transforming, the giant Transmetal laughed as he walked through the dispersing cloud. "How do you like my newest tactic, Maximals? Instead of fighting you fools head on, I'll let my newest servants do it for me."

"You monster! We shall not allow you to take advantage of our comrades!" Silverbolt followed up his cry by shooting two missiles at Shokaract. The Predacon allowed them to hit him, not flinching at all when they exploded against his torso. Before Silverbolt could fire again, Airazor was upon him, slicing with her talon-fingers.

Gasping in shock, Silverbolt fell backward with his hands on his stomach, mech-fluid leaking out from between his fingers. Airazor sneered at him, lifting her talons high in triumph. "Not so tough now, are you, Wolf Boy?"

"Fight it, Airazor!" Tigatron moved towards his love, determined to bring her out of whatever was making her behave this way. "You don't have to listen to Shokaract; you are a Maximal, a child of Cybertron and Earth!"

"Preaching won't help you out this time, 'Big Cat'!" Whirling at the sound, Tigatron caught Cheetor's bladed tail in his side as the corrupted Maximal struck at him. "And before you start trying to snap me out of it, let me tell you my new name. From now on, I go by Cataclysm!"

Nearby, Optimus drew his clubs, circling in opposition to Rhinox. The third of Shokaract's victims had his blade out, clearly eager to draw blood. When he spoke, it was in the same voice and with the same tone that he had used after being temporarily reprogrammed into a Predacon by Megatron's Transmuter. "Here I thought our old friends could fight, Primal! If you're going down as easily as they are, then this isn't even worth my time."

"Dream on," Optimus said, finally realizing what had been done. Somehow, Shokaract had used his powers to reach into Airazor, Cheetor, and Rhinox's Sparks. Journeying deep into their innermost selves, he had found the evil that existed in all sentient beings and released it, bringing it to the surface to overwhelm their inherent good. As a result, the trio were now more depraved and insane than perhaps Megatron himself.

Hurling one of his clubs at Rhinox, Optimus ran in behind it. Just as he had hoped, the unfortunate scientist used his blade weapon to knock it away, leaving himself vulnerable to the swing of the other club. Unable to block, Rhinox was knocked from his feet. Not even slowing down, Optimus scooped up his other club, storing them both before opening fire on Airazor with his blaster pistol. As she took to the air, Silverbolt transformed into Beast Mode and continued flying towards the camp.

Deploying his pulse cannons, Optimus drove Shokaract back with a steady barrage of energy blasts. Once sure that the giant wouldn't intervene, he transformed into flight mode and shot towards Tigatron. Grabbing the injured scout, he flew off after Silverbolt. Cataclysm's last words came to him, scaring him more deeply than any he had ever heard. "Next time you're slag, Big Bot!"


Rattrap grunted as he moved the last rock blocking the entrance to Tarantulas' lair. Just as the transmission Dinobot had received indicated, it was the same cavern where he and Silverbolt had fought against the Predacon arachnids. Leading the others inside, Rattrap soon realized why Tarantulas had chosen it for a lair. The cavern was well fortified, capable of being held against huge odds by even a single defender. To top that off, a large supply of Energon cubes was available, enough to sustain a frugal Predacon— or several Maximals— for quite some time.

"It stinks, it's dark, and there's a better chance of the Pit feeling like home...but it'll do," he said, echoing the sentiments of his fellow Maximals.

The work of moving their equipment into the lair was short, but disheartening. All five Maximals mourned their three comrades, taken from them by something far worse than death. Optimus and Tigatron were particularly distressed, one having lost the closest things he had to a son and a brother, the other robbed of the woman he loved.

For once, Dinobot took up the role of the crew's morale officer. Capturing his comrades with his grating voice, he spoke the most stirring words the others had ever heard from him. "We have lost our base, our sense of security, and three of our brethren since Shokaract has come forth. But there is one thing we have that cannot be taken from us: purpose. Purpose gives existence meaning, and provides us with all that we need to carry on.

"Before, our purpose was to stop Megatron and the Predacons from winning the Beast Wars. That remains our purpose, but there is now more to it. Now we must also defeat Shokaract, and prevent him from altering history so that everything our predecessors and companions have worked for will not be in vain. We shall fight for this purpose, and we shall win!"

Moved by this speech, the Maximals went to work with renewed vigor. Soon enough, they were setting up their last pieces of equipment and picking out chambers in the cavern for their bedrooms. As Optimus hooked up the last computer console he had salvaged from the Axalon, he made a quiet observation.

"We're moving in."

To be continued...