Megatron glanced behind him. "Scorponok, you IDIOT!!!" he
bellowed. "I ordered you to stay behind!"
"No, actually, you just told me I was in charge until you got back,"
replied Scorponok. "So, I gave someone else the job and came
after you."
*Why me?* thought Megatron. "Very well. You and Inferno will
probably make yourselves useful in this matter."
"My Queen?" asked Inferno. "What exactly are you going after?"
At this, Megatron smiled. "We are going after the reason why I
kept both of the Golden Disks, after the one sign I had that
lifeforms more powerful than the aliens existed, after the one
artifact that will ultimately seal the fate of the Maximals and the
Decepticons..."
"What?" asked Scorponok.
Megatron's smile broadened. "The Singularity Orb."
* * * * * * * * * *
Hamstor and Razorbeast were lagging signifigantly behind the
other members of the Arctic Squadron. "I've got a stasis pod on
scanners," announced Hamstor as he rode on Razorbeast's
back.
"Is it his?"
Hamstor double-checked his readings. "Yep," he replied. "How
are we going to keep these guys from getting suspicious?"
Razorbeast thought for a moment. "I've got an idea," he said.
He shrugged for Hamstor to get off of his back, then
transformed. "Hey, Wolfang!" he called.
The sleek grey wolf skidded to a halt. "What do you want?" he
snarled. He really didn't like the "Trio", as they were unofficially
called - Rattrap, Razorbeast, and Armordillo. Of course, Rattrap
was dead, but Hamstor looked to be gunning to take over
Rattrap's position, and it was not an idea that Wolfang was
paticularly thrilled with.
"Oh, nothing much... we just want to plant a listening post.
We've got a new design, and we want to see if it works more
efficiently."
Wolfang could tell that Razorbeast was lying, but even so, it was
a chance for him to get rid of him and Hamstor for a while.
"Sure, fine, go knock yourselves out. Just be sure to catch up."
Razorbeast nodded and transformed back to boar mode.
Hamstor hopped onto his back and sped away.
Behind him, Wolfang noticed Polar Claw advancing.
Transforming, he gave a quick salute. "Optimus back on-line so
soon, sir?" he asked.
Polar Claw nodded. "I'm glad. It's nice to be back with my own
troops."
Wolfang agreed. The Arcitc Squadron was confined, and due to
that factor, they had formed a sort of bond that few groups of
Maximals ever did. The only other group that shared such tight
bonds between so few was the "Trio", and they were not an
official team. "It's good to have you back. I was hoping that I
wouldn't have to deal with Razorbeast and Hamstor all by my
lonesome."
"They're here?" moaned Polar Claw.
"Yeah, but they're off doing their own thing right now," replied
Wolfang. "They'll catch up, but until then, we're free."
Polar Claw nodded. "I say we take advantage of that and move
out."
The two transformed back to beast mode and scampered along
with Icebreaker and Seachill.
* * * * * * * * * *
Razorbeast and Hamstor were both unusually cold. Still, they
endured it as the stasis pod careened towards their location.
"Are you absolutely sure it's him?" asked Razorbeast, watching
the pod come closer.
"Positive," replied Hamstor. "Correct energy signature, correct
body patterning, but most of all, I can read the component. It's
him, all right."
As the pod plowed into the ground, Hamstor and Razorbeast
advanced towards it. It quickly scanned the area, then found a
wolf and fully developed into final form. The pod hissed open,
and the wolf sprang out, then transformed and saw both Hamstor
and Razorbeast standing before him. "What's the matter?"
asked the robot.
"It's good to see you again, sir," said Hamstor with a slight bow.
The robot chuckled. "You can call me Wheeljack."
"Bad news," said Razorbeast gravely. "We've found Tyrasix, and
he's got the other four segments."
Wheeljack gasped. "Do we have any way of getting them away
from him?"
"If we can draw him out, yeah," replied Hamstor. "But if the other
Maximals know who you really are, then you'll attract a lot of
attention and he probably won't risk it. You'll need a new name."
"Hmm..." Wheeljack pondered for a moment. "How about...
Sawjaw?"
"I like it," nodded Razorbeast with approval. "We'd better get
moving, though. Our only chance at getting the segments from
Tyrasix is moving away from us, and we'll need them."
Sawjaw nodded, and transformed back to wolf mode.
Razorbeast and Hamstor followed suit, and the trio set out to
catch up with the Arctic Squadron.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Fishboy, what's happening?"
Dolphonoch looked up. "I've told you before, don't call me that,"
he said in a mildly irritated tone as Stormcloud descended
through the hatch. He was smiling, though. "It's nice to have you
stop by and visit."
"The feeling is mutual," said Vixen, descending behind
Stormcloud. "How are you holding out down here?"
"Ahh, we're doing all right," he replied. "It's kind of different now
that Cybershark's gone, though. We were always a pretty small
group, and with his departure..."
"You'll be okay," said Stormcloud. "Another aquatic warrior is
bound to come along sooner or later - I'm betting sooner."
"Thanks for the reassurance, Dives," said Dolphonoch. He and
Stormcloud had established something of a friendship since his
pod had landed, and little visits from he and Vixen were fairly
common.
Out of habit, Vixen glanced over at the perimeter display. "Uh-
oh," she said. "Cybershark, Seaskimmer, and Razorclaw are
approaching from the south."
"Not good," said Dolphonoch. "Orcanoch and Claw Jaw are on
recon. We'll have to take care of them ourselves."
Stormcloud quickly sent a comm message to the other two
members of the aquatic division, then drew his launcher, knowing
his lightning gun would be untargetable underwater. He, Vixen,
and Dolphonoch all loaded into the airlock, then armed their
weapons as they were shot out into the water.
Dolphonoch headed straight for Cybershark. Firing his sonic
blaster, Dolphonoch brought his claw out of subspace, and
spiraled towards the former Maximal. Cybershark transformed to
robot mode and nimbly sliced through the water, avoiding
Dolphonoch's blasts, and let loose a barrage of his chest
missiles. Dolphonoch dove, then came up, blasting and
slashing. Cybershark was not expecting that tactic, and tried to
react in time, but was a bit too late. Dolphonoch pressed the
advantage, clawing at Cybershark and slashing through the
Predacon's thick metal skin.
With a flip, Razorclaw transformed and began firing his laser at
Stormcloud. The beam was extremely distorted underwater, and
Stormcloud easily dodged it and fired a strafe of missiles at the
Predacon. Razorclaw's heavily armored body took the blasts
easily, then came at Stormcloud, opening his larger claw and
extending his massive spines inside. Stormcloud flipped away
and fired another pair of missiles at Razorclaw. Letting himself
drift, Razorclaw slid out of the way of the missiles, then fired his
laser up at Stormcloud again. The Maximal spun away and
returned fire.
Vixen let loose a quick swath of crossbow bolts as she advanced
towards Seaskimmer. The Predacon female flipped and
transformed, then brought her deadly electro-ray cannon to bear
and started firing at Vixen, figuring that the medic would be easy
prey. She was suprised when Vixen moved like lightning,
dodging the blast and sending another volley towards
Seaskimmer. This time, Seaskimmer was not expecting the
bolts, and she was torn into by the blasts. With a smile
unbecoming of her, Vixen grinned and spiralled towards
Seaskimmer, firing unrelentingly.
Twisting, Cybershark began to spin at a ridiculous rate, throwing
up a massive whirlpool of water and shoving Dolphonoch away.
As the Maximal scientist recovered, Cybershark pressed the
advantage and let loose a swath of missiles, pounding
Dolphonoch unrelentingly. Dolphonoch fell backwards, and
Cybershark advanced with his claw to finish the job. As the
Predacon approached, Dolphonoch set his sonic blaster to a
wide blast, maximum intensity, and fired in Cybershark's general
direction. Amplified by the water, the blast ripped through
Cybershark, sending him hurtling backwards and nearly tearing
him apart.
Razorclaw and Stormcloud were locked in a sort of dance, each
firing and missing, but unable to stop firing because that would
allow the other to tear him apart. Slowly, a plan formed in
Stormcloud's mind, and he decided that it was certainly worth a
try. Concentrating, he let his internal turbines kick in, churning
the water around him feverently. Pushing the winds, he sent a
huge column of froth towards Razorclaw, disorienting him.
Arming his launcher once again, he blasted at the Predacon as
best he could, letting the froth die down. Ravaged by the blasts,
Razorclaw transformed and swam away from Stormcloud.
Seaskimmer was drifting backwards, numb from Vixen's
unexpected assault. As the medic swam around and began to
fire again, Seaskimmer quickly snapped back to action and dove
away from the bolts. Bringing her own cannon back on-line,
Seaskimmer decided to try something a little risky and darted
straight towards Vixen. The Maximal shrank back slightly, and
that was all the opening that Seaskimmer needed. Jabbing her
spiked elbow into Vixen's midsection, Seaskimmer whipped out
her electro-ray cannon and pressed it into Vixen's midsection,
and fired.
The blast ripped through Vixen, tearing a massive hole through
her. Seaskimmer grinned to herself, but her triumph was short-
lived as both Dolphonoch and Stormcloud began frenetically
assaulting the female. Transforming, Seaskimmer darted off
after Cybershark and Razorclaw.
Stormcloud swam over as fast as he could to grab Vixen.
"Dolphonoch, get a CR Chamber ready," he said hurriedly.
Dolphonoch nodded, and both he and Stormcloud headed
towards the underwater base.
* * * * * * * * * *
The trio of Predacons drifted over the Arctic Squadron, watching
the four members scurry along. Megatron glanced to one side,
and noticed three other Maximals approaching from the south.
"Perfect," said Megatron with a toothy smile. "They don't even
realize we're here." He transformed and rapped his tail cannon
against the air. "Scorponok, get off of Inferno's back."
"But I can't fly!" he insisted.
"Yes, you can. Remember your flight unit?"
Scorponok thought for a moment. (Not something he normally
does.) "Oh, yeah." Jumping off of Inferno's back, he let his flight
system kick in, then grinned semi-sheepishly at Megatron in
hopes of forgiveness for his inborn ineptitude.
Megatron sighed. "Scorponok, I want you to attack these
Maximals from up here. I and Inferno have other targets to take
care of."
"But - I'll be shot down!" insisted Scorponok.
"If I'm lucky, yes, you will," replied Megatron under his breath.
Aloud, he said, "How tempted are you to disobey a direct order,
Scorponok?"
The Predacon second-in-command gulped, torn between
potential damage and certain death. "S-s-s-sorry, mighty
Megatron. I'll be happy to follow your orders."
Megatron's face split open in a toothy grin. "Excellent. Inferno,
come with me. We've got more important targets to take care
of."
"Of course, my Queen!" snapped Inferno, saluting sharply. "It
would be an honor to serve the Royalty in such a dignified
manner!"
"A simple 'Yes sir' would suffice, Inferno," sighed Megatron.
Letting his thrusters go to full force, Megatron rocketed away
from Scorponok, with Inferno moving behind him at top speed.
Scorponok gulped, then opened fire on the four Maximals below.
Polar Claw glanced upward as the missiles pounded into the
snowy ground, sending up billows of flame and snow.
"Squadron, break up and return fire!" he shouted, although he
knew that his squad already knew the procedure by now. As he
transformed to robot mode, Wolfang, Seachill, and Icebreaker
had already circled around and were ready to open fire on
Scorponok from all sides. Polar Clar launched his claw,
Icebreaker fired his charge gun, Wolfang let loose with his
crossbow bolts, and Seachill fired his powerful twin razordisk
launchers. The assault pounded into Scorponok, and he fell
from the sky.
"That was pretty stupid, even for Scorpy over here," noted
Wolfang as Scorponok slammed into the snow and pummelled it
into nothingness. He kicked Scorponok's body for emphasis,
and evicted a slight moan.
Polar Claw leaned over to inspect Scorponok - he wouldn't put a
simacrulum past the Predacons. "Would Megatron let his
second-in-command get wasted like this?" he asked, as much
posing the question to himself as the others.
"Not unless he was using him as a diversion..." began
Icebreaker.
The same thought snapped into the minds of all assembled.
"Hamstor and Razorbeast," breathed Seachill.
"Come on, move it!" shouted Polar Claw as he converted to bear
mode. The others quickly converted as well, and the Maximals
streaked off.
Still lying in the snow, Scorponok transformed to scorpion mode
and let his autorepair kick in. *At least it didn't take long,* he
noted as cheerfully as he could, plodding after the Maximals in
the snow.
* * * * * * * * * *
Stormcloud and Dolphonoch had never moved quite as fast as
they did now. Carefully but swiftly, they brough Vixen through the
airlock, cradling her damaged body between them. "I can't
beleive this is happening again," whispered Stormcloud to
himself over and over.
Freeing one of his hands, Dolphonoch pressed a few buttons,
and the CR Chamber slid open compliantly. The two of them
helped Vixen into it, then let the chamber close and begin to work
on repairing her.
Alerted by an erratic display, Dolphonoch slid over to a console.
"Well, the fun continues," he moaned. "The damage to Vixen
disrupted the support link to an unknown data module in her
forehead -"
Stormcloud immediately knew what Dolphonoch was talking
about. "Our son..." he moaned.
Dolphonoch looked up, hurt. "You never told me you were
expect-"
"Not the time, Dolph," said Stormcloud curtly, effectively ending
the conversation. Dolphonoch nodded, then turned back to the
console to see what he could do for Vixen and her son.
* * * * * * * * * *
Razorbeast, Hamstor, and Wheeljack - sorry, Sawjaw - were
rarely silent. All three had healthy reputations as gabbers, and
gossipers, and rumor mills. This time, though, it was obvious
they were tense, because none of them said a word. The tension
between them seemed thick enough not just to cut with a knife,
but to grind up and serve as dip as well.
Finally, Sawjaw spoke. "Are you sure that he has the other
segments?"
"I know he has both Golden Disks," replied Hamstor, "and I know
that the first ship Tyrasix was assigned to also had Recluse and
Alleycat on it, as well. He claimed to have killed the entire crew
of that ship..."
The weight of the last statement hit them all fairly hard. It was
difficult, imagining one of their classmates murdering two other
classmates. The fifteen students and their teacher had promised
each other that they would keep in touch, but they failed to. They
knew what had happened to six of their mates, but what of the
others? What of Flightform? Wavelight? Dual? Archer? The
names floated through their heads, along with others. The loss
of a class that tight was as mournful as the extinguishing of a
spark, certainly.
Ironically enough, as they sat in rememberance of their lost
classmates, one of their classmates that they would have
preferred to remain lost was approaching their position. "Inferno,
I want you to give them an initial pass before I make my
entrance."
The insanely loyal Predacon saluted snappily. "At once, my
Queen!"
"Try 'King', Inferno. Trust me, it's a relatively painless concept."
Inferno was not listening anymore, because he had already dove
towards the Maximals, firing away. "Who the slag is THAT?"
asked Sawjaw, astonished at the sudden assault.
"That would be Inferno, Tyrasix's number-two bootlick," replied
Razorbeast, transforming as he drew his rifle.
Sawjaw looked up towards the sky, and saw Inferno careening
madly through the air, still firing at the ground, but not even
specifically at the Maxiamls. He was laughing maniacally -
indeed, his entire demeanor was unbecoming of someone so
adept at flight. "Is he always this NUTS?" asked Sawjaw,
confused.
"Actually," replied Razorbeast, "this is kind of subdued for him."
Sawjaw shook his head as he drew his weapons. "I wish I were
back in orbit."
"Fat chance," muttered Razorbeast, spreading his wings and
rocketing skyward. Hamstor and Sawjaw provided cover fire
from the ground as he rocketed towards Inferno, strafing the air
with his rifle. Inferno turned as shots raked across him, then
armed his flamethrower and let loose a long column of flame
towards Razorbeast. Diving, Razorbeast aimed for Inferno's
rotor and fired, beginning to pierce the thrust director. Inferno did
not see him, but he felt it, and turned, firing at Razorbeast again.
Razorbeast let himself get hit as he blew Inferno's rotor, and the
two went tumbling to the ground.
"Razor!" shouted Hamstor, instinctively trying to lunge forward.
He was held in place, however, by the sight of Megatron
descending to the ground, the snow reflecting off of Megatron's
golden armor.
"I'm assuming this is Tyrasix," noted Sawjaw dryly.
Megatron transformed and glared at Sawjaw. "It's Megatron
now. And which one of our classmates would you be?"
"Does it matter?" asked Hamstor, training his rifle on Megatron.
"Make one move and you die."
Megatron laughed. "Go ahead and fire, you insignifigant little
speck."
Enraged, Hamstor fired repeatedly. Megatron laughed as the
blasts hit his armor, leaving a scorch mark but little else. "Pitiful.
Let me show you how it's done." Rapping his arm cannon
against the air, Megatron casually brought it to bear, and fired,
sending Hamstor careening backwards.
Smiling, Megatron turned towards Sawjaw. "I never doubted that
I would be the one to reassemble the Singularity Orb."
Sawjaw glanced behind Megatron. "Um, Tyra - er, Megatron -
you'd better turn around." He knew that Megatron would.
Swiftly, Megatron turned and fired, sending the Arctic Squadron
into disarray. *Why the hell did he do a stupid thing like that?*
thought Hamstor as he got to his feet.
Hamstor got his answer soon. Sawjaw had been simply waiting
for the right moment to make an attack, and that had been it.
Leaping onto Megatron's back, Sawjaw popped out a demolition
charge and stuck it on the Predacon leader's back, then leaped
off. Megatron struggled to remove the charge. As he finally got
a grip on the charge, there was the unmistakable, final "beep",
and the charge exploded.
*Wow,* thought Polar Claw as he transformed. *Did he finally
manage to nail Megatron?*
Polar Claw got his answer as the smoke cleared to reveal a
batttered, angry, and very much alive Megatron, his free hand
missing all of its fingers. Removing his cannon, Megatron
replaced it on his left arm, and let his still intact right hand air out.
"Now," he said slowly, "you've managed to make me angry."
The warning went unheeded as the Maximals resumed their
assault. Wolfang and Sawjaw peppered him with crossbow
bolts, Polar Claw let loose his claw, Seachill fired his razordisks,
Icebreaker fired his charge gun, and the recovering Hamstor
fired his rifle. The assault pounded into the already-weakened
Megatron, and the Predacon leader staggered from the damage.
Bringing his shoulder blasters to bear and rapping his main
cannon against the air, Megatron let loose a wide swath of
firepower, knocking the Maximals backwards. The Predacon
leader smiled, and began to fire again.
Not far away, Razorbeast stood, and Inferno was not far behind.
Turning, Razorbeast fired at the massive Predacon. Either
Inferno wasn't harmed, or he simply didn't care, but either way,
he made no effort to stop Razorbeast immediately. Instead, he
calmly fished through the snow until he grabbed his
flamethrower, then turned, let his face split into his usual
demented grin, and unleashed his firepower upon Razorbeast.
Razorbeast hurled himself to one side, still firing at Inferno. "A
little help here?" he called, hoping that his call would be
answered, but doubting it actually would.
Hamstor looked up, and saw Megatron advancing towards
Icebreaker, arm cannon charged. Glancing to one side, he saw
Razorbeast locked in combat with Inferno, and doubted that
battle was going terribly well, either. None of Arctic Squadron
were moving, although Hamstor knew they were still alive.
Swallowing hard, Hamstor stood and fired his rifle into the air.
Megatron heard the discharge, and turned to face Hamstor, a
grin spreading across his face. Hamstor swallowed even harder
than before, and tried to remain calm as he fished for the correct
recording. Sighing, he grabbed the first one he found and let rip.
In a second, Megatron doubled over, clutching his audio sensors
in pain. Hamstor had rerouted his playback through his internal
sensors, and Mick Jagger's voice was tearing through the icy
landscape. Hamstor was straining his audial filters just to keep
from falling over, while Jagger complained of not being able to
get satisfaction. The other members of Arctic Squadron were
beginning to come to, and were equally debilitated by the noise.
Hamstor dashed towards Megatron, then, as he reached the
Predacon leader, blasted him point-blank with his rifle. Megatron
stumbled, then fell backwards.
Razorbeast noticed Inferno's sudden inability to act, and took
advantage of it by slamming into the much larger Predacon. By
all metric standards, Razorbeast should have simply bounced off
of Inferno's thick hide, but Razorbeast had taken on much larger
opponents, and still won. Inferno was only slightly suprised as he
fell, because he was too busy being in agony. Razorbeast
yanked the Predacon's flamethrower out of his hand, then
pressed it into Inferno's chest and fired. The powerful cannon
tore through Inferno, and the large Predacon twitched in pain.
Hamstor fell to his knees, and the noise finally subsided.
Scorponok began to advance behind him, but Polar Claw and
Seachill had recovered enough to assault the Predacon's
second-in-command, and Scorponok was sent scurrying.
Razorbeast tossed the flamethrower to the ground, and stumbled
over towards his teammates. "My flight system's fried, maybe
permanently," he coughed out through ragged breaths. His fight
with Inferno had taken a toll on him.
Megatron, weakened, went unnoticed as he grabbed Inferno and
Inferno's flamethrower. For a moment, he was tempted to
resume his assault, but he knew that discretion was the better
half of tyrrany, and simply transformed, then rocketed off, Inferno
firmly in his grip. The Maximals obviously saw him, but did not
make any effort to stop him.
Hamstor slowly got to his feet as Icebreaker rushed over to help
Razorbeast.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Attention all Predacons: You are as of now stripped of your
previous rank and duties, because this faction is now under NEW
MANAGEMENT!!!"
Blackarachnia threw back her head and laughed. "YES!!!
Finally, I've WON!!!" She couldn't beleive it. All of her efforts to
overthrow Megatron, and in the end, she was simply appointed
as leader. Under any other circumstances, this would make her
furious, but she was too happy at the moment to even care.
She leaned back in the throne and hit the comm. "Juliet, report
to the throne room immediately to begin your duties as my
second-in-command."
There was a moment of stunned silence from the other end.
~...I'll be there at once.~
Blackarachnia's smile widened. She knew that Juliet was
somewhat unprepared for the job, but she needed someone
exceeding loyal to herself, and Juliet was the best candidate.
She hit the comm again. "Tarantulas, report to the throne room."
There was no response. Blackarachnia hit the comm again.
"Yo, Legs, haul ass!"
A muffled thump, and then Tarantulas came on. ~Er... sorry, you
were calling me?~
"Yes. I was going to order you to get down here and to begin
your new duties as third-in-command."
~Understood. I'll be right there.~
Blackarachnia terminated the connection with Tarantulas. It was
suprising how quickly he had gotten over their little - well, she
wasn't entirely sure what it was that they had done together. She
half expected him to bring it up again any time now.
She smiled and shoved it out over mind. "Empress
Blackarachnia," she said aloud. "Has a nice ring to it..."
* * * * * * * * * *
Icebreaker fused another pair of wires together. "I have to thank
you, Razorbeast. My medical skills were slowly wanning away,
and you're the perfect opportunity to improve them a little."
"Well, I'm glad to see one of us is enjoying themselves," replied
Razorbeast somewhat sarcastically, wincing with pain.
The seven Maximals were sitting in the temporary shelter that
Hamstor and Sawjaw had assembled from their supplies. Polar
Claw had stayed silent for a while, but finally, he turned his gaze
on Razorbeast, Hamstor, and Sawjaw. "I'd say the three of you
owe us an explanation," he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Hamstor, trying his best to look
genuinely confused.
"You hide the landing of a stasis pod from us, after tagging along
with us for no apparent reason. For whatever reason, you've got
Megatron, Scorponok, and Inferno hot on your trail. And then
Megs starts babbling on about some Singularity Orb - or
something like that. There's more than meets the eye here, and I
want an explanation."
Hamstor sighed. "I suppose we should fill you in." He took a
deep breath, then continued. "Back on Cybertron, me,
Razorbeast, and Sawjaw were all members of a class of fifteen,
with Wheeljack as our instructor. Megs - or Tyrasix, as he was
called back then - was in that class."
"And how does that tie all of this together?" asked Polar Claw.
"I'm getting to that. We were slated to do a survey of a
demolished city to get an idea of the uniformities and
discontinuities between current architecture and the architecture
in the city. While we were there... we found the Singularity Orb.
"It was obvious that it was immensely powerful. When we tried to
destroy it, it nearly killed us. After that, nobody could seem to
make up their mind about what to do with it. Tyrasix wanted to
use it as a weapon, Alleycat wanted to take it apart and see how
it functioned, Druid suggested sending it into the sun - there were
a bunch of suggestions about it. While we were bickering,
Tyrasix stole it, and began using it on the buildings around us.
When he found out how incredibly powerful it was, even he was
slightly worried about using it.
"When we decrypted the runes on it, we could get a reference to
twin golden disks that weren't with it, and that we couldn't find.
We found Tyrasix, and he returned the orb. Wheeljack figured
out that the orb could be seperated into 14 pieces, and we
agreed to seperate the orb, giving everyone except Druid and
Tyrasix one of the pieces - Tyrasix because it seemed risky, and
Druid because he didn't want one - to keep anyone from ever
getting hold of the orb again."
"And now, Megatron is trying to reassemble the orb," finished
Polar Claw. "I take it he just needs your three segments?"
"Presumably," replied Razorbeast. "That's why he's after us."
"So why here?" asked Seachill. "Why not face him at the
Starrunner?"
"We need to be sure that whatever power Megatron releases
won't hit anything signifigant," said Razorbeast. He winced in
pain again. "Icebreaker, pay attention to what you're doing!"
"Sorry."
"We intend to try and get the components from Megatron, then
reassemble the orb," said Sawjaw. "Once we do that, we'll be
able to destroy it."
Polar Claw said nothing for a moment or two before speaking
again. "All right, then, what does it have to do with the planet?"
"Well..." began Hamstor, "after rexamining the data we had on
the orbs, we noticed that a lot of it mirrored the information about
that staff Nightpounce retreived. We have a feeling that the orb
is somehow linked to the planet, just like the Golden Disks are."
"But... wouldn't that mean that the aliens have been monitoring
Cybertron, as well?"
Hamstor nodded gravely. "That's what really worries us... it
makes us think that this whole thing has been more carefully
engineered than we originally surmised."
Silence settled over the campsite.
* * * * * * * * * *
The trio of Predacons had been trudging in the snow for over five
hours, and Scorponok had had more than enough. "Are we even
GOING anywhere?" he asked. "Our autorepair patched us up a
long time ago, and this isn't the direction of the Soundwave, so I
ask once again: what are we doing?"
"Heading for the ambush site," replied Megatron.
"Huh?"
"Oh, come on, you didn't think I just rushed up here without any
preparation, did you?" Megatron snarled. "I notified Maquis
Squadron to prepare an ambush for the Maximals - I already
knew they would be here. Once we reach the site, the Maximals
will most likely follow, and my power will finally be made
absolute."
"Maquis Squadron?" asked Scorponok, confused (as usual).
Inferno rammed sideways into Scorponok. "Silence, fool! It is
not for us to question the actions of the Royalty!"
"Inferno, do not assume to answer questions for the Royalty - I
mean me - confound it, I'm starting to talk like you!" Megatron
scowled. "What were you saying, Scorponok?"
Scorponok tossed an imperious glance at Inferno, then turned
back to Megatron. "I've never been informed about any Maquis
Squadron - who in Cybertron are they?"
"Maquis Squadron is the covert demolitions team that destroyed
Arctic Squadron's first base," replied Megatron. "They're a secret
known only to me. That way, no information about them can be
learned via interrogation of a captured Predacon."
Scorponok nodded in understanding, although he still didn't really
quite understand. "So, um... what is the plan, anyways?"
"Very simple. When the Maximals reach us, Maquis Squadron's
setup will disorient them long enough for us to take hostages,
whom we will agree to release in exchange for the three
remaining components of the Singularity Orb."
"We're going to let the Maximals go afterwards?" Scorponok
was suprised.
"Scorponok, you are an utter idiot," sighed Megatron. "I said that
we would claim to release them. We will not release them - we'll
kill them, then have the Maquis Squadron finish off the rest of
their fellows. With the power of the Singularity Orb, our victory in
the Beast Wars is assured."
Scorponok nodded again, still not understanding. "Okay - I just
didn't understand a little of what you said."
"Which part?"
"Umm... everything before 'is assured'."
Megatron sighed. "Stop trying to think, Scorponok, you simply
can't do it."
Continuing to walk, the Predacons soon reached a small ice
cavern. Megatron surveyed it for a moment, then smiled and
transformed. "Well done, Spittor. I can't pick out the work you've
performed, and I'm certain the Maximals won't be able to either."
Scorponok and Inferno were both suprised as a compact,
somewhat smug-looking robot stepped in front of Megatron.
"Thank you, lord. We did our best."
Scorponok and Inferno transformed, aiming their weapons at the
unknown individual. "Identify yourself, or face the wrath of the
Royalty - I mean... um... identify yourself!" snapped Scorponok.
The robot made a gesture with his hand, and Scorponok and
Inferno heard guns cock behind them. Turning, they saw
Swampsnap, Iguanus, and Snapper, weapons trained.
"An excellent demonstration," nodded Megatron, pleased.
"Scorponok, Inferno... meet Maquis Squadron."
The trio aiming at Inferno and Scorponok lowered their weapons
as Spittor waved his hand again. "What are our new orders, sir?"
asked Spittor, ignoring the rather confused actions of Inferno and
Scorponok.
"Now," said Megatron, "we wait for the fish to take the bait."
* * * * * * * * * *
"He's still destabilizing," announced Dolphonoch. "We need to
get him a new body, and now."
Stormcloud was still numb. Vixen's life was still teetering in the
balance, and their son wasn't doing much better. They had
managed to transfer his spark to a memory backup cell, but the
spark was still unstable, and Stormcloud was facing the imminent
possibility of losing them both. It was a concept that terrified him
beyond belief.
"Dives, haul ass!"
Dolphonoch's exclamation managed to knock Stormcloud out of
his stupor. "All right, we're too deep down to scan for a beast
mode," Stormcloud quickly assessed. "That means we'll need to
give him some method to scan for a mode once out of the base."
"Meaning a vehicular mode."
"The Metalformers," decided Stormcloud. "If we can give him a
third mode capable of getting into the air, he has a chance."
"I'm transferring the memory cell into the CR Chamber now," said
Dolphonoch. "Now, we need to find a mode, and fast..."
* * * * * * * * * *
"I've got the last monitor in place," announced Drill Bit.
"Arachnid, could you weld the connection?"
The overly paranoid spider grumbled as he picked up a laser
welder with his feelers and scurried up the wall. "You could have
done this yourself," he mumbled as he activated the torch,
welding the monitor to the Soundwave's computer system.
Blackarachnia was giddy. She already had ordered Tarantulas to
break into Megatron's personal files and command files, and
would soon have him working on any other encrypted files.
Fractyl, Headlock, and Flatline were in the laboratory, studying
the designs that Aquasting had scanned in the most recent
skirmish. Insecticon and Buzz Saw were placing her newly-
designed CEII (Complete Enviroment Input & Information)
listening posts in design grid that Juliet had suggested. In short,
the entire Predacon community were rushing to shift leadership
over to her liking.
As Drill Bit and Arachnid finished their job, Blackarachnia sat in
the throne. The room had been completely redesigned - instead
of a single, main viewscreen, it was covered in monitors, allowing
Blackarachnia massive amounts of input from as many sources
as she wished. The throne was now mobile - it could instantly
move to face any monitor she desired. Overall, the room
seemed more efficient than Megatron's design.
It was time for a test run. "Computer, call Tarantulas, monitor
seventeen." The chair quickly moved her to the correct monitor,
and the recently-Transmetallized Tarantulas appeared onscreen.
~Interesting design, Blackarachnia,~ commented Tarantulas.
She shrugged. "It works. Have you cracked Megatron's
encryption yet?"
~Yes. I've gotten the files broken down into readable format.~
"Excellent. Get the results onto the network as soon as
possible."
~Already done. Subdirectory TFTA299.~
"Wonderful." She hit another button on her chair. "Computer,
display contents of subdirectory TFTA299 on monitor twenty-
three." The chair compliantly shifted position, bringing
Blackarachnia to face the file. "Excellent," she hissed, tapping
her claws together.
~Er... Blackarachnia?~
"What?"
~Is it safe to come down and pursue our relationship further?~
Blackarachnia laughed. "Look, Tarantulas, we don't HAVE a
relationship. Case closed."
~Oh, well, what about that time in my cave -~
"As far as I'm concerned, THAT NEVER HAPPENED!!!"
~Now, Blackarachnia, I'm the only one here, you don't have to lie
-~
"JUST GET THE INFERNO AWAY FROM ME, YOU
LECHEROUS LITTLE EXCUSE FOR A SPIDER!!!"
The monitor snapped off with no further sound. Blackarachnia
sighed, then began examining the files.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Well, how do you feel?"
Razorbeast flexed his arms and legs, experimenting with the
newly-repaired systems. "Eh, it could be a lot worse," he noted,
retracting his wings. "I still don't think I can fly, though."
"Hey, I'm not perfect." Icebreaker shrugged and continued
packing the supplies that the Maximals had cobbled together into
a shelter onto the anti-grav sleds.
"So, what's our next course of action?" asked Seachill of Polar
Claw. "Do we follow Megs or escort Razorbeast, Hamstor, and
Sawjaw here into a padded cell?"
"I'm inclined to say both. However, assuming they are telling the
truth, we'd probably better finish this right here, right now, to
make sure that there aren't any more repercussions." He loaded
another few supplies onto the sled. "Sawjaw, got any way of
tracing them?"
"Yep," replied Sawjaw, holding up a modified scanner. "When
we first found the segments, I created this thing to track them.
As long as Tyrasix - er, sorry, Megatron - is still on the planet, we
should be able to find him."
"Well, then, find them and quit babbling about it!"
Sawjaw shot Polar Claw an icy glare, then activated the tracker.
"They're about... two megacycles to the northwest."
Polar Claw nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright, then, we're off
to get those segments. Transform and move out!"
The assembled Maximals transformed to beast mode, then
moved towards the Predacons, unaware of what awaited them
there.
* * * * * * * * * *
Wolfang entered first, crossbow at the ready. Slowly he
activated his visor, letting his wolf mode's enhanced vision
substitute for his own. Glancing over the entire room, he sighed,
then deactivated the visor. "Looks like your tracker-thingamabob
isn't working right," he shot back at Sawjaw.
"That's ridiculous! Nothing I build malfunctions!" As Sawjaw
transformed somewhat angrily, following Wolfang into the cave,
Razorbeast and Hamstor looked at each other as they
transformed. They knew that Wheeljack - er, Sawjaw - was
notorious for making slight miscalculations several times before
his devices worked.
"Oh, really?" said Wolfang patronizingly. "Then why, pray tell, is
there nothing in the cave besides us?"
"Don't be so sure," Polar Claw stated as he transformed, Seachill
and Icebreaker behind him. "The Predacons were a criminal
operation on Cybertron, and they learned millions of ways to hide
from sight that we haven't even imagined. I have a feeling that
Megatron's in here, and more importantly, knows we're here too."
"I can't stand this much longer!" hissed Inferno to Megatron.
"Quiet!" Megatron hissed back to Inferno in their cramped hiding
spot. "As soon as they're all in position, we'll release the trap."
Polar Claw and Seachill stepped into the cave, glancing around.
Next came Razorbeast and Hamstor, checking as best they
could for any structural hiding points. Only Icebreaker lingered,
unsure.
"Icebreaker, what the slag are you doing?" snarled Wolfang.
"Come in here!
"Something's... wrong..." he said as he slowly stepped into the
cave.
"NOW!!!" bellowed Megatron, bursting forth from his hiding
place. The Maximals immediately took combat positions, but
Iguanus detonated the explosives housed right above the cave
entrance. There was a huge explosion of snow and ice, burying
Icebreaker in moments. Floodlights activated, and the Maximals
saw themselves in a massive domed cave, with the Predacons
advancing. Razorbeast noticed a small spot that didn't look quite
right directly above them, and dived out of the way. Hamstor and
Sawjaw followed suit as another explosive was set off, burying
Polar Claw, Seachill, and Wolfang.
Megatron grinned at the three remaining Maximals. "Oh, this is a
day that has been long in coming. Oh, yesss."
* * * * * * * * * *
"I've got a mode!" Stormcloud excalimed. "A Cybertronian
Hybriskimmer. Nothing fancy, but enough to get him out of the
water and scanning a form."
"Gotcha," said Dolphonoch, quickly moving away from the control
panel for Vixen's tank as he moved to the panel for Stormcloud's
son's. "We can't explain any of this to him, though - we won't
have the time. I can launch him in vehicle mode out of the CR
Chamber - after all, these chambers used to be torpedo bays -
but he'll be on his own after that. We've just got to hope that he
figures out what he has to do."
Stormcloud's fuel pump raced. "Do it," he said, taking Vixen's
control panel and hoping that the plan worked.
Nodding, Dolphonoch's hands began to fly across the control
panel with practiced ease. As the readouts began to register the
bonding of the quantum metal with Stormcloud's son's
superstructure, he was already working on equipping the mode
with a temporary DNA scanning device.
"Vixen seems to be destabilizing!" shouted Stormcloud in a
panicked tone. "You'd better hurry - I'm no medic!"
"Primus, Dives, if you're going to panic, at least be quiet about it!"
snapped Dolphonoch. He was not normally quite so snappish,
but the stress of the situation forced him to take responsibility.
WIth a few final button presses, he launched Stormcloud's son,
then dashed over to Vixen's console.
"Her Spark activity is a little disrupted since I removed your son
from her memory banks," said Dolphonoch, working as quickly
as he could. "I'm trying to get her to eject the memory card, but
she's not responding very well..."
"Magnetize the card," announced Stormcloud quickly.
"What? That's ridiculous, it could wipe her memory banks -"
"Not too signifigantly - the CR Chamber can repair any damage.
The magnetized card will be assessed as a threat by the
chamber and it'll force her to eject the card to protect her
memory cells."
Dolphonoch looked at him, suprised. "When did you learn that?"
"Never mind that, just do it!"
With a shrug, Dolphonoch turned back to Vixen's console and
magnetized the card her son had been stored on. Surely
enough, the chamber almost immediately ejected it, and Vixen's
Spark activity returned to normal.
"Really, when did you learn that?" asked Dolphonoch.
"Well, it works along the same principle as a trick I learned for old
human computers," replied Stormcloud. "If the computer refuses
to delete a harmful file, then you'd give a harmless file the same
name and drop it in the same place as the harmful file. You
basically trick the computer to ignore its protocol through a
loophole in its programming."
Dolphonoch nodded, then turned to the console again. "The
chamber's finished repairing her... she'll be released in five...
four... three... two... one..."
The CR Chamber hissed open, and Vixen stumbled forward, in a
bit of pain but otherwise fine. Stormcloud threw his arms around
her. "Thank Primus," he muttered.
Vixen returned the embrace. "What did I miss?" she asked.
"A lot," replied Stormcloud.
"We're not out of the woods yet, people," said Dolphonoch, grimly
looking at the viewscreen. "Your son hasn't found a form yet,
and he needs to find one soon..."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Do I have to carry this irritating weevil?" groaned Buzz Saw,
acting as if he were exerting a great deal of effort. "He's awfully
heavy - why can't Manterror carry him?"
"Oh, shut up!" snapped Drill Bit. "It's not my fault I can't fly."
"Both of you be QUIET!" snapped Lazorbeak, gliding at the head
of the group. The four Predacons had been sent to determine
the state of the Maximal's defenses by order of their new leader,
Blackarachnia. There hadn't yet been any problems with
Blackarachnia now being in charge. Lazorbeak wasn't suprised.
The Predacons were an extremely mercurial operation, and as
long as their leader wasn't some sort of nut - or at least, no more
insane then the rest of the Predacons - they didn't really care
who it was in charge.
"How far away are we from the Maximal base?" asked Manterror
idilly.
"Half a megacycle," replied Lazorbeak. "I doubt we'll find much
of anything there yet - they're most likely in worse shape than we
are. After all, at least some of our ship was salvageable."
"Eh, whatever, just as long as we get to send some of 'em to the
scrap heap!" exclaimed Buzz Saw energetically.
"We won't," said Manterror, drearily as usual. "Blackarachnia's
orders were to scout and not to engage the Maximals if at all
avoidable."
"Aw, slag!" cursed Buzz Saw, nearly dropping Drill Bit in
frustration. "I miss Megatron. He would have let us slag
something."
"Not to mention slagged us if we didn't carry out his orders to the
letter," noted Drill Bit. "Don't start badmouthing Blackarachnia."
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll..."
"Since when have you been her official guardian, anyhow? Last I
checked, she's got more intrests in Tarantulas than in you..."
"SHUT UP!!!" bellowed Lazorbeak, half-ready to transform and
shoot the others out of the sky. "Primus, does any of this matter
in the SLIGHTEST? I want you both to be quiet, and stay that
way until we reach the Maximal base, or I will personally tear off
your heads and use them as paperweights!!!"
Buzz Saw and Drill Bit looked at each other swiftly, then at
Lazorbeak. "We'll be good," they assured him smultaneously.
*Now THAT'S leadership ability,* thought Manterror to himself.
* * * * * * * * * *
Razorbeast, Hamstor, and Sawjaw stood slowly, feeling the
multiple guns trained on them. Megatron was grinning widely.
"The ultimate weapon of destruction... this is truly the most
satisfying victory that I've had in a long time. Oh, yesss."
"You don't understand," began Sawjaw. "If you combine that
thing, you'll be bringing doom upon us -"
"Am I holding you at gunpoint so that you can feed me
prophecies? I think not." Megatron held out his free hand.
"Now, all of you, draw your segments from subspace - slowly. I
don't want you trying to pull out any other weapons."
Looking at each other hopelessly, the Maximals reached into
their subspace pockets, drawing forth three small segments of a
sphere.
"Good. Now, Sawjaw, you take all of the pieces, and come
here."
Sawjaw took the pieces from Razorbeast and Hamstor. As he
turned to take them, he saw Wolfang's hand move in a quick,
almost unnoticeable signal. Although Sawjaw wasn't entirely
sure what it meant, he knew the basic meaning.
Slowly, Sawjaw advanced towards Megatron. Behind him,
Razorbeast and Hamstor had seen Wolfang's signal, and their
hands were in position to yank out their guns. The Predacons,
however, still had a lock on the assembled Maximals.
Sawjaw was only a couple feet from Megatron now. "Hand over
the segments," he snapped, grinning widely. Sawjaw began to
extend his hands...
And, without a word, snapped them back over his head, tossing
the segments towards the other Maximals. "Guys, get the
segments out of here!" he shouted as Megatron smashed into
him, dropping him to the ground.
The Predacons started firing, but the other Maximals had burst
free from their burial spot and were returning fire. As the sides
traded projectiles, Razorbeast and Hamstor grabbed two of the
segments, with Minimus Primal, Polar Claw's bat companion,
swooping down and grabbing the other. Megatron snarled, then
advanced towards the trio, but Polar Claw slammed into him,
knocking the Predacon leader back. Wolfang's bolts hit Spittor,
taking the Maquis Squadron commander down, but Iguanus and
Snapper trained their fire upon him, and he was forced
backwards, using his shield to resist the assault as best he could.
Sawjaw began to stumble to his feet as Seachill charged, firing
his dual razordisk launchers into the fray. Swampsnap leaped on
him from behind, and Seachill quickly grabbed the Predacon and
flung him across the room, but was taken down from a blast from
Scoponok. Icebreaker's charge gun fired across the room, but
Spittor, slowly rising to his feet, shot the gun out of Icebreaker's
hand, and Inferno smashed through the smaller Transformer.
Acting quickly, Wolfang fired upon Spittor again, knocking him
out cold, and hit Inferno repeatedly, joined by Razorbeast and
Hamstor. The large Predacon fell backwards, smoking from
damage.
Iguanus's force cannon slammed into Hamstor and Razorbeast,
and they fell backwards, not too badly damaged but still smoking.
Polar Claw, meanwhile, tore into Megatron, pounding him with a
furious assault of punches and claws. Megatron grabbed Arctic
Squadron's leader, and hurled him away, letting him slam against
the wall with a snap and an enormous thud. Seachill finally came
to his feet, and let his razordisk launchers fire around the room,
tearing into Snapper. Megatron turned, and hit him with a blast
from his tail cannon, then turned and hit Wolfang.
Lifting Sawjaw, Megatron hurled him at Razorbeast and Hamstor,
preparing to move in and strike a final blow. Before he had the
chance, Polar Claw stuggled to his feet, hefting both Snapper
and Iguanus and hurling them at Megatron. Megatron stumbled
backwards from the assault, and Polar Claw took the opportunity
to hit Megatron hard, blasting his claw extender forth and letting it
dig through Megatron's Transmetal armor, revealing the
vulnerable wires below. Megatron, snarling, grabbed the
extender and snapped the cord, then made a motion to
Scoponok, who blasted Polar Claw with a bevy of missiles.
Razorbeast and Hamstor drew forth their weapons again, firing
on Megatron and Scorponok. Scorponok withstood the assault
initially, but was hurled back when Wolfang fired his explosive
bolts at Scorponok. Megatron withstood the assault easily, but
began to falter as Sawjaw joined the assault. Slowly rising,
Inferno grabbed his flamethrower and blasted Wolfang again,
then raked the others with a stream of flame. The three
Maximals put up little resistance, already heavily damaged and
barely clutching the small segments of the sphere they held in
their hands.
"An admirable effort, Maximals," growled Megatron as Spittor
and Iguanus slowly recovered, and Inferno helped Scopronok to
his feet. "However, the end result is the same. You... LOSE.
Now hand over the segments!"
"No... Megatron... you know not what you do..." Sawjaw wasn't
strong enough to speak with his usual clarity.
"I know full well what I do!" snapped Megatron. "I seize control!
And it is time for you to submit!"
"Not so fast!" gasped Icebreaker, pointing his charge blaster at
the top of the dome. "If I fire this right now, the entire cave
collapses, and you'll never get your weapon."
"How true," noted Megatron. With blinding speed, he fired a shot
at Icebreaker, tearing off the Maximal's arm. "Now hand over the
artifact and watch as I win the Beast Wars!"
Hamstor, Razorbeast, and Sawjaw struggled to their feet, their
weapons still in hand but hanging limply by their sides. With
darkened optics, they tossed over the three segments, letting
them fall in the snow.
Megatron smiled, and drew a nearly-completed sphere out of
subspace. Slowly, he picked up the first segment, and inserted it
into place.
Then the second.
Then the third.
"VICTORY IS MINE!!!" he cried as the orb began pulsing,
sending out waves of energy. His eyes took on a maniacal
gleam, watching the orb slowly rise.
"NOW!!!" shouted Razorbeast. Without another word, he,
Sawjaw, and Hamstor brought up their weapons, and fired
massively charged blasts at the orb. The guns fried and
jammed, but the blasts hit the orb with a resounding sound, and
the orb began to crack.
"NOOOOO!!! What have you done?!?!?!?" shouted Megatron,
watching the orb, and his victory, crack and lose form.
"Saved the planet!" replied Hamstor, in what seemed to be a last
act of defiance.
For miles around, the massive blast could be seen. The cave
was ripped apart, flung far and wide from ground zero. Of the
Maximals and Predacons that fought there, or the orb, or of the
fleeting doom that was unleashed upon that spot, there was
nothing left to indicate they were there.
Inferno slowly dug himself out of the snow. "We must be miles
away," he creaked out.
"Fifty, by my count," groaned Scoponok.
"Is there any chance that the others survived, besides us?"
"Not much," replied Scorponok.
The two Predacons, who they beleived to be the only survivors of
the blast, stared into the blank, starless night sky.
* * * * * * * * * *
Nightpounce and Dinobot looked up simultaneously as Grimlock
walked up. "What's going on?" asked Nightpounce.
"It had better be big, considering it's about to ruin my lunch,"
snarled Dinobot. He and Nightpounce had been having a
perfectly enjoyable conversation, outside the Starrunner, and
Dinobot was not pleased that Grimlock had found them and
decided to bring up business.
"It is," replied Grimlock. "There was a huge explosion seconds
ago, right at the northern polar reigons. The discharge was
massive - no explosive we've developed could possibly do that
much damage. We think that whatever it was is of alien origin -"
Grimlock's explanation was cut short as a tear emerged in the
sky, glowing yellow and orange. Out of the rift came a massive
fireball, which slowly diapated to reveal Mercutio.
"Well, there's reinforcement for the alien theory," snarled
Nightpounce, bringing her weapons on-line.
Mercutio held up a hand. "No... there isn't time."
Dinobot was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind that! Nightpounce, do you still have the staff?"
Nightpounce drew the staff from subspace. "Why?"
"Just activate it, now!"
Behind the Maximals and Mercutio, Lazorbeak and his patrol
were hurtling towards them. "Just a little closer, and I can get
them," muttered Lazorbeak, as the others armed their weapons
systems.
Shrugging, Nightpounce pressed the button on the staff. The
device opened, slowly rotating with a slight glow.
Then, there was an explosion. "What are you doing to us?!?!?"
bellowed Dinobot, drawing his sword and preparing to charge at
Mercutio.
Lazorbeak, Manterror, and Buzz Saw toppled to the ground, and
Drill Bit grunted as Buzz Saw landed on top of him.
Transforming, they watched as Nightpounce involuntarily let go of
the staff, and it slowly drifted upwards.
"It's a trap!" shouted Nightpounce, about to fire on Mercutio.
"No," he replied, "it's probably your last hope!"
Another rift opened, and the staff drifted in. The Maximals, the
Predacons, and Mercutio were all yanked in by the glowing green
light. THe rift swiftly closed, and the sky above the Starrunner
was silent once again.
* * * * * * * * * *
And somewhere, not far from the planet, the activation, and the
destruction, of the artifact known as the Singularity Orb has been
noted, and a powerful force that has lain dormant for longer than
any race can chronicle stirs slightly...