Beast War Chronicles Into Dreams... By: Eliot Lefebvre (aka Stormcloud)
Transformers are blessed or cursed, depending on who you ask, with numerous abilities outside their birthright of transforming from one form into another. Among those documented are teleportation, flight, invisibility, unnatural marksmanship, and the ilk. But one of the rarest cases is a vestige of psionic power. One of the most sought-after powers, psionic capabilities seem to appear at random throughout the population of Transformers. Elaborate studies upon the phenomenon have proven that there is no apparent rhyme or reason to the appearence of psionic power, making it impossible to control where it will go. One standout experiment, performed largely in secret by the Decepticons and Predacons, involved a single Predacon, whom the scientists attempted to forcibly instill with psionic powers. The results were never published, but it is reputed that their experiment backfired and overloaded the unfortunate's brain. Another report, however, says that the abilities were turned on so completely and forcibly that nobody was able to control them. Including the subject. But if that was the case, what would be the result? * * * * * * * * * * "Pod coming down, folks," sighed Stormcloud as the bridge's computer beeped. "Signature's hazy, though. No faction visible. I can't tell whether it's Maximal or Predacon." "You sure?" asked Optimus. "It's my JOB, Primal. I think I'm sure." He hit a few keys, bringing up a display of the scan on the main viewscreen. "Normally, the Axalon's scanners have no trouble picking up the unique energy resonance of the pod, which indicates whether it's a Maximal or Predacon pod. This one, though... something's strange about it. Something's producing more energy than the pod." He frowned. "Looks to be coming from the protoform, too." Optimus mirrored the computer expert's frown. "From the protoform? What could that mean?" "I'm not entirely sure, but it's spreading in a pretty wide area around the pod, and it doesn't look like any sort of energy I've seen before. It's not energon, which was my first guess. It doesn't seem to be harming the protoform, but I'm not sure about the effects it might have on a recovery team." "All right." Optimus tapped his communicator. "Vixen, Razorbeast, Ground Zero, get down here. There's a pod coming down, but it's something of an... unusual case. I'll explain when you arrive. Optimus out." He snapped off the communication, then looked back at Stormcloud, who was giving him a strange look. "Do you know something I don't?" "Not a thing, Optimus," replied Stormcloud. *Not for sure, anyhow.* He vaguely recalled hearing about something like this... but no, it was a myth. There was no chance of it being true. Especially here, and now. * * * * * * * * * * "Tarantulas." The bulbous, twitchy spider nearly jumped a meter in the air at the sound of his commander's voice resonating behind him. "Tarnatulas, you weren't planning on hiding the arrival of another stasis pod, were you? I'm disappointed." Megatron hovered his throne in closer, smirking. "No, of course not," said Tarantulas swiftly. "I was merely... testing the pod. Something's unusual about it." Megatron looked at Tarantulas with an expression halfway between amusement and anger. "Honestly, Tarantulas. You're one of the brightest minds on this ship. Did you really think that I would fall for that?" "It's the truth!" argued Tarantulas. "Look at the display. Some sort of energy is being given off by the protoform!" A frown crossed Megatron's face. "What do you mean?" "Something's litterally radiating from the pod. Whatever it is, it's coming from the interior, and it's strong enough to mask the resonance we use to identify the faction of the pod. It even masked it from our sensors until it had penetrated the atmosphere." Megatron thought for a moment, considering the situation. "Do you believe that the effects of this energy would be harmful?" "I have no way of knowing -" "You do now. You, Bloodclot, and Swampsnap will investigate this pod, and either bring it back alive, or make sure that it isn't alive at all." He turned and began hovering his throne over to retreive the other warriors. "Wait! But... how will I contain it -" "That, Tarantulas, is in YOUR job description, not mine." Megatron smirked to himself as he turned away, because he knew, even without looking, that Tarantulas was fuming. * * * * * * * * * * Vixen sighed as she checked the small handheld scanner. "We're about ten meters from the landing site," she said. "At least, to the best of my estimation. The field expands about three meters out from the pod, according to Stormcloud, and seven meters ahead I can't get anything except static." The three Maximals continued towards the disturbance. "I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Razorbeast. "Wouldn't the Predacons pick up a disturbance like this too?" "If so, they'd be coming at it from the other side, so I can't read them," replied Vixen. "Six meters." Ground Zero frowned. "Wait - I think I can see the disturbance. Look ahead." Vixen and Razorbeast looked forward. Not far from where they stood, there was a shimmering purple field, translucent and undulating. "Primus," breathed Vixen. "What is that?" "You're the genius here, Vix. We were hoping you could tell us." Vixen closed her eyes for a moment. "Hang on. I'll try sensing ahead psionically - maybe then I can - GAAA!!" The air around Vixen's head erupted in a nova of crackling psionic energy. The Maximal medic fell to the ground, wincing in obvious pain. "Vixen!" shouted Razorbeast, as he and Ground Zero lunged to her aid. "Are you all right?" Vixen choked on air, gasping for breath. "Yes... I... whatever the hell that is, it's manifesting on the psionic plane as well. Whacked the hell out of me... I'm not sure what effect actually being IN it would have." "Did you get anything else out of it?" "Yes. The pod's scanned a beast mode, but I can't tell what. And... and one other thing, ricocheting through that wave of force that hit me. FEAR." Ground Zero and Razorbeast looked at each other, then back at Vixen. "You really think we should go in there?" "We don't have a choice," replied Vixen. "Whatever's manifesting itself here, we need to put a stop to and fast. If the Predacons got control of this... they might be able to end the Beast Wars." She regained her footing then straightened herself and strode towards the shimmering field. Ground Zero and Razorbeast followed. * * * * * * * * * * Vixen looked around. The forest was clear again! What could have gotten rid of that field? She glanced over to see both Ground Zero and Razorbeast getting off the ground, rubbing their foreheads. "Guys, do you have any idea what just happened? Last thing I remember, we walked into the field, and now -" "We're here on the ground," replied Razorbeast with a nod. "Same thing on this end. The field must have knocked us for a loop, but seeing as how it's nowhere to be found, I guess the three of us at once overloaded it." Vixen looked at the scanner. "Well, well. The Preds did decide to show up, and they aren't that much further away from the landing site than we are. Let's get there, and fast!" The three Maximals took off running. Vixen flipped into fox mode, running at her beast mode's full speed. Razorbeast stayed in robot mode, but his natural agility and speed allowed him to keep up with his companions. Ground Zero let his flight system kick in and rocketed after them, low to the ground, smashing through trees in his path. "There!" shouted Vixen, transforming and flipping forwardwith her crossbow at the ready. It was filled with neural inhibitor darts - should it be nessecary, she was prepared to sedate the robot inside the pod. She looked on the small meetal pod as Razorbeast and Ground Zero came to a halt behind her. "It's opening." "And it's ours," said Tarantulas, walking out of the woods flanked by both Bloodclot and Swampsnap. "The pod is ours, Maximals. Turn back now, and we shall not be forced to harm you in order to retrieve it." "Please, PLEASE, give me a reason," smirked Bloodclot, waving his blade arms ominously. Before any of the Maximals could respond, the pod's door opened with a hiss. A black, white, and green robot emerged, seeming to be stumbling from pain. He looked around. "Oh, no. No. No, no, no. This can't be. Not again..." "What do you mean, 'not again'?" asked Swampsnap. The robot looked around. "My name is Retrax, and I'm asking you all, please, leave my mind!" Vixen gasped. "You mean... we're on the psionic plane?" "I don't know," sobbed Retrax. "I never learned. I never had a chance to learn. I can't control my mind... it just IS! Please... I can't control what happens when I get stressed!" Tarantulas was staring aghast. "My God. This is impossible. You can't -" "NOOO!!!" shouted Retrax, his voice slicing through the mind of everyone present. The ground rose up around him like water, then suddenly began spinning and whirling out of control. The Transformers felt themselves being lifted off of the ground, flying through the air. Retrax was sobbing. "Please, go away, just go AWAY!!!" A bolt lashed out from Retrax's mind, and snatched the Transformers. The three Maximals and three Predacons were hurled deep into the dark spaces away from where Retrax saw. Sobbing still, he prayed to a god he had long stopped believing in to let them be okay, no matter what he accidentally did to them... * * * * * * * * * * "Um, Primal? I really think you're going to want to take a look at this." Optimus moved over to where Stormcloud was sitting. "What is it, Stormcloud? Did something go wrong at the pod's landing site?" "Saying something went wrong in this situation is akin to saying that the core of a star is a little warm." Stormcloud gestured at the terminal. "All life signs within the vicinity seem to have completely dropped out of concious activity. Everything. Animals included. Our troops - along with the Predacons - are out of it." "Dead?" "No, just out of it. They're still alive, but it's as if their brains are completely disconnected from their bodies. I'm reading brain activity, but only a contracted amount. The lights are on, but nobody's home." He turned to Optimus, giving him a frank look. "I don't know what this is, but I'd bet that it's a result of the pod's energy field." Optimus sighed, worried for his troops. "Is there any way you can pull them out of it somehow?" "I'm afraid not. Physically, we could remove them, but I have a feeling - and this is going to sound ridiculous - that something hit them psionically that's left all of them reeling." He held up his hand. "I know, I know, psionics is a mostly unexplored science, but it would explain what's happening." Optimus looked hard at Stormcloud. A theory was beginning to form in his head, and it was not an entirely pleasant one. "Stormcloud, do you know more about this than you're letting on?" "No," he replied. There was silence for a second. "I just *suspect* more than I'm letting on." "What?" asked Optimus. "Well... back on Cybertron, there was a rumor going around about a Decepticon-Predacon experiment. According to the rumor, they were going to attempt to forcibly instill a subject with psionic energy in order to study the exact reasons for manifestations of psionic ability. But something went wrong, and the unfortunate's powers raged out of control until he was killed." Stormcloud sighed, cracking his knuckles. "At least, that's what the rumors said." Optimus's eyes narrowed to slits. "You think the Predacons had this unfortunate on their ship when they took off, and they're trying to get him back?" "Assuming it's true, yes," replied Stormcloud. "This wasn't public knowledge, though. Someone who was on the experiment must've suspected that this was the one they had instilled with energy..." Optimus thought for a moment. "He's a weapon to them now," he muttered, almost to himself. "But why did he attack both the Predacons and our troops?" "Like I said, this guy can't control his powers," replied Stormcloud. "When the troops entered the energy field, he probably unconciously pulled them telepathically into the psionic plane. They're on their own." With something halfway between a sigh and a growl, Optimus turned and sat back down. He was worried - but not just for the troops. *If the Predacons know what they're dealing with, they could use this robot as a weapon. And if they do... Primus help us, could we stop them?* * * * * * * * * * * Vixen felt herself reforming, pulling back together. *Concentrate,* she thought, practicing the excercises she had learned long before in her early telepathic training. Her thoughts collected themselves, her concentration revitalized her. Within minutes, her psionic form was repaired, back in one piece. "First step," she said - somewhere between thinking and speaking in the psionic plane. With a slight effort, she extended her perception around her, sensing the shattered forms of Ground Zero and Razorbeast. Calming herself as much as possible, she tried to psionicallly grip their forms, bringing them back together. She strained under the psionic effort, but felt their conciousnesses coalescing as she strained. As they reformed, she breathed a sigh of relief, as her psionic abilities were nearly spent. "What the heck was THAT?" asked Razorbeast, rubbing his forehead. He looked around himself, at the unproportioned and almost random structures, the multicolored sky, the unperceivable dimensions. "And where the heck are we? The Salvador Dali Dimension?" "That was a VERY nasty psionic attack," replied Vixen. "And this is the psionic plane." She sighed, gathering her energies again. "We'd better find Retrax as soon as possible. I only got a brief telepathic glance at him, but if that was any indication, we're going up against something seriously powerful." "What about the Preds?" asked Ground Zero, obviously confused. "Didn't they get smacked by the psion-psychic-plane- attack thingie too?" "Not nearly as badly, Maximal," came a voice. The three Maximals turned. Bloodclot, Tarantulas, and Swampsnap hovered there. Bloodclot was smiling as his hand glowed with purple energy. "Tarantulas gave us a crash course on this stuff, so we -" "Forget about it, Bloodclot," snapped Tarantulas as he turned to face Vixen. "The attack wasn't targeted at you, but psionic energy follows the opposite of the law of diffusion - from a low concentration to a high concentration." "Isn't THAT an interesting bit of trivia," snarled Vixen, obvious angered. "What were you planning to do - destroy us and try to defeat him? Not going to happen, I can tell you right now. For one thing, I am the only psion among us, and I could defeat you in this enviroment without trouble." She stared at Tarantulas, eyes now filled with more urgence than anger. "More importantly, even I couldn't even TOUCH him psionically; if he wants us to stay away, we aren't going to have a choice in the matter." Tarantulas cocked his head to one side, eyes slightly wider than before. "Exactly what are you proposing?" he asked. "We need to team up temporarily," replied Vixen. "Unless we get him under control soon, he's not only a danger to himself, but to everyone else. Considering how panicked he was the last time we saw him, it can't be long before he starts losing more control with his energies... and that could very well spell our doom." For a moment, Tarantulas did not respond, seemingly lost in thought. He looked at Vixen again. "All right," he replied with a sigh. "We'll play by your rules... for the time. But when this is over, Maximal... the pod is ours." Vixen's eyes flashed a bright purple, energy spilling out of them. "We'll see about that, Tarantulas." * * * * * * * * * * Optimus looked at Stormcloud with a sudden urgency. "The troops didn't transform before they were knocked unconcious," he said, rising to his feet as the train of logic struck him. Stormcloud looked at Optimus, not quite following what Optimus was thinking. "Yes, they were taken by surprise and didn't have a chance to shift into beast mode. Don't see how that makes much of a difference -" "Think, Stormcloud!" snapped Optimus. He slammed his fist into the chair in spite of himself. "Their bodies and minds might no be in synch, but they still are going to need to return to their bodies." With a flash, Stormcloud realized what Optimus meant, and his eyes widened appreciably. "They're still in robot mode," he gasped. "Their energon resistance is wearing down. If they don't get out of there soon, the energon fields will start to damage them..." "Can you trigger their autoshift systems from this range?" asked Optimus. Every Maximal's internal CPU had been wired to automatically shift to beast mode if energon resistance hit 0%, but with the Maximals unconcious, the system couldn't kick in. "Theoretically, yes. Practically, probably not. We don't nearly have enough power to generate a beam of that range..." He sighed, resting his head in his hands. "If we did try for it, we'd have to just pulse out the signal. It would shift the Preds, too... but it'd probably knock out most of our power in the process. Risky..." "But you could do it?" "With Rhinox's help, maybe." He rubbed his chin. "I suppose we could reconfigure the radio projection antenna to emit the command universally..." Optimus hit his comm. "Rhinox, get to the bridge immediately. We've got a project for you." Before his lieutenant could respond, he shut off the comm, turning to face the now- astonished Stormcloud. "We don't have a choice, Stormcloud." "I know, Optimus. That doesn't mean it's safe..." * * * * * * * * * * Vixen squinted as the six Transformers flew towards their quarry. "I see him," she said, her hands beginning to glow with psionic energy. "Everyone clear on the plan?" "Perfectly," replied Swampsnap, eyes narrowed. "Although I'd like to mention again that this what is known as nonconsenting mental interaction, also known as mind rape?" "You're awfully freedom-oriented for a Predacon - and a security chief, at that," snarled Razorbeast, staring at the Predacon. "Everyone has certain rights we CAN'T subjugate, Maximal," replied Swampsnap. "The rest have to be reigned in, or anarchy will -" "Pay attention!" shouted Vixen as they came closer to Retrax. The Transformer turned to see them, and his eyes widened. "That wasn't nessecary earlier, Retrax," said Vixen as she banked to a stop, speaking as calmly as possible. "If you'll just let us help you -" "I..." Retrax convulsed in pain, and the landscape around them shifted unpredictably. "I can't! Please... it takes every ounce of concentration I have to even exert this level of control over my powers. You saw what happened when I lost any of that control... the next time, I don't know what I might -" "Only one way to find out, then!" shouted Ground Zero. Before Retrax could react, the black-white Maximal slammed into Retrax's psionic barrier - his unconcious defense against telepathic intrusion. Even as the barrier strained against the brunt of Ground Zero's concentration, Razorbeast slammed into the same spot on the barrier, and it began to falter ever so slightly. Bloodclot slammed himself into the barrier along with Swampsnap, and Retrax reacted as if in physical pain. Vixen saw what she was looking for - a crack. "Come on!" she shouted to Tarantulas, flying around and into the crack. The spider followed, moving as swiftly as thought would allow. Seconds after he slipped in, the crack slammed shut, and the barrier shoved back Ground Zero, Razorbeast, Swampsnap, and Bloodclot. "I can't see them!" shouted Swampsnap. "Do you think that they made it in all right?" Before anyone answered, Retrax looked at the three of them, seeming to have tears pouring from his optics. "No... nooooo! I... I...I - can't - hold - it - back -" The two Maximals and Predacons looked at Retrax, and saw the massive buildup of energy around him. "Oh, boy," sighed Ground Zero as the energy crackled. "This is really going to hurt..." * * * * * * * * * * Stormcloud dove into the Axalon, Rhinox close behind. "We've finished the modifications," said Rhinox. "We've only got one shot at this, though, so we'd better make it a good one." "I've radioed all the Maximals in the perimeter to forewarn them of the shift," said Optimus. "Skydive and Skyfall have made the nessecary preparations in engineering. All we need to do is flip the switch." His hand on the button, Stormcloud looked at Optimus. "We won't know if this works, you know. ALL of our systems are going to go offline - we'll be blind until they reactivate. We'll be able to transform, but nontheless..." "There aren't any other options left," said Optimus. "Throw it." Stormcloud sighed, then pushed the button. There was a crackle from the radio transmitter above, and a blue-white wave swept over them. Stormcloud squawked as he was forced back into falcon mode, and flapped away from the console. The floor shook with the impact as Rhinox fell to the floor in rhino mode. Optimus lept in the air as the wave hit him, and so landed gracefully in gorilla mode. Within a minute, the crackle had died out, and the three Maximals on the bridge transformed as the lights went out. The room was only illuminated by the glows of the Maximal's optics. "We should have full power back in thirty cycles," said Stormcloud, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you think it worked?" asked Optimus. "Let's hope so," said Rhinox gravely. "Because otherwise, their energon resistance would have gone down by now." * * * * * * * * * * Retrax looked around. The world around him was black as night, featureless, except for Vixen and Tarantulas. "Wh... where are we?" he asked, panic evident in his voice. "The last thing I remember, I was surrounded by -" "We're off the psionic plane, Retrax," replied Vixenn, moving slowly towards him. "We're in your mind, communicating with you directly." She smiled slightly, and cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry for assaulting you, but it was the only way we could have gotten this close." "Quite true," said Tarantulas. He stepped towards Retrax. "We're offering a way for you to finally control these telepathic powers that plague you. Give you sanity.. give you the ability to walk among others without knowing everything about them at a glance." "Both of you?" asked Retrax, surprised. "But... I know you're enemies..." "No," said Vixen softly. "Just him. But I have to disable your powers first... and that means knocking you unconcious. It's the only way to return us to our bodies." Retrax thought for a moment. "All right..." he said, spreading his arms wide. Her head sunk low, Vixen stepped forward, and gently let his psionic powers flow into Retrax. His optics closed as Vixen shut him down temporarily, and the world around them melted... * * * * * * * * * * Ground Zero blinked, and transformed to robot mode. Weren't they just on that psionic thingamajig about to get blasted? "We're back," said Vixen as she, Razorbeast, and the Predacons stood and transformed. She checked her computer. "Energon resistance low... but that's to be expected. And everyone's still sane, to boot..." "If that's the case, we've got something to settle," said Razorbeast, drawing his weapon. "The pod's still coming with us, Preds, and we -" "They take the pod," said Vixen softly. Razorbeast and Ground Zero looked at Vixen in shock. "You can't be serious, Vixen!" shouted Ground Zero. "They want to use him as a -" "They also want to help him control his powers," replied Vixen. "When I touched his mind... I sensed his huge longing to be rid of his powers. We might be able to control them eventually... but not fast enough. Tarantulas will do it with no compassion for the soul... but he will do it without question. They'd win sooner or later, regardless." She dropped her head. "They get the pod." Tarantulas transformed and shot a web out to catch the pod, then began scuttling away. Bloodclot and Swampsnap transformed swiftly afterwards, and followed after the spider. The Maximals simply stood, watching the Predacons revel in their hard-won triumph. * * * * * * * * * * Optimus looked towards the lift as his three troops came on board - without the pod. "What happened?" he asked. "Did the pod self-destruct or something?" "We gave it to them," replied Vixen, head still hung low. If Optimus were a cartoon character, steam would have begun shooting out of his ears. "You GAVE it to them?!? Why in the name of - they want him as a weapon! Do you know what they'll do to -" "They'll let him control his powers!" snapped Vixen, optics flickering from sadness. "Optimus, there was no way for us to win this battle, no matter what we did. I... I couldn't have helped him, not fast enough. They could, and would..." For a moment, Optimus stayed silent, lost in thought. "I understand, Vixen," he said at length, still obviously angry but calmed. "Go to your quarters for a while..." Vixen complied without a sound. Razorbeast and Ground Zero stood for a moment, then followed after Vixen. Rhinox, Stormcloud, and Optimus stayed on the bridge, a silence weighing heavily on all of them. * * * * * * * * * * Retrax opened his eyes to silence. For the first time in more years than he could remember, his head didn't echo with the noises of millions of thoughts that weren't his. The black and chrome architecture that surrounded him at that moment seemed the most beautiful thingh he had ever seen. "You... you cut off my powers!" "No, Retrax, I dampened them to controllable levels," replied Tarantulas as the new Predacon sat up to face him. "If you try, you can still activate them, but with you in full control." Retrax suddenly felt the new weight bearing down on him. He tried to move his arms to investigate the massive apparatus he felt inside him, but all he could manage was a slight tilt upwards. "What... what did you..." "The dampeners required were so masssive that I had to weave them into your internal structure," replied Tarantulas, showing no emotion. "Even afterwards, I found I needed to strip out massive amounts of your body mass to accomadate them, and most of the arm actuators had to go. You can do little more than give a hug with your arms now. Fortunately, your beast mode can probably allow you finer manipulation..." "I appreciate it at any price," replied Retrax, but his voice gave away the first vestige of suspicions. "Then you had best go to meet Megatron as soon as possible." "Megatron?" Tarantulas's optics gave a small glint. "You are in service of the Predacons now, Retrax. This is the price of sanity, in this case. He is looking forward to meeting you...." Tarantulas gestured towards the door. For a moment, Retrax faltered, then stood, and shambled as best as he could in his oddly-structured new body out towards the command room. For a moment, Tarantulas said nothing. "Computer, open log." There was a beep of acknowledgement. "Today is a great day. Experiment 3822-AE... the Neuron Project... has finally been completed with the assistance of an uninformed Maximal. Subject is restricted to minimal movement... but instilled psionic powers have been dampened to controllable levels. It is my conclusion that there is a possibility of the installation of psionic energy in a military application..." And Tarantulas laughed, for he had found a control for psionics. The rarest of powers. Their dream would end. Their nightmare would begin.