TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2412 AUTOBASE IACON, CYBERTRON The mood of the day was "tense with a 40 percent chance of gunfire" at the Autobots' main stronghold. Optics and scanners watched the skies for any approaching Decepticon troops, while Autobot guards patrolled the outer walls and gates, trigger fingers light but ready on their various weapons. Sentries kept to their posts at the various observation galleries, while those Autobots in the higher echelons checked in on them. "Man, Hoist," commented one Autobot as he and his companion entered the post that watched over Iacon's outer gates. "If it gets any -more- tense around here, we're gonna have people preemptively snapping their power couplings." The stockier green robot nodded, resting a hand against one of the observation post's support pillars. "Indeed, Jazz. We've been fortunate so far, but I'm worried about some of the younger Autobots. If they take too many risks against the Decepticons, trying to prove themselves, even with Prime's orders, we could be looking at some serious downtime for them." Jazz nodded. "Still, that's the only way -some- of these kids are gonna get it knocked through their cranial plates that this war thing ain't all it's cracked up to be in the holos." "Too true," Hoist admitted. He then looked out from the observation deck, towards the outreaches of Iacon's territory and the landscape of Cybertron beyond. "Have you heard anything from Sideswipe's team since he reported in to Prowl?" Jazz looked out as well, watching the horizon. "Nope, and Blaster hasn't given me a buzz. Looks like we'll find out how they're doing when they get here." He paused and zoomed his optics, looking out over the main thoroughfare. "Hold on, here they come!" "Where - ah, yes!" Hoist focused his own optics, and he could just make out a motley assortment of ground vehicles approaching Iacon, as well as a somewhat battered Destroid, several human air vehicles, and a rather larger mecha that was flying alongside the group. "Open the gates!" Jazz called down to the guards who were manning the main entrance. He transformed and roared off down an access ramp to reach Autobase's outer courtyard. Hoist transformed and followed after him. The massive outer gates of Iacon slid open to allow entrance to Sideswipe, Skullomania, and the assorted Autobot and ACROSS vehicles. Overhead, the ACROSS Pelicans flew over the walls, followed by the massive form of Getter-1. "Honey, we're hooome!" Sideswipe proclaimed as he transformed, meeting up with Jazz and Hoist as they joined him. "Good to see you back in one piece, Red," Jazz replied, punching the other Autobot in the shoulder. "Take it you didn't have any troubles getting back?" Sideswipe smiled back, returning the good-natured punch. "Nah, the 'Cons know better than to mess with the best. It was a straight shot back to Iacon. Almost boring, especially with Professor Overload talking old war stories with Foxhound." "And having to hear Sideswipe complain every other mile that we were -avoiding- Decepticon patrols," Smokescreen added with a sly grin. The red Autobot snorted. "Details, don't bother me with details." "Of course." Jazz chuckled, and then looked up at Skullomania's spherical head unit. "Yo, Misato! Welcome to Iacon, home of the finest repair bays this side of Paradron! Your team doing OK?" The assault destroid's speakers crackled. "We're all alive and intact, Jazz," Misato Katsuragi replied. "I can't say the same about our mechanical assets, though." Jazz nodded. "Well, get your gear settled into repair bay twenty-three, and kick up your feet, 'cause the Auto-docs are in the house!" "Did somebody call my name?" a white ambulance announced as it drove in from one of the base's access corridors. "No, he called mine, Ratchet," replied a stylish Lancia Stratus Turbo, following close on the ambulance's tail lights. "Oh, -man-, will you look at that?" the second Autobot added as he pulled to a stop next to Overload's loaded trailer and transformed. Ratchet switched to robot mode and gave a low whistle as he began to study the damaged, stasis-locked Vozdushnikons. "I'd heard you guys had been hit bad, but you look like Grimlock and his boys played gravball with you." Foxhound, the sole conscious Soviet Decepticon among the group, made a noncommittal grunt through his vocoder. "Wheeljack, Hoist, how's it look to you?" Ratchet asked the other two Autobot technicians. Hoist used a scanner to analyze some of the damaged Vozdushnikon's internals, while Wheeljack picked up Blackjack's severed arm and pulled several control cables within it, causing its metal fingers to twitch. Hoist grimaced as best as he was able, then turned to the Autobot CMO. "The internals across the board are, as Jazz might say, 'seriously hosed', Ratchet." "No kidding," Wheeljack added, setting Blackjack's arm down and poking through the other Decepticon parts on the trailer. "I'm quite frankly amazed they're still this intact, given they were rebuilt by humans in the 20th century, and even now we're going to be looking at several weeks of superstructure repair." Foxhound spoke up, looking perturbed. "Our Soviet engineers were more capable than you give them credit for, Autobot." "Hey, I'm not putting them down." Wheeljack raised his hands, and rubbed them together. "Looks like they did a hell of a job, given the tech base they had to work with. I've just been waiting a long time for a chance to look you guys over." Foxhound tilted his head and looked over at Ratchet. "I am suddenly feeling very dubious about this." "Don't worry, we'll keep Mr. Science here from getting out of line." Ratchet grinned. "Put it in idle, Wheeljack. Don't make me sic Mercy on you. She'll be glad to quote you the section of the Ares Convention prohibiting experimentation on prisoners of war." Wheeljack laughed. "No thank you." "Where do you want these guys moved to, Doc?" Overload finally found the chance to ask. "Bay 12-S is all ready, Overload." "Got it." The minicon revved his engine, and tooted his horn. "See you later, Colonel Katsuragi!" The Atlas waved from where its pilot had been directing the distribution of the ACROSS vehicles. "You too, Overload!" As the Minicon, his cargo, and the Autobot medical team rolled off into the depths of Autobase, Misato Katsuragi considered her team's situation. "Well, looks like things are finally clear enough - OK, Priss, you're clear to land." Getter-1, which had been circling around the outer courtyard in a holding pattern, slowed its flight and came to a stop, hovering vertically over the metal expanse. "Okay, Misato," Priss Morgan replied over the kaiju-class mecha's speakers. "I'm not sure how this is gonna go - you guys better take a step back." Sideswipe and Jazz glanced at each other, and did so, as did the other Autobots. Slowly, carefully, Priss lowered Getter Robo down to the metal plating of the courtyard. There was a grinding sound and several bursts of green steam from the fractures in the mecha's armor as it settled onto the ground. Sylvie Daniels let out the breath she'd been holding. "Phew. We're still intact." She opened her own connection to outside. "You guys better have a repair gantry ready for us; I don't know how much longer Getter Robo's going to be able to maintain integrity." Jazz looked up at the face of the giant red-and-white mecha. "Twenty-Three's the bay we use for fixing guys like Omega Supreme; you shouldn't have any problems fitting in." "Got it," Priss replied, and she turned the mecha towards the domes of Autobase. "And the sooner the better," Chuck Keith added. "I kept having visions of us trying to separate back to the G-Machines and them collapsing on each other. I have no desire to end up upside-down a -second time-." "Hey, my piloting was NOT that bad!" Misato exclaimed, who had been listening to the Getter pilots' conversation. Priss laughed, but was stopped from making further commentary by Sylvie, who had been studying her various displays. "Hold on," Sylvie interjected. "Guys, I've got somebody coming in fast - damn, he's easily as fast as Outrun - " "What?" asked the aformentioned Autobot, and he took a look out through the gap between the slowly closing gates of Iacon. "Oh, looks like it's Blurr." Jazz glanced over and frowned. "Huh? He isn't due back to report until twenty-hundred," he commented, even as the sleek pale-blue Autobot courier shot through the gap before the gates closed and rapidly transformed. "What's the word, Blurr?" "ThewordisbadJazzdoubleplusungoodbad!TheDecepticonshaveshifted theirfocusandthey'removingonVilnacrontryingtotakethecity!UltraMagnus needsreinforcementsforthegarrisonprontostatfastfastfast!" "Whoa, wait a nano, Blurr - they're moving on -Vilnacron- now?" Blurr nodded, his head blurring as he stepped from one foot to another, leaving afterimages to his movements. "Affirmativeyoubetyougotit!" "Did -anybody- get what he just said?" Priss asked from the cockpit of Getter-1. "Looks like the 'Cons have decided to break back into their old home town," Outrun translated for the hyperactive Autobot. "Can't say I'm -too- surprised, but even so, you'd think Shockwave would have waited until later..." "All right, Blurr -- how many 'Cons did Magnus think they'd be up against?" Jazz asked. "I'll let Prowl know the 411 - " "AsfarasUltraMagnuscouldtelljustaboutALLOFTHEM!" Jazz was taken aback. Sideswipe summed up his friend's expression with a succinct "... gwa?" Looking at the assembled Autobots, Misato Katsuragi asked the question that was now on the minds of everybody in ACROSS. "OK. Could somebody PLEASE tell me WHAT THE HELL is GOING ON?" /* Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori "Brothers in Arms" _Halo: Original Soundtrack */ Eyrie Productions, Unlimited and Imagination, Unlimited present UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON RELOADED Issue #3 - "The Call Of Primus" Benjamin D. Hutchins Philip Jeremy Moyer with Geoff Depew The Transformers created by Hasbro/Takara (c) 2006 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited FIVE HOURS EARLIER DECEPTICON LANDING ZONE ALPHA BORDER WASTELANDS, CYBERTRON LZ Alpha, the place where the Decepticon fleet had touched down, was already taking on somthing of the look of a permanent installation. The Constructicons had wasted no time throwing up perimeter defenses to augment the warships' own guns in the event of an Autobot counterattack, however unlikely the Decepticon forces' dominance of the air made that possibility. As it happened, they had time to make those defenses fairly intricate, since they hadn't had to spend time on the one thing that most commonly takes up battle engineers' time after a landing. They didn't have to build a field headquarters, because Shockwave brought his with him. His flagship was designed and built specifically to function as a fully operational field bunker after landing. That way, there would be no break in the continuity of command, no need for him to waste time or energy moving from one command post to another - he could just stay right where he was, on the ship's bridge, and let the vessel's vast information-handling capacity bring the battle to him. Efficiency, that was Shockwave's watchword. The Decepticon commander stood where he had stood since the assault began, in that same parade-rest-like position, watching as a dozen monitors at once showed him his forces' progress, some with real-time video relayed from commanders, some with symbolic maps. All appeared to be going well, all forces accounted for - except one. <> Soundwave reported. Shockwave half-turned to see the metallic raptor form of his comm officer's most trusted scout settling on Soundwave's forearm. "I have news of the Vozdushnikons, Commander," Buzzsaw reported. "I regret to report that you're not going to like it." Shockwave's optic dimmed slightly, which was as close as he could get to narrowing it. "Show me," he said. Buzzsaw inclined his head, then transformed to cassette mode while Soundwave opened his chest compartment for his scout to dock. Then Soundwave transformed as well, connecting to his console. His spindles whirred as he accessed Buzzsaw's recording of the battle, which began playing back in Shockwave's master holotank. The other members of the bridge crew gathered and watched with a sort of morbid fascination as Getter Robo and Skullomania battled, and eventually wrecked, the combined form of the Vozdushnikons. The Combaticons, themselves a combining team, fidgeted and gave occasional sympathetic winces as they watched Soyuz take the kind of pounding a combined titan almost never had to absorb. Shockwave watched the whole thing in silence. When the Autobots showed up and hauled the smashed remains of the Vozdushnikons away, the image flickered and went out, after which Soundwave returned to robot mode. <> he announced. "Analysis," Shockwave said. "An impressive piece of equipment, this 'Getter Robo'," said Onslaught, ever the pragmatist. "Far superior to the Dai-Guard machines the humans tried to field against us in the 21st century." "That Destroid wasn't what it looked like, either," Vortex added. "I've never seen technology like that," Swindle mused. "I bet it'd go for a -ton- on the black market... " "Bah. Soyuz got cocky, that's all," Brawl said dismissively. "It's the Flanker in him. 'Ooh, look at -me-, I'm so -smart-. The whatever whatever of the political whatever makes my victory assured.' Bruticus would'a crushed those human pukes." "He gave a good accounting of himself, considering," Onslaught disagreed. "Neither of the human machines looked in much condition to continue the fight." "And repairing them will draw on the Autobots' resources," Blast-Off added, "which could work to our advantage in the long run." Shockwave nodded. "Still, the loss of the Vozdushnikons is unfortunate." He turned to his comm officer. "Soundwave, your thoughts?" <> Soundwave replied. <> "Show me the strategic plot," Shockwave ordered. A moment later, a complete overview of the battlefront appeared in the holotank. Shockwave studied it silently for a few moments, then said, "Assign minimal occupation forces to currently held territory. Recall all assault forces. Prepare for a full-strength attack on Vilnacron." Onslaught blinked. "Vilnacron? What good will taking Vilnacron do us? We're hours away from seizing Tyrest Control -and- Kalis." "Vilnacron is our primary objective," Shockwave replied. "I want it taken before the Autobots can use Getter Robo in its defense. All other targets are, by comparison, unimportant." "You're passing up the fuel reserves in Tyrest?!" Ratbat demanded from the logistics station. "That's insane! There's nothing in Vilnacron but dust - " The fuel scout's objection was cut off, along with his head, by a burst from Shockwave's X-ray laser. There was a momentary stunned silence on the bridge. "You have your orders," Shockwave said, unconcerned. He hadn't even looked away from the strategic map to blast his objecting subordinate. <> Soundwave replied. "Onslaught, you will command the assault. Inform me when you are in position for the final attack on the city gates." Onslaught nodded. "Yes, Commander." THURSDAY, JUNE 7 AUTOBASE IACON, CYBERTRON It had taken no more time for the Autobots to find quarters for ACROSS than it had to provide repair facilities for their mecha. The defenders of Cybertron had long experience coexisting with both organic and Minicon associates, so appropriately-scaled facilities were already there for the taking. After making sure that her team was OK and safely berthed, and that the injured were being tended to by Mercy, the Minicon medic, Misato had gotten to work determining just how fucked up her on-hand resources currently were. Answer: things were bad, but not quite as bad as she had initially feared. Repairs to the general ground and air support equipment were trivial by Cybertronian standards. These repairs had been deferred for the moment, due to the current state of emergency, but she had been assured that if necessary, her support forces could be brought up to operational specifications within a day - hours, if need be. The prospects for Skullomania were also better than expected. The Atlas's armor plating had managed to absorb most of the punishment that Soyuz had dished out, so while some of the internal systems and weapons were non-trivially damaged, the Destroid's endo-steel and Getter reactor were fully sound. The repairs would be no harder, and take no longer, than they would for any other battle-damaged Atlas in a well-equipped work bay. No, it was the Getter machines that had taken the brunt of the Vodushnikon assault, and they were the most damaged out of the human- brought equipment. Their weapons were spent, their armor was fractured, their transformation linkages pushed beyond their design tolerances despite the combined wills of their pilots to hold them together. The problem was compounded by the fact that none of the technically-inclined Autobots there had any real experience with Getter technology. While Perceptor, Hoist, and Wheeljack had offered their services in repairing the machines, Misato was holding off accepting for the moment. She wanted to get a clearer idea of how much of the Getter systems had been damaged from Mora before committing to the complete overhauls the three mecha would require - but that would take time. Misato pursed her lips and shut down the data terminal she had been consulting. The damage reports weren't going anywhere. She flipped open her old WDF-issue communicator and dialed at it for several seconds as she exited her temporary quarters. Within Autobase, the signal was still strong, and she quickly contacted the person she wanted to reach. "Hey, Sideswipe? It's Misato. You busy? I need a ride..." Several minutes later, a bright red Lamborghini arrived at the entrance of Autobase's central commmand nexus. The passenger door popped open of its own volition, allowing Misato to exit. She grinned as she closed the door. "Thanks for the lift - smooth and prompt as always, Sideswipe." "Hey, all part of the service," Sideswipe cheerfully replied before transforming. "Why should Hot Rod have all the fun?" Misato raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she followed the red Autobot into the operations center proper. Instead, she headed for a Minicon-scale antigrav lift that was docked at the base of the inner wall. A quick flip of several switches, and it smoothly raised her up to an observation catwalk that circled the data stations and display units in the room at Cybertronian eye-height. Below and around her, the operations center was a hive of activity as Autobots coordinated the efforts of various monitoring outposts and task forces as they worked tirelessly to hold off the invaders. Misato had taken to observing the proceedings as a way to kill time, stave off boredom, and most importantly give herself something to do that was worthwhile and possibly contributing to the Autobot's defense. She considered the current situation, mulling over what she had been told by Prowl upon ACROSS's arrival at Autobase. The Decepticons had struck Cybertron out of a clear black sky at the same time the Philip Marlowe had been plummeting towards its surface. It would be unfair to say that they caught the planet's Autobot defenders flat-footed, but the attack had been certainly unexpected. The Decepticon starfleet had established space superiority over the Autobots, whose space forces had always been more expeditionary in nature, within a half-day. They had a working beachhead on the surface before the day had finished. Striking like lightning, with quick, coordinated actions and an overarching strategic plan calculated with mathematical precision, they achieved tremendous results in the opening hours of the assault, laying claim to several power distribution centers, manufactories, and other structures that would certainly aid them later on. This was all in accord with Prowl's standing estimates of what the Decepticons were likely to do in an invasion. The Autobot logician knew his opposite number's favorite strategies as well as his own, and Shockwave had never surprised him before. And then... he had. The sudden, decisive Decepticon shift toward Vilnacron was something Prowl would never have predicted. One the face of it, the move didn't make the sort of ruthlessly logical sense Shockwave's plans always made. They'd even given up tactical superiority in a couple of spots, abandoning advances on energy stores and strongpoints they could have taken, in order to concentrate all their forces into this one massive thrust - a thrust that, as far as Prowl could see, wouldn't take them anywhere terribly useful. Nonsensical strategic shift or not, the Decepticons continued to fight brilliantly from a tactical standpoint. Their commitment to the attack was total - this was no half-hearted poke at Cybertron's defenses, nor any feint intended to gauge Autobot strength. It was an outright blitz, and so far, even with their odd shift in target priority, the Decepticons had all the momentum. This wasn't going to be a repeat of the Decepticon invasion of 2026, though. The Autobot defenses were well-coordinated and well-led, and once they shook off their original surprise, they had met the invaders with everything they had. ACROSS's presence had caused a change in the dynamics as well - not every group could say that they had taken out a full-powered Combiner team. And even now, Misato noted as she glanced over the railing, Sylvie Daniels was working with Blaster and his team to try and break the Decepticon's jamming. She knew that Priss, Chuck, Mora and the rest were also hard at work, so she didn't have worries on that score. What concerned her was more immediate in nature. Misato crossed her arms as she studied one particular display and frowned. The overall tactical plot hadn't changed since her last visit, and she didn't like what it could possibly imply. "Are they -still- trying to get into Vilnacron? Don't the Decepticons have anything better to do?" she asked out loud. "They've completely bypassed Tyrest Control, for one." At the center of the room, one Autobot turned at the sound of her voice. "Colonel Katsuragi, it's good to see you again," replied Optimus Prime, the Autobot Supreme Commander. He turned his gaze back to the tactical display. "Yes, the Decepticons have continued their push on their former capital, to the exclusion of all other goals. It's very puzzling, especially since we -thought- that we'd locked down and sealed anything of value in there that hadn't been removed centuries ago." Prime's optics narrowed slightly as he considered the information that was being displayed. A red blotch, representing the current Autobot presence in Vilnacron, was displayed dead center on the main terrain plot. Around it was a thick oval ring of Decepticon purple, and scattered around that were red icons along the ring's outer perimiter. "Aside from their initial supply gains, they've been committing all of their resources to the assault on Vilnacron," Prowl added. "They've been trying to breach our defensive lines at several points, and while our Vilnacron garrison has managed to continue anti-air defense to prevent entrance from that direction, the majority of Shockwave's troops are proceeding with a ground assault, pinning the defenders and cutting off our attempts to reinforce them." "Could it be a symbolic takeover?" Misato asked, continuing to study the displays. "Like you said, it -is- their old capital." Prowl shook his head. "Shockwave doesn't do symbolic," he said. "He's always been devoid of that sort of sentiment. At first I thought it might mean he'd been overthrown. As you say, taking Vilnacron makes a certain sort of -political- sense, and the sudden ascension of some more dramatically-minded leader might account for the shift." "But you have evidence to the contrary?" "Not directly - he must still be at their field headquarters, and we can't get eyes in there - but everything else about the way they're fighting still says Shockwave is in charge. Their tactics haven't changed, only their strategy." Prowl frowned. "I have to admit I find it all quite baffling. There has to be some specific and logically compelling reason for him to be making such an all-out effort to take the city back, but I can't see what it is." Prime nodded. "There must be something in the city itself, something undiscovered by our own troops over centuries of occupation, that is so valuable to the Decepticon cause that Shockwave is willing to risk everything to find it." "But -what-?" Misato bit the tip of her thumb; a nervous habit, she knew, but one that sometimes came to the fore when she was particularly vexed. "Do you have -anybody- who could poke around in there? After all, it's a big place, and it's been a long time..." Prime considered Misato's words, then lifted his left forearm. A small panel unfolded, revealing the comlink built within. "Optimus Prime to Bumblebee." "Bumblebee here, Prime," replied the voice of the chief of the Autobot Intelligence Service. "I want you to get into Vilnacron and take a look around," Prime said. "Shockwave has to be after something. I want to know what it is." "His forces have the city encircled," Bumblebee replied. "Getting in won't be easy." "That's what I pay you for," Prime said, his tone mock-cajoling. Bumblebee laughed. "I didn't say I couldn't do it," he pointed out. "I said it wouldn't be easy." Only the oldest of the surviving Transformers, who predated the Great Wars and even the Quintesson Occupation, could remember the days when Iacon and Vilnacron had been sister cities. Tasked to the purposes of governance and defense, united by a common cause for the betterment of all Cybertron, the two cities were among the oldest on the planet, and had been joined with a wide main thoroughfare that had allowed for rapid transport and communication between the two. But those days were long gone. Over the millenia, the territory between the primary Autobot and Decepticon strongholds had become filled with redoubts, boltholes, defensive emplacements, and the remains of both buildings and deceased Transformers from long forgotten battles. The main road had become broken up, or rerouted into switchbacks and dead-ends, to prevent pursuit or to trap unwary commando parties. Even the centuries since the Autobots had regained control of Cybertron had been insufficent to totally undo the amount of structural damage that had accumulated. It was here that Shockwave's forces now gathered, among the impromptu trenches and under the broken overhangs, fighting a grueling battle as they pressed on all sides towards Vilnacron. The Autobots who had gotten trapped in Vilnacron gave a good fight to be sure, but they were pinned down. It would be only a matter of time until they were crushed by Onslaught's relentless assault. In fact, those Decepticons who were by design or temperament optimized for ground combat were relishing the chance to demonstrate to the Autobots that they weren't the masters of the ground that many assumed them to be, and they threw themselves into battle with uncanny fervor. But not every Decepticon in Shockwave's army was feeling so optimistic about how the battle was going. "Sideslip, I think this might take a while," one jetwarrior in purple and black livery commented offhandedly to her companion as the two of them crouched behind a convenient piece of barricade that had been welded up to give them a little bit of extra cover in their assigned portion of trench. "Gee, you -think-?" her comrade grumbled back, before poking his head and shoulders up to shoot a blast of laser fire across the way towards the Autobot emplacement in the distance. He then ducked back down before he could have his head blown off, covering it with his red arms to keep any extra debris from banging him. "Slag it, Slipstream, what the frack has Command been thinking, putting us -here-?" Slipstream poked her own head and torso around the barricade and released a salvo of micro-missiles towards the emplacement. The missiles spiraled around and impacted the structure, collapsing part of it and forcing the Autobot within it to flee. "Well, it's not like we're not getting anything accomplished down here. 'Sides, do -you- want to question Onslaught or Commander Shockwave's orders?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm too attached to my -head-. I'm not -dumb-, Slipstream." Crouching so that their wings were covered by the broken terrain, Sideslip and Slipstream crawled arm-over-arm to another position, inching their way towards Vilnacron. They could now see the domes of the city cresting the horizon, ringed by weapons fire of all types. "It's just..." Sideslip grimaced after taking another look at the battle in the distance, then slumped back as he sat, his red and gold wings resting against a section of wall. He slammed a metal fist into his open palm with frustration. "... we should be up -there-, in the -air-, not down here in the scrap piles." "I hear you, buddy," Slipstream replied, but before she could continue her thought, another voice made itself known. "Oh, and what would you do if you -could- get airborne, you two young punks? Don't tell me you're getting -tired- of slogging through the ground cover." An approaching crunch of metal feet on debris accompanied the voice, and the two jetwarriors quickly turned to face the source of the sound, weapons ready. They then lowered their guns as they saw who it was. "Sprock it, Barricade," Sideslip complained. "Groundpounding's all well and good, but we're not -designed- for this kind of battle." He pointed over his shoulder towards the continued battle around Vilnacron. "I mean, -look- at that! All that firepower and not one of us is airborne!" The larger grey, dark blue, and black robot looked in that direction, and frowned slightly. "And -you- think -you'd- make a difference in the air, Sideslip?" Barricade directed his attention back towards the red and gold jetwarrior. "Well... -yeah-!" Sideslip exclaimed. "I'm fast, and Slipstream's tough, and between the two of us we could be in and out over Vilnacron before the Autobots even knew what hit 'em!" Slipstream raised an optic shutter. "Hey, don't include me in -your- heroic fantasies, flyboy..." Barricade let out a snort. "Oh -really-. And you think it would be all that easy, now do you, Sideslip?" Sideslip bristled, and started to get up. "Just give me a nano or two, and - " "Now hold on there, Sideslip." Barricade raised a hand, and forced the younger jetwarrior back down. "Watch... and learn." The older Decepticon took several steps back and transformed, becoming a multiple-wheeled missile truck. The dark blue, boxy housing of his weapon array rose and pivoted, and with a roar of high-powered combustion, eight long-range missiles shot free into the sky over the trenches towards Vilnacron. Sideslip and Slipstream watched as the missiles spiraled closer towards the city, apparently ignored by the troops on the ground - - and then with a series of bright flashes, turbolaser bolts and phaser beams from behind the walls of Vilnacron scythed across the dark sky, ripping into the oncoming missile salvo with uncanny accuracy. Barricade's missiles exploded in midair, all but one cut down by the Autobot anti-artillery fire. The last one almost had a chance to make it, but was blasted at the last minute by a bolt from a hand weapon. Neither jetwarrior could tell who had fired the last shot, thanks to the distances involved. Sideslip just stared open-mouthed. "-That's- why," Barricade blandly replied as he returned to robot mode. "... oh." Slipstream looked back at Barricade. "Okay, old-timer, you made your point." She gave a cockeyed grin and slapped Sideslip on the shoulder to get him back into the here and now. "Looks like nothing short of orbital bombardment is going to get through that return fire intact." Sideslip shook his head. "Uh, yeah. Well, slag it all. Guess we've got no choice, then," he admitted, his shoulders slumping. "'Fraid so." Barricade nodded. "Now, if you two got your heads screwed on straight, I've gotta go and check up on Rampart and his boys." "Oh, like -they're- going to have any problems with this?" Slipstream replied. "They eat this kind of fight up like they were Gatorcons facing a pile of free Energon goodies." Barricade chuckled. "That's true." He turned to transform and leave, but then titled his head and raised his hand to block his audio sensors from distracting sounds as a message came over on his private band. "Huh? ... Yes, we've advanced five miles from grid twelve-ten, as expected ... well, no sir... yes, sir, understood ... you're -serious-?! Well, I'll pass the word on, sir." He nodded to the unseen voice, and then lowered his hand. Sideslip's optics blinked. "Who was it, Barricade? What's going on?" Barricade still looked a little surprised as he relayed what he had been told. "Word from Onslaught. Commander Shockwave's leaving LZ Alpha to take personal command at the front." Slipstream's optic shutters went up again. "Commander Purplepants is taking the field? I thought he wasn't intending to do that until we'd totally crushed the Autobots here." "Don't let him hear you say that," Barricade chided. "But yeah, he's headed for the old Vilnacron/Iacon highway, -and- bringing Soundwave with him." Sideslip whistled. "Damn. Looks like it's coming down to the endgame. Will we be needed at the front?" Barricade shook his head. "No, he wants those still here ready to take advantage of the Autobots panicking when he shows up. You two stay here, I've got to relay these orders." With that, the Decepticon transformed and drove off through the trenches. Sideslip groaned, but squared his shoulders and returned his focus to his work. Nobody could fault him or Slipstream for their dedication to the Decepticon cause, but sometimes the orders from Command frustrated them. But there was no help for it, and he just had to hunker down and wait for his chance to make a real contribution. He hated this kind of battle. /* Juno Reactor "Conquistador, Part 1" _Labyrinth_ */ The battle for the Vilnacron main gates was just the kind of battle Ultra Magnus hated - no maneuver, no strategy, not even any real tactics. Shockwave's assault was boring down the main thoroughfare, and so the Autobots had to meet it here. Magnus didn't have sufficient forces to try a flanking maneuver and break things loose now, not with a Decepticon presence all the way around the city walls. All he and his main force troops could do was stay here and get shot at. And then, everything got worse. A sharpshooting young trooper, new to Ultra Magnus's squad, by the name of Oversteer spotted the new development first. "Sir! Look!" Magnus looked. For a moment he didn't see what Oversteer was pointing at. Then, through the shifting smoke of battle, he made out a pair of familiar shapes coming to the fore of the Decepticon ranks. Shockwave strode through the last wisps of smoke into the clear with Soundwave at his side. The Decepticon commander's dry, cold voice boomed from Soundwave's amplifiers and stilled the fighting momentarily as he addressed the battlefield in general. "Attention, Autobot occupiers of Vilnacron. I am Shockwave, Supreme Commander of the Decepticons. Your situation is hopeless. You are outnumbered and surrounded. Relief will not be forthcoming. Surrender now and you will survive. Resist and you will be annihilated. You have ten seconds." Ultra Magnus was painfully aware that everyone on the Autobot side of the battle line was looking at him. As he so often did in situations like this, he thought: What would Prime do? Then he mentally gauged the distance to Shockwave and thought, Something like... this. "Autobots!" he called. "Covering fire!" Then he vaulted the barricade into the open street, transforming as he went so that he hit the road rubber side down. Throttle open wide, Ultra Magnus made straight for the Decepticon line. Over and around him streaked a storm of weapons fire as his troops laid down the covering fire he'd ordered. Shockwave was moderately surprised by this. Ultra Magnus's actions weren't logical. Shockwave knew the Autobot subcommander wasn't the universe's most logical being, but even so, this was an act of unexpected rashness. Magnus was an excellent soldier, but he wasn't known to be innovative or bold. This move was both. The Decepticons in the front line were clearly rattled by the Autobot's sudden frontal assault, and also disconcerted by the abruptly tripled volume of fire coming from the rest of the Autobot force. Their return fire was sporadic and inaccurate, and what little did hit the charging Autobot splashed harmlessly from his vehicle form's gleaming white armor. Shockwave calmly calculated several dozen different ways of dealing with Magnus's charge, then settled on the one that would best bolster the spirits of his troops while crushing those of his enemies. "Motormaster!" he ordered. "Make an example of him." The Stunticon leader grinned nastily. "Now that's the kind of order I like to hear," he said. Shoving his way to the front of the formation, Motormaster transformed as well, then roared off down the road - on a collision course for Ultra Magnus. This was one of Motormaster's favorite games, and one he played well. His philosophy about chicken was simple: never, ever flinch. He was built to withstand collisions and enjoyed little more than demonstrating to other vehicles - usually Autobots - that they weren't. Once this game hadn't gone so well for him. That was the time he challenged Optimus Prime. Still, Ultra Magnus was no Optimus Prime. He looked a lot like the famed Autobot leader in vehicle mode, that was true, but under the skin? Whole different 'bot. No way he could stand up to the old Motormaster touch. Ultra Magnus considered firing a missile to clear Motormaster out of his way, but, on second thought, decided the hell with it. Let him come. It'd be a valuable lesson for him and the other Decepticons too - and after the week he'd had, though Magnus would never have admitted it in public, he was going to enjoy racking this loudmouthed moron up. "I've been waiting for this chance for a long time, Autobot!" Motormaster bellowed as he opened the throttle all the way. An instant later, a violet-edged bolt of white energy lanced down out of the sky and blew the Stunticon leader's cab to twisted scrap, passing through with enough remaining force to blast a sizeable crater in the reinforced metal-paved street. Roaring in pain, Motormaster careened out of control off to the side of the road, smashed into the front of a building, and fell over sideways. The shocking suddenness of the bolt out of nowhere stopped the battle cold. Autobots and Decepticons alike ceased fire to look around, trying to figure out where it came from and who fired it. Ultra Magnus jammed on his brakes and narrowly avoided going straight into the crater. When he had control of his path again, he transformed and turned, his weapons and optics tracking back along the path of the the blast. A Transformer stood at the top of one of the lower buildings lining the avenue. He was shrouded in a tattered cloak and silhouetted by the city's nightglow behind him; Magnus could just make out a pair of glowing scarlet optics and the curl of smoke from what looked like a very heavy weapon. The outline of the weapon looked familiar, now that Magnus looked at it. So did the silhouette of the stranger's head. Chillingly familiar... but that was -impossible-. "Keep waiting," the stranger advised Motormaster in a slightly hoarse voice soaked in dark amusement, and Ultra Magnus's coolant ran slow in its channels. "That voice!" one of the Decepticons blurted in the sudden silence. "It -can't- be," Magnus heard one of his own troops murmur. The stranger jumped down from the rooftop, discarding his makeshift cloak as he fell, and slammed down in the street not far from Magnus. Everyone present (apart from Motormaster, who was in no shape to appreciate what was happening) recoiled in shock as the lights of the boulevard gleamed from his armor and revealed his identity. The Autobots and Decepticons gathered at either end of the block and strung out along both sidewalks all stood stock-still, weapons lowered, staring in undisguised amazement. The door to Optimus Prime's office hissed open, admitting the babble from the operations center, and then closed again. Prime looked up from the latest tactical report he was reviewing to see that his visitor was another human, a redheaded woman in black tactical gear. As Bumblebee's binary partner, Shana O'Hara was a familiar sight around Autobase. Though she'd never undergone any of the bionic procedures that enabled many Transformers' binary partners to transform as well, she was a fully recognized Autobot - in fact, possessed the highest security clearance the Autobot military structure possessed, since she was not only Bumblebee's partner but also his deputy. Before becoming Bumblebee's partner, O'Hara had been a member of an elite Earth military force called "G.I. Joe". That was how she and Bumblebee had met, in fact, when the Autobot spymaster commanded an Autobot task force assigned to assist G.I. Joe against the Decepticon-backed forces of a 22nd-century terrorist group called Cobra. Even now, centuries after the Joe team folded its tent, everyone still called her by her old commando codename. "What news from the front, Scarlett?" Prime asked. The redheaded woman's eyes shone with a soft, slightly eerie blue glow. When she spoke, her voice was disconcertingly not her own. "This is Bumblebee on BinaryCrypt-2, Prime." Though he'd seen this trick many times before - Bumblebee and Scarlett playing on the unique properties of their binary bond and a bit of specialized hardware to communicate on a level just below telepresence, protected by a virtually unbreakable encryption system based on the patterns of the binary link itself, unblockable by even the means available to Blaster and Soundwave - it always took Prime aback for a moment. As such, he hadn't responded yet when Bumblebee went on, "I'm near the outer gate of Vilnacron, not far from Ultra Magnus's defense point. There's something going on out here you've -gotta- see." "What is it?" Prime asked. Scarlett's eyes shifted back to her normal non-glowing green. She shook her head, then pulled a patch cable from her neuroprocessor rig's barrier collar and jacked it into Optimus Prime's desktop holojector. "Here you go, Prime, live and direct," she said in her own voice as the image from Bumblebee's optics rezzed up. Underneath the cowling that covered the lower half of his face, Optimus Prime's jaw dropped at what he saw. To be fair, the Autobot leader was only doing the same thing that most of his troops at the Vilnacron gate were doing, along with a good percentage of Shockwave's Decepticons. Many of them had seen Transformers they believed to be dead return to the battlefield before. A good number of them had been present for the return of Optimus Prime in the early 21st century. This was different. Not only was this Transformer believed to be dead, he was thought to have lost his original identity long before his destruction... but here he stood. Slightly taller than Shockwave, the new arrival had heavy armor that gleamed chrome-bright in the lights of the motorway, reflecting little arcs and lines of the sodium-yellow glow whenever its owner moved. His powerful legs were black, as was the giant weapon fixed to his right forearm. A Decepticon brand glinted as if newly struck on his broad chestplate. His head sported an armored structure like a barrel helmet, casting deep shadows across his face so that only his glowing scarlet optics could be seen - until he took a step toward Shockwave, and the movement revealed a grim face whose every line was burned into the datatracks of every Transformer who had been online during the Great Wars. The first onlooker to find his voice was Soundwave. With his half-masked face and shielded optics, the Decepticon communications officer couldn't show much emotion, and his strange, flattened voice generally couldn't convey much either. In this case, he somehow managed to pack a universe of astonishment into a single word anyway: <> The Supreme Commander of the Decepticons smirked slightly. "I can't leave you fools alone for an astrosecond," he remarked. Shockwave made his way to the front of his force. He had to shove some of his troops bodily out of the way, frozen as they were by the shock of seeing their old leader again. "Megatron," he said calmly, facing his former master across half a block of open space. Then, his voice as warm as interplanetary space, he added, "Welcome back. We missed you." "Prime, are you GETTING this?" Bumblebee inquired. "I am. I don't know what it means, but I'm getting it." Megatron chuckled darkly. "Sarcasm, Shockwave? From -you-? What happened to your total devotion to logic?" "You will find that many things have changed in your absence," Shockwave said coldly. "Indeed," Megatron replied. "It appears, for instance, that you've given up hiding your ambition." "Ambition has nothing to do with it," Shockwave said. "Universal Decepticon domination is logical. I am best suited to bring it about. "Fact: Your appearance here is doubly illogical," Shockwave continued, sounding more like his old self now that he wasn't trying to needle Megatron. "You were assassinated by Starscream after the Battle of Autobot City in 2005. Shortly thereafter you returned, having been resurrected as the Herald of Chaos known as Galvatron. Spark analysis confirmed this. Galvatron was, in turn, destroyed at the Nineteenth Battle of Iacon in 2380. This fact was also confirmed by forensic analysis." Megatron made a snorting sound. "Even assuming that this 'Galvatron' had anything to do with me, which he clearly didn't, only NOW have you managed to bring together enough of a strike force to retake Cybertron? Pathetic." "Fact: Galvatron's cerebral systems were damaged. As a consequence, his leadership was seriously flawed," Shockwave said. "Repairing the damage to the Decepticon cause inflicted by his madness required great care and patience. Now, however, we are at the peak of our strength. Under my leadership, the Decepticons will take first Cybertron, and then the galaxy. Nothing can stop us." "You FOOL, Shockwave!" Megatron snapped. "You understand nothing." "I understand that you are an imposter," Shockwave said flatly. "I understand that you are wasting valuable time. I understand that you stand between my forces and my goal. None of those courses of action can be considered wise." "Spare me your pathetic posturing," Megatron snapped. "I have other plans for my Decepticons." If Shockwave had possessed eyebrows, he'd have raised them. "-Your- Decepticons?" Shockwave raised and leveled his left arm. Its cannon tip began to glow and emit an ominous hum. "I beg to differ," he said icily. "I thought you might," Megatron said, his little smirk returning. /* Juno Reactor "Conquistador, Part 2" _Labyrinth_ */ Megatron and Shockwave fired at the same instant, the pure white beam of Shockwave's X-ray laser and the violet-edged bolt from Megatron's fusion cannon flashing past each other barely inches apart with a CRACK of air superheating into plasma. Decepticons and Autobots dove for cover with an assortment of oaths, entreaties to Primus, and other cries of consternation. Both shots were direct hits, each smashing into its target's chest. Both would-be Decepticon leaders vanished in optic-blinding flashes of light and ground-shaking explosions. At opposite ends of the street, buildings shuddered, then collapsed into rubble. Where the two Decepticons had been standing, smoking craters were burned into the street. "They destroyed each other," Rumble blurted, his voice filled with awe. <> Soundwave said, pointing. <> At one end of the street, the rubble shifted, then sloughed away. Shockwave lurched to his feet. His crystal plastron was starred with cracks and smeared with black soot, but he appeared largely intact. At the other end of the street, Megatron lunged explosively up out of a heap of wreckage, his optics glowing bright red. A thunderous roar spilled from his vocoder as he rode the momentum of his lunge clean into the air, powdered duracrete trailing from the joints in his armor like smoke. Shockwave drew back slightly as if dismayed to see his opponent still functional, then took to the air as well, meeting Megatron's furious charge. Shockwave opened fire as he and Megatron converged. Megatron covered his face with his forearms like a boxer, his vambrace armor shedding Shockwave's laserfire in all directions, then drew back as they met and smashed a fist across Shockwave's faceplate with a noise like a train wreck. Shockwave reeled, crashing to the street. Megatron halted in midair, leveled his fusion cannon, and fired, but Shockwave managed to roll out of the way before Megatron's blast blew a hole clean through the street. Shockwave fired back, trying to disable Megatron's fusion cannon, but the former Supreme Commander was too fast for him. Megatron twisted in midair, then dropped like a stone, cratering the street as Shockwave narrowly avoided having his head caved in. The violet-armored logician sprang to his feet and fired at Megatron's head. Snarling, Megatron ducked the beam, then charged in and slammed his fist into Shockwave's midsection. The Autobots and Decepticons, their war momentarily forgotten, stood slack-jawed and watched the two titans slug it out. The battle raged for almost twenty minutes, all but leveling the already-wrecked district, as the two combatants charged, jumped, flew, punched, kicked, and blasted from one end to the other. It was hard for the observers to get a decent idea of both Decepticons' relative conditions at the same time, since they kept moving, but as the fight went on, Shockwave seemed to be taking the worst of it. At the very least, he was getting progressively more agitated, which was a revelation to many of the younger Decepticons and Autobots. They hadn't know that Shockwave could -get- agitated, but by fight's end he most certainly was - snarling and shouting epithets at Megatron as they battled, venting their fury with fists and weapons systems. "You seem to be getting ANGRY, Shockwave. It's UNLIKE you," Megatron taunted as he darted up the face of a ravaged tower, staying a few feet ahead of a sustained X-ray beam that carved a smoking gash up the facade in his wake. At the top of the building he let the last of the beam pass under him, then coasted out of his ascent and leveled a blast of his own - but Shockwave, climbing fast after him, twitched under it and slammed full-force into Megatron, sending sparks flying with a grating metallic crash. "You RELIC!" Shockwave bellowed. Punctuating each word in his next sentence with a punch, he went on, "You MISERABLE - INEFFICIENT - ABERRANT - ANTIQUE!" Stunned by the onslaught, Megatron fell, slamming into the top of the scarred tower. Shockwave followed, still ranting. "Cybertron is MINE, Megatron!" he declared as he advanced. "The Decepticons are MINE! Their supremacy - MY supremacy - is LOGICAL! It is INEVITABLE!" Hauling Megatron unsteadily to his feet, Shockwave kicked and battered him to the edge of the building, roaring, "YOU - SHOULD - HAVE - STAYED - DEAD!" Teetering on the edge of the roof, Megatron gave his faceless foe a coolant-streaked sneer. "Well," he said, "I didn't." Then he seized Shockwave by the arm and dragged his rival over the edge with him. Shockwave kicked himself free and cut in his antigrav, swooping away in an arc to alight on a balcony halfway up a tower at the other end of the street. Megatron half-rolled in midair, got his feet against the face of the building, and kicked off. The impact -shattered the tower-, sending its weakened structure collapsing backward, as the Decepticon leader hurtled out over the boulevard, white fire gathering in the muzzle of his fusion cannon. Shockwave flung himself into the teeth of Megatron's charge, his own weapon drawing a sizzling white trail in the air behind him. They met high overhead, almost exactly over the spot where their initial clash had taken place. There was a tremendous explosion. The shockwave slammed down on the street, knocking observers off their feet, cracking a few optics, and exploding what few windows remained intact in the district. Two forms, trailing smoke, sparks, and flame, tumbled out of the fireball, falling in parabolic arcs toward the street below. Shockwave crashed down in a heap near the Autobot barricades, tumbled twice, and lay face-down, burning from several rents in his armor. After a few moments, though, he stirred, then started hauling himself to his feet. Megatron hit the pavement not far from what had been the Decepticon front line, skidded, bounced, and then flipped up onto his feet. With his left hand splayed in front of him, fingers digging trenches in the ferrocrete, he skidded backward for a few dozen feet before coming to a halt and rising, his back to the stunned crowd of Decepticons. There was a gaping, sparking, smoking rent in the armor on the left side of his abdomen, but he carried himself as though he had sustained no damage at all. At the far end of the street, Shockwave finished drawing himself to his feet, turned, saw Megatron, and began charging toward him. His weapon's supply cable was stripped of its insulation in several places; it, and the weapon itself, arced and fizzed as Shockwave ran flat-out, ignoring the flames and sparks spitting from his wounds, all his strength and will focused on Megatron's destruction. Megatron watched him come for a moment, and then snapped in his unmistakable voice of command, "Soundwave!" Had Soundwave been capable of blinking, he would have. The Decepticon communications specialist was visibly taken aback as he replied, <> Megatron's mouth curved into a cruel little smile. "Finish this," he said - and then transformed to weapon mode, dropping into the astonished comm officer's hand. Soundwave stared at the gleaming chrome weapon in his hand for a moment. Then, without any further hesitation, he raised Megatron in a textbook one-handed firing-range stance, aimed, and shot Shockwave. The blast punched straight through Shockwave's weakened plastron, vaporized his laser core, and burst out through his back. He kept running for two more strides, faltered, and crashed down on his face, skidding with a metallic screech down the street. As Megatron returned to robot mode, Shockwave's wreckage came to a halt at his feet. The defeated Decepticon twitched, the fingers of his one hand seeming to make a reflexive grab for Megatron's foot, but Shockwave was already dead. A moment later his optic went dark and he slumped, an empty shell. Megatron stood looking down at him for a moment, then turned to face the Decepticons. Some of them instinctively drew back before the baleful glare of his scarlet optics. Battered, scraped, scorched and wounded, he was the most terrible figure any of them had ever seen... and the most inspiring. "If anyone here wishes to avenge the passing of Shockwave or stake a claim to succeed him," he said with a darkly wry twist in his voice, "come ahead. Singly, or all at once... it makes no difference to me." Silence. At the Autobot end of the street, Oversteer raised his rifle, drawing a bead on the back of Megatron's head - but Ultra Magnus pushed his weapon down, holding up a forestalling hand to the rest of his troops. Soundwave took a step forward from the rest of the Decepticons to stand fully before Megatron. Then he reached up, tore the plate with the Decepticon brand from his own chest, and offered it to Megatron. As the battered commander took it, Soundwave dropped to one knee and bowed his head. <> he intoned. <> There was another pregnant pause... ... and then the rest of the Decepticons followed suit, kneeling before their ancient leader and repeating the pledge. Megatron smiled, handed Soundwave back his brand, and then turned to face the Autobots across the cratered wasteland that had been his and Shockwave's battleground. "Ultra Magnus!" he bellowed. "Do you command all the Autobots now, or just this pitiful band?" "What's it to you, Megatron?" Ultra Magnus replied. "What it is to -me-, Autobot," Megatron called back, "is that I would speak with whomever carries the Matrix - and if that's not you, I'll thank you to take me to him under a flag of truce!" Ultra Magnus blinked and reflexively turned to the nearest Autobot. "Don't look at -me-, Commander," Oversteer replied, baffled. Oversteer and Ultra Magnus were not the only ones touched with confusion. At his desk in Autobase, Optimus Prime had watched the battle between Megatron and Shockwave with growing concern, and then puzzlement at the request made after Megatron had taken control. Why hadn't Megatron, after that show of power, immediately taken his troops to seize Vilnacron? He certainly had the capacity, experience, and ruthlessness to do so, even wounded as he was. Was he stalling for time? Was the damage more than armor- deep? Could it be that this wasn't really Megatron, but - as Shockwave had initially believed - an imposter? Prime's first, instinctive response to the last question was no. He had seen Megatron fight too many times - FOUGHT him too many times - for there to be real doubt in his mind that he'd just witnessed the genuine article. Every logic circuit in his body told him it didn't make -sense- for that to be Megatron; but every instinct in his spark said it was, whether it made sense or not. But how? With a frown behind his faceplate, Optimus stood up, looking down at Scarlett and the holojector that was projecting Bumblebee's point of view of the events. "Bumblebee, continue your mission," Optimus Prime ordered. "Investigate everything that even looks slightly suspicious in Vilnacron as fast as you can; we'll do our best to buy time." "Understood, Prime," Bumblebee said. "On my way." The video feed cut off as Bumblebee transformed. With the majority of Shockwave's - make that Megatron's - troops following their leader, and Ultra Magnus's detachment 'escorting' them to Iacon, this left the remaining roads and paths to the old Decepticon headquarters relatively clear for the spy to travel. When the roads got too rough, the yellow Autobot transformed back to robot mode and put his exceptional skills to work. He did have to admit, however reluctantly, that the sheer amount of damage and debris left by the past week's battles provided plenty of cover for him to sneak around. Optimus Prime ascended the stairs to the lookout over the gates of Iacon with Ironhide and Hot Rod flanking him. Scarlett, Misato, and the Getter pilots had come along as well, taking a turbolift to reach the same location. They could see the Decepticon troops marching down the road from Vilnacron, "escorted" by Ultra Magnus and his detachment, as he reached the top. Prime narrowed his optics and zoomed in on the front of the Decepticon formation. He'd have to say this for the one who claimed to be Megatron: He certainly had Megatron's chutzpah. "Looks like he's leadin' a slaggin' -parade review-, Prime," Ironhide growled. He watched as the newcomer walked along the main boulevard from Vilnacron, Soundwave trailing to the left as always, ranks of soldiers and Air Warriors behind them. The Decepticon army had taken some losses since landing, perhaps, but it was still an impressive assemblage. Ironhide's massive grey hands scraped as they clenched into fists. "Just say the word, an' I'll be down there in a tick, Prime. if it -is- him, I got a score to settle... " "At ease, Ironhide," Prime replied, raising a hand. "We'll know soon enough whether this is Megatron or an imposter." Ironhide fumed, but didn't leave his post. The Decepticons stopped with military precision, just outside decent firing range for either side, and waited while Magnus crossed the impromptu no-man's-land and transformed to report. "They've requested a truce," Ultra Magnus reported. The Autobot general sounded utterly nonplussed. "Let me go out to meet him, Optimus," said Hot Rod. The young Autobot sounded understandably tense. "If I'm going to learn to lead, I need chances like this." Optimus Prime nodded. "Ultra Magnus. Springer. Cover him." Springer nodded with a grin to his best friend. "I got your back, Rod." "Come on," Hot Rod said, covering his nervousness with a brusque air that didn't fool Springer for a second. The gates of Iacon opened just enough for the three Autobots to pass. They walked slowly toward the Decepticons as the gates closed again behind them. Megatron, Soundwave and a rather worried-looking Thundercracker strode forward to meet them. As the two groups met, Megatron and Hot Rod stood looking each other silently in the eye for a few moments. Then, to Hot Rod's discomfiture, Megatron smiled. "What do you want, Megatron?" Hot Rod asked, keeping his voice tightly controlled and level. "In the name of the Decepticon Army, I demand the right of entrance to our ancient home," Megatron replied. "It's not yours any more," Hot Rod told him. "I don't know where you came from, but we kicked your kind off Cybertron in 2026, and I didn't get the memo if you were invited back." Megatron gave Hot Rod a hard look and said in a dangerous tone of voice, "Unless you carry the Matrix, Autobot, I didn't come here to argue with you." The Decepticon's mockingly solemn tone of voice made it clear how likely he thought THAT was, which would have made Springer laugh if it had come from anyone other than, well, MEGATRON. Hot Rod glared at Megatron for a few seconds, and somehow managed to carry himself so that it didn't seem like he was backing down when he said, "Fine." Slowly, ponderously, the great gates of Iacon opened again. Megatron looked past Hot Rod with an expression almost akin to eagerness. He had been wondering who led the Autobots now; clearly Ultra Magnus didn't, despite Unicron's remarks centuries before. Who, then, carried the Matrix, if not Prime's most trusted lieutenant? Prowl? No, Megatron recalled, he'd killed Prowl on the way to Autobot City that day. Surely not that old fool Kup... A moment later, a single Autobot emerged from the city, and Megatron had his answer. "Optimus Prime!" he blurted, his expression one of complete astonishment. "What's the matter, Megatron?" Prime asked, stopping a dozen or so paces away and folding his arms. "You look like you've seen a ghost." "But you're - " "Dead?" Prime interrupted. "So are you." Megatron stared at him in disbelief for a few more seconds - and then, to the surprise of everyone present, threw back his head and laughed. For ten full seconds Megatron laughed - not his usual sinister chuckle, either, but a big, round laugh full of a startlingly incongruous mirth. Then he did something that struck the onlooking Autobots as much more in character: he lunged past Hot Rod and belted Optimus Prime across the faceplate. Prime staggered back a step, then held up a hand to forestall an Autobot counterattack. With a quick fluidity all at odds with his massive size, he regained the ground he'd lost, took another step beyond, and returned the favor, driving his fist square into Megatron's midsection and forcing the Decepticon back. Great Primus, Megatron thought. He's not only -alive-, he's even more powerful than he was before. He smiled. Perfect. "If you think I'm going to let you start another galactic reign of terror without a fight, Megatron, -think again-," Prime growled. Megatron looked vaguely amused. "Galactic reign of terror? When did I say anything about a galactic reign of terror? You assume too much, Prime. It's good to see that, at least, hasn't changed." They clashed, rebounded, clashed again. No weapons but their titanic metal fists were employed. For a while they traded blows; then, as if by some mutual consent, they closed, locked their hands together, and started a classic contest of strength. Despite his injuries from the battle with Shockwave, Megatron looked more than capable of holding his own, even when raw physical force was the deciding factor. A ring of spectators formed around them as Decepticons broke ranks and Autobots flowed out of Iacon to see what was happening. Both sides paid each other almost no mind at all, the two factions blending into a single shouting crowd with a hole in the middle for the fight. It was roughly split between Autobots to the near-Iacon side and Decepticons to the far, but at the midpoints they mingled without concern, so taken was everyone's attention by the battle. To the practiced eyes on both sides, this was something far different than the duel to the death all had expected. Springer, who had a front-row place on the Autobot side, leaned over to Hot Rod and murmured, "(Dude. Megatron's -teahousing- Prime. WTF.)" Hot Rod, all his attention on the clash, waved his friend's comment away. "Ah, I have -missed- you, Optimus Prime!" Megatron declared as he and the Autobot leader tried each other's strength. "I've returned to Cybertron across a distance you cannot -begin- to imagine, and in all that vastness there was -no one- who could offer a challenge to compare with battling you." "How many did you kill searching for someone who could?" Prime demanded. Megatron smiled sardonically. "What makes you think that was my goal?" he asked. With that, Megatron broke the deadlock, then dealt Prime a tremendous kick to the plastron that knocked the Autobot leader down and back. The crowd parted like meat before a blade, flowing into a semicircle, as Prime slammed against the barrier at the edge of the road hard enough to crumple the reinforced structure. The Autobot was stunned for just a moment. He cleared his optics expecting to see Megatron's follow-up attack on its way in. Instead, Megatron merely crossed to him and extended a hand to help him up. Prime gave his ancient adversary a wary look, then took the hand and let Megatron lever him to his feet. "Have you felt it, Prime?" Megatron asked, his voice full of intensity. "The calling?" "No," Prime said, shaking his head. "I've been here since it began - but other Autobots have. They say it's a... a powerful yearning, almost a -compulsion-, to return to Cybertron." Megatron nodded. "It led me here, Prime. From half a universe away, through uncharted places and perils with no names. I could no more have ignored it than I could once have ignored my lust for power." "Do you have any idea what's causing it?" "Isn't it -obvious-?" Megatron asked. When the look on Prime's face made it clear that, at least, it wasn't to -him-, the Decepticon commander made a sweeping gesture to the crowd all around them. "Primus is calling His children home." Such a pronouncement, coming from a figure like Megatron, was enough to cause a heavy silence to fall over the scene. "You never struck me as particularly religious, Megatron," Prime observed. Megatron regarded his old enemy gravely. "When you knew me," he replied, "I had never looked on the face of Unicron." "What the hell?" Misato turned to look at Scarlett. "What the frack are the two talking about? 'Calling'? 'Yearning'?" Scarlett half-turned to face Misato while keeping an eye on the tableau taking place in front of Iacon's gates. "We're not sure exactly when or how it began, but around a year ago, Autobots who were out on extended galactic patrol started returning to Cybertron ahead of schedule. They couldn't explain why - Skids theorized that it was possibly homesickness. "We thought that was a perfectly reasonably explanation, but when Autobots affiliated with other -agencies-, like the IPO and the WDF, started requesting extended leaves of absence and coming back to Cybertron, Bumblebee and I got suspicious and started correlating the data with Red Alert and Skids." "And the result?" Misato prompted. Scarlett pursed her lips. "Over the past six months, there's been a planet-wide upswing of Transformer returns. Not just Autobots, but a lot of the neutrals and Minicons have been coming back as well. The one major faction that hadn't been represented were the Decepticons - " " - until now. When Shockwave and company showed up on your doorstep." "Yes. Exactly." Priss Morgan stared thoughtfully down at the two legendary Transformers. She had heard of Megatron, of course - had even seen some old video of him in action - but that was nothing compared to seeing him in person. He had an air of power and sureness about him that only a very few people she'd ever met had displayed - and Priss had, in her lifetime, met some most exceptional people indeed. With an effort, she pulled her thoughts to the matter at hand. "So... why the big-ass invasion?" she wondered. "Why not attempt some kind of... diplomatic solution? It's their homeworld too. The Autobots would have to have at least dealt in good faith with any ambassador Shockwave might've sent." Sylvie Daniels shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps military action was the -only- way that Shockwave could could rationalize it to himself. The Decepticons aren't known for their reliance on diplomacy." Chuck Keith scratched his head in puzzlement. "Which still leaves the questions 'why now' and 'what about the Decepticons', even if you take this 'call of Primus' thing at face value." Scarlett nodded. "Oh, I can guarantee you that at least the Autobots will. You have to keep something in mind when you're dealing with Transformers, Sgt. Keith. Other species can maintain a certain level of abstraction when dealing with metaphysical matters... but the Transformers have -seen- their gods." "One of them, anyway," Misato said. Sylvie leaned against the railing and gazed down at Optimus Prime and Megatron, who seemed deep in conversation. "I wish I knew what they were saying," she said. "Dammit, that's the last time I leave home without a shotgun mic." "Hang on, I think I have - " Scarlett began, but she was interrupted by an incoming transmission, inaudible to the others. "Hey, Bee," she said aloud, so her companions would know what she was doing. "What's going on?" Bumblebee replied. Through his eyes, Scarlett could see the dark and dusty shapes of chairs and monitors in the long-abandoned Decepticon command center. "Megatron's here. He and Prime whaled on each other for a bit, and now they're talking about something. Bee... Megatron says the Call brought him here. Like from another -galaxy-." <... Well then. I'm heading back. Let Prime know as soon as possible that I didn't find anything here. I can't com him from this deep in the exclusion zone.> "Will do. Be careful getting out." "What was that all about?" Misato asked when Scarlett's eyes refocused on the outside world. "Oh, just my boy checkin' in," Scarlett replied, grinning. "Hang on, I've got to laser his report to Prime." She rummaged in a compartment on her utility harness, pulled out a couple of small bits of equipment, and then said, "Oh hey, Sylvie, here." Handing one of the devices over, she added, "Directional mic, don't lose it." "All right, say I believe you -are- Megatron," Prime said. "Say I even believe your story about Unicron. Where does that leave us? What's your intention?" Megatron smiled enigmatically. "Oh, I intend many things, Prime. But to start, well, I already told your errand boy. I intend to take back my capital." Prime folded his arms. "And if I decide to stop you?" Megatron laughed. "You? Optimus Prime, make war where none is offered? I would find the irony in that very rich indeed... " His tone darkened, becoming deadly serious, as he added, "... as I crushed you with my bare hands." "That sounds more like the Megatron I remember," Prime remarked, unruffled. "It -was- unsubtle," Megatron admitted. "But then I don't have time to be subtle. I offer you peace, Prime, because I don't have time to make war with you. There's a lot of work to be done, and I need all my energies to do it. All my energies, my army, and my city." "What kind of work?" Prime asked. "The work for which we were all created. The ultimate purpose of all Transformers. The true mission of the Decepticon Army: the defense of Cybertron." Optimus Prime tilted his head inquisitively. "From what?" Megatron shook his head. "I don't know. I only know that a storm is coming, and if we don't meet it together, it will sweep us all before it." Prime examined his old foe for several moments, weighing what he'd been told. The silence in the courtyard was absolute. Even the humans held their breath. Then the Autobot commander nodded. "Fine," he said. "We'll try it your way. Take your forces back to your landing zone for now. Tomorrow we'll discuss an exchange of ambassadors and put together a joint expedition to enter Vilnacron." Consternation erupted on all sides - cheers from the Decepticons, sounds of astonished protest from the Autobots. Optimus Prime held up a hand for silence, and such was the moment that he got it, even from the Decepticons. "I'm -watching- you, Megatron," Prime said flatly. That sardonic little smile crossed Megatron's face once more. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't, Prime." /* Team Sleep "The Passportal" _The Matrix Reloaded_ */ Eyrie Productions, Unlimited and Imagination, Unlimited presented UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON RELOADED Issue #3 - "The Call of Primus" The Cast (in order of appearance) Jazz Hoist Sideswipe Smokescreen Misato Katsuragi Ratchet Wheeljack Foxhound Overload Priss Morgan Sylvie Daniels Charles "Chuck" Keith Blurr Shockwave Soundwave Buzzsaw Onslaught Vortex Swindle Brawl Blast-Off Ratbat Optimus Prime Prowl Bumblebee Slipstream Sideslip Barricade Ultra Magnus Oversteer Motormaster Megatron Shana O'Hara Rumble Ironhide Hot Rod Springer Written and Illustrated (textually) by Benjamin D. Hutchins Philip J. Moyer Binarycrypt transcriptionist Geoff Depew With the help of the industry's best bullpen The EPU Usual Suspects NEXT ISSUE: An uneasy peace returns to Cybertron as the Decepticons re-enter their ancient capital. After millennia of war, Autobots and Decepticons must learn to share their homeworld again. Does Megatron mean what he says about his new order? And can everyone adapt to what it might mean - on both sides? TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON RELOADED #4 "The New World Order" (July 2006) E P U (colour) 2006