Sacrifices

The boarder was very distinguishable from nearly every angle. The structures on the outside of Polyhex stood more solidly against the contrast of the rubble that lined the entire boarder. War had raged along the area after the attack of Unicron. The state of Polyhex housed the most prominent establishments of the Decepticon Empire, and after the attack the Autobots had for the most part gained control of Cybertron. Many Decepticons had flooded to the area seeking aid and shelter. They all were battered and many unrepairable, still they came. Shockwave had taken command over what were left, and made the citadel the main control outpost. Nonetheless the Autobots pushed and stormed the boarder, once they were in, Shockwave unleashed the rag-tag units against them. The once beautiful scenery that had been Polyhex was destroyed as building after building was hit by laser fire. As the Autobots gained ground against the crippled Decepticons they fortified the boarder with out lying turrets and in some places giant walls. Polyhex’s boarder was now nearly a wasteland in comparison to the Autobot territory that set on the other side. While the ‘bots had control they knew that the Decepticons should they have the power to get through the planetary defenses Polyhex would be their first target.

Laserbeak flew cloaked as he neared the northern boarder. He sliced effortlessly though the air as he made large circles around the smoking area below. He caught glimpses of the Autobots scrambling and the lifeless chassis of Octane, both which he reported. After sending his report, his instructions were to return to Soundwave.

Over the southern range of the boarder the view was quite similar. Buzzsaw was a little more determined to get information, he circled lower and inspected a few things before reporting, that having many of their number terminated, the Autobots had summoned Sky Lynx for retrieval. Soundwave had instructed him to return as soon as possible after that.

At the center boarder Ratbat’s sensors had lit up with Autobots scattered around in and odd fashion. Immediately he reported it to the incoming fleet. He used the telepathic link as instructed; his creator knew Blaster would be monitoring all the transmissions. The reply was different than that of the two condors; he was now further instructed to seek out Ravage and aide him in protecting his brothers.

Nearing the perimeter Rumble and Frenzy landed in a dark alley where Ravage had hidden. With out words the to Robots transformed into there smallest cassette forms and were magnetically drawn to Ravage. The black cat padded silently through the alley and in to the Autobot line. He stayed to the outer edge to find a place more secluded to set his cargo free. A telepathic message from Ratbat had told him of a shed that was hardly guarded, where he could deploy the others. Ravage headed there.

The shed was indeed small; it appeared to be a subcommand base for the humans that had visited in past years. Ravage entered suspiciously, he trusted all his siblings, but there was no telling when the Autobots may have changed the situation. Inside it was quiet, his sensors found nothing then he looked up. Ratbat hung from the ceiling; he then glided down to the panther. Ravage disabled the magnet and his cargo transformed on either side of him. No words were exchanged as the telepathic link they shared opened allowing then to hear the others thoughts.

‘Soundwave has told me to help you Ravage.’

The cat nodded. ‘Yes, then we shall split up. I will go with Frenzy, you stay with Rumble.’

‘They have three combiners, but there are only two of us.’ Rumble stated.

‘We have to be close for our plans to work.’ Frenzy added.

‘Do not fear, the Autobot First-aid will prolong the formation of Defensor; he will refuse to fight until the last moment. Ratbat you and Rumble seek out Silverbolt, your flight will help you. We will find Scattershot.’ The black cat headed toward the door.

‘If for any reason should Scattershot,’ Ratbat looked at Rumble, ‘or Silverbolt be rendered unable to combine we should seek out Hot-Spot.’

‘Yeah.’ Both mechs answered.

Ravage gave a head nod to Frenzy as he opened the door. Their cloaking devices were still on, but not all optics were affected. Ravage scouted a head silently as the more noticeable Frenzy followed. His sensors picked up Autobot signatures everywhere; his target though was stationed at the back of the ranks. The reasoning was obvious, Computron would take in the battle and analyze. Then and only then would he act, the effectiveness that the oversized robot would act could cause the change of the tide. Finally Ravage found the signature he was looking for, and honed in on it. As he neared he saw the Autobot working a make shift communications console, a thought crossed the cats mind. ‘If we incapacitate him we will be able to get Hot Spot as well.’ Frenzy picked out Ravage’s thought and agreed. First they would have to get him away from the console, if the Autobot called for assistance, the two cassettes would not stand a chance. Ravage made his way in the shadow; he wanted to knock the Autobot as far away as possible from the console. Frenzy poised himself to pounce on to the bot, his pistols set on their highest setting. Ravage crouched in wait.

Rumble took Ratbat who had transformed and walked through the broken buildings using them for shelter. His target was near, but the advanced flying of the Autobot could mean failure. He sat inside a building where outside he could hear the target and his comrades talking. There were seven of them, and they were talking about how bad the fleshling’s flying maneuvers were. Rumble sat Ratbat down and the cassette transformed silently.

‘We will have to wait.’ Rumble opened the telepathic link.

‘Yes, it is not wise to act. There are too many of them.’ Ratbat ran his highly tuned scanners over the near area. ‘There is another place closer to him, we should go there. We cannot let him escape.’

Rumble nodded, and followed, as Ratbat walked clumsily, but quietly to the new location. He adjusted so the crack in the wall would serve as a look out point on the Autobot target. Two of the bots had left that meant that only the five Aerialbots had been left. Rumble looked at Ratbat despairingly, he knew that at any moment Megatron and the others would be engaging in battle, and the bots before him would do their best to merge for the on coming Decepticon gestalts. When they did it would be up to him to pound Silverbolt in to submission, and then face the four Aerialbots. He knew the out come of Ratbat and his own survival was low.

The console beeped, Scattershot’s attention was on it. Ravage bounded, he flew over the corner of the console and knocked the Autobot down on the ground. He dug his claws in and forced Scattershot’s chest armor to split and crack. Frenzy jumped next to Ravage and began the high frequency vibrations that he was known for. The Autobot struggled and smacked Ravage away. Frenzy continued and increased the vibrations forcing the Autobot to become more placid. Scattershot gave a swing at Frenzy in a vain attempt to dislodge his attacker. The cassette warrior increased the frequency again and the Autobot now had an appearance of having an epileptic seizure. A loud crunch drew Frenzy’s attention as the opening Ravage created began to widen. He moved slightly and forcibly aimed the vibration in to the crack. Sparks flew out as pieces of Autobot’s insides began to dislocate. Frenzy watched as the optics on the Autobot dimmed then went out. He stopped and scanned the Autobot, just as he had hoped: Stasis lock. He jumped off and stepped over to Ravage. The gray and black cat had taken a bad hit, but had transformed to shield him self from further damage. It appeared that the black cassette was now unconscious. Frenzy grabbed Ravage, and headed out as the alarms and warnings started to come from the now unmanned console, if he was going to make it to Hot Spot he would have to do it quickly.

Soundwave had reported to Megatron the information of the two battlefields as they arrogantly flew to meet Prime. Megatron flew closer to Soundwave as he saw the two condors returning. The robotic birds transformed and were inserted in to Soundwave. He and the main fleet were now nearing the boarder.

“Decepticons” Megatron yelled. “Leave no Autobot functional! ATTACK!” He then transformed and was caught by Soundwave. Soundwave flew down to the surface as the rest of the Decepticons followed. He took aim not at Prime, but at Grimlock. He knew another confrontation between the two leaders was to take place again. He braced himself for the recoil and fired the first shot. The fleet followed suit as the Autobots began to retaliate.

“Prime the others are reporting heavy fire on both sides!” Blaster yelled over the noise.

“Tell them to regroup here!” The red and blue Autobot leader answered.

Blaster relayed the message, and then pulled his own weapon from subspace.

Grimlock and the other Dinobots had transformed when the report came in that the Decepticons were nearing the area. The shot fired on him had hit his small left arm as he twisted out of its way. He blasted a few times at the ‘cons direction, but soon would no longer wait for the enemy to approach. Then he saw his target; Devastator was the first to cross the line as he marched unabated out of Polyhex. The group of Dinobots marched forward to face the purple and green giant. The Autobot turrets trained themselves on him, and open fired on him all at once, stopping Devastator for only and instant. Grimlock sped up his pace when Devastator began to swipe at the turrets, destroying most of them.

“Dinobots we attack Devastator!” The leader yelled.

Alarms and lights went off everywhere, yet Rumble and Ratbat sat quietly watching. The wait didn’t last when the two cassettes heard Silverbolt.

“Aerialbots, Megatron has sent Devastator, we must counter. Merge in to Superion!”

Ratbat flew up clutching Rumble as he did; he quickly neared the back of the transforming Silverbolt and tossed Rumble on him. Rumble started his pile drivers as soon as he connected. The Autobot yelled, as the linking segments could not form the bond to connect. Silverbolt fell to the ground and then Rumble upped his torment on the jet. Ratbat stayed aloft as the entire team of Autobots fell to the ground, he knew most of them would be uninjured, and it would be up to him to get Rumble out. Silverbolt lay in the ground now back in robot mode, he struggled to dislodge Rumble, but the vibrations over whelmed his circuits as parts inside him began to malfunction. The cassette scanned the jet looking for the bonding apparatus that was needed for the combiner. He shifted himself to it as he continued to pound grooves in the downed Autobot. The four other jets had transformed back to robot mode as well and were beginning to stir out of their confusion. Ratbat swooped in and began to fire on the moving ‘bots. Still confused they fired back at the bat, giving Rumble a few more moments. After completely destroying the components and the various machinery around them, he telepathically called Ratbat, it was time to escape. Ratbat flew in and Rumble transformed; the bat caught the small cassette and began to fly away. Sky Dive finally got his wits about him and found Ratbat leaving, he transformed and took off. He caught the flying cassette quickly and knocked him out of the sky using his laser-guided missiles. The impact of the two missiles tore in to Ratbat at a fierce rate. The first ruptured a fuel line the second ignited it. There was a bright explosion then pieces of Decepticon cassette rained down. Rumble hit the ground hard; the first missile had dislodged him. Rather than be found lying there he transformed, a quick sweep of the area led him to a small crevice between two buildings.

Abominus followed as Starscream led his two wingmates and Blitzwing to rejoin Megatron. The battle there was more active than the smashing they had done in the north. Starscream had received short communications from Soundwave as up dates. He marveled again at the abilities of the communicator who had stepped up his role since the time he had spent on Earth. Starscream was listening to Soundwave who was in the middle of what could be called a sentence when the communication was cut off. ‘Something has happened.’ He thought, and then kicked his jets to full throttle, forcing the others to try to keep up.

Megatron noticed as well, all though in gun mode, he did feel his lieutenant jerk to a stop for an instant, then slowly re-establish his previous pattern.

“What has happened, Soundwave?” The weapon asked.

Soundwave had been taking shots at the Autobots from in between two walls using one for cover and the other as support against Megatron’s great recoil. He stood and shot again with the fluidity of water, and then took cover again.

“Ratbat: Terminated” He answered as he prepared another shot.

Megatron said nothing as Soundwave controlled his movements. His plan at this point was buying time; both squads of jets as well as the two combiners were on their way. ‘Then the out numbered Autobot fools will have to retreat.’ He thought. Soundwave had naturally informed him when the cassettes had reported their mission success. With the returning aerial force and the five gestalts verses only Omega Supreme, and possible Defensor, there should be no stopping him.

Grimlock ran to Devastator and began to bite and tail whip at what would be Mixmaster’s Drum. Sludge got close enough to stomp the ground and split it in an earthquake fashion. Devastator kicked the T-Rex out of his way as he leaned over to swipe the turrets again. Grimlock transformed then flew as he turned his thrusters on to compensate his fall, then he aimed himself at Devastator again. Swoop did just that at every chance he got, he swung around and fired his missiles at the gestalt. Slag spued fire at every inch of the giant that he could come in contact with, as Snarl did the same.

Devastator laughed internally. He knew there was nothing the Dinobots could really do to him. Before leaving earth Megatron had required Scrapper Hook and Soundwave to redesign the bonding unit as well as the mechanical processor of the six linking Decepticons. Results were better than expected; the point was to improve Devastator’s speed as well as maneuverability. When it was completed and tested Devastator had proven to have a 40 increase in speed, 35 maneuverability, as well as 25 intelligence. The filtering process of the six apposing opinions had been sped up and it finally gave Devastator clarity. His mission was to disable Autobot security, and he was working on it until the Dinobots thought they would interfere.

Megatron transformed as Starscream landed near Soundwave. Soundwave silently checked Scourge’s progress, a few more clicks and he too would be landing. The ground shook around the three as Devastator kicked Slag and Snarl as he attempted to swipe at the turrets on the opposite side. The two large ‘bots hit a wall that caused the rumble as well as the fall of the building next to them. Megatron surveyed the scene, it was almost time.

“Soundwave, it is time to bring in Menasor.” He commanded.

Soundwave relayed the orders, and Menasor came from the back line in a casual walk to just before where Megatron stood.

“Help Devastator break their defenses!” The commander yelled.

Menasor took the last step and then joined Devastator. Grimlock now knew the odds against him and his group where not in favor of them anymore. He had received a transmission from Blaster just like everyone else, Scattershot in stasis, Silverbolt damaged. He had to stay and hold them here until others could be called. Optimus Prime had told Omega Supreme to stay to the back and let Superion, Computron and Defensor handle the Decepticons giants. Now though things had changed and there would be no Computron, or Superion. Grimlock knew that First Aid would prolong Defensor from joining the battle until the last moment; he just hoped that the Cassetticons didn’t get Hot Spot before then.

Scourge and his team came upon the area as Menasor joined the fray. He headed to land near Starscream as the others took places in the near by area. Megatron looked at his lieutenants.

“This is how we start our march.”

Soundwave opened the coded Decepticon channel for all to hear.

“Abominus, Predaking and Bruticus join Devastator and Menasor. Starscream as they approach the line take all the jets and begin the air strikes. Sixshot you and the rest will follow my lead.”

Soundwave stopped the broadcast.

“We will walk right through them.”

Just as the sentence was said, the three gestalts passed the position and Starscream took action.

“Aerial force transform and attack!” He screeched as he did so himself.

Optimus Prime surveyed the area, never had he seen the Decepticons show such force. He knew that they would have to pull back soon, at this rate. He radioed Omega Supreme to help with the ‘con gestalts and he just now arrived. He had also contacted Hot Spot, though he was sure that Firstaid was the delay. Sky Lynx should be returning from dropping the survivors at Iacon. Still that would only make it three on five. Prime shook his head, ‘This has to stop.’ He thought. Then he remembered the last time he had felt this way. It had been when he had landed at Autobot city many years ago. That faithful day had meant death for many including him. ‘Unicron saved Megatron.’ He thought. ‘If Megatron is terminated will that stop the war?’ He posed the question to his logic circuits, and then shook his head. ‘Doubtful.’ The percentage that he received from his banks was low. ‘With Starscream back, Cyclonus and Soundwave, the probability of the end was low though Megatron’s termination would cripple then yes.’ His thoughts begin to wonder slightly. ‘Megatron had changed, his own power had been strengthened as well as his intelligence.’ Something was instantly decided in the Autobot leader. ‘If we do not stop him now we never will.’ Determined to see the war end, he gave the command for the all out attack.

Laser fire lit up everywhere as the five giants were taken by surprise by the newly uncovered weaponry. Menasor was stunned a moment and Slag took it to ram the Decepticon knocking him to the ground. Abominus picked Slag up and swung him down by the tail in to Cybertron’s hard metallic floor. The three-horned Dinobot did not move, but for good measure he repeated the gesture at which the Dinobot nearly shattered. Seeing aid come to him Devastator distanced himself a little a head of the others. Omega Supreme would be drawn out by it. Bruticus smashed the defense system at every step, the shots fired did no real damage, but he hated everything. Swoop tried to distract Bruticus drawing his attention. It was a mistake; the Decepticon giant snatched the pterodactyl from the air and squeezed the Dinobot in to oblivion, between his hands. Grimlock re-entered the battle with a new found fury, never had the Dinobots been in such a state where one could be terminated. In his flight the Dinobot leader aimed for the nearest Decepticon then transformed landing feet first at full force on to Abominus’ chest. The combiner fell and split apart. The Dinobot then thrashed Hun-grrr until the other Terrorcons over whelmed him and ravaged him to pieces.

Starscream instructed his jets to ‘Aim for Autobots only.’ He knew that the gestalts would deal with the turrets without being too damaged. Radar had shown quite a few targets, but the landscape had proven rougher to locate them visually. Bombing the area would be easy though most of the battle after that would be grounded. He opened his comlink. “These cowardly Autobots will not come out of hiding, so we are just going to have to force them out. BOMB EVERYTHING!” He yelled then closed the link, and released his own cluster bombs. The aerial force dropped everything that they had available as the followed the Screamer’s lead.

Prime had been ready for the air, strike he flipped the switch on the force shield. Devastator now felt a buzzing that split him in to the components, but undamaged. The shield had disrupted his interlocking circuits. The bombs hit the shield and brilliant colors of red and orange covered the entire area. Heat from the flares baked down on the Autobots who struggled to cool their systems. The amount of explosives over powered the force shield and caused it to collapse. The bombs that made it through were exploding before they hit the ground due to the intense heat. Prime’s hope was to force a land battle as many of he Autobots where ground based. As he watched the formation of jets, circle around for another attack, the roar of the Aerialbots countered.

Starscream sized the bots up; there were seven soon to be nine of them and only the five Aerialbots. He had just received conformation that Ramjet was returning and Astrotrain was nearly ready. He need not order his jets to fire, once he had started they immediately joined in. as the two groups of plains passed one another Starscream’s scanners went crazy. The damage that had been done to Silverbolt gave him a target to aim for. Both sets came around for the next attack, this time Starscream kept his rifles aimed on the one jet and fired. The more experienced seeker hit his target sending billowing smoke out of the Autobot as he crashed in to the ground. What Starscream did not realize was that Thundercracker had been the target of the other Aerialbots, sending Thundercracker spiraling to the planets surface. Starscream was furious; he had not had his wingmates back long enough to show them that he wanted to make it up to them, and now Thundercracker was down. He kicked his throttle in to full and pulled away from the formation.

Dirge knew well enough as did the others to leave the Air Commander alone during his bursts of out rage. He changed his course slightly as Starscream banked around a head of him. He knew that what Starscream was doing was nearly suicidal yet no one was sure what the Unicronian formatted seeker could handle. The others in the formation followed Dirge’s lead, and in the distance Ramjet appeared on an intercept course. Dirge’s confidence grew as his wingmate came and the number of Decepticons rose.

All hell seemed to break lose around Blaster; he had just got the report of the cassetticons that had infiltrated the line. He ejected all four of his cassettes, which transformed and landed near him.

“Okay little dudes time to fine those trouble makers.” The cassettes nodded. “Rewind you go with Steeljaw. Eject your with Ramhorn. And be careful.” Blaster watched as the four smaller bots ran out of view. He was determined to stop the Decepticons from finding out whatever information that the little con’s had, even if he had to get to Soundwave to do it.

Omega Supreme made his way to the line, he had witnessed what had happened to devastator when the force shield had come on. He had ever intent on taking advantage of it. Interference like that would damage the joints, all he had to do was get close enough to the war crazed Decepticon to do it.

Devastator saw the approaching Autobot and swiped at another turret in protest. His mind was only slightly confused as the emotions of the six Constructicons raced swiftly through his processor, first despair, and anxiety, brought by the lost friendship. Worry came when memories surfaced of Omega hunting them. Then one by one the all came together with hate. Hate of the Autobot who dared try to reprogram them. Devastator raged toward the oncoming Autobot. Omega met him in a clash that caused an audio piercing crash. As the dust cleared Omega Supreme had accomplished his goal. His one hand that wasn’t more that a three-fingered claw had dug in to Hook. What looked like lighting riddled all over Devastator, another explosion and smoke billowed from the gestalts left shoulder. Omega Supreme twisted his claw and lighting encompassed the giant again. Devastator stood motionless, not comprehending the damage that he had sustained. Then his bonds broke, the left shoulder damaged, Bonecrusher was the first to become dislodged. He fell to the ground in stasis; with Hook unable to distribute the power Scavenger was next. He transformed before hitting the ground, then the shock sent him in to stasis as well. Long Haul had initiated the secondary bonding links, but the damage prevented it from working. What was left of Devastator swayed then crashed backward, the last four components separating as he did. Long Haul transformed and sat up, as he looked around he saw Scrapper sit up as well. Mixmaster had transformed but was in stasis lock as well. The two active ‘cons scrambled for cover as Omega came to inspect the wreckage.

Omega looked at his old fallen friends, with a bit of guilt. He knew that what had happened was not their fault, but that of Megatron and the robosmasher. He picked up Bonecrusher and inspected him fully, and then did the same with Scavenger and Mixmaster. Lastly he examined Hook. The green and purple con still lay where

it had fallen, and had yet to even revert from its component transform to either of its other modes. Omega picked Hook up and energon gushed steadily from what would be the back of the vehicle. The crane arm its self tore away and fell back to the ground. The guardian looked and examined the Constructicon carefully. The damage was extreme, and no repairs would help. Hook’s spark chamber had been ruptured, but rather than explode, the bonds that held Devastator together dispersed it through the other five components.

Rumble received a message from Frenzy as he stalked through the Autobot line. Most of the Autobots had gone to the battle and he walked through still hiding here and there until he found Frenzy.

“He’s gone isn’t he?” Frenzy questioned.

“Yeah, an Aerialbot.” Rumble answered.

Frenzy gave Ravage to Rumble. “He took a bad hit, but I think he’ll be all right.”

Rumble scanned the cassette. “Looks that way.” He answered.

The ground shook around them and part of the ceiling caved in causing dust to flu everywhere.

“We got to get outta here.” Frenzy yelled.

“Ya this place is going down.” Rumble got back to his feet then walked out in to the area and out of the dust.

Steeljaw round the corner, he had been tracking Rumble since he found the trail where the Aerialbots had been. Rewind nearly ran in the now growling Steeljaw before he saw the exiting ‘cons. The glare of Steeljaw’s armor caught Frenzy’s attention.

“Hey look! Autobot pests.” Frenzy smirked.

“Frenzy! We got to get outta here!” Rumble yelled to his brother.

“Oh ya.. There are too many bots around.” The two took off flying. Steeljaw and Rewind followed on foot. Rewind had relayed their findings to Blaster who in turn gave the location to Ramhorn and Eject.

Starscream fired on the remaining Aerialbots, the movement distorted his aim, but he compensated for most of it. He hit two who stayed in flight although puffed smoke nonetheless. As he neared them the fired on him, at first he was a little apprehensive, when the first shot had glanced off he became more brazen. He screamed through the small formation and jetted around to come up behind them.

Dirge pulled his squad and faced off in another firefight with the Aerialbots who where now joined by Powerglide and Cosmos. He laughed to himself as the two new ‘bots hadn’t seen the Air Commander coming around behind them. The Decepticon jets lasers hit Slingshot and forced him to land and continue the battle on foot. Starscream targeted again and another smoking Autobot was forced to land. As he flew at top speed and banked around again, he received a communication from Soundwave Astrotrain was returning as was Thrust. The information pulled him from his rage, and he regrouped to take lead of the squad again. Dirge fell back in line as Starscream rounded them for another maneuver. There were not many targets left and the firepower began to be more concentrated. ‘If the Autobots want a ground battle we shall give it to them.’ The Air Commander thought as he began to fire. The Autobots landed in retreat and Starscream led the jets back to Megatron’s position.

After giving the co-ordinates to the second set of his cassettes, Blaster setout forward. Thus far he had not been able to jam Soundwave’s transmissions this irritated him. The Decepticons had been steadily moving closer as the gestalts took out the security measures allowing them to pass freely. He found a crevice presently out of the path of the giants, and transformed in to his smaller state in to it. There he would wait and engage the evil communications officer.

The combiner teams even with there losses stormed their way through the front line of the Autobots. Prime began to pull back slowly drawing the Decepticons further in to the Autobot territory. He himself held his ground knowing within his spark that there would be another confrontation.

“Decepticons they are beginning to pull back! On ward!” Megatron commanded. The entire front line came up in unison. As Megatron started walking toward the Autobot line, he needed no longer fire as the Autobots were running and the gestalts had destroyed the turrets ‘The Autobots are finally beaten’ he thought. Only one last thing that stood between him and total victory, as he neared the Autobot area he quickly surveyed everything looking for any traps or hidden Autobots.

Rumble and Frenzy flew over the scene quickly; most of the attentions were on the gestalts that were creating havoc on the scenery. The four Autobot cassettes followed below but stopped abruptly as the flying ‘cons crossed the receding line. A few moments passed before the air borne cons located Megatron and Soundwave. Naturally they headed back to Soundwave, who opened his chest door. Frenzy transformed sliding in, Rumble slid Ravage in then transformed and flew in himself. Soundwave made report of the Autobot cassettes then put his own sensors on full.

“Starscream, take the left side. Scourge take the right cleanse the area.” Megatron pointed as he spoke. “Soundwave, Sixshot come with me. Mindwipe hold the line here, Cyclonus is returning he shall take over for you.” Megatron turned and started walking again. Sixshot and Soundwave on either side of him keeping stride.

“Skywarp, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, come on we can search for Thundercracker this way.” Starscream’s shrill voice held concern. Skywarp paused a moment as he was a little shocked by his commanders words, but the moment was fleeting. The group followed Starscream toward the left. Smoke rose from everywhere and walking through the area played with their sensors. Signals seemed to bounce off everything echoing only a shadow of what remain before them. It appeared that the Autobots had vacated the area first.

“Search the area! Thundercracker has to be around here somewhere.” Before he had returned to the line he had recorded the area where his wingmate had crashed. The pounding that the area had taken had made it almost unrecognizable. Finally a shout from Thrust had alerted him that Thundercracker had been found.

The blue seeker lay buried in a heap of rubble still in jet mode. The others converged on Thrusts position and quickly dug out the plane. Thundercracker let out a long grown.

“Can you transform?” Skywarp asked.

Thundercracker was silent for a moment then answered with a strained “I think so.”

“Good you will be easier to transport.” Starscream answered back, a few more moments passed as the blue jet shimmied a few times.

“Awe this is going to really hurt.” Thundercracker protested.

“We will get you back to the citadel as soon as you transform.”

Skywarp said. Starscream nodded in agreement.

There was a loud clank, and then an audio piercing whine that made the others grimace.

“AAAAHHH!” Thundercracker yelled as his form began to transform. Sparks few from the gears that should have rotated his wings down. He crouched over thrown forward by imbalance. Skywarp and Ramjet helped him up it was an odd sight. His wings had not shifted to their normal position but had stayed in jet mode.

“Take him to the Citadel.” Starscream ordered.

Megatron walked through the rubble, searching actively for his target. He and his rival thought alike in many various ways. They both knew this was coming.

Defensor landed just before the oncoming assault of Decepticons, his efforts at the time seem futile, though whatever contribution he could make may make a difference. He stood and faced the on coming Decepticons. Omega Supreme stood locked in combat with Predaking. Defensor grabbed Predaking and threw him off the Autobot. Menasor just took his place, and Bruticus had his own agenda as he destroyed anything that still stood. Predaking jumped at Defensor, who deployed his force shield. The giant Decepticon was knocked down by the shields power. Angered Predaking got up and ran at his Autobot foe. Defensor dodged, and Predaking rammed Menasor whose damage combined with that from Omega Supreme had forced him to break apart. Omega got up and slowly, but managed to grab Dragstrip, and force him in to stasis with a close range blast from his cannon. After the hit Predaking took to flight coming full speed at Defensor from the air. Omega transformed in to rocket mode and intercepted. The explosion rocked the entire area, as pieces of burning parts rained down.

Scourge and his small group shielded their optics from the explosion. There were no Autobots in the area and his own scanners swept better than that of the group combined. He continued forward still nothing, it was true the Autobots had not had time to call to earth for the re-enforcements. He scoffed to himself and pushed his group forward.

Defensor was weak, but Bruticus was not. He gave Defensor a harsh blow to the torso and then another to the head. Unable to hold the bonds together and longer Defensor split apart. The five Protectabots scrambled away from the giant Decepticon. Bruticus stood laughing, now nothing stood between him and the Autobot capital Iacon.

The Retun of Megatron!