Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was just another day in Kaon, except instead of the traditional Energon-harvesting routine from its Decepticon population, they were busy rebuilding their capital from the most recent Autobot attack. As you already know, the Autobots and Decepticons were currently in the middle of a Civil War, and every time the Autobots tried to attack Kaon, the Decepticons struck back at Iacon even harder. With Decepticon morale at an all-time low, it would take a miracle for Megatron to get his troops back into fighting shape. Little did he know was that there would be a new mechanic introduced in the war.

Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave were all walking through the streets of Kaon, watching their troops poorly rebuild the buildings that had been damaged from the most recent Autobot attack. This resulted in some buildings looking uneven and others falling apart due to the structures not being put in the right place.

“Well, I hope you’re proud of yourself, Lord Megatron,” Starscream snarked. “Not only did you push Optimus Prime into fighting back, but you caused our once mighty city to crumble!”

“Our city is still standing, Starscream!” Megatron asserted. “It’s just the Autobots won’t stop their relentless attacks, no matter how many times I try to destroy Iacon.”

“Uh, Lord Megatron, maybe we should focus on more important problems, like fixing our city for one,” Shockwave suggested.

“And why would I care about that?” Megatron sighed. “It’s not like a construction team would just appear out of nowhere and help us.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” A voice spoke up.

Megatron and his top lieutenants turned their heads to see a green and purple Decepticon approaching them.

“Who are you?” Megatron asked.

“I’m Scrapper, Lord Megatron,” The Decepticon explained, introducing himself. “And I believe I have found a permanent solution to your… housing problem, if you’ll follow me.”

The four Decepticons obliged as they followed Scrapper.

Later, Scrapper had led Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave, to a secret underground bunker, where five other Decepticons were waiting.

“So, you had this secret bunker all this time?” Starscream inquired.

“Well, we didn’t just want to show ourselves off until now,” Scrapper replied. “Lord Megatron, meet your new construction crew.” He then began listing off his crew’s names. “Scavenger, Mixmaster, Long Haul, Bonecrusher, Hook, and myself. Together, we are known as the Constructicons.”

“Very impressive,” Megatron remarked. “However, before I make you official soldiers in my army, I demand a test of strength.”

“Oh, us Constructicons do not fight,” Scavenger assured. “We were designed to be more like repair bots.”

“Then consider this an upgrade,” Megatron sneered. “For your first task, I want all six of you to rebuild Kaon within the next five orbital cycles, if not sooner.”

“You can count on us, Lord Megatron,” Scrapper assured. “We promise, whatever you want built, we can build it.”

“Excellent,” Megatron grinned. “Your task starts right away.”

“Constructicons, transform and move out!” Scrapper commanded.

The Constructicons all transformed and headed out. Thanks to their combined effort, the Decepticons were able to rebuild Kaon in double the time it initially took them. Scrapper and Bonecrusher removed any rubble out of the way, while Scavenger loaded it into Long Haul, who then drove off with it. Bonecrusher then leveled the site for the new Kaon buildings, Hook laid the foundations, and Mixmaster poured concrete into them. After four Earth days, the construction was finally complete, and the Constructicons had managed to add a few new buildings in addition to rebuilding the old ones. Megatron stood on top of a ledge as he and the Constructicons observed the Kaon skyline.

“Impressive,” Megatron remarked. “You managed to complete the construction approximately one day ahead of schedule.” He then approached scrapper and shook his hand. “I’m proud to have you Constructicons as part of my team.”

Later, after the Constructicons were branded with their new insignias-Scrapper on his chest, Scavenger on his stomach, Bonecrusher on his lower abdomen, Hook on his left shoulder, Mixmaster on his back, and Long Haul on his upper right pectoral area-they were explaining to Megatron, Motormaster, Dragstrip, Breakdown, and Onslaught about their history and abilities.

“So, you see, we were activated with transformation cogs,” Scrapper began explaining. “Sentinel Prime thought we were the only ones with cogs who were of any use to his actual mining crew, but then when the younger miners came online, we were forcibly retired and exiled from the city.”

“We were allowed to keep our cogs, but we couldn’t find anything useful to do with them,” Hook explained. “Then we found this place.”

“But there’s something about us yet that you don’t know,” Bonecrusher confessed. “We had a combiner cog.”

“A combiner cog?” Megatron questioned.

“Yes. A device that allows us to become a mighty Cybertronian, known as a gestalt,” Long Haul answered. “With it, we become the mighty Devastator.”

“But Sentinel took the cog from us, and kept it somewhere where we couldn’t find it,” Mixmaster explained sadly.

“And that’s how we ended up with you,” Scavenger finished. “We were hoping you could help us get the combiner cog back from Iacon so we, and Devastator, can become whole once again.”

“Hold on, back up,” Motormaster said. “Did you say you once had a combiner cog? So did I, Breakdown, Dragstrip, and our former fellow Stunticons.”

“Oh, what a coincidence,” Onslaught remarked. “Me and my fellow Combaticons also had a cog like the one you spoke of.”

“You don’t think it’s possible that…we could all be connected?” Scrapper asked.

“Probably,” Motormaster replied.

“How is it possible that all of us still have our transformation cogs, but our combiner cogs were taken from us?” Onslaught questioned.

“Maybe Sentinel saw too much potential in us and tried to ‘thin the herd,’” Scavenger deduced.

“Yeah, not all the cogged citizens during his reign could transform into gestalts,” Bonecrusher added. “So, what about you? Which combiners could you transform into?”

“With Dead End and Wildrider, we once formed the mighty Menasor,” Breakdown replied.

“With me and my Combaticons, we could form the mighty Bruticus!” Onslaught announced grandly, before sulking. “It’s a shame that none of us have those combiner cogs now.”

“Then why wait?” Megatron smirked, intrigued by the possibilities of these ‘combiners.’ “We attack Iacon at sunrise, find these combiner cogs, and make you whole again! You will all rise up!”

The Constructicons, Stunticons, and Onslaught all chanted “Rise up!”

The next day, Megatron was leading the Decepticon Combiners, along with Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave, Shockwave Ramjet, Dirge, and Thrust to Iacon to retrieve the Combiners’ combiner cogs. Once they stopped at the entrance, the Decepticons transformed, but Megatron held the others back as Soundwave and the Constructicons stepped forward.

“Soundwave, you and the Constructicons go ahead,” Megatron ordered. “The rest of us well stay behind and await my command.”

“Understood, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave said, bowing.

“Constructicons, deploy!” Scrapper ordered as they moved out.

“Rumble, Laserbeak, eject,” Soundwave droned as his Minicons jumped out of his chest. “Operation: construction destruction.”

“I like the sound of that, Soundwave,” Rumble smirked as he used his tremor-inducing pistons to burst down the gates.

“Return,” Soundwave commanded Rumble as the latter went back in the former’s chest. “Think you know where the combiner cogs are?”

“No,” Scavenger replied.

“But we can tear this place apart and find them,” Bonecrusher sneered, banging his fists.

“Megatron’s orders were clear,” Scrapper reminded them. “Be discreet, take the cogs, then they will join us. Now spread out.”

The other Constructicons transformed and drove off in separate directions.

Meanwhile, in the Autobots’ rebuilt Command Center, Hot Rod was watching the monitors in the Command Tower with a bored look on his face, while Warpath sat right beside him. Hot Rod yawned as he leaned back in his chair.

“I hate this!” Hot Rod scowled. “Why is Ultra Magnus making me do this?”

“You got a lot of spirit, kid, but you lack focus,” Warpath told him. “That’s why Prime thought putting you on monitor duty would help you pay attention to everything around you.”

“Hey, I can pay attention!” Hot Rod argued, when they heard the alarm sound out. “What’s that?”

Warpath stood up and checked the monitors. “Decepticons,” He hissed. “But I only see seven of them.”

“Only seven?” Hot Rod questioned. “What are they planning this time?”

“We’ll find out later,” Warpath assured. “Look, you stay here, I’ll go tell Ultra Magnus.”

“Okay,” Hot Rod nodded as Warpath stood up and ran out. “But I wonder what Megatron’s trying to do?”

In the streets of Iacon, Soundwave and Scrapper were both running through the street carrying something in their hands; Scrapper carried ten, and Soundwave six. These were the combiner cogs, which allowed any Combiner Cybertronians to transform into the gestalts they had previously talked about, and Soundwave was carrying the ones that allowed the Constructicons to transform into Devastator. The two hid in an alley as they saw a squad of generic Autobot soldiers, then ran down it to reunite with the other Constructicons. Soundwave gave the combiner cogs to Scrapper, who then distributed them among his team. After placing the cogs in their bodies, the Constructicons felt a surge of energy flowing through them.

“At last!” Scrapper exclaimed happily. “We are whole again! Constructicons, unite!”

The Constructicons began to transform into Devastator. Scrapper partially transformed into his vehicle mode, then Mixmaster did the same, and they both formed the legs; Long Haul then jumped and positioned himself above Scrapper and Mixmaster, before attaching to both of them, forming the lower torso; Hook then transformed and attached himself on top of Long Haul, forming the upper torso; Scavenger then attached to Hook’s right side while Bonecrusher attached to Hook’s left side, forming the arms; a head then appeared from the hole where Hook was positioned, and Devastator’s transformation was complete.

“Prepare for extermination!” Devastator announced as he began to march his way towards Autobot Command Central. Soundwave then contacted Megatron through his communicator.

“Phase One complete, Lord Megatron,” He reported.

“Good,” Said Megatron’s voice. “Proceed with Phase Two. Send Laserbeak back with the other combiner cogs.”

“Understood,” Soundwave droned.

Soundwave put the ten other combiner cogs into a net, then tied the net to Laserbeak, who flew off with them.

On the surface, the other Decepticons were waiting when they saw Laserbeak flying towards them with the other combiner cogs. Once Laserbeak landed, Megatron united the net and handed the Stunticons and Onslaught’s combiner cogs to them, before they inserted them into their bodies.

“Oh, yeah!” Dragstrip cheered. “It feels good to get a taste of that power again!”

“Should we begin to mobilize, Lord Megatron?” Onslaught asked.

“No, let Devastator have his fun,” Megatron smirked. “I want to finish off Optimus Prime personally.”

Back in Iacon, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, and Warpath were all looking at a vault, which still contained ten other combiner cogs, the other sixteen having been stolen by Soundwave and Scrapper.

“How did the Decepticons know where the combiner cogs were being held?” Arcee inquired.

An offscreen noise soon caught their attention.

“I think we got bigger problems, Arcee,” Warpath said as they looked up and saw Devastator marching towards the Command Tower.

“Ultra Magnus to Prime,” Ultra Magnus spoke into his communicator. “We have a big problem.”

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Hot Rod was still idling around in the Command Tower when he saw Devastator approaching.

“Okay, activating all gun ports,” He said to himself as he pressed a button on the console.

A whole bunch of cannons emerged from various holes in the base, and were aimed at Devastator. The cannons started firing laser blasts at Devastator, but they were ineffective. Devastator then smashed the cannons with his fists or feet and proceed towards the Command Tower.

“Well, that didn’t work,” Hot Rod remarked. “I gotta find Prime and warn the others.”

And so, Hot Rod ran off to do just that.

Outside, Devastator kept marching through Iacon, having decided to leave the Autobots’ base for the taking for the time being under Megatron’s orders. From a distance, Optimus Prime and a group of Autobots, including Elita-1 and B-127 and consisting of himself, Brawn, Hound, Huffer, Red Alert, Smokescreen, Sunstreaker, Windcharger, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, and Bluestreak, saw the first Decepticon combiner’s rampage.

“Jetfire, Air Raid,” Optimus spoke into his communicator. “We have a giant robot rampaging through Iacon. Think you can keep him busy while we think of a solution?”

“You can count on us, Prime,” Jetfire assured.

“Since when did the Decepticons get a giant?!” Bee asked in shock.

“They don’t,” Elita replied. “Unless…”

“They somehow broke into the combiner cog vault and stole some of the cogs there!” Optimus realized, before he contacted Ultra Magnus. “Ultra Magnus, come in!”

“Yes, Prime?” Came Ultra Magnus’ voice.

“How many cogs are missing from the combiner vault?” Optimus asked.

“About sixteen,” Ultra Magnus’ voice answered. “But we still have about ten left.”

“Do not let those cogs fall into the wrong hands!” Optimus ordered. “I’m on my way over right now.” He then turned to his squad of Autobots. “Let’s roll out!”

They were just about to when they saw Hot Rod transform and run up to them. “Optimus!” He called.

“Hot Rod?” Optimus asked in confusion. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay put in the Command Tower.”

“Well, I got some bad news for you,” Hot Rod explained. “That Decepticon combiner is attacking Autobot Headquarters! Not even our cannons could stop it.”

“Look, I dispatched Air Raid and Jetfire to possibly take care of the problem,” Optimus explained. “You’ll be coming with us to the vault and watch over the remaining cogs. Now, let’s go!”

The Autobots nodded as they transformed and rolled out.

At Autobot Headquarters, Air Raid and Jetfire arrived to find Devastator already trashing it. They transformed into their jet modes, flew up to Devastator, and fired their rockets and lasers at him, hoping to divert his attention from destroying their base.

“Whoa, this Decepticon sure is a tough nut to crack!” Jetfire remarked.

“Yeah, that’s because he’s a combiner,” Air Raid explained. “And I should know, I was part of a combiner team myself.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Jetfire realized. “You were a part of the Aerialbots. I remember; Silverbolt was your leader, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right-whoa!” Air Raid yelped as he flew out of the way to dodge a swipe from Devastator. “Okay, we’ll talk about that later! Right now, we’ve got a city-and headquarters-to save!”

“Yeah, about that…” Jetfire began. “Our missiles and rockets have absolutely no effect on this giant!”

“Then maybe we should find my former Aerialbots teammates and regroup,” Air Raid suggested. “Then we find Prime, get our combiner cogs, and start fighting back.”

“Good idea,” Jetfire agreed as they flew off.

Thankfully, the distraction gave them just enough time to get away, and they were able to divert Devastator’s attention away from Autobot Headquarters for the time being.

By the time Optimus and the other Autobots arrived at the combiner cog vault, they saw Warpath and Arcee already guarding it. Hot Rod transformed and ran up to join his comrades, while Optimus ran up to Ultra Magnus, who approached Hot Rod.

“You left your post, Hot Rod!” Ultra Magnus scolded.

“Sorry, Ultra Magnus,” Hot Rod apologized. “But I just couldn’t sit around and let that…Devastator trash our headquarters!”

“Well, our headquarters is gonna get trashed anyway unless we do something!” Warpath argued. “Now, come on and stand right here beside me! I’ll make a soldier out of you yet.”

Hot Rod obliged and got between Warpath and Arcee as Optimus took Ultra Magnus to the side to talk.

“So, you’re saying that the Decepticons have stolen 16 out of the 26 combiner cogs?” Optimus asked.

“Yes, that is correct,” Ultra Magnus confirmed. “But we still have 10 of the 26 left.”

“Keep them heavily guarded so they don’t fall into the wrong hands,” Optimus instructed. “With these new…Combiners we can’t afford anymore losses.”

“Understood, Prime,” Ultra Magnus saluted.

“Wait!” Air Raid called, appearing with four other Autobots, who transformed and flew down towards them. These were the Aerialbots Air Raid mentioned to Jetfire. The largest Aerialbot had a dull silver and black color scheme and gold streaks of markings all over his body; this was Silverbolt. The second Aerialbot had a red and white color scheme, with blue and yellow lines plastered across his chest; this was Fireflight. The third Aerialbot also had a red and white color scheme, except his wings also had blue and red streaks on them; this was Slingshot. The final Aerialbot had a red and black color scheme with some yellow on his wings; this was Skydive.

“I thought we could use some more firepower against the Decepticons,” Air Raid explained. “So Jetfire and I rounded up my former teammates so we could form the Aerialbots again.”

“Which one of you is the leader?” Optimus asked.

“I am,” Silverbolt spoke up. “But we disbanded following an unfortunate incident before the war started.”

“But that was solar cycles ago,” Optimus said. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“I don’t really like to talk about it,” Silverbolt began. “But it has something to do with me being abandoned by my fellow Aerialbots in my time of need.”

“Well, we need the Aerialbots now more than ever,” Optimus explained. “Can I count on you to lead them to victory once again?”

“Yes, of course, Prime,” Silverbolt accepted.

“Excellent,” Optimus said, before returning to Ultra Magnus. “Get five of the combiner cogs from the vault, Magnus, and give them to these Aerialbots.”

“Yes, Prime,” Ultra Magnus said. “Right away.”

Ultra Magnus stepped into the vault and came back out carrying five combiner cogs. He gave them to Optimus, who held them in his arms as he stood in front of the Aerialbots.

“If we give these combiner cogs to you, you must swear to use them wisely and for good, never for evil,” Optimus explained to them. “Can I trust you that you’ll swear to do that?”

“We swear,” The Aerialbots, Silverbolt included, promised.

“Then by the power vested in me, I now bestow upon you the combiner cogs,” Optimus said as he passed them out, and the cogs merged with the Aerialbots’ bodies. “Silverbolt, Air Raid, Fireflight, Skydive, and Slingshot, you are now united together as one. These cogs will enable you to become the mighty Superion.”

“Whoo!” Slingshot cheered.

“Sweet,” Skydive smirked.

“Well, it can’t be as bad as Devastator,” Fireflight admitted.

“All right, we still have a chance,” Air Raid said.

“Great,” Silverbolt groaned, really not looking forward to this.

“Now, go out there and stop that Devastator!” Optimus told the Aerialbots.

“Aye aye, sir!” The Aerialbots saluted as they transformed and flew off.

“You really think this is going to work, Prime?” Ultra Magnus asked.

“If the Aerialbots can’t stop Devastator, I don’t know what will,” Optimus replied.

Back with the Decepticons, Megatron and Shockwave had joined Soundwave and Devastator as the Constructicon combiner laid waste to Iacon. They were just about reach the Energon mine when the Aerialbots flew by and started blasting them.

“Not so fast, Decepti-creeps!” Silverbolt shouted. “You’ll have to deal with the Aerialbots first!”

“What are those things?” Megatron wondered. “Starscream, bring Thundercracker, Skywarp, Ramjet, Dirge, and Thrust with you and get down here now!”

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Starscream replied.

“Okay, boys, we gotta make this quick, because the Energon mine and Autobot Headquarters won’t last long!” Silverbolt commanded.

“Aye-aye!” The other Aerialbots replied as they flew off in separate directions.

And so, the Aerialbots flew in various directions around Devastator, firing their missiles and/or lasers at him, but he still wouldn’t go down.

“Ugh, this guy’s harder to take down than I thought!” Fireflight groaned.

“Silverbolt, there’s only one way to win,” Air Raid explained. “We must form Superion!”

“No!” Silverbolt refused. “Last time we tried that, it was a complete disaster, and it nearly cost us our lives!”

“Well then, what are we supposed to do?” Skydive asked. “I can’t just fly around watching our city be destroyed!”

Silverbolt then saw Starscream, the Seekers, and the Coneheads make their way into Iacon. “Try to hold off those guys in the air!” He ordered. “I’ll take Devastator on myself!”

“Silverbolt, don’t!” Slingshot objected. “That would be suicide.”

“What other choice do I have?” Silverbolt argued. “Now, go take care of Starscream and his buddies! That’s an order!”

“Well, you heard the boss bot, boys!” Air Raid called, as Optimus appointed him second-in-command of the Aerialbots. “Let’s get to work!”

And so the Aerialbots engaged all the flying Decepticons in an air battle. Skydive flew up, then back down and fired down his missiles on the Coneheads. Ramjet, Thrust, and Dirge all fell down to the ground and transformed, running around in circles trying to put out the fires in their posteriors left by Skydive’s attack. Fireflight aggressively shot Skywarp with a barrage of lasers, taking him out of the action quickly, while Slingshot drafted with Air Raid, before they both sent a barrage of missiles and lasers at Thundercracker, respectively, causing him to crash into Starscream. Megatron watched in annoyance as all his flying warriors all fell to the ground with a thud.

“Can’t you failures do anything right?!” He asked angrily. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

Silverbolt circled around and flew towards Devastator. He then saw Megatron loading and aiming his fusion cannon at him, causing him to transform and fly towards Devastator. Megatron tried to fire at Silverbolt, but missed, instead hitting Devastator, forcing him to disassemble.

“No!” Megatron cried angrily. “Decepticons, fall back and return to base! We’re in no shape to fight.”

The Constructicons transformed and followed Megatron out of Iacon, and the rest of the Decepticons followed suit. The Aerialbots watched them leave Iacon.

“They’re getting away!” Air Raid cried.

“Let them run,” Silverbolt said. “Our paths will cross once again. Let’s just return to Prime and give him our report.”

And with that, the Aerialbots transformed and flew back to Autobot Headquarters.

At the Command Center, the Autobots got to work at once rebuilding their headquarters, when they saw the Aerialbots returning.

“Oh, you’re back!” Optimus noted as the Aerialbots transformed and landed in front of him. “So, how’d it go?”

“We were able to drive the Decepticons back, but they got away,” Silverbolt reported. “Man, that Devastator was really tough.”

“Not to mention Mr. Big Shot here just had to show off and put himself at risk to bring Devastator down,” Fireflight pointed out. “Why’d you do that, man? We’re supposed to be a team.”

“You know why I did that,” Silverbolt argued. “Maybe we should all just rest for the night and then come up with our next strategy tomorrow.”

“What are you hiding from us?” Slingshot inquired. “Is this something related to ‘the incident?’”

“I’m not hiding anything!” Silverbolt snapped. “And why are you bringing up ‘the incident’ to begin with? It’s none of your business!”

Silverbolt then pushed his way past Optimus and walked off.

“I know just how he feels,” Optimus said. “I’ll go and talk to him. He reminds me of me when I was a young, inexperienced bot like him.”

“Okay, good luck,” Skydive wished as Optimus followed Silverbolt.

Chapter Text

Optimus Prime had gone off to find Silverbolt, leader of the Aerialbots, who ran off following the battle against Devastator the other day. He eventually found Silverbolt sulking on top of the ledge where Megatron had dropped Optimus into the core of Cybertron, when they were Orion Pax and D-16. He approached Silverbolt and sat down next to him.

“Would you mind telling me what’s been up with you, Silverbolt?” Optimus asked.

“I just don’t like heights, that’s all,” Silverbolt explained, lying.

“And yet you seem to have faith in your team to take down Devastator?” Optimus questioned. “That’s rather hypocritical of you.”

Silverbolt sighed. “All right, I’ll bite,” He relented. “Last time we tried to combine to form Superion, it didn’t go so well…”

(Flashback)

The Aerialbots were flying in their jet modes throughout Iacon, helping the Primes and High Guard fight against the Quintessons.

We were the first team of Cybertronian Combiners. The Primes had such high hopes for us.

Skydive and Slingshot performed a couple of loop-de-loops, while Fireflight and Air Raid did a corkscrew maneuver. However, Silverbolt was too high up, so when the time came for them to them to form Superion, Silverbolt recklessly flew down towards his teammates, but descended too fast, causing them to transform back and fall fast towards the ground, knocking them unconscious. By the time they came to, the Aerialbots saw that the Quintessons had retreated, while the Primes were glaring down at them with disappointed looks.

The Primes were so disappointed in us, they decommissioned the entire Combiners program. They had Sentinel extract our combiner cogs and put them in the vault. What we didn’t know, however, is that he wouldn’t just stop at us.

The vault opened, then Sentinel put the cogs inside. He closed it as he walked off.

(End flashback)

Optimus was shocked after hearing Silverbolt’s story.

“So you showed off to your teammates when you were supposed to be practicing a new combining correlation, and you were so traumatized by the failure, that you swore never to fly again?” He guessed.

“Yep, that pretty much sums it up,” Silverbolt answered.

“I can relate,” Optimus revealed. “When I was a rookie like you, I was brash and arrogant, and I ended up driving my best friend to villainy.”

“Best friend?” Silverbolt inquired. “Oh, you mean Megatron, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Optimus sighed. “But I didn’t let that stop me from becoming leader of Cybertron and the Autobots, and you shouldn’t let that fear stop you from commanding the Aerialbots.”

“Okay, Prime. I’ll try,” Silverbolt promised.

Optimus stood up and walked off, while Silverbolt continued to think.

Meanwhile, in Kaon, Megatron had gathered the Stunticons together to discuss plans for Menasor.

“Stunticons, I have gathered you here to grant you your combiner cogs,” Megatron explained, handing Motormaster, Dragstrip, and Breakdown their cogs. “With these, you will be able to combine into this Menasor you speak of.”

“And how exactly do we do that?” Breakdown asked. “Menasor requires five bots to come together, and we only have three.”

“Then go to Iacon, drag Dead End and Wildrider back here, and I’ll force them to become Decepticons!” Megatron barked.

“Not possible, Lord Megatron,” Motormaster argued. “Last time we fought our former comrades, they seemed steadfast in their decision to remain with the Autobots.”

“Then do any of you have any ideas?” Megatron asked.

“Why don’t you have Shockwave make your own Stunticons in his lab?” Dragstrip suggested.

“An excellent suggestion,” Megatron grinned. “I shall speak to him at once.”

And Megatron turned and walked out of the room.

In Shockwave’s lab, Megatron was explaining to him creating their own Stunticons to fill in for Dead End and Wildrider.

“Make our own Decepticons?” Shockwave asked. “Have we even done that before?”

“If we built our city from the ground up, then we can make our own troops, too,” Megatron asserted. “The Constructicons shall assist you in the process.”

“But what will we use to power our troops?” Shockwave asked.

“Use these,” Megatron replied, handing Shockwave some transformation cogs from Devastator’s raid on Iacon. “I managed to steal them during Devastator’s rampage. Decepticons never leave empty-handed.”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave acknowledged.

After Megatron left, the Constructicons made their way into Shockwave’s lab, Long Haul and Bonecrusher carrying the corpses of two generic Autobot soldiers.

“Put those corpses on those dissection tables, please,” Shockwave instructed.

Long Haul and Bonecrusher set the corpses down on the dissection tables, then Shockwave walked over to them.

“You said Megatron wanted us to assist you in transforming these corpses into replacement Stunticons, am I correct?” Hook asked.

“Yes, you are,” Shockwave confirmed. “Now, which of you have strong hands? I’m looking for strong, but fast working and gentle. And I know Megatron would agree with me if these new Stunticons end up broken before they’re even brought online.”

“That would be Mixmaster and Hook,” Scrapper explained. “They might not be the strongest physically or mentally, but Mixmaster is an excellent chemist and Hook is a perfectionist.”

“And now is that supposed to help me?” Shockwave inquired.

“I have a knack for detail,” Hook answered.

“And I’m a good mixer, hence my name,” Mixmaster added. “I can make the Energon that’ll power these puppies.”

“All right then, let’s get to work,” Shockwave said.

During the next few weeks, Shockwave, Mixmaster, and Hook began working on turning the corpses into suitable replacements for Dead End and Wildrider.

Hook assembled the corpses together for Shockwave to weld together with his left hand, while Mixmaster mixed the juices needed to power them in various beakers and flasks, before pouring them into the bodies. Shockwave powered the lab with electricity while lifting the dissection tables up, and then finally they were ready. Shockwave, Mixmaster, and Hook admired their creations.

“At last!” Mixmaster let out. “They’re so beautiful.”

The robot on the left was crimson and had black and gold decals all over him, while the robot on the right was dark grey with hints of teal, silver, and red all over him and had dark red streaks on his forearms.

“If by ‘beautiful,’ then you mean ‘ugly,’” Hook corrected. “But yeah, they are nonetheless impressive.”

“There’s just one thing we forgot to do,” Shockwave interjected.

“And what’s that?” Hook asked.

“We need to activate the bodies,” Shockwave explained. “But in order to do that, we have to access…Vector Sigma.”

“And that’s a problem because?” Mixmaster asked.

“It’s only accessible through the key to Vector Sigma, which is in Iacon,” Shockwave explained. “I’ll go tell Lord Megatron about the change in plans.”

“Okay, good luck,” Hook wished as Shockwave exited the lab.

In Megatron’s throne room, Shockwave was explaining to him the complication they experienced while forming the new Stunticons.

“So, you’re saying that in order to power the new Stunticons, we need to access Vector Sigma, and the only way to access it is through a special key the Autobots have in Iacon?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Shockwave nodded.

“Round up the Constructicons, Stunticons, Soundwave, and Starscream and his Seekers!” Megatron ordered. “We will leave at dawn.”

The next morning in Iacon, the Aerialbots were watching over the city on guard duty, when they witnessed an explosion.

“What was that?” Slingshot asked.

“Let’s investigate,” Fireflight suggested.

“Stay put,” Silverbolt ordered. “Optimus gave us strict orders not to attack unless the situation escalates.”

“Aww, but I wanna go now!” Skydive whined.

“You heard the mama bird, Skydive,” Air Raid told him. “Do not move unless he tells you to.”

In the streets, the Constructicons and Stunticons were pushing away helpless civilians and generic guards, while Starscream and the Seekers dropped a bunch of missiles and bombs all over the buildings, which exploded. Finally, Megatron, Soundwave, and Shockwave had all arrived at the vault where the combiner cogs were held, and stepped out with Megatron carrying a gold key in his hands, which was the key to Vector Sigma. After the three Decepticons made off with the key, Optimus, Elita-1, B-127, Dead End, Wildrider, and two female Autobots named Moonracer and Firestar arrived at the vault to find it completely trashed.

“Looks like we’re too late,” Elita sighed. “Those Decepti-creeps wrecked the vault and took everything.”

“Not everything,” Optimus clarified, looking at the 10 combiner cogs that were still there. “They didn’t take the cogs, but they did take something else.”

“You don’t mean…” Elita gulped.

“I’m afraid I do, Elita,” Optimus nodded grimly. “The key to Vector Sigma.”

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

In the deepest part of Cybertron, though still hundreds of levels above the core, the Decepticons were in Vector Sigma, the supercomputer that gave life to all Transformers. The Constructicons placed the two Stunticons on the conveyor belt that led into Vector Sigma, and then Megatron inserted the key into its slot and turned it, activating the supercomputer. The conveyor belt led the bodies inside Vector Sigma, then they came back out. The new Stunticons stirred and surveyed their surroundings.

“Where are we?” The crimson robot asked in a flamboyant voice.

“Why, you’re in Vector Sigma,” Megatron replied. “It was I, Megatron, who brought you to life! Now, state your name and business.”

“I am Knock Out,” The crimson robot explained. “Expert medical surgeon. I also have a knack for disassembling things.”

“I see,” Megatron noted. He then turned to the dark grey robot. “And what about you?”

“I am Offroad,” He replied, introducing himself. “I’m excellent in driving in extreme weather conditions.”

“Very well, then,” Megatron shrugged, not really having any other options than what was in front of him. “You both belong to me now.”

He handed the transformation cogs Shockwave and Mixmaster invented over to Knock Out and Offroad. The two Stunticons placed them into their bodies and felt their energy coursing through them. Megatron then procured the remaining two combiner cogs he inserted into the other three Stunticons and gave them to the new Decepticons, and then finally they were ready for action.

“I hereby christen you Stunticons,” Megatron explained as Knock Out and Offroad’s transformations were finished. “Now, go! Join your comrades and unite to form the mighty Menasor!”

Knock Out and Offroad transformed into their vehicle modes and raced off. At that moment, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots arrived.

“Megatron, what have you done?!” Optimus demanded.

“I was simply making new troops for myself,” Megatron answered. “And now Menasor shall spell your doom!”

Megatron transformed into his tank mode and blasted a hole through the wall of Vector Sigma, then led the Constructicons out.

“We have to stop the Decepticons before both of their Combiners completely level Iacon!” Elita-1 realized.

“I agree. Let’s roll!” Optimus ordered as the Autobots transformed and rolled out after the Decepticons.

On the surface, the Stunticons were still roaming through the streets, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, when Knock Out and Offroad rolled up towards them and transformed.

“So I’m guessing you must be the new recruits?” Motormaster assumed.

“You got that right,” Offroad confirmed. “I’m Offroad, and that’s Knock Out.”

“Good to meet you,” Dragstrip greeted Knock Out.

Knock Out, however, simply crossed his arms and looked away.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” Breakdown asked.

“I prefer to let my fists do the talking,” Knock Out replied. “Just make sure nobody touches my paint job or anything.”

“Okay, okay!” Dragstrip insisted frantically. “We won’t!”

“Enough talk!” Motormaster barked. “Let’s fight! Stunticons, unite to form Menasor!”

As Dragstrip and Breakdown transformed partially into their vehicle modes, Knock Out and Offroad looked confused.

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Knock Out asked.

“Use your transformation cogs!” Dragstrip explained. “They will allow you to become the pieces of Menasor we lost!”

“If you say so,” Offroad shrugged as he and Knock Out transformed.

Offroad took his place on Breakdown’s left, and then they lifted up slightly, forming the legs. Motormaster then partially transformed and positioned himself on top of them, forming the torso. Knock Out then attached himself on Motormaster’s left side, while Dragstrip was inserted into his right side, forming the arms. A head then came out of Motormaster, and the Stunticons’ transformation into Menasor was complete.

Megatron and the Constructicons returned to the surface to see Menasor wreaking havoc.

“Should we combine to form Devastator, Lord Megatron?” Scrapper asked.

“Negative,” Megatron answered. “Just let the Aerialbots come. I want to watch them squirm and tremble in front of Menasor personally.”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Scrapper nodded, bowing.

Optimus, Elita, Bee, Dead End, Wildrider, Moonracer, Firestar, Sideswipe, Jazz, Windcharger, and Mirage intercepted Menasor and stood in front of him.

“I think we got a big problem,” Elita gulped.

“What do we do?” Moonracer asked fearfully.

“How do we stop this thing?” Firestar asked.

“The only way we can,” Optimus replied, before contacting Silverbolt. “It’s time to call in the Aerialbots!”

(Iacon gates)

The Aerialbots were still standing in idle when Silverbolt answered his communicator.

“Yes?” He asked.

“Silverbolt, we need the Aerialbots!” Optimus explained frantically. “The Decepticons have created two new Stunticons and have completed Menasor! We need Superion!”

“Now?” Silverbolt asked. “But, Optimus, sir, we’re not ready! We haven’t even practiced-”

“It’s now or never!” Optimus argued. “I’m sorry, but we need Superion now! Remember what I told you about not letting your fears get the best of you.”

“I-I understand, Optimus,” Silverbolt stuttered, ending the transmission, before turning to the Aerialbots. “Aerialbots, it’s time to move out!”

“What? Why?” Air Raid asked.

“Menasor has been formed and is destroying Iacon,” Silverbolt explained. “Optimus says we have to form Superion now! Now, let’s fly out!”

“Sir, yes, sir!” The Aerialbots said as they transformed into their jet modes and flew off.

(Streets of Iacon)

Optimus and the Autobots continued to stand in front of Menasor, but refused to move, as Megatron stood on top of Menasor’s shoulder and looked down on them.

“Why don’t you just give up now and surrender Iacon to me?” Megatron asked mockingly.

“Never!” Optimus spat back.

“Very well, then,” Megatron sneered. “Menasor, destroy them!”

“Nobody’s gonna help us,” Dead End said.

“Then this is it,” Moonracer sighed.

“At least we go out together,” Wildrider relented, as the Autobots held their hands together and braced for their imminent demise.

Menasor raised his foot up, prepared to crush the Autobots on Megatron’s order, when suddenly, he was blasted in the back by laser fire. Menasor turned around to see Silverbolt leading the Aerialbots firing at him.

“The Aerialbots,” Elita breathed.

“They came through,” Bee sighed in relief.

“Just like I knew they would,” Optimus smiled.

“It’s the Aerialbots,” Megatron growled. “I thought Silverbolt was crippled by his fear of combining when the Primes first brought the Combiners online.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore,” Menasor noted.

Megatron then jumped off of Menasor. “Destroy the Aerialbots and ensure they can never combine again!” He ordered.

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Menasor understood.

“It’s time, Silverbolt,” Air Raid told him. “It’s time to combine into Superion.”

“Yeah! Let’s do it like the Primes programmed us to!” Slingshot cheered.

“But what if we mess it up?” Silverbolt asked nervously. “What if we mess up so badly Optimus will decommission the Combiners program again?”

“Silverbolt, Optimus is a much better leader than the first 13 Primes ever were,” Skydive reassured. “You won’t mess it up because this time, we’ve all got your back.”

“And I promise if any of us fall out of line, we’ll correct ourselves like Optimus would want us to,” Fireflight added. “At least, I’ll try to.”

Seeing his teammates’ putting all their faith in him, Silverbolt took a deep breath (despite still being in vehicle mode) and said. “All right, let’s do it!”

The Aerialbots flew together and got into position to form Superion.

“Aerialbots, merge into Superion!” Silverbolt commanded as he transformed into Superion’s torso. Air Raid and Skydive then flew behind Silverbolt and transformed into the legs, before attaching themselves to the bottom of the torso. Slingshot and Fireflight then turned slightly on their sides, and attached themselves to either sides on Silverbolt, forming the arms. A head then appeared out of Silverbolt, and the Aerialbots’ transformation into Superion was complete.

Megatron stared in shock at the first Autobot combiner. Silverbolt served as the torso; Skydive served as the left leg while Air Raid formed the right one; and finally, Fireflight and Slingshot were the right and left arms, respectively.

“Well, it’s not the Superion transformation I was expecting, but it’ll do,” Superion said to himself before he took a fighting stance.

“It doesn’t matter!” Menasor sneered. “With my new Stunticon formation, I’m just as powerful, if not more, than my original one!”

“We’ll see about that!” Superion spat back as they locked fists.

“That’s right, Menasor!” Megatron cheered on the Stunticon combiner. “Show him no mercy!”

Menasor swung his sword at Superion, who blocked it and aimed his blaster at Menasor’s face. Superion then fired, causing Menasor to fall onto the ground on his back. Superion flew up, then back down, pounding Menasor into the ground.

“How?!” Megatron exclaimed in shock. “I’ve read about it in the archives before! Silverbolt was so frightened before! What could have happened?”

“I believe Silverbolt has found a reliable place in which to put his trust,” Optimus replied.

“Where?!” Megatron demanded. “Show me where!”

Optimus looked at Superion proudly as the Autobot gestalt lifted up Menasor. “His teammates,” The Prime answered.

Superion then threw Menasor far away into another building, causing the Stunticons to separate. The Stunticons then crawled their way back to Megatron.

“Lord Megatron, might I suggest a hasty retreat?” Motormaster asked.

“Yes, please!” Knock Out begged. “So I have time to fix up my paint job!”

“We’ll fall back for now, but they haven’t seen the last of me yet!” Megatron snarled. “Decepticons, fall back!”

Megatron and the Stunticons then transformed as the other Decepticons followed them out of Iacon. Superion then separated and joined Optimus as they watched the Decepticons retreat.

“Think we’ve seen the last of them?” Skydive asked.

“‘Cause if we haven’t, I’m itching for a fight in case they return,” Fireflight said.

“Guys, they’ll be back,” Slingshot told them. “I can feel it too.”

“And they’ll always come back,” Air Raid added. “Not until they have enough Energon to power Kaon.”

“And if Menasor really does ever return, we’ll be ready,” Silverbolt finished.

Optimus then approached Silverbolt. “I’m proud of you, Silverbolt,” He said proudly. “You showed true courage in the face of danger, and you were able to conquer your long-term fear to properly form Superion with your teammates.”

“Thank you, Optimus,” Silverbolt said, feeling pleased with himself.

“But there’s no time for celebration,” Optimus reminded them. “We have a war to win. Go back to your post and be ready for whatever next attack the Decepticons may have.”

“Yes, sir!” The Aerialbots all said in unison as they flew back to the perch from which they saw the Decepticons arrive.

“Maybe we just might have a chance to win this war after all,” Optimus said to himself as he watched the Aerialbots fly off.

Chapter Text

Several days later, in Kaon, Megatron was raging in his quarters, as usual. He was incredibly furious that Silverbolt, leader of the Aerialbots, had somehow conquered his fear of flying to complete the new Superion configuration, despite his firm belief that once you were crippled with fear for life, you would remain crippled. Whenever he wasn’t raging, he would sulk in his room, sometimes for even the entire day, neglecting his duties as Decepticon leader. Eventually, it got to a point where the other Decepticons became concerned for their leader.

Today, the Stunticons were standing outside of Megatron’s room, arguing about who should go in to calm him down after his most recent outburst.

“I think you should go in, Motormaster,” Breakdown said. “After all, you are our leader.”

“Why should I go in?” Motormaster questioned. “Just because I’m the leader of the Stunticons, doesn’t mean I’ll be able to keep our leader’s attitude in check. That is his responsibility and his responsibility alone.”

“Well then, who’s going to do it?” Offroad asked.

“You’re all a bunch of sissybots,” Knock Out sighed. “I’ll do it myself.”

“Okay, good luck,” Dragstrip wished as the other Stunticons stepped back.

Knock Out then knocked on the door and called out. “Lord Megatron? It’s me, Knock Out. I’m coming in!”

Knock Out stepped into the room once the door opened and saw Megatron with his back facing away from him, his face against the wall.

“Megatron,” Knock Out began as he approached him. “We’re all concerned about you. You haven’t been out of your room in days. Decepticon morale is at an all-time low, and we are counting on you to lead us to victory over the Autobots once again.”

Megatron turned away from the wall and glared at Knock Out. “Victory, really, Knock Out?” He asked rhetorically as he slowly approached Knock Out. “How can it be a victory if one of the Aerialbots has gotten over his fear and now can fly and combine freely again? Would you consider that a victory?”

Knock Out thought about Megatron’s question long and hard. Unlike most of the Stunticons, Knock Out never let Megatron get under his skin. “Well, no,” He answered. “A personal victory is much different than a strategic one. But you shouldn’t let that affect your duties as leader of the Decepticons. We can still beat the Autobots through sheer brute force.”

Megatron looked at Knock Out and thought over what he said. “Motormaster!” He called.

Outside the room, Motormaster and the other Stunticons heard Megatron calling for them and stepped in.

“Yes, Lord Megatron?” Motormaster asked.

“Take the Stunticons with you, return to Iacon, and do not come back until you bring me Superion’s head as a hood ornament!” Megatron commanded.

“Knock Out, what did you do?” Breakdown asked in a whisper.

“Trying to buoy his spirits!” Knock Out replied with a whisper. “But I didn’t think he’d take it the other way!”

Dragstrip facepalmed. “That’s not how it works, you idiot!” He hissed.

“I didn’t hear a ‘yes sir!’” Megatron barked.

“Yes sir!” The Stunticons said in unison.

“Better,” Megatron said. “Now get a move on!”

The Stunticons ran out of the room, headed to the surface, and transformed and rolled out for Iacon.

In the Autobots’ Command Tower, the Aerialbots were running into the Command Center, where they stopped and stood at attention in front of Ultra Magnus, who was in charge of Cybertron for the time being.

“You called, Ultra Magnus?” Silverbolt asked.

“Indeed I have,” Ultra Magnus replied. “Optimus Prime is on a pilgrimage to the Quintesson homeworld, so I’ll be leading Iacon until he returns.”

“Well, what’s the big emergency?” Fireflight asked.

“The Stunticons are standing outside the gates of Iacon,” Ultra Magnus explained, as the monitor pulled up the image of the Stunticons standing at the entrance to the surface. “I don’t know what they’re doing there, so I need you five to investigate.”

“You can count on us, Ultra Magnus,” Silverbolt said, before turning to his team. “Well, you heard him, Aerialbots! Let’s move out!”

And the Aerialbots ran out of the Command Center.

When the Aerialbots made it to the surface, they transformed from their jet modes into their robot modes and ran over to the Stunticons.

“What do you want?” Silverbolt asked once they stopped in front of them.

“Yeah, you’re not welcome here!” Fireflight spat. “How many times do we gotta beat you guys out of Iacon before you take the hint?”

“Calm down, Fireflight,” Air Raid whispered. “Let Silverbolt handle this.”

Fireflight relented as the negotiations continued.

“We’ve come here to take you to Megatron,” Motormaster informed the Aerialbot commander. “Normally, we’d try to fight you guys and take you by force if we won, but we decided we’d try it the old-fashioned way first before we resort to anything much more drastic.”

“Can we really trust them, Silverbolt?” Skydive asked skeptically.

“Skydive’s right, it could be a trick,” Slingshot agreed.

Silverbolt thought about what Skydive and Slingshot said, before he turned back to the Stunticon Commander.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Silverbolt suggested. “A relay race, 5-on-5, one member for each team. We’ll race in the Iacon 5000 Stadium, and if we win, you have to leave Iacon.”

“But what if we win?” Motormaster asked.

“If you win?” Silverbolt asked. “We’ll come along quietly.”

“Good deal, Motormaster,” Offroad smirked.

“Now, do we have a deal?” Motormaster asked.

“Deal,” Silverbolt accepted, holding his hand out, then Motormaster shook it with his, and they walked back to their respective teams.

“This is perfect,” Motormaster told the Stunticons as they huddled together. “We’ll cheat our way through this, and then take them back to Iacon with us, easy-peasy.”

“But who’s going to run the race?” Breakdown asked stupidly.

“We are, you dolt!” Dragstrip snapped. “The purpose of this race is to win to determine whether or not the Aerialbots come with us.”

“Quiet!” Motormaster commanded. “Now, for the positions. I’ll go last, since I want to duke it out with Silverbolt in the final stretch of the race.”

“Fair enough,” Knock Out shrugged. “Dragstrip can go first, followed by Breakdown, then Offroad, and finally me before you.”

“Since when did Motormaster make you second-in-command?” Dragstrip asked hostilely.

“Starting now,” Knock Out answered. “Look, we have no room for error here. Let’s just focus on winning the race and dragging the Aerialbots back to Kaon with us.”

“If Knock Out keeps this up, I just might officially make him my second-in-command,” Motormaster thought.

With the Aerialbots, they were simply walking back into Iacon to strategize in their own way.

“Okay, I should go last,” Silverbolt began. “Air Raid, you’re my second-in-command, so you’ll go second-to-last. Skydive, you’ll go third; Fireflight, you’re second; and Slingshot, you’re the fastest and most eager of us, so why don’t you start us off?”

“All right!” Slingshot smirked. “I like this plan.”

“I still don’t think we should do this, Silverbolt,” Air Raid said with uncertainty in his voice.

“I have faith in my team,” Silverbolt assured. “And Superion will not only fly, we’ll soar.”

“If you say so…” Air Raid mumbled.

Later, the Iacon 5000 Stadium was set up for the relay race. Slingshot and Dragstrip were at the starting line in their vehicle modes, waiting for the lights to turn to green for the race to start.

“I am so going to win!” Dragstrip boasted.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Dragstrip,” Slingshot fired back. “Me and my Aerialbots are a pretty tight team. You Stunticons, however, are another story.”

“How dare you speak about my commander Motormaster like that!” Dragstrip snapped, but didn’t have much time to think of a retort as the lights turned green and the race started.

“Catch ya later, loser!” Slingshot called mockingly as he took off first.

“Oh, he’s gonna learn the hard way we Stunticons can work as good, if not better, than him and the Aerialbots!” Dragstrip thought to himself as he raced after Slingshot. He then spoke to Motormaster like he was speaking into his communicator. “Motormaster, the stage is set for the race, and Slingshot and I have already taken off.”

“Excellent,” Motormaster’s voice said happily. “All the traps are set, so just focus on the race and let the rest of us do our thing.”

(Command Central)

Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Moonracer, Firestar, Hot Rod, Warpath, Dead End, and Wildrider were watching the race from the monitors in the Command Center.

“What is this?” Ultra Mangus asked. “What are the Aerialbots doing, racing against the Stunticons? I didn’t authorize this race, and who has the time to even think about a race right now when we’re in the middle of a war?”

“Hold up,” Hot Rod argued as he zoomed the camera in for a closer look. “It’s not even a race! I see various kinds of traps and gun turrets set up all over the race course.”

“I knew it!” Wildrider snapped. “It was a trick set up by our old teammates to force the Aerialbots into a race that only they can win.”

“So, what do we do?” Dead End asked.

“Warpath, see if you can get to those gun turrets before the Aerialbots even trigger them,” Ultra Magnus instructed.

“It won’t be easy,” Dead End argued. “Us Stunticons are known for our mastery of stealth and sneak attacks. Let us go and deactivate those weapons instead.”

“Okay, Dead End and Wildrider. But be discreet,” Ultra Magnus ordered. “The Stunticons can’t know what you’re up to.”

“All right!” Wildrider cheered as he and Dead End ran out of the command center. “Come on, Dead End, it’s payback time!”

Meanwhile, on the Quintesson homeworld, Optimus Prime was standing before a council of Quintessons, including the Quintesson High Commander. Optimus set down a couple of Energon cubes in front of the High Commander, who didn’t seem to be too pleased at the mediocre offering.

“I understand if this offering isn’t enough, your grace, but you have to understand that we are in the middle of a war with the Decepticons,” Optimus explained as he set down the rest of the Energon cubs in his arms on the floor. “Energon is scarce, and you can’t use that as an excuse to continue attacking us.”

The High Commander then spoke in an unintelligible tongue that only Optimus could understand.

“You have to understand! The miner formerly known as D-16 has become Megatron and taken control of the High Guard! They want to take control of Cybertron through brute strength!” Optimus pleaded. “That’s why we have to conserve the Energon for the fighting.”

Suddenly, Optimus felt the Matrix of Leadership glow in his chest, telling him that something was wrong. He focused his attention back on the Quintesson council and bowed.

“Please pardon me, your grace,” He said politely. “I’d hate to cut our visit short, but I must return to Cybertron to deal with some…strategic matters. I promise to come back with more of an appropriate offering. But remember what I warned you the first time you tried to attack Cybertron after I became a Prime.”

The High Commander muttered in understanding, and then Optimus turned and ran out of the building towards a waiting spaceship, where Elita-1 and B-127 were waiting.

“Optimus?” Elita asked. “What is it?”

“The Matrix, it just spoke to me when I was in that meeting with the Quintessons,” Optimus explained. “It said something was happening on Cybertron, but I don’t know what?”

“For all we know, maybe Iacon could be under attack again,” Bee reasoned.

“Bee is correct,” Optimus agreed. “And we must hurry. We don’t have much time.”

The three got into the spaceship, and then Optimus sat in the pilot seat and took the controls as they flew back to Cybertron.

Back in Iacon, Dragstrip and Slingshot were still racing each other, unaware that the Stunticons had set up their first trap somewhere along the race course. From a tower, Knock Out and Breakdown were watching with a pair of binoculars.

“It is time,” Motormaster said through the communicator.

“Roger that,” Knock Out acknowledged.

However, from another tower, Dead End and Wildrider were aiming a sniper rifle at the two Stunticons.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Dead End asked.

“Relax, Dead End,” Wildrider reassured him. “I’m not aiming it at them, I’m just gonna blind them.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Dead End muttered as Wildrider fired the weapon.

Breakdown then noticed the laser Wildrider fired coming right at them. “Hey, what’s that?” He asked.

“Whatever it is, it’s coming right towards us!” Knock Out shouted.

“Then let’s bail!” Breakdown said, with the two Stunticons running out of the box just in time before the blast hit it.

“Knock Out, Breakdown, what’s going on?” Motormaster demanded. “I didn’t see you activating the traps!”

“Oh?” Knock Out asked. He then realized that he was still holding the trigger and hid it behind his back. “Uh, just some technical difficulties, Motormaster. Nothing to worry about,” He lied.

“Well, it’s time to get back into position!” Motormaster snapped. “Breakdown, get to your spot quickly so Fireflight doesn’t arouse any suspicion!”

“Aye-aye, Motormaster!” Breakdown replied as he transformed into his vehicle mode and quickly took off.

Knock Out shrugged and tossed the trigger away. “I should probably go too,” He said. “Wouldn’t want to keep Air Raid waiting.”

Once Knock Out and Breakdown were gone, Dead End and Wildrider popped their heads up.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Dead End admitted.

“Yeah, and we’ve only just begun,” Wildrider smirked as they popped back down.

Throughout the rest of the race, Dead End and Wildrider kept disabling the Stunticons’ traps, allowing the Aerialbots to breeze through the course easily, much to Motormaster’s increased frustration. In the final heat of the race, Motormaster and Silverbolt were racing each other to the finish line.

“I don’t know how you Aerialbots were able to get this far, Silverbolt,” Motormaster began. “But I guarantee you won’t even finish this race.”

“We’ll see about that, Motormaster,” Silverbolt retorted as they reached the finish.

“Now this is one trap I know he can’t avoid,” Motormaster smirked. “I rigged the finish line with lasers so once Silverbolt crosses, he’ll be destroyed!”

However, Dead End and Wildrider were already at the finish line and disabled the lasers, then ran away. Silverbolt came to a screeching stop, much to Motormaster’s confusion, causing Motormaster to crash into the lasers, which zapped him, but didn’t kill him. Silverbolt then transformed into his robot mode and ran across the finish line, leaving Motormaster humiliated.

“Why?!” He asked in shock and anger. “Why can’t I destroy you?! My traps should have worked, but they didn’t!”

Motormaster then covered his mouth after realizing what he just said.

“You cheated?!” Silverbolt asked in shock as the other Aerialbots transformed and landed behind him. “I knew it! You rigged the race to ensure we would lose! You have no honor!”

“I race to win!” Motormaster snarled as the Stunticons rolled up behind him and transformed. “But it doesn’t matter! We’re still taking you by force! Stunticons, form Menasor!”

 “That wasn’t part of the deal!” Silverbolt growled. “Aerialbots, transform into Superion!”

The Stunticons quickly merged into Menasor while the Aerialbots quickly transformed into Superion, and the two quickly started to duke it out. Dead End and Wildrider appeared behind Menasor with a cable and used it to trip him up, causing Menasor to fall on his back. Superion then picked the Decepticon gestalt up and threw him out of the stadium. It was at that moment Optimus, Elita, and Bee returned, and Menasor was flying right towards them. Optimus steered the ship out of the way just in time, and then Menasor landed on the ground and the Stunticons separated.

“Whoa, we almost hit that spaceship!” Offroad exclaimed.

“Yeah, you think?” Knock Out muttered. “Just imagine if we managed to hit it and Optimus Prime was on board. We would’ve brought the war to a quicker end.”

“We’ll fall back for now, but they haven’t seen the last of us yet!” Motormaster swore as the Stunticons transformed into their vehicle modes and drove off.

Optimus landed the ship on the landing pad, and he, Elita, and Bee quickly disembarked and ran over to the Aerialbots, as well as Dead End and Wildrider.

“What was that?” He asked. “Did I just see Menasor flying right by us? And why was there an unauthorized race while I was away! You know we’re not allowed to hold any races now that we’re at war!”

“The race was a trap,” Silverbolt explained. “The Stunticons rigged it so we would lose and they would have to take us back to Iacon as prisoners. But we stopped them.”

“Yeah, with some help from us,” Wildrider bragged. “Dead End and I basically disabled all the traps so the Aerialbots wouldn’t fall for them. So, you’re welcome.”

“Very well, I’ll let this slide,” Optimus conceded. “Despite your infractions, you managed to drive off the Decepticons. Next time fill me in before it’s all over, understand?”

“You got it!” Wildrider grinned.

“Sir, yes, sir!” The Aerialbots saluted.

“Got it,” Dead End simply said.

And the Autobots walked off back to Iacon.

Once the Stunticons made it back to Kaon, Megatron was waiting for them at the gates. They all transformed and stood in front of him, before bowing their heads in failure and shame.

“Let me guess, you’re disappointed that we failed again?” Knock Out guessed nonchalantly.

“No, actually, I’m impressed,” Megatron admitted. “You actually managed to work as a team on your own.”

“So, you’re not…gonna dispose of us?” Breakdown asked nervously.

“No, I still need you,” Megatron replied. “That’s why I’m sparing you. Although next time, make sure you don’t come back empty-handed.”

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” The Stunticons said in unison as Megatron walked off.

Later, Megatron was talking to Onslaught in his chamber.

“What’s that, Lord Megatron?” Onslaught asked. “You think it’s time to bring out the second Decepticon Combiner?”

“The Stunticons only seem to rule the roads, and that’s all they can do,” Megatron explained. “Maybe Bruticus will be a little better.”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Onslaught said, bowing. “But first, I need to bring my team together.”

Onslaught walked past Megatron and out of the room, while Megatron rubbed his hands together and grinned.

“With two Combiners at my disposal, I will be unstoppable!” Megatron thought giddily to himself.

Chapter Text

At the Decepticons’ training facility, four Decepticons were in the middle of target practice. These Decepticons were known as the Combaticons, who were recently brought online just a few weeks ago. The first Combaticon was olive green and had the Decepticon insignia on his left pectoral; this was Brawl. The second Combaticon was tan, purple, and black; he had the Decepticon insignia engraved on his lower left shin. This was Swindle. The third Combaticon was silver and violet, with a black rotor, and had the Decepticon insignia engraved on his chest; this was Vortex. The fourth and final Combaticon was brown and indigo, with the Decepticon insignia on his chest; this was Blast Off.

The Combaticons were in the middle of sharpshooter training, firing their blasters at a series of targets resembling generic Autobot soldiers. However, they went a little too far and completely decimated the dummy targets with their shooting, leaving most of them barely standing or almost completely destroyed. Their training was interrupted when they saw Onslaught transform and made his way over to them. Swindle, Brawl, Vortex, and Blast Off ceased their firing, put away their blasters, and ran over to their leader.

“Greetings, my fellow Combaticons,” Onslaught began. “I have recently talked with Lord Megatron, and he agrees that we should bring the second Decepticon Combiner Bruticus online.” He then produced the four remaining combiner cogs. “With these, we will be enabled to combine into Bruticus. I didn’t think we would need these until now, because after the failure of Menasor, now is the time for us to rise up and take back what is rightfully ours for Lord Megatron!”

He inserted the combiner cogs into the Combaticons’ bodies, starting with Swindle, then Brawl, then Vortex, and finally Blast Off. Once the process was done, the Combaticons cheered and chanted “Rise up!”

“However…” Onslaught then said, making the Combaticons stop cheering. “Lord Megatron demands a test of strength from each of us before we can combine into Bruticus. I’ll start by leading us on a reconnaissance mission to obtain more Energon for Kaon. Now, let’s transform and move out!”

Onslaught and the Combaticons transformed, then they rolled out, or in Vortex and Blast Off’s case, flew out.

Later, on the surface of Cybertron, the Combaticons were resting on top of a rocky outcrop, waiting for some Autobots to show up. Onslaught looked through a pair of goggles and was laying on his front, while Brawl and Swindle were priming their blasters and Blast Off and Vortex were flying around in their vehicle modes, with Vortex looking a little impatient.

“We’ve been at this for hours!” Vortex complained. “When are they gonna show up?!”

“Patience, Vortex,” Blast Off told him. “We’ll have our chance. We just have to wait until Onslaught gives us the signal.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Vortex sighed.

Back with the others, Onslaught caught something on his goggles, and zoomed in for a closer look.

“Swindle! Brawl!” He called. “I think I have something.”

He refocused his goggles and saw a convoy of Autobots, including Elita-1, Jazz, and Arcee, protecting a large container of Energon, which was being carried by other Autobots including Ironhide, Trailbreaker, and Firestar, and hauling it back to Iacon.

“Ironhide, Trailbreaker, Firestar, how’s hauling that big cart of Energon back here?” Elita asked them.

“Just fine and dandy, Elita,” Trailbreaker reported. “No sign of the Decepticons anywhere. Yet.”

“Well, there better not be,” Elita hoped. “In this time of war, Energon is scarce, so we’ve got to find as much of it as we can to power Iacon, since the Energon mine is almost out of resources.”

“Roger that, Elita,” Ironhide acknowledged.

“That’s Commander Elita to you, Ironhide,” Elita joked.

“Okay, okay, Commander,” Ironhide laughed. “But seriously, we won’t let anything happen to this large cache of Energon.”

“So you can count on us, Commander,” Firestar added. “We’ll keep an eye out for Decepticons.”

“Thanks, guys,” Elita smiled. “I greatly appreciate it.”

The communication between the four Autobots ended as Onslaught put down his goggles. He reached for his commlink and activated it.

“Onslaught to Vortex and Blast Off,” He reported. “I’m noticing a large convoy of Autobots carrying what appears to be an enormous cache of Energon. Lead them here over to us, and then we’ll handle the rest.”

“Roger that, Onslaught,” Blast Off acknowledged.

“Aw, man!” Vortex moaned. “And I was expecting to shoot something.”

“Let it go, Vortex,” Blast Off said annoyingly.

Blast Off and Vortex flew off and intercepted the convoy, then Elita, Jazz, and Arcee noticed them.

“Who are those guys?” Arcee asked.

“Yeah, they’re a lot different than the ‘cons we usually fight,” Jazz said.

“‘Cons?” Elita inquired, before it hit her. “Then they must be Decepticons! Ironhide, Trailbreaker, Firestar! Change of plans! Take the Energon far away, while we handle these Decepticons!”

“Right!” Ironhide, Trailbreaker, and Firestar all said in unison.

Ironhide, Trailbreaker, Firestar, and Huffer made a hard right and turned away with the Energon, while Elita, Jazz, Arcee, Brawn, and Windcharger transformed into robot mode and started firing at the two Combaticons, who effortlessly dodged their blasts.

“Are you sure these are just your average Seeker Decepticons, Commander?” Brawn asked.

“Yeah, because to me, they seem faster and much more advanced than Starscream and his goons,” Windcharger agreed.

“Don’t look at me,” Elita defended. “I’ve never seen them before.”

“Blast Off, Vortex,” Onslaught told them through his commlink. “You may now begin the shooting!”

“Finally,” Vortex smirked as he and Blast Off started going all out against the Autobots.

Vortex open fired rapidly at Elita-1 and her troops, while Blast Off fired some of his lasers at them.

“Autobots, fall back!” Elita ordered, ducking behind a rock formation to avoid the blasts, and the rest of the Autobots followed suit.

With Ironhide and the others, they were hauling the Energon away from the flying Combaticons, unaware that Onslaught, Swindle, and Brawl were watching them from above. Brawl and Swindle both had their blasters at the ready, while Onslaught stood above them, his hand at the ready.

“Wait for the signal,” He instructed as he held his goggles up to his eyes. He then saw the convoy approaching. “Now! Open fire!”

Swindle and Brawl began firing on the remaining Autobots, who separated from the convoy, transformed, and began firing back at them.

“Don’t hit the Energon!” Onslaught ordered Swindle and Brawl as they kept firing. “We must leave it intact for Megatron!”

“Ironhide!” Elita called.

Ironhide turned and saw Elita crawl out from under one of the rock formations.

“Get down and crawl over here,” Elita whispered.

Ironhide and his squad of Autobots crawled over to where Elita was, then they took cover behind the rock.

“Do you know what those things are, Elita?” Ironhide asked.

“For all I know, they’re trouble!” Elita replied. “We must protect the Energon! Red Alert, Smokescreen, get out there with Brawn, Huffer, and Windcharger! I’ll try to radio Iacon.”

“Yes, Commander!” The chosen Autobots said in unison.

Once Brawn, Huffer, Red Alert, Smokescreen, and Windcharger crawled out, Elita reached for her commlink. “Optimus Prime!” She said into it. “Do you read? We’re being ambushed by a new breed of Decepticons! Requesting backup immediately!”

(Autobot Command Center)

“I read you, Elita,” Optimus replied. “I’ll send in the Aerialbots as fast as I can.”

(Cybertron’s Surface)

“Thanks, Prime,” Elita said thankfully, ending the transmission before turning to the remaining Autobots. “Now, let’s go kick some Decepticon skidplate!”

The other Autobots emerged from behind the rock to fight the Combaticons, but their combined firepower was too strong, forcing them to fall back again. After the Autobots were driven off, the Combaticons headed over to the Energon and began gathering it up, when they were suddenly hit by random laser blasts. Onslaught looked up to see the Aerialbots flying over them.

“You’re not going anywhere with that Energon!” Silverbolt snarled. “It’s for the Autobots!”

“Vortex! Blast Off!” Onslaught called.

“We’re on it!” Vortex and Blast Off said in unison, transforming into their vehicle modes.

They immediately fired their weapons on Skydive, Slingshot, and Fireflight, causing them to come crashing down.

“Whoa!” Air Raid exclaimed. “Those guys are tough!”

“We’ll never stand a chance again them,” Silverbolt realized. “We’re outnumbered 2 to 1. We gotta take the others and retreat!”

As Elita, Silverbolt, Air Raid, and the other Autobots carried the injured Aerialbots away from the combat zone, the Combaticons regrouped and approached the cart of Energon, which had toppled over.

“All this Energon…” Onslaught began. “And it’s ours for the taking!”

Before he could grab a cube, a laser blast connected with half of the pile, causing it to explode.

“No!” Onslaught cried.

He looked over to the bot who fired the shot, and saw that it was Elita, who was holding her blaster in her hand while carrying Fireflight away.

“You’re lucky I only destroyed half of that Energon cache instead of all of it!” She snarled. “You can have it, ‘cause we’re getting out of your hair!”

“Well, at least half’s better than nothing, right?” Blast Off asked.

“Just take it and go,” Onslaught huffed, taking a bunch of cubes in his arms before walking off.

The rest of the Combaticons proceeded to follow suit and walked after Onslaught, while the Autobots carried their injured back to Iacon.

Later, the Autobots took Fireflight, Skydive, and Slingshot to the medical bay, while Elita was explaining to Optimus about their encounter with the Combaticons.

“So you’re saying these new Decepticons just appeared out of nowhere and ambushed you?” Optimus asked.

“Yes,” Elita answered.

“And their firepower is much stronger than that of the average Decepticon?” Optimus asked again.

“Yes,” Elita confirmed.

“This is very peculiar,” Optimus mused.

“Look, we’re really sorry we lost half the Energon in that fight, Optimus,” Elita apologized. “And I’m sorry for letting the Decepticons get away with the other half of it, but what else was I supposed to do? Let them have all of it?”

“It’s fine, Elita,” Optimus assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You did the right thing. What’s more important is that you’re all safe.”

Ratchet stepped out of the medical bay, and then Optimus asked him. “How are Fireflight, Skydive, and Slingshot doing, Ratchet?”

“Not very good. It’ll take as long as a megacycle for them to get back on their feet again,” Ratchet explained regretfully. “These Combaticons you speak of not only pack a good punch, they throw one too.”

“So they’re stasis-ridden for a whole megacycle?” Elita asked. “Great.”

“We must find a way to stop these Combaticons, before they cause anymore damage,” Optimus decided.

“But how?” Ratchet inquired.

“I don’t know yet,” Optimus replied. “But I’ll think of something.”

Meanwhile, the Combaticons made it back to Kaon with whatever Energon they could gather. After leaving it at Shockwave’s lab, Onslaught sent his subordinates back to their chambers, opting to face the consequences of Megatron’s rage alone, rather than subjecting his followers to it. Before he could knock on the door, it opened by himself, and then Megatron grabbed Onslaught and dragged him in.

“Lord Megatron, before you say anything, I just want you to know that we were only able to get half of the Energon you requested from those Autobots,” Onslaught explained. “The Autobot known as Elita-1 destroyed the other half of it so we wouldn’t take it all. But don’t punish the others for it; punish me. Be merciful.”

He knelt down on his knees in front of Megatron, who stared at him. Onslaught dreaded what he might do, when Megatron suddenly knelt down in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Excellent work,” Megatron complimented.

“So you’re not gonna punish me?” Onslaught asked.

“While I am displeased that you were unable to get all the Energon, you and your subordinates were at least able to work together and drive the Autobots back,” Megatron explained. “You even managed to injure some of them, especially the Aerialbots. The Autobots won’t be forming Superion anytime soon. So I’ll spare you, this time. But before you can fully form Bruticus, you need to whip your bots into shape.”

“Yes sir, Lord Megatron, sir,” Onslaught said gratefully. “Thank you, sir.”

Onslaught stood up and walked out of the room.

Elsewhere, the other Combaticons were waiting for Onslaught to return, hoping he was still in one piece. When he stepped in, Brawl, Blast Off, Swindle, and Vortex surrounded their leader, relieved that he was still alive, and they all started talking at once, eager to know what Megatron told him.

“Guys, guys, I’m fine,” Onslaught assured them. “Megatron understood what the Autobots had to do and let me off easy.”

The Combaticons sighed in relief.

“However,” Onslaught then added, making the Combaticons stand firm again. “Lord Megatron wants us to be ready before we can form Bruticus.”

“What does that mean?” Swindle asked.

“It means that he wants to train us before we combine,” Onslaught explained. “And as leader of the Combaticons, I shall choose which one to train first. And Brawl, I’ll start with you.”

“Me?” Brawl asked.

“Yes,” Onslaught nodded. He then turned to the other Combaticons. “The rest of you are confined to your rooms until your time to train comes.”

Swindle, Vortex, and Blast Off nodded as Onslaught led Brawl away.

Chapter Text

In the training area, Onslaught and Brawl approached Darkwing, who was blasting targets with sadistic glee. Darkwing stopped his firing, though, when he saw Onslaught and Brawl standing behind him.

“Oh, Onslaught,” Darkwing said, putting his blaster away and turning to face them. “What brings you here?”

“Darkwing, I have a new trainee for you,” Onslaught explained, pushing Brawl forward. “This is Brawl, one of my Combaticons. I need you to train him to be the sharpest shooter in my ranks. Can I count on you?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Darkwing said dismissively, like he could care less.

“Excellent. Thank you, Darkwing,” Onslaught said.

After Onslaught left, Darkwing was about to go back to target practice, when Brawl stepped up beside him and got out his blaster.

“You sure you wanna do this, kid?” Darkwing asked him. “I don’t know why Megatron still treats me like a lower lifeform, rather than an equal.”

“Well, I have heard stories of how you always used to boss him and Optimus Prime around when they were miners,” Brawl argued, having heard about the stories from Onslaught.

“Because I was living a lie under Sentinel Prime!” Darkwing explained angrily. “Megatron finally opened my eyes to the deception, and now I take my anger out on those he seeks to destroy.”

“I see,” Brawl let out as he aimed his blaster. “Well, have you tried maybe, I don’t know, something constructive with your rage for a change?”

“Like what?” Darkwing asked.

“Instead of focusing your anger on Cybertronians and constantly racking up a high body count, why not focus on destroying buildings instead?” Brawl suggested.

“Buildings?” Darkwing inquired.

“Yeah, or rock formations,” Brawl went on. “Yesterday when we destroyed that cache of Energon the Autobots found, we really did a number on those rocks on the surface.”

“Oh you did, did you?” Darkwing smirked.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen such an oil bath in my life,” Brawl joked, causing him and Darkwing to laugh.

“Okay, enough of this banter,” Darkwing said as he got serious again. “Show me what you got, kid.”

Brawl grinned as he and Darkwing began firing at their targets. But while Darkwing’s shots were more aggressive and destructive, Brawl was more patient and hardly laid a scratch on his targets.

“No, no, no!” Darkwing scolded. “You need to be more aggressive! Watch me! You’ll soon learn how to put a dent in your enemy’s armor yet.”

Brawl lowered his blaster as he watched Darkwing take a few more shots at the targets, decimating them.

“Now you try,” He said.

Brawl raised his blaster again and began firing at the targets again, this time managing to destroy some of them.

“Very good,” Darkwing observed. “Now let’s see how many good shots you take when you’re in vehicle mode.”

Later, Darkwing led Brawl to some sort of obstacle course set up in the training area. Targets were set up all over the course, some of them bullseyes, others cardboard cutouts of generic Autobot soldiers.

“Since you’re a tank, we’re going to test to see how sharp your shooting skills are when you’re in vehicle mode,” Darkwing explained. “This course will require you to test your speed while maintaining a sharp eye…and shot. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Brawl nodded and transformed into his tank mode, then trundled his way onto the course. For the next 90 seconds, he struggled to make his way around the course as he tried to shoot his targets, but having to finish the course within the time limit Darkwing set him as well as targets being spread out everywhere made it difficult for him. By the time he finished, Brawl transformed back into robot mode and looked at Darkwing nervously.

“You did good, kid,” Darkwing said surprisingly. “You managed to hit every target. However, a ‘con like you normally would have completed this course in under a minute, unlike you.”

“So you’re saying I’m not ready for battle yet?” Brawl asked.

“You’re ready for battle when I say you’re ready for battle,” Okay, you’re ready for battle.”

Brawl smiled. “Then let’s go tell Onslaught,” He said as he and Darkwing walked off.

Back in Kaon, Onslaught and the other Combaticons were waiting for Brawl and Darkwing’s return. They turned and saw the two stepping into the room.

“Darkwing, Brawl, you’re back,” Onslaught observed. “How was it? Is Brawl ready for battle?”

“He sure is,” Darkwing answered. “Just send us to Iacon, and Brawl will show you what I’ve taught him.”

“Patience, Darkwing,” Onslaught assured. “You’ll get the Autobots in good time, but going out now after such a heavy training regimen does not seem like a good idea. We’ll wait until dawn and leave for Iacon then.”

“Very well,” Darkwing conceded as he walked off.

The next day, Onslaught led the Combaticons and Darkwing to Iacon. They transformed, but Onslaught raised a hand to keep the others back, allowing Brawl and Darkwing to surge ahead.

“Now, remember, you two, be discreet and don’t attract unwanted attention to yourselves,” Onslaught reminded them.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Darkwing sighed.

“Come on, Darkwing,” Brawl ribbed. “We can still have some fun while we’re at it.”

That cheered Darkwing up as they headed inside.

“Are you sure Brawl’s up for this, Onslaught?” Swindle asked. “Why didn’t you send me instead?”

“Megatron’s orders were clear,” Onslaught told him. “This test is for Brawl and Brawl alone.”

“But he has Darkwing helping him!” Vortex argued.

“That’s because I couldn’t find a better teacher to teach him brute strength than him,” Onslaught reasoned. “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.”

Inside Iacon, Brawl and Darkwing peered out from behind an alley as they saw two generic Autobot soldiers walking, and once they were gone, they emerged and began climbing the walls, before making their way onto the roof of a building. They then jumped from building to building until they saw the Autobots’ Command Tower.

“There it is,” Darkwing smirked. “Get ready to get into position, kid.”

“I don’t know about this,” Brawl said, sounding unsure. “Onslaught’s orders were clear. We must use discretion.”

“Grrr, fine!” Darkwing growled. “Just take a few warning shots, let the Autobots know we’re here.”

“Now that I can do,” Brawl smirked as he held his thumb up.

Brawl got out his blaster and aimed it at some guards that were standing on top of the gates to the Autobots’ Headquarters. He then pulled the trigger and fired at the first guard, then another, until he took out all the guards that were on the wall.

“Guards are taken out,” Brawl said. “Darkwing, go and have some fun.”

“My pleasure,” Darkwing smirked, transforming into his vehicle mode and flying off.

Darkwing flew to the top of the wall and transformed into robot mode, before landing on it. More guards then showed up, but he made quick work of them. However, a large blast shot him in the back, then Darkwing got up and saw Warpath standing over him.

“Nice try, Darkwing,” He sneered. “But I expected you to use brute force to storm your way into our headquarters.”

Just then, another laser blast hit Warpath in the back sending him to his knees. Darkwing looked in the distance and saw that it was Brawl who fired the shot.

“You forgot about one thing, Warpath,” He said as he got up. “I have a new protégé with me.”

Darkwing then picked up Warpath and threw him off of the wall. Brawl soon joined him, and they began fighting the guards that flooded out the doors onto the wall, shooting at them and making them fall off along with Warpath.

Down on the ground below, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Jetfire, Brawn, Windcharger, and Wheeljack were walking alongside the wall, when they saw Warpath land on the ground in front of them with a crash, along with a few other soldiers.

“Warpath!” Ultra Magnus cried as he and the others ran over to him. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Warpath replied. “But you gotta get these soldiers to the medical bay as fast as you can! We’ve been hit and we’ve been hit hard!”

“Who did this to you?!” Hot Rod demanded.

Warpath tried to say who, but passed out before he could. Hot Rod growled as he got up.

“Where are you going?” Jetfire asked.

“I’m gonna find out who did this!” Hot Rod answered angrily.

“I won’t do that if I were you,” Brawl advised as he and Darkwing stood above Hot Rod on the wall, aiming their blasters at him. “Because Darkwing here showed me how to take a shot.”

“Consider this a warning for your leader, Optimus Prime,” Darkwing told Ultra Magnus. “If he doesn’t stand down, we’ll do much worse than crippling your troops!”

“So long as Megatron keeps attacking Iacon City, we won’t stand down!” Ultra Magnus spat.

“Have it your way,” Darkwing growled. “Come on, Brawl. We’re done here.”

“Right,” Brawl agreed, jumping down from the wall before transforming and trundling, or in Darkwing’s case flying, off, leaving Ultra Magnus and the other Autobots to gather up their wounded, including Warpath.

In the Autobots’ Command Center, Ratchet was overwhelmed with tending to the Aerialbots, when Warpath and the soldiers who were injured by Brawl and Darkwing were soon brought in, further exasperating him.

“Couldn’t you find another place for these bots to wait until I’m finished with my other patients?” He asked in annoyance.

“Sorry, Ratchet, but this is urgent!” Hot Rod explained frantically. “Warpath and these guards need Energon stat!”

“Well, they’re going to have to wait,” Ratchet argued. “The Aerialbots haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“Ratchet, just do it!” Silverbolt barked. “These soldiers need to be more ready than us for when the Decepticons strike again. If Optimus were here, he’d probably say the same thing.”

“All right,” Ratchet relented. “But we’re going to need more beds.”

Hot Rod looked at Silverbolt thankfully. “Thank you,” He said softly.

“Anytime, kid,” Silverbolt replied with a smile.

Ironhide, Jazz, Arcee, and Sideswipe soon brought more beds in, and then Ultra Magnus laid Warpath on top of one, while Hot Rod, Jetfire, Brawn, Windcharger, and Wheeljack did the same to each of the soldiers they carried. A little later, Optimus came in to the medical bay and observed his injured men.

“First an ambush, then a direct attack?” Optimus questioned. “What are these Combaticons planning?”

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good,” Ratchet reasoned. “Look, the important thing is that we try to stop the Combaticons before they begin their next move.”

Optimus nodded as he left the room, while Ratchet got back to work on tending to Warpath and the other injured Autobots.

Meanwhile, Brawl and Darkwing returned to the surface, where they reunited with Onslaught and the others.

“So I’m guessing your mission was a success?” Swindle guessed.

“Oh, you know it,” Darkwing smirked. “But it was Brawl who did all the heavy work.”

“Aw, come on,” Brawl blushed. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Excellent,” Onslaught grinned. “One down, three to go. And Blast Off, you’re next in line.”

“All right!” Blast Off cheered. “I finally get to play with the big bots!”

“Hold on a minute there, hoss,” Vortex chuckled. “Let’s return to Kaon and regroup.”

“You know, for once, I agree with you,” Swindle admitted. “We need to find the right teachers for Blast Off, some bots who know how to teach him to fly.”

“And I know just the bots to do it,” Onslaught mused as they transformed and rode back to Kaon.

Chapter Text

When Darkwing and the Combaticons returned to Kaon, Onslaught dismissed Darkwing and the others. He then took Blast Off to see Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Sunstorm, Slipstream, Ramjet, Thrust, Dirge, and Nova Storm.

“Yes, Onslaught?” Starscream asked. “What do you want?”

“I would like you to train Blast Off to have what it takes to fly in the sky like you guys,” Onslaught explained.

“Is that all?” Thundercracker scoffed. “Why didn’t you bring Vortex as well?”

“Because I have a detailed strategy on how to prepare my men to transform into Bruticus,” Onslaught explained. “And Blast Off is next in line.”

“Okay, fine,” Thundercracker sighed. “We’ll mentor Blast Off how to fly like us.”

“So leave it to us, Onslaught,” Ramjet promised. “We’ll whip Blast Off into shape to get him ready for takeoff.”

“Brilliant reasoning, Ramjet, brilliant,” Sunstorm praised. “And we shall all lend a hand in the process.”

Onslaught nodded as he walked away.

“So, you have a vehicle mode that allows you to fly, but you haven’t used it yet?” Slipstream inquired as she and the other Decepticons surrounded Blast Off.

“Um, no, actually,” Blast Off answered. “I can use my vehicle mode, and you’ve seen me fly using it, but I just don’t know how to use it for military reasons.”

“Well, tough luck, bolts and nuts,” Skywarp told him condescendingly. “We’re at war! Act like it!”

“Okay, guys, let’s not try to put so much pressure on him,” Nova Storm said as she stepped forward. “I think Thrust would be the best teacher for Blast Off since he’s the major strategist among us.”

“I thought you’d never ask, Nova Storm,” Thrust smirked, cracking his knuckles. “Come with me, Blast Off.”

Blast Off obliged as they walked off.

A little later, Thrust and Blast Off were flying above the surface of Cybertron in their vehicle modes. They flew over a few peaceful spots that had been neglected long since the Transformers’ war began. Blast Off looked down as he saw dried up rivers and streams of Energon.

“So, remind me again why we’re doing this?” Blast Off asked Thrust.

“To remind you of what we Decepticons fight for,” Thrust replied. “Take a good look at this, Blast Off. Cybertron is slowly dying. Energon is becoming more scarce. And it’s all the Autobots’ fault.”

“How is it the Autobots’ fault that Energon has become scarce?” Blast Off questioned.

“Because ever since Megatron was defeated in Iacon by the newly christened Optimus Prime, he’s sworn to make him pay by denying him access to Cybertron’s most reliable source,” Thrust explained. “And we Decepticons need Energon to make ourselves more powerful.”

“But isn’t that a lie?” Blast Off asked.

“We Decepticons are masters of deception!” Thrust argued. “You’ve got to have it if you wish to become a true Decepticon. Don’t believe me? Let’s go up a little bit higher.”

“No, you can’t!” Blast Off exclaimed. “Only I can survive the cold, harsh vacuum of space.”

“Very well,” Thrust conceded. “Then I will stay here, and don’t come back until you’ve circled the planet at least once and see the truth of my claims!”

Blast Off flew up higher into Cybertron’s atmosphere, slowly breaking through it, until finally he was in open space. He turned slowly on his left side, then began circling the planet. As he flew, Blast Off saw lots of holes in the surface of Cybertron, no doubt scars from the Autobots and Decepticons’ most recent battles. He then made a U-turn and began circling the planet counterclockwise as he thought about what Thrust told him.

“It’s the Autobots’ fault,” Thrust’s voice rang in his head. “We Decepticons are masters of deception!”

“Maybe Thrust is right,” Blast Off thought to himself. “Who needs to hoard Energon to themselves when we can use it for power?”

He began flying back down to the surface.

Thrust had transformed into his robot mode and was standing on top of one of the rock formations waiting for Blast Off to return. He eventually saw Blast Off transform and land on top of the formation he was standing on.

“Now do you see the truth of my words?” Thrust asked as he approached Blast Off.

“Yes,” Blast Off quickly answered. “I now see the Autobots as hoarders of Energon who will stop at nothing to keep it for themselves, whereas we Decepticons can use it for power.”

“Excellent. You’re learning fast, kid,” Thrust complimented. “Nice work.”

“Now what?” Blast Off asked.

“We move on to phase two of your training,” Thrust replied. “Field work.”

“And what will I have to do?” Blast Off inquired.

“Follow me, and I’ll show you,” Thrust answered as he transformed and flew off, with Blast Off following him.

A little later, Thrust and Blast Off were standing over an empty glen, which had been abandoned ever since the war started. The stream was dried up, and there wasn’t any fauna in sight. It was the perfect place for Blast Off to do some field training.

“Okay, so what do I need to do here?” Blast Off asked.

“Let’s put those bombs of yours to good use,” Thrust explained. “Drop ‘em over here, then you’ll be ready.”

“Okay,” Blast Off nodded.

Blast Off transformed into his vehicle mode and flew over the glen. He then opened his undercarriage and released bombs from it. The bombs exploded all over the glen, destroying it until there was nothing left. Thrust observed the damage Blast Off caused.

“Excellent work, kid,” Thrust smirked. “You’re ready for action. Let’s get back to Kaon and tell Starscream the news.”

Blast Off turned and flew back in the direction of Kaon, then Thrust transformed and flew after him.

Outside the gates of Kaon, Starscream and the other flying Decepticons were waiting for Thrust and Blast Off to return. They then saw their comrades returning, then Thrust and Blast Off transformed and ran up to them.

“So I’m guessing the training was a success?” Starscream guessed.

“It sure was,” Thrust replied. “I’ve never seen such volatility and ferocity from a Combaticon of his caliber.”

“Come again?” Dirge asked.

“What he means is, Blast Off is one of the most violent and ferocious Decepticons we’ve ever recruited, especially for a Combaticon,” Thundercracker translated.

“Since when do you know big words?” Skywarp asked.

“Enough!” Starscream barked. “We rest tonight, but tomorrow, we head for Iacon and rain on the Autobots’ parade.”

“Rain on the Autobots’ parade!” Sunstorm laughed. “Classic!”

“I had to walk right into that one, didn’t I?” Starscream asked himself.

The next day, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Sunstorm, Nova Storm, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, and Blast Off were all flying across Cybertron’s surface in their vehicle modes until they reached Iacon, but the gates were closed.

“All right, Blast Off, remember what I taught you?” Thrust asked.

“Of course,” Blast Off smirked.

Blast Off released more bombs from his underbelly and they landed on the gates of Iacon, destroying them, allowing the Decepticons to enter.

“Remember the plan,” Starscream reminded everyone. “Cause as much devastation as possible.”

“But don’t kill anyone,” Nova Storm added.

“That goes double for you,” Starscream glared at Nova Storm.

Nova Storm angrily muttered to herself as the flying Decepticons fired their lasers around Iacon, destroying a large portion of the buildings.

(Autobot Headquarters)

Mirage and Hot Rod were looking at the monitors, when Mirage caught a glimpse of Blast Off and the other flying Decepticons ransacking Iacon.

“Hey, Hot Rod?” He asked. “You’d better see this.”

Hot Rod moved over to the monitor Mirage was working on and saw Blast Off destroying more buildings.

“Holy Primus!” Hot Rod exclaimed. “It’s one of those flying Combaticons! But only two can fly. Which one is it?”

“Blast Off,” Mirage replied.

“Oh, right,” Hot Rod said. “Are the Aerialbots ready for action yet?”

“No,” Mirage answered. “They’re still too weak to fight. Jetfire is the only flying Autobot we have available right now.”

“Well, send him out there!” Hot Rod ordered. “We need to stop the Decepticons from destroying the city!”

“Now, hold on,” Mirage said. “Since when do you get to call the shots? The only bots I take orders from are Optimus Prime or Ultra Magnus.”

“But we’ve gotta do something!” Hot Rod argued. “We can’t just sit here and let them destroy everything we worked so hard to rebuild!”

“I’ll notify Prime and let him know we’re under attack again,” Mirage promised, pressing some buttons on the console.

(Medical Bay)

Ratchet was still tending to his patients when he heard his communicator beep, making him put it to his mouth.

“Yes? Go ahead,” He said into it.

“Ratchet, we need your help,” Optimus’ voice explained. “The Decepticons are devastating the city again!”

“Again?” Ratchet moaned.

“Yes,” Optimus answered. “And we need your help out here to round up the wounded and bring them to the medical bay as fast as possible!”

“All right, I’m on my way,” Ratchet replied as he ran out of the medical bay.

(The city)

The Decepticons flew all over Iacon, firing their lasers and destroying everything in their path. Down on the ground, Optimus, Ratchet, Hot Rod, Mirage, and Ironhide rode through the streets in their vehicle modes while Jetfire flew above them.

“Jetfire, see if you can lead the Decepticons away while we round up the injured,” Optimus instructed.

“I’m already there, Prime,” Jetfire acknowledged, flying higher. “Ready or not, Thrust, here I come.”

Thrust saw Jetfire approaching him and sighed. “It’s Jetfire!” He told the others.

“Break formation!” Starscream ordered. “Try to shake him!”

The other Decepticons separated and flew off in separate directions, but Jetfire continued to chase after Thrust.

“Is there a particular reason the Autobots’ sole flier other than the Aerialbots is chasing after me?” He questioned. “Blast Off, I need you over here! I’m gonna need backup!”

“I’m on my way,” Blast Off replied, flying back over to Thrust’s location.

Jetfire fired his lasers at Thrust, who flew around in all directions in order to dodge them. Eventually, Jetfire was able to get a clear shot at Thrust, but before he could fire again, Blast Off snuck up behind him and shot him, making Jetfire fall to the ground.

“Argh!” Jetfire cried. “Who did that?!”

“Nice job, Blast Off,” Thrust praised. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Blast Off replied. “I learned from the best.”

On the ground, the other Autobots had now transformed into their robot modes and were taking the injured citizens to the medical bay, when they saw Jetfire fall from the sky and land in front of them. Optimus and Ratchet rushed over as Jetfire transformed into his robot mode and slowly sat up, woozy from the fall.

“Oh, man,” He groaned. “Somebody get me a license plate on that number.”

He then fell on his back as Optimus and Ratchet helped him up and led him over to the others.

“Our job’s done here,” Starscream reported. “Decepticons, return to base!”

He then flew off back in the direction of Kaon, with the other Decepticons following him.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up with this, Prime,” Ratchet sighed once the last of the injured citizens were evacuated. “My medical bay is overflowing with patients due to the relentless Decepticon attacks!”

“I agree,” Optimus agreed with Ratchet. “We must find a way to stop these Combaticons, especially now that our best flier is out. It’ll take the strength of all of us combined in order to defeat them. Megatron thinks he’s wearing us down with sheer brute force and numbers, but in truth, we’re overwhelming him with sheer determination. But in the meantime…”

“I know, I know,” Ratchet sighed. “I got my work cut out for me.”

He transformed and raced back to the Command Center to do his job, while Optimus looked at the damaged city, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Combaticons reached full strength.

Chapter Text

Blast Off, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, Sunstorm, and Nova Storm returned to Kaon victorious, where Onslaught and the Combaticons were waiting for them.

“So, another success?” Onslaught guessed as the flying Decepticons and Blast Off transformed and ran over to them.

“How’d you guess?” Dirge asked.

“It was a cakewalk,” Ramjet bragged.

“The Autobots never knew what hit them,” Sunstorm added.

“We even managed to take out their best flier after the Aerialbots!” Thrust finished, pulling Blast Off forward. “And it was all thanks to this bot right here!”

“Aw, shucks,” Blast Off blushed. “It was nothing.”

“So that just leaves two of your Combaticons left before you can finally form Bruticus!” Starscream said. “Which one shall go next?”

“Ooh, pick me, pick me!” Vortex said eagerly. “I have the firepower to get the job done!”

“Negative,” Onslaught denied. “Swindle, your next task is to infiltrate Iacon and obtain information about the Autobots’ Energon resources. We must obtain more for Megatron.”

“But Onslaught, how is Swindle going to sneak in?” Brawl asked. “We Combaticons aren’t known as masters of stealth.”

“Luckily, I know someone who is,” Onslaught grinned.

Later, Swindle was at the training facility with Soundwave. Soundwave had an obstacle course set up, complete with a conveyor belt that had cardboard cutouts of generic Autobot soldiers popping out of it.

“So, uh, what’s the objective here?” Swindle asked.

“The objective is to clear this course and reach the end within the time limit,” Soundwave explained. “You will be given 5 minutes to complete the course.”

“And what about the cardboard soldiers?” Swindle questioned. “What does that have to do with being stealthy?”

“Lord Megatron thought that stealth sometimes involves killing Autobots,” Soundwave answered, though Swindle could tell it was a lie. “Are you ready to begin?”

Swindle took a running position as Soundwave held his arm up.

“Ready, set, rise up!” Soundwave announced, chopping his arm downward as Swindle transformed and raced off.

Swindle raced around the track no problem, but when he got to the conveyor belt with the cardboard soldiers, he had trouble with having to dodge them while in robot mode, since they were going at a fast pace and Soundwave was at the controls. When the pace became too much for him, Swindle resorted to using his blaster to knock the cutouts down and get to the end of the course within the allotted time limited. After finishing off the remaining cardboard soldiers, Swindle transformed again and raced to the finish line, before crossing it. Soundwave checked Swindle’s time to see how well he did. Swindle transformed back into his robot mode and ran over.

“So, how did I do?” He asked.

“You finished the course within 1 minute of the allotted time,” Soundwave explained. “So it’s safe to say that you passed.”

“I still didn’t like what I had to do to get passed the cardboard cutouts of the Autobot soldiers, though,” Swindle grumbled, still not happy with having to show violence when he was more of a stealth bot.

“You did the right thing, Swindle,” Soundwave assured. “Now, we will move on to phase two of your training.”

“What’s that?” Swindle asked.

“Field training,” Soundwave replied. “You will join me on my rounds to infiltrate Iacon and observe what the Autobots are planning next. We must know their next move.”

“Understood, Soundwave,” Swindle nodded.

The next day, Swindle was riding across the surface of Cybertron to Iacon, while Soundwave flew above him. Once they got to the gates, Swindle kept driving in, while Soundwave transformed and ejected Laserbeak from his chest.

“Laserbeak, eject,” Soundwave droned. “Destination: Iacon. Operation: reconnaissance assistance.”

Laserbeak transformed from cassette mode into robot mode and flew in after Swindle.

Inside Iacon, Swindle, now transformed into his robot mode, snuck into an alleyway, with Laserbeak flying in behind him. They then moved stealthily throughout the city, using the alleys as cover, Before they reached the Autobots’ Command Center. Laserbeak flew up to one of the windows and got out a recording device somewhere stored in his head as he started recording a conversation between Optimus Prime, Ratchet, and Wheeljack.

(Inside)

“So, you’re saying you’ve found potential bots to be candidates for our new Protectobot squadron?” Optimus asked.

“Yeah, their names are Hot Spot, First Aid, Blades, Groove, and Streetwise,” Wheeljack explained. “They’re not exactly hero material yet, but with a few weeks of training, we could whip them into shape.”

“First Aid has been giving me a lot of help in the medical bay, repairing the Aerialbots and the other injured soldiers,” Ratchet explained, before turning to Wheeljack sternly. “And he’s not a warrior; he’s more of a medic, and he should stay in the medical bay where he belongs.”

“Guys, guys!” Optimus scolded them. “Trying to put the Protectobots together now would be putting a little too much pressure on them. I saw we wait several weeks until we come to a decision.”

Ratchet and Wheeljack sighed before they looked at each other. “Fine,” They said in unison.

(Outside)

Swindle watched Laserbeak’s recording from his commlink. “Protectobots?” He questioned, before he realized what the three Autobots were talking about. “They must be another Combiner team. I must let Soundwave know at once.”

Laserbeak flew down from the window and followed after Swindle as they snuck back out of Iacon and rejoined Soundwave on the surface, then all three of them moved out back to Kaon.

Once the two Decepticons returned to Kaon, they stepped into Megatron’s chamber and showed him the recording played by Laserbeak. Megatron watched the recording until he stopped on the part where Optimus, Ratchet, and Wheeljack were discussing what to do with their ideal Protectobots, then turned to Swindle and Soundwave.

“So the Autobots are planning to unleash a new squadron of Combiners into their ranks?” He questioned. “What else do you know about them?”

“Not much, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave replied. “All we do know is that their names are Hot Spot, First Aid, Blades, Groove, and Streetwise.”

“But they haven’t been granted their combiner cogs yet,” Swindle added. “For all we know, they could just be some generic Autobots lying somewhere among the crowd.”

“So our best bet is to seek out and destroy those Autobots before they become the Protectobots,” Megatron deduced. “Excellent work, Swindle, you really are proving yourself to be a capable member of the Combaticons.”

“Thank you, Lord Megatron,” Swindle said proudly.

“You two are dismissed,” Megatron told Swindle and Soundwave. “And now it is time for Vortex to receive his imitation test. If he passes, you and the others will be allowed to form Bruticus.”

“All right!” Swindle cheered. “I’ll go get Vortex right now!”

After Swindle ran out of the chamber, Megatron turned to Soundwave. “You didn’t happen to kill any Autobots while you were at it, did you?” He asked hopefully.

“No,” Soundwave replied.

“Dang it,” Megatron cursed under his breath.

At the training facility, Vortex was shooting at some targets rapidly with a manic grin on his face (if he had one), when Swindle came up to him.

“Hey, Vortex!” He called.

“Yeah?” Vortex asked, still focused on shooting the targets.

“I just want you to know that I’ve passed my initiation test, and Megatron says that you’re next, or rather last, since you haven’t taken yours yet,” Swindle explained.

“Okay,” Vortex nodded, not even bothering to look at Swindle. “What do I gotta do?”

“All you have to do is pass whatever test Lord Megatron has in store for you, and we’ll finally be able to combine into Bruticus with the others,” Swindle explained. “Think you can do that?”

“Okay,” Vortex replied, his eyes still on the targets.

“Great!” Swindle grinned. “Thanks, Vortex.”

He walked off, and then Vortex stopped shooting and finally turned around, only to find Swindle no longer there.

“So, uh, what did I just agree to?” Vortex asked, confused.

Chapter Text

The next day, Vortex was in an empty room, which was completely dark, save for a few torches. As soon as Vortex stepped in, he saw Airachnid sitting on the floor in a lotus position.

“Okay, Airachnid, what is it you want from me?” Vortex asked.

“Just sit down,” Arachnid told him.

Vortex complied and sat across from Airachnid in the same position as her.

“So, what does this have to do with my training?” Vortex asked.

“That’s enough questions, Vortex,” Airachnid lightly chided him. “Now, close your optics and take a deep breath in.”

Vortex did as he was told and took a deep inhale.

“Good. Now slowly breathe it out,” Airachnid instructed.

Vortex let out a slow exhale.

“Good. Now do it again. Breathe in, breathe out,” Airachnid instructed.

Vortex did the technique a couple more times before he was finally calm, then he opened his eyes.

“Good,” Airachnid nodded. “Now, what were you going to ask me?”

“What does any of this have to do with my training?” Vortex asked.

“Vortex, Lord Megatron ordered me to train you, specifically to test your temper,” Airachnid explained. “You’re the most temperamental of the Combaticons, and unless we do something about it, your temper will become a hinderance for you and your comrades to become Bruticus.”

“I do not have a temper!” Vortex snapped, offended by the accusation, but lowered his voice after Arachnid shushed him. “Oh, sorry. I mean, my temper is not a hinderance to the Combaticons. If anything, it makes me a better fighter.” He said in a hushed whisper.

“That is where you are wrong,” Airachnid argued. “You always overshoot at target practice, you’re impatient, and hot-tempered, and most importantly, you’re too disobedient.”

“Okay, I’ll admit, I’m a little disobedient…” Vortex began, but corrected himself after Airachnid gave him a flat look. “A lot disobedient. But what do you suggest I do about it?”

“I can’t give you suggestions, Vortex,” Airachnid explained. “However, I can help you keep your temper in check. Now, follow me.”

Airachnid stood up and walked out of the room, and then Vortex followed her.

Later, Vortex and Airachnid were at the training facility again. Vortex had his blaster out and aimed it at the targets, while Airachnid stood behind him.

“The first step in your training will be controlling your blasts,” Arachnid told Vortex.

Vortex had his finger on the trigger, but hesitated, as Airachnid’s words circled in his mind.

You’re the most temperamental of the Combaticons. You’re impatient, and hot-tempered, and most importantly, you’re too disobedient.

Vortex sighed as he took his finger off the trigger. “I can’t do it,” He said.

“What?” Airachnid asked. “But you must if you and your teammates are to form Bruticus!”

“I’m sorry, Airachnid, but I just won’t do it!” Vortex insisted firmly, before dropping his blaster.

He then walked off in shame, while Airachnid stared at his blaster, then Vortex.

Meanwhile, the other Combaticons, except for Onslaught, were in the rec room, when Vortex stepped in. He saw Brawl and Swindle playing air hockey, while Blast Off was playing an arcade game that involved shooting, making Vortex wince, as it reminded him of his temper. Blast Off turned away from the game and faced Vortex.

“So, Vortex, how’s your training coming along?” He asked.

Vortex’s flat stare was his answer. “Oh. That good, huh?” Blast Off guessed.

“I chickened out, guys,” Vortex said sadly.

“What?!” The others asked in shock, stopping what they were doing and running over to him.

“But why?” Brawl asked.

“Yeah, why did you do that?!” Swindle demanded. “Do you know what will happen if you don’t complete your training?! We won’t be able to form Bruticus!”

“I know what’ll happen!” Vortex snapped. “But for the first time in my life, Arachnid opened my eyes and made me see what I really am.”

“And what’s that?” Blast Off inquired.

“That I’m a hothead and a rebel bot!” Vortex exclaimed. “I’m a hotheaded rebel bot who never thinks before he acts and always puts himself before his teammates.”

The Combaticons were shocked by Vortex’s outburst, when Swindle walked up behind him and grabbed his shoulders.

“Vortex, don’t let Arachnid’s words get to you,” He assured. “You may be a hothead and a rebel and…all those other things she said about you, but you’re also the second-strongest member on our team, behind Brawl, of course.”

Vortex was shocked. “I am?” He asked in confusion.

“Of course you are,” Brawl assured. “I’m not even offended Swindle used that analogy by comparing you to me. How do you think we won our last few guerilla campaigns over the past several months? Because we had you on our side. Onslaught may be our master tactician, but you’re our master sharpshooter.”

“And don’t think for a second that you don’t deserve to belong on this team,” Blast Off added. “We need you as much as you need us if we’re gonna pull this Bruticus thing off.”

Vortex smiled slightly at his teammates. “Thanks, guys,” He said.

The four then heard footsteps approaching.

“Uh-oh, it’s Onslaught,” Brawl gasped.

“If he catches you shirking training, it’s not gonna be pretty,” Blast Off grimaced.

“So get back out there!” Swindle barked.

Vortex nodded, then looked around and saw an open window, before jumping out of it, just in time before Onslaught entered the room.

Back at the training facility, Airachnid was waiting patiently for Vortex, who finally arrived in vehicle mode, before transforming and running over to her.

“So, Vortex, I’m glad to see you’ve come to your senses and changed your mind,” She noted.

“Yeah,” Vortex nodded. “I understand now, after talking to my teammates, that I’m more important to the Combaticon cause than I realize.”

“So are you ready to finish your training?” Airachnid asked.

“Yes, I am,” Vortex answered.

“Well, get to it, then,” Airachnid said, gesturing to the targets, before handing Vortex his blaster, who eagerly took it.

Vortex aimed his blaster at the targets and began firing at them. Unlike his shooting practice from earlier, this time, with Airachnid’s guidance, his shots were much more subdued and less destructive, blasting the targets with ease, while making sure they were still standing. Once Vortex was done, he blew on his barrel, before lowering his blaster, and then Airachnid walked over to the targets to check on his work.

“Impressive,” She remarked, walking back over to Vortex. “I’d say you passed.”

“Really?” Vortex asked, surprised.

Airachnid nodded. “Not only were you able to control your temper, but you also kept the targets completely intact,” She told him. “I say it’s time for you to rejoin your teammates, while I tell Lord Megatron the good news.”

She then walked off, while Vortex transformed and flew away.

“Excellent,” He said to himself with a smirk. “Now the time has come for Bruticus to be reborn.”

After returning to Kaon, Vortex rejoined the Combaticons, who were all assembled in front of Megatron and Airachnid, who stood in front of them.

“Combaticons, I am very pleased with your progress this past week,” Megatron told the Combaticons as he paced in front of them. “Which means, it is your time to rise up! The time has come for you to form Bruticus!”

The Combaticons all cheered.

“Now transform and combine!” Megatron commanded.

The Combaticons transformed partially into their vehicle modes, before they gathered together to transform into the third Decepticon Combiner. Swindle and Brawl lifted up slightly, forming the legs; Swindle formed the right leg and Brawl formed the left leg, then Onslaught placed himself on top of them, forming the torso. Blast Off and Vortex then inserted themselves into Onslaught’s body, forming the arms; Blast Off formed the right arm and Vortex formed the left arm. A head then came out of Onslaught as the Combaticons’ transformation to Bruticus was completed.

“I am Bruticus! I am programmed to destroy!” Bruticus announced once he came online.

“This is it,” Megatron smirked. “The Autobots’ downfall is at hand.” He then turned to Airachnid. “Airachnid, prepare a strike team!” He ordered. “We leave for Iacon at once! The time has come to end this war now!”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Airachnid said, bowing.

She turned and walked off, while Megatron looked back up at Bruticus with an evil grin.

“Very soon now, Cybertron will be mine,” He sneered.

Chapter Text

The Decepticons traveled across the surface of Cybertron, towards Iacon. Megatron, the Constructicons, and the Stunticons rolled on the ground, while Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, the Seekers, the Coneheads, Darkwing, Airachnid, and Bruticus flew above them. When they arrived, the Decepticons transformed and stood outside the gate, but Bruticus kept on walking, thinking Iacon was elsewhere, not knowing that it was right in front of him.

“Destroy Autobots!” Bruticus roared, stopping on the ground with his feet.

The Decepticons stared at Bruticus, dumbfounded.

“What is he doing?” Darkwing asked.

“He obviously thinks Iacon is somewhere in that direction,” Starscream deduced. “But we’re already here!”

Megatron sighed, then stepped forward and addressed Bruticus.

“Uh, Bruticus?” He asked.

Bruticus stopped his rampage and turned to face his leader.

“Iacon would be that way,” Megatron said plainly, pointing in the opposite direction.

Bruticus looked at Iacon with an embarrassed look on his face. “Oh, right,” He realized, before walking back over to the Decepticon army.

Bruticus approached the gates of Iacon and physically ripped them open, allowing the Decepticons to enter. The Constructicons quickly formed Devastator, then the Stunticons quickly transformed into Menasor. They observed the city’s surroundings as Megatron began dividing his army into groups.

“Okay, now that we have all three Combiners, we should split up and destroy each part of the city before making our way to the Autobots’ Command Center,” He explained. “Starscream!”

“Yes, Lord Megatron?” Starscream asked, stepping forward.

“You will take the Seekers and Devastator and attack the easternmost side of the city,” Megatron instructed.

“Yes, my lord,” Starscream said, bowing.

Megatron then turned to Soundwave. “Soundwave, go with Menasor and attack the westernmost side,” He ordered.

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave said obediently.

Finally, Megatron faced Shockwave. “Shockwave, you will accompany Bruticus and attack the southernmost side,” He commanded. “But do the least amount of damage you can.”

“Fear not, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave saluted. “Bruticus and I shall leave the city as you want it.”

“Excellent,” Megatron grinned, before turning to face Ramjet, Dirge, Thrust, Darkwing, and Airachnid. “Darkwing, Airachnid, Thrust, Dirge, and Ramjet, all of you will come with me,” He said.

“What?” Darkwing asked. “Why us?”

“We’ll be attacking the northernmost side, where we’ll cause the least amount of suspicion and destruction,” Airachnid explained as she geared up for battle.

“Ugh, why couldn’t I have gone with Menasor or even Bruticus?” Darkwing groaned, not happy with the assignment Megatron gave him.

“Are you still questioning a direct order from your leader?” Soundwave questioned.

“Yes, remember that Lord Megatron is our supreme leader!” Shockwave added.

“Thank you, you two,” Megatron said. “Now, let’s transform and rise up!”

“Rise up!” The Decepticons chanted, before they all took off in separate directions.

Inside the Autobots’ Command Tower, Optimus Prime, Elita-1, and B-127 were each watching the Decepticons attack various parts of the city on the monitors.

“The Decepticons are at it again!” Bee exclaimed. “I’m getting really tired of this!”

“We’ve been at war for so long now, Bee,” Elita reminded him. “We might as well get used to it.”

“But why would they attack three different places at once?” Optimus wondered, before turning to his comrades. “Okay, normally, I would call a strategy meeting, but since we don’t have time for that, I’ll send you guys to dispatch Autobots at random to these precise places and repel the threat.” He then turned to Elita. “Elita, do you know if the Aerialbots are ready for combat yet?”

“I’m not sure,” Elita replied. “But I’ll go check in with Ratchet and see.”

“Then go!” Optimus ordered. “And hurry!”

Elita nodded and ran off, and then Optimus turned to Bee.

“Bee, I’m giving you my permission to speak to Ultra Magnus,” He explained. “Send him and his team to the easternmost side of the city to deal with Devastator.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Bee saluted, running out of the room.

Optimus then turned back to the monitors, seeing Bruticus destroy some buildings in the southernmost area of the city on the monitor on the far right.

“Now if we can just figure out what that new combiner is…” He muttered to himself, not taking his eyes off the screen.

In the medical bay, Ratchet was checking on some patients, when Elita ran in.

“Ratchet! We’re under attack!” She explained urgently. “Are the Aerialbots ready for combat yet?”

“They’re well-rested and all ready for action,” Ratchet replied, before looking down at Warpath. “Can’t say the same about Warpath, though…”

“Ratchet, whatever!” Elita said dismissively. “Optimus just sent me to tell you to deploy the Aerialbots to the westernmost side of the city to stop Menasor.”

“Menasor?” Ratchet questioned. “He’s back.”

“I’m afraid so,” Elita confirmed. “Now, get a move on!”

She then ran out of the medical bay, while the Aerialbots overheard what Elita said and stood up from their beds.

“You heard the commander, Aerialbots!” Silverbolt barked. “Now, let’s fly out!”

“Aye, aye!” The Aerialbots saluted, following Silverbolt out of the medical bay.

“Guys, wait!” Ratchet called. “You forgot to sign out! Oh, great.” He mumbled. “You’d think that since we’re at war, they’d at least be more concerned about any potential injuries they might have in the future.”

Meanwhile, Bee had found Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Blurr, Smokescreen, Red Alert, Dead End, and Wildrider and ran over to them.

“Guys!” He called urgently, before stopping in front of them. “They’re back!”

“Easy, Bee,” Dead End said passively. “What is it? Who’s back?”

“The Decepticons!” Bee exclaimed. “They’re all attacking different parts of the city! Optimus sent me here to tell you that Devestator is attacking the easternmost part of the city, so you guys need to get going over there and get to stopping him.”

“We will,” Ultra Magnus promised, before turning to his troops. “Well, you heard him!”

They all transformed into their vehicle modes and rolled out, while Bee ran back to the Command Center.

Back in the Command Tower, Optimus was still observing the battles on the monitors, the Autobots he’d sent Elita and Bee to get were fighting the Decepticons, when his second and third-in-command ran back into the Command Room. Optimus turned his head to them, his body still focused on the screens.

“Well done, you two,” He said, his back turned to them. “I just hope we’re all strong enough individually against three Decepticon Combiners.”

“What, there’s three of them now?!” Elita exclaimed in surprise and disbelief. “Well, who’s the third one then?!”

“Still unknown,” Optimus sighed. “What is known, however, is that he’s the combined form of those Combaticons we’ve been fighting lately.”

“Oh, man!” Bee realized, horrified. “If five Combaticons were strong individually, there’s no telling what they could do if they’re together!”

“Well, if so, then we need to put together our own strike team and join Ultra Magnus and his team in battle,” Elita suggested, before turning to Optimus. “Please, Prime? We’ve got to help them.”

“As much as I agree with you, Elita, we cannot leave the Command Center unprotected,” Optimus admitted. “However, I can call Huffer, Brawn, Windcharger, Wheeljack, Gears, Bluestreak, Sunstreaker, and Mirage here to help us defend the tower in the meantime.”

Optimus reached for a call button on the control panel that would summon the Autobots to the Command Center, but as he reached for it, Megatron, Darkwing, Airachnid, and the Coneheads burst through the windows of the Command Tower and surrounded them.

“Oh, great!” Elita said sarcastically. “Just what we needed.”

Optimus and Megatron circled each other as they glared at one another.

“So we meet again, Prime,” Megatron sneered grinningly. “Decepticons, attack!”

Darkwing, Airachnid, and the Coneheads charged at the top three Autobots, who quickly prepared for battle, Optimus and Bee donning their battle masks. Dirge charged in blindly at Optimus, who grabbed him by the leg when he tried to kick him, picked him up, and slammed him into the ground on his head. Elita kicked Ramjet in the face, while Bee sliced off Thrust’s arm cannons with his knife hands. The three Autobots then gathered together.

“That takes care of the Coneheads,” Elita reported.

“Yes, but we’ve still got the other three Decepticons to take care of,” Optimus pointed out, gesturing to Megatron, Darkwing, and Airachnid.

“I wanna take on Darkwing!” Bee said excitedly, charging towards him.

“Good, because Airachnid’s all mine!” Elita joked, running alongside him.

“Leave Megatron to me,” Optimus said, bringing out his Energon axe.

Darkwing tried to punch Bee, who jumped up and stabbed Darkwing in the back with his knife hands, but Darkwing managed to shake him off. Elita and Airachnid locked fists, while Optimus and Megatron charged at each other with their melee weapons. Optimus’ axe locked in with Megatron’s club, and then they glared at each other again.

“Give it up, Prime!” Megatron sneered. “There is no way your troops can withstand the might of all three of my Decepticon Combiners!”

“That’s what you think, Megatron!” Optimus spat back. “There’s one thing my troops have that yours don’t.”

“And what’s that?” Megatron inquired.

“Faith,” Optimus answered earnestly. “I have faith in my troops, and I have faith that they’ll take down all your Combiners!”

However, all across the city, the Autobots were struggling in their efforts to defeat the Decepticon Combiners. In the easternmost quadrant, Ultra Magnus and his team were firing their weapons at Devastator, but they proved ineffective, mostly due to Starscream and the Seekers stopping them by firing back at them.

“Autobots, fall back!” Ultra Magnus cried as the Autobots retreated.

Elsewhere, Menasor tried to swat away the Aerialbots, who were flying all around him, firing their lasers at him. The Aerialbots quickly transformed into Superion, but Soundwave ejected Rumble from his chest. Rumble got out his pistons and pounded them into the ground, making it shake. Superion struggled to keep his balance, allowing Menasor to punch him, forcing him to disassemble.

“Ha!” Rumble scoffed. “So much for the mighty Superion!”

In the southernmost quadrant, Bruticus kept walking through the streets, leaving a trail of carnage and destruction in his wake. Huffer, Brawn, Windcharger, Wheeljack, Gears, Bluestreak, Sunstreaker, and Mirage, having been tipped off by Ultra Magnus on the way, arrived with a large cannon and fired it at him, but to no effect.

“Are you kidding me?!” Gears exclaimed in disbelief. “Just how tough is this bot anyhow?!”

No one had much time to answer, since Bruticus stomped over to them, picked the cannon up, and threw it away. The cannon landed and exploded behind Bruticus, destroying a large portion of the northernmost quadrant of the city.

“O-kay, that’s how,” Gears let out. “Well, there goes our last line of defense.”

Shockwave then stood on top of Bruticus’ shoulder as he aimed his gun hand at him.

“There is no way to defeat the glorious and powerful Bruticus!” He sneered. “You and your fellow Autobots are finished!”

Inside the Command Tower, Optimus and Megatron were still fighting, when Optimus’ eye caught his attention to the monitors. He saw most of Iacon entirely leveled, his troops struggling, and the three Decepticon Combiners standing victorious. Megatron then flung Optimus to the ground and aimed his melee weapon in front of him, before turning to the monitors and smiling at his troops’ dirty work.

“Hmm. See that, Prime?” He asked his arch-nemesis. “That is not faith I see from your troops in my eyes. I see a bunch of soldiers, running scared, anxious to hear their next move from their so-called ‘leader.’”

Elita kicked Airachnid away and glared hard at Megatron. “Oh, put a muffler in it, Megatron!” She snapped. “Or why don’t I do it for you?”

Bee knocked Darkwing back and also glared at Megatron. “Yeah!” He agreed. “I’ll show you a real sting!”

Megatron seethed at his former friends, especially Optimus, then turned to his troops.

“Decepticons, fall back,” He ordered, before turning back to the Autobots. “But I expect you to surrender within three orbital cycles. If not, we might as well do it for you!”

The six Decepticons jumped out of the Command Tower, as the three Autobots watched them.

(Easternmost quadrant)

Ultra Magnus and his Autobots were backed into a corner by Starscream, the Seekers, and Devastator, when they suddenly retreated, much to their confusion.

“Oh, thank Primus!” Dead End sighed in relief.

“Yeah, if they’d gotten any further, we’d have been goners,” Wildrider agreed, sighing.

“But why’d they fall back so suddenly?” Hot Rod wondered.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t know the answer to, Hot Rod,” Ultra Magnus told him.

(Westernmost quadrant)

The Aerialbots, now back in their individual jet modes, flew all around Menasor, when Rumble retreated back into Sound wave’s chest, then the second Decepticon Combiner took off, with Soundwave riding on his shoulder.

“Hey, they’re retreating!” Slingshot exclaimed.

“But why? Skydive wondered.

“Permission to go after them, Silverbolt?” Fireflight asked hopefully.

“Permission denied!” Silverbolt refused. “We need to get back to the Command Center and see how the others are doing!”

And the Aerialbots then flew back to Autobot Headquarters.

(Southernmost quadrant)

Before Bruticus and Shockwave could fire on their victims, they got the message from Megatron to retreat, and they obeyed, before flying off. The confused Autobots all watched the Decepticons leave Iacon, wondering what the sudden retreat was for.

“Why did they just leave like that?” Huffer asked.

“Oh, who cares?” Gears asked dismissively. “We’re still here, right?”

“Maybe we should head back to Headquarters and regroup,” Brawn suggested.

(Iacon Command Tower)

Optimus, Elita, and Bee continued to stare at the wreckage of the city, before looking at each other.

Later, Optimus, Elita, and Bee had brought Ratchet with them to survey the damage. The four stood on top of an outpost as Ratchet examined the area with a pair of binoculars. After a few minutes, Ratchet lowered the binoculars and turned back to Optimus.

“It’s pretty massive out there, Prime,” He winced, shaking his head. “Looks like we were hit by three earthquakes.”

“And the deadline Megatron gave us to surrender is too tight,” Elita added, sighing. “What are we gonna do now?”

Optimus thought for a while, before an idea flew into his mind, an idea that he’d been processing for a while, but never thought they would need it, until now.

“We fight brute force and destruction with rescue and teamwork,” He answered.

Elita, Ratchet, and Bee stared at their leader in confusion.

“What do you mean, Prime?” Ratchet asked.

“What I mean is, it’s time to initiate Project Defensor,” Optimus replied. “Maybe the Protectobots will succeed where many of our troops have failed.”

“Do you really think they’re up for this?” Bee asked hesitantly.

“I think we need them now, more than ever,” Optimus decided. “And besides, maybe having another Combiner among our ranks will even the odds.

The four Autobots then walked off to initiate Project Defensor, starting by searching for potential recruits to turn into their Protectobot team.

Chapter Text

In the aftermath of the Decepticons’ massive attack on Iacon with their three Combiners, the Autobots had a lot of rebuilding and healing to do in order to meet the demands of Megatron’s surrender deadline within three Earth days. However, because most of the Autobots were in the medical bay from the attack, and the others had their hands full with repairing the damage, it seemed like the requirements would never be meet by the deadline, or so they thought.

In the city, fires needed to be put out, but since the Autobots had so little resources, there was only so much they could do. Luckily, a light blue, red, and black Autobot stepped up as his right hand turned into a hose, before he aimed it at the fire and sprayed some kind of fire retardant from it, extinguishing the fire. Some generic Autobots started to cheer and approached the firefighting Autobot to offer their thanks, but a red and silver Autobot and a silver, black, yellow, and red Autobot both held their arms up to keep them back.

Up on a rooftop, B-127 was watching the three Autobots with awe. “Could those three be potential recruits for our Project Defensor operation?” He thought to himself. “I should probably get back to Prime and tell him about this.”

He then walked off.

Elsewhere, a dark red and white Autobot was attached to some rope, in order to pull a fallen beam off of a trapped citizen. The Autobot transformed into his vehicle mode and took off, while some other citizens helped him by lifting the beam with their hands. The beam rose slightly, allowing the citizen that was trapped underneath it to crawl out. Once he was safely out, the other citizens let go of the beam, and then the dark red and white Autobot transform and landed back on the ground, looking very proud of himself.

“Impressive,” Elita-1 remarked, walking up to him.

The dark red and white Autobot turned around to see Elita standing behind him.

“I think you got potential to be a recruit for our Project Defensor program,” She told the Autobot, making him smile. “What’s your name?”

“Blades,” The Autobot replied, shaking Elita’s hand.

In the medical bay in the Autobots’ Command Center, Ratchet was tending to the Autobots that were injured from the Decepticons’ attack, except Warpath, who was now fully recovered and had been cleared to leave earlier in the day. Ratchet raced around the room, tending to his patients, but he was unable to keep up since there were so much. As Ratchet searched his workbench for a wrench, he found it missing, then turned around to see a red and white Autobot medic holding it in his hand.

“Thank you,” Ratchet said to the other medic, snatching the wrench from him before getting back to work, but then stopped and turned back to him. “What’s your name?”

“First Aid,” The other medic answered.

“Well, First Aid,” Ratchet began. “When I’m done with my shift, I’m going to take you to see Optimus Prime.”

“Optimus Prime?” First Aid inquired. “But why?”

“We’re putting together a new Combiner team known as Project Defensor,” Ratchet explained as he did his work. “Perhaps you’d like to be interested?”

“Yes, yes,” First Aid replied eagerly. “Absolutely.”

“Then just give me five minutes, and I’ll take you to the Command Tower,” Ratchet told him.

First Aid stood over by the wall as he watched Ratchet move his way around from Autobot to Autobot, trying to tend to their injuries. Once he finished (for now), he set his tools to the side, then walked over to First Aid, and they both left the medical bay together.

In the Command Tower, Optimus Prime stood in wait, when Bee, Elita, Ratchet, and First Aid all entered. Optimus turned to them, expecting some good news, but was surprised to see First Aid accompanying Ratchet.

“Ratchet, who is this?” Optimus asked.

“I found him in the medical bay,” Ratchet explained. “I couldn’t find my wrench, so he found it for me.”

First Aid then stepped forward and stood in front of Optimus. “I am First Aid,” He explained. “Fellow medic like Ratchet, and always willing to help those in need.”

Optimus looked the rookie medic over, observing him up and down, then came to a decision.

“Welcome to the Protectobots, First Aid,” He said. “Happy to have you on board.”

“Thank you, sir,” First Aid said thankfully. “I won’t let you down, sir. I’ll make the Autobots proud, sir!”

“You don’t need to call me ‘sir’ every time,” Optimus chuckled. “For now, you’ll be on standby until we can find more recruits. Return with Ratchet to the medical bay immediately.”

“You can count on me, Prime,” Ratchet said. “I’ll show him how to be a proper medic.”

He and First Aid then walked off, and then Optimus turned back to Elita and Bee.

“What other potential recruits did you find?” He asked them.

“I found this bot with unbelievable strength,” Elita explained. “He helped save a bunch of citizens from fallen rubble. With a little help from some other citizens, of course.”

“And I saw this firefighting bot put out a fire, while two other bots kept the crowd back,” Bee reported. “It was so…heroic.”

“Bring them all here so I can talk to them,” Optimus ordered.

“Got it, sir,” Elita saluted.

“Yes, sir!” Bee shouted.

They both ran off.

At an Energon bar, the three Autobots who put out the fire earlier were sitting at a table feasting on Energon cubes, or rather, what little Energon cubes they could get their hands on, since Energon was still scarce.

“Is this all the Energon they had?” The light blue, red, and black Autobot asked.

“That’s what we heard, Hot Spot,” The red and silver Autobot replied. “Finding some decent Energon these days is getting harder and harder.”

“Well, we are at war, Streetwise,” The silver, black, yellow, and red Autobot reminded Streetwise.

“I know, Groove,” Streetwise nodded. “I just wish we could be doing more than saving lives.”

“Well, it’s what we do best,” Groove argued. “Saving lives is a dangerous business.”

“Don’t be so down, you two,” Hot Spot told them. “Another opportunity will present itself for us.”

“Yeah, right,” Streetwise scoffed. “Like some opportunity is just going to come bursting through that door.”

At that moment, Bee walked into the Energon bar, saw Hot Spot, Groove, and Streetwise sitting at the table, and walked over to them.

“Hey,” He said.

The three Autobots sensed his presence and quickly turned to him.

“Who are you?” Groove asked. “How did you find us?”

“Let the bot talk, Groove,” Hot Spot told him.

“Thank you,” Bee said as he cleared his throat, before speaking again. “How would you three like to be a part of our new Project Defensor program?”

“Project Defensor?” Streetwise questioned.

“Yeah, that way we’ll have two Combiners compared to the Decepticons’ three,” Bee explained.

“And how is that good?” Groove inquired. “We’d still be outnumbered 2 to 3.”

“We need the extra strength!” Bee argued. “Especially after such a devastating assault on Iacon! Now, are you in, or not?”

Groove and Streetwise looked at each other, then to Hot Spot.

“What do you think, Hot Spot?” Streetwise asked.

Hot Spot thought for a minute, before he stood up. “We’re in,” He answered, speaking on behalf of himself, Groove, and Streetwise.

“Great!” Bee smiled. “Now, follow me.”

Groove and Streetwise stood up, and then they and Hot Spot followed Bee out of the bar.

Elsewhere, Elita was searching the Iacon 5000 racetrack for Blades. She found him sitting in the stands, ran up to him, and sat down next to him.

“Hey, Blades,” She said. “Whatcha doing here?”

“Oh? Oh, hey, Elita,” Blades said. “I come here sometimes to think about the race.”

“What race?” Elita inquired, before it hit her. “Oh, you mean the Iacon 5000, don’t you?”

“Yeah, the last race before this whole war started,” Blades sighed. “I wasn’t in it, but if I was, I definitely could’ve won. Now I’m stuck doing all this hero work instead of being a racer.”

Elita listened to Blades sympathetically. “Well, how would you like to do more?” She offered.

Blades turned to her, confused. “What do you mean?” He inquired.

“What I mean is, we’re putting together a new Combiner team to give us an edge over the Decepticons,” Elita explained. “And I was hoping you would be a part of it.”

“What does in involve?” Blades asked.

“Just come with me, and I’ll show you,” Elita replied.

She stood up and walked down the stands, with Blades also standing up and following her.

Back in the Autobots’ Headquarters, Elita and Bee led Blades, Groove, Streetwise, and Hot Spot to the Command Tower, where Optimus was waiting. Optimus turned to them and saw his new recruits for Project Defensor.

“These are the Autobots you can find?” He asked Elita and Bee. “The same ones Wheeljack previously mentioned?”

“Yep,” Bee replied. “The best we could find.”

“But after they get their combiner cogs, and since they have some experience, I’m sure they’ll make a perfect fit for the Protectobot squad,” Elita assured.

“Right,” Optimus nodded slowly, seeing that it was going to take a lot of hard work to get these Autobots into a proper Combiner team, and since they had so little time, there wasn’t a second to waste. “Well, Hot Spot, Blades, Groove, and Streetwise, allow me to take you four to see your teammate now.”

“Teammate?” Streetwise asked, confused.

“But we already have teammates,” Groove said, gesturing to himself, Streetwise, Hot Spot, and Blades.

“He means your teammate who was already recruited,” Elita reminded him.

“Yeah, First Aid, remember?” Bee asked. “He’s a medic just like Ratchet? He’s working with him in the medical bay right now.”

“Oh, right,” Groove nodded in understanding.

“Now I get it,” Streetwise said.

“We should hurry,” Optimus said. “We don’t have much time.”

The four newly christened Protectobots nodded as they followed Optimus out of the Command Center and to the medical bay, as Elita and Bee watched them leave.

“So far, this isn’t going so good,” Bee whispered.

“Give them a break, will you?” Elita asked quietly. “We’ll get them ready, and we will be ready for when the Decepticons attack next.”

Chapter Text

In the medical bay, First Aid and Ratchet were still hard at work tending to the patients, when Optimus stepped in with the other four Protectobots, making them turn to him.

“Ah, Optimus,” Ratchet said. “How goes the search?”

“As you can see, we have already found our Protectobots,” Optimus explained, gestured to Hot Spot, Streetwise, Groove, and Blades. “But we just need one more. And that is where First Aid comes in.”

“Me, sir?” First Aid asked eagerly.

“Yes,” Optimus nodded. “First Aid, welcome to the Protectobots.”

First Aid walked over to his new team, standing between Groove and Blades.

“Now that we have our defenders of Iacon, it’s time for you to receive your combiner cogs,” Optimus declared. “Follow me to Vector Sigma.”

He then walked out of the medical bay, with the now-five Protectobots following him.

“Wait!” Ratchet called. “You can’t just leave me here with these patients all alone!”

“I’ll send for help as soon as I can,” Optimus promised. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“That’s all I can do,” Ratchet sighed as he went back to work.

Down in Vector Sigma, Optimus, Elita, and Bee were distributing the combiner cogs to the Protectobots. Once the cogs were installed, the Protectobots looked amongst each other, marvelling their new features.

“Look at us,” Blades said. “I feel mightier than I ever have in my entire life!”

“These features are sick, bot!” Groove cheered.

“It doesn’t make any difference to me,” Streetwise said. “I still feel the same.”

“Question, will we be killing anything?” First Aid asked. “‘Cause that’s what usually happens when we’re in combat.”

“In times of war, yes,” Elita replied rhetorically. “Death is unavoidable.”

“However,” Bee interjected. “I can see how uncomfortable you are with killing bots, so you can just stay by the sidelines as the medic, if you want to.”

“Thank you,” First Aid managed a smile.

“But we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Hot Spot reminded his new team, before turning to Optimus. “So, when do we combine into this ‘Project Defensor’ Bee has spoken of?”

“You don’t,” Optimus answered.

“What?!” All the Protectobots screamed in shock.

“Yet,” Optimus quickly added. “We need to make sure our city is still secure for when the Decepticons attack again, but Defensor can be used, just for emergency situations only.”

“Emergency situations how?” Groove questioned.

“Like, say, defending Iacon and all that,” Elita clarified. “You cannot escalate a fight unless the enemy forces you to.”

“So we can still combine into Defensor as long as we protect Iacon instead of actually doing any fighting,” Hot Spot sighed.

“That is correct,” Optimus confirmed. “And that is why I’m making you, Hot Spot, leader of this team.”

Optimus reached a hand out to Hot Spot, who reluctantly shook it, then turned back to his team.

“All right, we got a job to do,” He informed them. “The Decepticons will be back any day now, and we need to be ready. That includes rebuilding Iacon, so let’s get to it!”

“Yes, sir!” First Aid, Streetwise, Blades, and Groove all saluted.

The Protectobots then ran out of the room.

“Maybe this Project Defensor will work after all,” Bee said hopefully.

“I doubt it,” Elita argued, before she looked at Optimus. “You’re seriously not gonna let them fight? What did I just tell you several cycles ago about resorting to violence when necessary?”

“Given our limited options now, fighting is the last thing I want, Elita,” Optimus refuted. “Megatron has us right where he wants us. We can’t afford to push him more than we already have.”

Elita sighed, acknowledging Optimus’ point.

Over the next few weeks, the Protectobots were hard at work, helping to rebuild the city, putting out fires here and there, and in First Aid’s case, helping the injured in Ratchet’s medical bay. However, Blades was still not satisfied, not expecting this to be the reward he hoped for.

One morning, the Protectobots were stepping out of their recharge chambers, ready to start another day of rescue work. Blades was the last to step out, sighing, which his teammates noticed.

“Is something wrong, Blades?” Hot Spot asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Hot Spot,” Blades lied.

“You’re lying,” Groove accused. “I can tell you’re lying. Something must be up.”

“Ease up, Groove,” Streetwise told him, pushing him back before stepping up. “Would you mind telling us what’s wrong, Blades?”

Blades sighed and relented. “I used to be a racer,” He revealed, shocking everyone. “I was originally going to compete in the Iacon 5000, you know, the last one they hosted before the Great War, but they dropped me at the last second! I definitely could have won, but two miners named Orion Pax and D-16 beat me to it! Now I’m never gonna get that chance ever again!”

The Protectobots looked amongst each other, then gave Blades sympathetic looks.

“Blades…” First Aid began. “You are aware that Orion Pax and D-16 are Optimus Prime and Megatron now, right?”

Blades looked at First Aid in surprise. “They are?” He asked.

“What, you didn’t hear about the downfall of Sentinel Prime thanks to them?” Groove scoffed.

Blades shook his head, unaware of the full story.

“Unbelievable…” Groove mumbled.

“But while Megatron changed for the worse and wanted to destroy everything, Optimus rose up and changed Iacon for the good,” Streetwise cut in. “You shouldn’t hold grudges against any bot, especially the bot who saved your life from Sentinel’s totalitarian regime.”

“What are you saying?” Blades inquired.

“You shouldn’t dwell on the past, but rather, look forward to the future,” Hot Spot explained, backing up Streetwise and First Aid. “You’re a part of us now, and I’m sure you can use whatever talent you had as a racer to help us now.”

Blades smiled slightly. “Thanks, guys,” He said. “It feels good that you all have my back.”

“And we’re happy to have you,” Groove admitted.

Suddenly, they heard the alarm sound and ran to the Command Room.

Once in the Command Tower, the Protectobots stood at attention in front of Optimus, who paced in front of them.

“Protectobots, I summoned you hear because there is an emergency,” He explained as he stopped to face them.

“What is it this time?” Blades sighed, but quickly changed his tune as he saw his teammates glaring at him. “I mean, what happens to be the emergency?”

“There’s a fire at the archives,” Optimus explained. “It’s spreading rapidly, and if it’s not stopped, we could lose a lot of information vital to our history.”

The Protectobots gasped.

“We’ll get right on it, Prime,” Hot Spot assured. “Protectobots, let’s roll to the rescue!”

He then ran out of the room, then the other Protectobots followed after him.

Once at the archives, the Protectobots transformed into their robot modes, and then Hot Spot began divvying up the tasks.

“Okay, I’ll put out the fire,” He explained, gesturing to himself. “Groove and Streetwise, evacuate everyone out of the building; First Aid, start tending to the injured; Blades, go inside there and find the source of the fire.”

“Wait…” Blades gulped, unsure about this. “You want me to go in there?”

“Come on, Blades,” First Aid encouraged him. “We need you.”

Taking a deep breath, Blades looked at his leader and teammates. “All right, I’ll go,” He relented.

“Now, let’s get to work!” Hot Spot said.

Blades followed Hot Spot up to the entrance of the archives, while Groove and Streetwise approached the crowd.

“Please evacuate in an orderly fashion,” Streetwise informed them calmly as he flashed his sirens.

“This way!” Groove instructed, motioning with his arms. “Go!”

The crowd did as they were told and ran in the opposite direction of the archives, while First Aid knelt down in front of an injured citizen and carried them away, as the patient had a broken leg. Back with Hot Spot and Blades, the former managed to put the fire out to create an opening big enough for the latter to jump through.

“Blades, go!” Hot Spot ordered.

“Got it!” Blades shouted as he ran through the opening and jumped inside, just before the fire started up again, completely cutting off the entrance. Blades then crawled slowly and carefully across the floor until he saw a dropped block on the ground. He crawled over to it, picked it up, and started crawling his way back. He then smashed a window open and jumped out of it, managing to hold on to the evidence as he landed on the ground.

An hour later, the fire was out. The building was boarded up, so no one could get in while it was under refurbishment, as the Protectobots stood in front of it.

“Well, another day, another fantastic job from the Protectobots, right?” First Aid asked, but realized the others were still looking at the building. “Right.” He sighed.

Hot Spot then turned to Blades. “What did you find?” He asked.

“This block that was on the floor,” Blades explained, holding it up. “I didn’t know what it is, so…”

However, the other Protectobots gasped when they saw it, much to Blades’ confusion.

“What?” He asked.

“That block contains various chips that explain how the combiner cogs were made!” First Aid exclaimed. “I’ve read about them before! Surprisingly, they’re still intact after all these cycles.”

He took the container from Blades and shook it. “We should probably take it back to Autobot Headquarters and have Perceptor analyze it,” He suggested.

“Agreed,” Hot Spot agreed. “Blades, can you transform into your vehicle mode and fly this back to headquarters?”

“You can count on me, Hot Spot,” Blades replied eagerly.

Blades transformed into his vehicle mode, then First Aid attached the container to his winch. Blades flew off as Hot Spot and the others followed after him. Unbeknownst to them, Soundwave was watching from the shadows.

“Mission accomplished,” He said to himself, before sneaking out of Iacon unnoticed.

When Soundwave made it back to Kaon, he met with Megatron inside his private chamber.

“Soundwave reporting, Lord Megatron,” He said, bowing.

“And what news from your little excursion?” Megatron asked.

“Autobots have taken the bait,” Soundwave explained. “They found the container that details information about the combiner cogs.”

“Have they opened it yet?” Megatron asked.

“No,” Soundwave confirmed.

“Excellent,” Megatron grinned. “Now is the time to strike. I’m sure the Autobots wouldn’t mind if I pushed up my deadline to tomorrow, right?”

“No, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave answered, shaking his head.

“Prepare the Constructicons, Stunticons, and Combaticons!” Megatron ordered. “We leave at dawn! The unsuspecting fools know not what awaits them.”

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave saluted, before leaving the room.

“Oh, I love it when I’m nasty,” Megatron smirked to himself as he followed Soundwave out of the room.

Chapter Text

After bringing the container back to Autobot Headquarters, the Protectobots gave it to Perceptor, who analyzed it overnight. The next day, Perceptor had called Optimus Prime and the Protectobots to his laboratory, where he began explaining to them the container’s condition and what he found. The other Autobots surrounded Perceptor as he kept the container on a table.

“What did you find?” Hot Spot asked.

“Is it important?” Streetwise asked.

“Come on, man, spit it out!” Groove pressed.

“Guys!” First Aid snapped, making them stop. “One at a time, please.”

“Thank you, First Aid,” Optimus said. “Blades, you go first.”

“Why is this container so important?” Blades asked Perceptor. “It just looks like a regular block to me.”

“That is where you are wrong, Blades,” Perceptor argued. “See, this block, or container, however you say it, actually contains vital information about your combiner cogs.”

“What kind of information?” Hot Spot asked.

“Like, say, how your, and by extension the Constructicons, Aerialbots, Stunticons, and Combaticons’ combiner cogs were made,” Perceptor revealed.

This news shocked the Protectobots.

“So you’re telling us that this container actually tells us how our combiner cogs were made?!” Groove exclaimed.

“Precisely,” Perceptor confirmed. “By none other than the 13 Primes themselves.”

“What else have you found out?” Streetwise asked.

“As in…?” Perceptor inquired.

“Like, say, any weaknesses?” First Aid suggestion. “For every strength our combiner cogs have, they must have some weaknesses.”

“I am sorry, but that information is classified,” Perceptor explained regretfully. “I need to analyze it more just to be sure.”

However, after Perceptor picked up the container he noticed a clinking sound hit the floor. He picked it up and looked at it, and then Optimus and the Protectobots gasped when they saw that it was a tracking device.

“What’s a tracking device doing in here?” Perceptor wondered, before he inspected it closer and saw a Decepticon emblem on it. “Of course!” He realized. “There was no information about weaknesses in the combiner cogs at all! It was all a sham by the Decepticons!”

“So they were the ones who started the fire!” Hot Spot realized, horrified.

“But why would they do that?” Blades wondered.

“So we’d let our guard down and they’d attack us when we least expect it!” Groove growled. “Blast that Megatron!”

“I can’t believe it was all a lie and a sham,” Streetwise mumbled.

“I’ve never been so betrayed…” First Aid sighed.

“They set a trap for us, and we fell for it, hook, line, and sinker,” Optimus said coldly. Although he was incredibly upset, he kept his cool.

Before the conversation could continue any further, the ground suddenly shook, causing Perceptor to drop the container. The Protectobots looked outside and saw the Decepticons laying siege to Iacon again, with all three Combiners attacking various quadrants.

“Impossible…” Perceptor muttered.

“Oh, no, not them again!” Groove complained. “All three Decepticon Combiners, each attacking different quadrants of Iacon at once!”

“We have to do something!” First Aid gasped.

“We have to fight them!” Blades said determined. “It’s the only way!”

“But how?!” Streetwise exclaimed. “They have all three! And we only have one!”

“Two,” Optimus corrected, turning to Hot Spot. “Hot Spot, it’s time to initiate Project Defensor.”

“But we haven’t even had time to practice combining yet!” Hot Spot argued. “We’re not ready!”

Optimus put a hand on Hot Spot’s shoulder. “Believe me, you are ready,” He assured. “Now, get going. Iacon needs you.”

Hot Spot nodded as Optimus took his hand off his shoulder, and then he turned to his teammates. “Well, you heard him!” He said. “Let’s show these Decepti-creeps what we Protectobots are really made of! First Aid, Groove, Streetwise, and Blades, roll out!”

The Protectobots nodded and ran out of the lab, with Hot Spot following behind them.

In the city, the Protectobots, now in their vehicle modes, were racing towards the sight of the first Decepticon Combiner attack. They saw Devastator smashing buildings in his path, rubble falling everywhere.

“So much destruction!” First Aid cried out. “We have to help the bots in those buildings!”

“Worry about that later!” Groove snapped. “We’ve got a battle to win!”

“Remember, Optimus said we should defend, not fight,” Hot Spot reminded them as they stopped. “Protectobots, merge!”

The Protectobots began to combine into Defensor. Streetwise and Groove transformed slightly, then lifted themselves up, forming the legs; Groove was the right leg and Streetwise was the left leg. Hot Spot then jumped on top of Streetwise and Groove, forming the torso, while Blades and First Aid attached themselves on either side of Hot Spot, forming the arms; Blades was the right arm and First Aid was the left arm. A head then came out of Hot Spot, and the Protectobots’ transformation into Defensor was complete.

Devastator kept smashing and toppling buildings over, when he was suddenly shot in the back.

“Who did that?!” He demanded.

He then turned and saw Defensor aiming his blaster at him.

“Who are you?!” Devastator roared.

“I am Defensor,” Defensor said calmly, his voice dripping with cold rage. “Defender of Iacon and archnemesis of Bruticus.”

“How do you know Bruticus?” Devastator questioned. “You’ve never even met him yet!”

“I will, soon,” Defensor replied. “Now, put those buildings back the way they were, let us save the Cybertronians inside, and we’ll settle this like gentlebots.”

Devastator saw Menasor approaching Defensor from behind, and motioned for him to ambush the latter. Menasor nodded and got out his sword, before he charged at Defensor, but before he could strike, the Aerialbots, now fully healed and already merged into Superion, swooped down and kicked Menasor in the back, knocking him down.

“Superion!” Devastator exclaimed in shock.

“How did you recover so quickly?!” Menasor snarled.

“You have First Aid to thank for that,” Superion answered, sending the Autobots’ second Combiner a wink, which he returned with a faint smile. “We’re back and stronger than ever! Defensor, we’ll handle Menasor, you take care of Devastator!”

Defensor nodded as he turned back to Devastator and kept firing at him, hitting him all over.

“Oh no, not again!” Devastator complained as he fell down and disassembled into his individual components.

“Now to find Bruticus,” Defensor said to himself as he walked off.

Elsewhere, citizens were running in fear of Bruticus, who crushed anything in his wake, when he suddenly stopped, and looked up to see Defensor standing in front of him.

“Hold it right there!” Defensor barked.

“So we finally meet, Defensor,” Bruticus said in a mocking tone. “However, I’ve had more experience with my combined form than you.”

“We’ll see about that,” Defensor retorted, as the two gestalts prepared for battle.

Down at street level, Optimus and Megatron were locked in yet another battle. Megatron swung his melee weapon at Optimus, who then blocked it with his Energon axe, and the two kept hitting each other with their respective weapons, with neither side showing any signs of giving in.

“Megatron, your ultimatum was clear!” Optimus snarled. “Three orbital cycles, that’s three days you gave us! And you decided to push up the deadline by one day, when you knew we weren’t ready!”

“Yeah, I lied about that,” Megatron said casually. “I was the one who sent Soundwave to cause the fire! I was the one who placed that fake container at the archives! All part of my master plan to finally take control of Cybertron! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

“If you think you can wear us down through sheer numbers, Megatron, you’ve got another thing coming!” Optimus grunted.

Megatron then knocked Optimus’ axe out of the way and kicked him back. “Fool!” He sneered. “I’m going to prove to you once and for all that the strength of one bot over another is better! Combiners, fire on Optimus Prime!”

But to Megatron’s surprise, none of his Combiners showed up to assist him. “Um, Devastator?” He asked. “Menasor? Bruticus?”

Soundwave then hovered down, transformed into vehicle mode, and ran up to Megatron. “Lord Megatron, is now a bad time?” He asked.

“What is it, Soundwave? I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” Megatron explained, gesturing to a downed Optimus.

“I’m sorry to inform you that Devastator has been brought down,” Soundwave reported.

“Brought down?!” Megatron exclaimed, shocked. “By whom?!”

Soundwave simply pointed up, and Megatron looked up to see Defensor and Bruticus engaged in a battle.

“What is that?!” He screamed.

“I believe that would be Defensor, the Autobots’ latest Combiner,” Soundwave explained.

“No, it can’t be!” Megatron argued in denial. “There’s no way those Protectobots could have learned how to combine that fast!”

Optimus, now recovered, grabbed Megatron by the arm and punched him, knocking him into Soundwave, causing them both to fall onto the ground on their backs.

“Believe it, Megatron!” Optimus sneered. “Teamwork and cooperation will always win out over dominance!”

Simultaneously, Defensor grabbed Bruticus in a hold and flipped him, causing him to roll around the ground before landing on his side. He then stood over Bruticus and held his blaster in front of him.

“No more, Bruticus!” Defensor warned. “No more harm will come to the Iaconians!”

“Lord Megatron, what we do?” Bruticus asked.

“All of our Combiners are down!” Soundwave pressed. “What are your orders?”

Megatron looked up at his downed Combiners; the Constructicons were scattered out all over the city, Menasor was being pinned by Superion, and Bruticus was at the mercy of Defensor. Seething, Megatron made his decision.

“We fall back for now,” Megatron told his troops, before turning back to Optimus. “But you haven’t seen the last of me yet, Prime!”

The Stunticons and Combaticons separated into their individual forms, and then Megatron transformed into his vehicle mode and made a beeline for the surface.

“Withdraw!” Soundwave ordered as he transformed into his vehicle mode, then the other Decepticons did the same as they followed their leader out of Iacon, with Optimus watching them leave again.

“Every time,” He muttered to himself. “Every time, the Decepticons manage to escape like this. Someday, this war must end.”

Later, repairs to Iacon were underway, while a medal ceremony was held in the Protectobots’ and the Aerialbots’ honor. Elita carried a crate of medals, which Bee then gave to Optimus, who placed them on the Protectobots’ chests, starting with Hot Spot, then First Aid, then Blades, then Streetwise, and finally Groove. Just before the ceremony, the Protectobots had officially been branded with the Autobot insignia; Hot Spot on his left shoulder, First Aid on his left shin, Blades on his upper left pectoral area, Groove on his lower left pectoral area, and Streetwise on his abdomen. The Protectobots stood proudly as Optimus placed the medals on them, before he moved down to the Aerialbots. Like the Protectobots, the Aerialbots stood proudly as they received their medals. Once Optimus finished handing out the medals to the two Autobot Combiner teams, he turned to face the crowd.

“Fellow Autobots,” Optimus began. “We are gathered here today to honor our new Combiner teams, the Aerialbots and the Protectobots!”

The crowd cheered loudly, then died down as Optimus continued his speech.

“These two teams showed true courage in the face of danger,” Optimus continued. “Without them, we definitely would have lost this city. As Supreme Commander of the Autobots, never have I been more proud to have these two Combiners fighting on my team.”

The crowd cheered again.

“However…” Optimus then added, making them go quiet. “There is no time to celebrate just yet. We have a city to rebuild, and we must be ready for when the Decepticons strike again. So I suggest you all get back to work!”

The crowd quickly dispersed and went back to their normal routine, while Optimus faced back to the two Combiner teams.

“That goes for you 10 as well,” He told them.

“Yes, sir, Optimus sir!” Silverbolt saluted.

“We’ll help repair the city and make it look better than ever,” Hot Spot promised. “And then we’ll go back to training. We’ll train even harder than ever!”

“Great,” Optimus smiled. “You are all dismissed.”

The Aerialbots and Protectobots all saluted Optimus, who saluted back, and then they walked off. After they had left, Optimus, Elita, and Bee all talked amongst each other.

“We did it,” Bee said happily.

“Yeah, we did,” Elita admitted.

“We have two Combiners,” Bee smiled.

“Yes, we do,” Elita nodded.

“And now that we do, hopefully we’ll win the war yet,” Optimus said hopefully as the three stared out onto the horizon, ready for whatever attack the Decepticons had planned for next time.

Chapter Text

In Kaon, Megatron was raging in his quarters, like he always was. Not only did the Autobots completely defy his conditions to surrender, even if he did start it by pushing up the deadline, but they also had a new Combiner on their side, which meant their power was now equal to the Decepticons, if not more. Megatron flipped various pieces of furniture, before blasting them with his fusion cannon. After calming down a bit, Megatron panted to see that the entire room was in ruins, at which point Starscream walked in, looking nervous.

“Um, Lord Megatron?” He squeaked.

Megatron turned to him, still angry, making Starscream flinch.

“I know you’re still…” Starscream trailed off, trying to find the right words. “…Very upset that the Autobots had the advantage over us last time, but you shouldn’t let that affect your responsibilities as leader. We do have a war to win, after all.”

Megatron sighed heavily, seeing Starscream’s point.

“On the plus side, seeing that we have more Combiners than the Autobots, this could be the perfect opportunity to wipe them out once and for all,” Starscream went on. “You always say that might is right, right?”

“Just get to the point,” Megatron said in annoyance.

“What if we hold a contest, both of strength and dominance?” Starscream suggested. “Each of the Combiners go at each other, and the side with the most wins is the victor. And since the Autobots are one Combiner short, they’ll be at a disadvantage.”

Megatron thought it over for a bit.

“Acceptable,” He conceded. “But first we must notify the Autobots, then analyze the strengths and weaknesses of every Combiner. Send Soundwave to do some reconnaissance and get a message sent out to the Autobots.”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Starscream said, bowing, before he left the room.

Later, Soundwave stood outside the entrance to Iacon, before he ejected Laserbeak. Laserbeak flew through the entrance and into the city.

Inside Iacon, Hot Rod and Warpath were watching the monitors in the Command Tower when they saw Laserbeak fly in.

“Just Laserbeak?” Hot Rod questioned. “I expected it to be someone bigger.”

“You can never underestimate the Decepticons, especially after what happened last time,” Warpath reasoned. “Besides, there could be more to this than meets the eye.”

The two watched as Laserbeak flew past the Command Tower, confusing them.

“What was that about?” Hot Rod asked.

Warpath just shrugged.

Laserbeak circled the entrance to the Autobots’ Command Center, before landing in front of it. The door to the Command Center then opened, and then Optimus Prime, Elita-1, and B-127 stepped out.

“What’s this all about?” Bee asked.

“There’s only one Decepticon,” Elita sneered. “We can take him.”

“Hold on a minute, Elita,” Optimus reasoned. “I’ll see what this is about, just be ready to back me up, just in case.”

Elit and Bee nodded as Optimus slowly and carefully approached Laserbeak, before crouching down in front of him.

“What is this about, Laserbeak?” He asked.

Laserbeak opened his mouth, revealing a holographic device. He set it down in front of Optimus, before a holographic recording of Megatron appeared on it.

“Ah, Optimus Prime,” Megatron said in the recording.

“What do you want, Megatron?” Optimus demanded.

“Oh, nothing much,” Megatron replied casually. “Just challenging our Combiners to a contest of strength and dominance.”

“A contest?” Elita scoffed. “Is that all?”

“Elita, be quiet!” Bee whispered harshly.

Elita went silent as Optimus and Megatron continued conversing.

“What are conditions?” Optimus inquired.

“Conditions?” Megatron said with a chuckle. “Oh, no conditions. Just all of our Combiners fighting against each other, no holds barred. This is the battle that will end the war. Do you understand what I am telling you?”

“Absolutely,” Optimus accepted.

“You have 12 hours to prepare,” Megatron informed Optimus. “Meet me and the Decepticons on the surface with your Combiners. Do note be late.”

The hologram then vanished, and then Laserbeak picked up the device and flew off, as the three Autobots watched him leave. Elita gave her leader an incredulous look.

“With all due respect, Optimus, I’m all for fighting, but…” She began, before shouting. “Why did you accept Megatron’s challenge?! May I remind you that our Combiners are outnumbered 2 to 3?”

“Calm down, Elita,” Bee assured, touching her shoulder. “The Decepticons may have the numbers advantage, but we have something that the Decepticons don’t.”

“And what’s that?” Elita inquired.

“Teamwork,” Optimus answered, turning to face them. “The Decepticons don’t know how to work effectively as a united unit, unlike us.”

“I swear to Primus, if I hear another speech like that, I’m gonna barf,” Elita groaned.

“So, what do you suggest we do to prepare?” Bee asked.

“Have Perceptor study each and every Decepticon Combiner, and then compare them to ours,” Optimus instructed. “Then we can decide on the pairings for the match-ups.”

Elita saluted while Bee nodded, and then the two walked off.

In Perceptor’s laboratory, he was analyzing the five Transformer Combiners on five different computer screens—The one on the far left showed Devastator, Superion was seen on the one next to it, Menasor was on the one in the center, Defensor on the one next to it, and Bruticus was on the one on the far right. Elita and Bee stood behind him as a holographic chart appeared and showed the percentage of the Autobot Combiners winning the fight against the Decepticon Combiners.

“Would you please stop hovering over me?” He asked, slightly annoyed with Elita and Bee, as they were leaning over him, trying to look at the results.

Elita and Bee sheepishly backed away. “Sorry,” They apologized in unison.

“So, what are the odds Perceptor?” Elita asked politely.

Perceptor sighed, as he knew they both weren’t going to like this.

“Look, just give it to us straight,” Bee said. “We can handle it.”

“Are you sure you want to know?” Perceptor asked as he turned to them with a grim look on his face.

“Yes!” Elita and Bee both answered in unison.

“To be frank, not very good,” Perceptor explained. “Since the Decepticons’ Combiners outnumber ours, our chances of winning the duels stand at 40%.”

“I knew it,” Elita said quietly.

“However…” Perceptor then said, making Elita look at him. “There is an algorithm I’ve found that should give us the strategical advantage.”

He then showed the Combiners’ stats to Bee and Elita. He first pointed to Devastator, Superion, and Menasor.

“As you can see from here, Devastator relies on sheer brute force to win his battles,” Perceptor explained. “Now, he doesn’t have a Combiner opponent of his own, so defeating him should be a bit of a struggle. But if you look at Superion and Menasor, they’re complete opposites; Superion excels in flight while Menasor remains firmly on the ground. So, if we pair Superion and Menasor together, and Superion should fight Devastator in the event that he wins, we’ll have defeated two of the Combiners in one fell swoop.”

“Oh, well, that’s good,” Elita admitted.

“I don’t think you should’ve said that, Elita,” Bee interjected, taking note of Perceptor’s serious look. “Because Perceptor’s got that look again.”

“Unfortunately, Defensor and Bruticus are an entirely different story,” Perceptor went on. “They’re complete and polar opposites; Bruticus values destruction and brute strength, much like Devastator, whereas Defensor only fights in self-defense.”

“And that’s bad because…” Bee trailed off.

“In the event should Devastator and Defensor battle, Defensor would surely lose,” Perceptor finished. “So the only way to win this battle is to ensure that Superion faces Bruticus.”

“Yeah, thanks for that input,” Elita deadpanned. “Come on, Bee, let’s go get the Combiners ready.”

“Already on it,” Bee said as he ran out of the lab, with Elita following him.

“Thanks, Perceptor, but as long as Optimus Prime carries the Matrix, we’re guaranteed to win every battle!” Elita called as she ran off.

“All right,” Perceptor said meekly. “Just as long as he knows what he’s bringing us all into.”

For the next 12 hours, Optimus, Elita, and Bee trained the Aerialbots and Protectobots hard for the upcoming match against the Constructicons, Stunticons, and Combaticons. Bee tested the Aerialbots’ speed, while Elita trained the Protectobots on their combined strength when not in their combined Defensor form. All the while, Optimus observed their progress, hoping they produced the results he desired from Perceptor’s analysis, for he knew how crucial it was that the Autobots had to win this one. Once the 12 hours had elapsed, Optimus gathered all the Autobots at the gates of Iacon, ready to go to the surface to confront the Decepticons in what was supposedly the final battle that would determine the outcome of the war.

“Autobots, we are all gathered here today because we must meet the Decepticons for a final decisive battle,” Optimus began as the Autobots murmured amongst each other. “He has called forth a confrontation of all our Combiners, but as you are aware, we only have two, and they have three.”

The Autobots, except Bee, Elita, and the Autobot Combiner teams started shouting in protest.

“Silence!” Optimus commanded, making everyone silent. “I am well aware as you all are of our significant numerical disadvantage, but thanks to our scientific advisor Perceptor’s research, he has come up with the perfect combination that will win us this battle, and by extension the war!”

“Yes, quite correct Optimus,” Perceptor spoke up. “As long as Devastator and Superion are paired together for the final match, we should be fine.” He then muttered under his breath. “And I’m giving the simplified version because Elita-1 made me do it.”

“And now, with that information in mind, let’s transform and roll out together!” Optimus announced. “To victory!”

“To victory!” The Autobots chorused as they transformed and followed Optimus out of Iacon.

On the surface, all the Autobots and Decepticons met each other at the same spot where Orion Pax, D-16, Elita-1, and B-127 first met and fell off the Energon train. The Autobots and Decepticons transformed as they stood across from each other, while their respective Combiner teams quickly transformed into their combined forms. Optimus and Megatron walked through the crowd of Transformers and faced each other, although they refused to make eye contact at first.

“So, brother…” Megatron began. “This is what it’s come to; the two of us leading two separate armies against each other, with both of us claiming that we’re fighting for the greater good of Cybertron, when we should be fighting on the same side.”

“You know exactly why we’re fighting on separate sides, Megatron!” Optimus bellowed as he dared to look at him. “You broke our deal first when you put vengeance before justice!”

“Only because he deceived us first! And I enjoyed making him suffer! Every. Single. Moment. Of it,” Megatron hissed. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

“Indeed,” Optimus nodded. “Pick your first Combiner.”

Megatron smirked, as he immediately knew his first choice. “I choose Devastator,” He said as the Constructicon Combiner marched forward.

Optimus also smirked, for now the Autobots’, or rather, Perceptor’s strategy, was now falling into place. “And I select Superion,” He said as the Aerialbot Combiner flew up briefly and landed in front of Devastator.

“Begin the match!” Megatron announced, wanting to see some action.

“All right,” Optimus sighed. “Combiners, fight!”

Devastator and Superion circled each other, eager to make the first move. Devastator charged at Superion, who simply jumped up into the air to avoid him.

“Come back down here and fight!” Devastator roared.

“Never!” Superion shouted. “We rule the skies! We are virtually unstoppable!”

Superion then dove back down and punched Devastator in the abdomen with both fists, sending Devastator stumbling back. Devastator roared angrily as he charged at Superion again, but Superion kicked him back with both his legs. Devastator clutched his lower area as he became dizzy, before Superion finally tackled him to the ground, with the Decepticons moving out of the way to avoid getting crushed. Devastator briefly held his head up as Superion landed on top of him and pinned him to the ground with his foot.

“Say it,” He dared.

“I… give…” Devastator moaned.

“That’s right,” Superion nodded. “You do.”

The Constructicons separated and quickly scurried back to the Decepticon side, as Perceptor walked out into the center of the battlefield.

“Well, I think the winner of the first battle is obvious,” He said. “The first point is awarded to Superion!”

The Autobots cheered as the Decepticons sulked, but Megatron was quietly fuming.

“Menasor!” He yelled as Menasor stepped up to take Devastator’s place. “Show no mercy.”

Menasor nodded as he and Superion glared at each other. So far, the matches were going badly for the Decepticons, but good for the Autobots. All the Autobots had to do was win the next two match-ups, and they would win the war.

“I just hope Superion keeps this up, or we’re all done for,” Optimus hoped.

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

With Devastator taken out of commission, the Decepticons were down one Combiner in the Combiner contest. While the Decepticons were concerned that their strength had been drastically reduced, the Autobots were giddy since they thought that the remaining four Combiner teams could battle each other without hassle, and that the Autobot Combiners could easily take the victory.

Superion and Menasor took their positions, before they started circling each other. However, while Superion got out his blaster, Menasor instead produced a sword, confusing the Autobot gestalt.

“So, what?” Superion asked. “Are we doing melee combat now?”

“Where is your sword?” Menasor demanded.

“I don’t have it,” Superion replied, then after seeing Menasor’s bloodthirsty glare, he quickly added. “I mean, I do have it, but I didn’t bring it with me. I thought we would be fighting with either our blasters or our fists.”

“Well, we’re not!” Menasor snarled. “So, put away the blaster and let’s get this over with already!”

“Oh, dear,” Perceptor mumbled. “I supposed I’d forgotten to take that into account.”

Menasor charged forward and tried to slash Superion, who flew up to avoid it.

“Get back down here and fight!” Menasor growled. “This is my fight, my rules!”

“I think you mean our fight,” Superion corrected. “Why do you Decepticons always care about yourselves? But if you insist…”

And Superion flew back down to resume the fight. He tried to block Menasor’s sword with his forearms, but Menasor kept slashing him, forcing Superion to lower them, leaving him open for a full-on attack. Superion tried to dodge his attacks, but Menasor was just too quick. Normally, Megatron would call Menasor’s foul play a violation of the Cybertronian Code of Combat, as would Optimus, but since they were far from Iacon, plus the fact that Megatron was enjoying watching the bloodshed a little too much, they both decided to do nothing about it. Finally, Menasor swept Superion under the leg, causing him to fall over on his back. Superion looked up briefly to see Menasor pointing his sword at him.

“Should’ve brought my sword?” Superion asked weakly.

“Should’ve brought your sword,” Menasor answered with a sneering grin.

In a similar fashion to Perceptor, Shockwave stood at the center of the battlefield. “And the winner is Menasor!” He announced. “Which means the Decepticons score two points!”

“What?!” All the Autobots screamed in shock and outrage.

“Not fair!” Bee exclaimed. “They have more Combiners than us!”

“Well, we did win the first match, if you recall,” Perceptor reminded him.

“What a bunch of scrap metal!” Elita snarled. “When one Combiner wins, they shouldn’t take two points, they should only take one!”

“The Cybertronian Code of Combat doesn’t say anything about doubling our scores after a Combiner fight,” Megatron sneered. “I want this to be a no-holds barred match, and make it a good one!”

“Optimus, do something!” Elita urged her leader.

Optimus turned to Elita with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry, Elita,” He said apologetically. “If Megatron wants to go all out for this final battle, then I can’t stop him.”

“Are you serious?!” Elita exclaimed.

“I am,” Optimus insisted, his tone of voice sounding serious. “No more holding back.”

“Okay,” Elita conceded, but as Optimus walked up to address Megatron, she muttered under her breath. “Took you long enough.”

“Megatron…” Optimus addressed his sworn enemy.

“Yes, Prime?” Megatron asked, feeling bored, as he wanted to get the show back on the road.

“This battle is not over yet, for we still have another Combiner,” Optimus said before unveiling the Autobots’ second and last Combiner, and maybe their last hope. “Defensor, step forward!”

Defensor hesitantly stepped forward and approached Menasor. The Decepticons laughed at Defensor, finding him to be a better guardian than attacker, causing Defensor to shrink slightly.

“Don’t let them get to you, Defensor,” Optimus assured gently, looking up at the gestalt. “Think about how you single-handedly saved Iacon from all three Combiners. Believe me, you’re ready for this.”

“Well, if you say so…” Defensor trailed off. “Okay.”

Optimus stepped back as the third match began.

Menasor and Defensor both circled each other, each of them wanting to make the first move. Menasor got out his sword and tried slashing Defensor with it, who blocked it with his arms. He then swept Defensor up under his feet, causing him to land on the ground on his back, but the Autobots got out of the way just in time.

“Prime!” Elita shouted. “Defensor’s getting slammed out there!”

“At this rate, we’ll lose for sure!” Bee yelled. “You’ve gotta to something!”

Optimus looked at both his closest comrades, knowing they had a point, but he also knew that he could not interfere with or even stop the match, as that would result in an immediate disqualification for the Autobots, meaning that Cybertron would go to the Decepticons, and the war would be lost.

Defensor recovered as he looked Optimus in the eye. He knew everything rided on this one battle, and the stakes could never have been higher. Suddenly, something awoke inside him, a feeling that he’d always felt, but he didn’t want to unleash it: anger. As Menasor raised his sword to finish the job, Defensor suddenly caught it, stopping the blade just inches before his face.

The Decepticons gaped in shock, for they had never seen Defensor do that, not even during their unannounced attack on Iacon.

“But, what?!” Starscream exclaimed, shocked. “How?!”

“Impossible.” Soundwave mumbled.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Shockwave let out, before turning to Megatron. “Shouldn’t it?”

Megatron, however, could only seethe with rage as he watched the beatdown that followed.

After stopping Menasor’s sword from hitting his face, Defensor threw it away, forcing the Decepticons to dodge before the sword could hit them. Defensor then got out his blaster and opened fire on Menasor, hitting the Stunticon Combiner all over.

The Autobots and Decepticons stared at Defensor’s ferocity, the Autobots in shock and concern, while the Decepticons were in shock and disbelief.

“Okay, Optimus, I think I’ve seen enough,” Elita told her leader, regretting what she had said earlier. “Maybe you should get Defensor to stop?”

“Only if things go to far,” Optimus replied, trying to mask the worry and fear in his voice, but failing.

“Yes, let us continue the battle!” Megatron shouted in agreement, as he was not going to walk away until at least one of the Combiners were still standing.

Eventually, Menasor was unable to withstand the blasts and fell over on his back. He then looked up to see Defensor aiming his blaster at him. Now, Menasor looked frightened.

“Come on, now,” He begged. “You don’t really want to do this, right? The Decepticons need me!”

“Why?” Defensor inquired. “So you can continue to bring destruction everywhere you go? Because that’s all you Decepticons care about! And now it is time for you to pay the price.”

Menasor whimpered fearfully, when Defensor suddenly came to his senses. He looked over at Optimus, who gave him a quiet look that pleaded him not to kill Menasor. Relenting, Defensor lowered his blaster and stepped off of Menasor, then Perceptor came out onto the battlefield.

“Defensor wins!” He announced. “And with that, the score is tied 2 to 2. This next match will decide the fate of everything!”

Almost immediately after Perceptor walked back to the Autobots, Bruticus stormed onto the battlefield, and was the most eager to fight.

“So, Defensor, it is just down to you and I!” He sneered.

“Well, at least in this match I can be my usual, pacifist self,” Defensor said to himself quietly. “Because that’s what I do best. I’m a guardian.”

This time, both Perceptor and Shockwave stepped out onto the field as they glared at each other.

“So, Perceptor, I assume this will be the last match,” Shockwave hoped.

“Yes,” Perceptor confirmed. “And now that we have our last two Combiners out on the field, there’s a 50% probability that either side will win. This battle may not have gone the way I expected, but I still guarantee that the Autobots will win!”

“No, no! The Decepticons will win!” Shockwave boasted. “And when we do, Cybertron will be ours!”

“We’ll see about that, Shockwave,” Perceptor said angrily, although he kept it professional.

The two chief science officers from both factions walked off as the final match, the one that would determine the outcome of the war, began. Bruticus sent a punch at Defensor, who blocked it and punched back. The two then engaged in a barrage of punches, with neither Combiner seeming to be giving in anytime soon.

“Well, this is turning out to be quite the spectacle, is it not?” Perceptor asked Optimus.

“It sure is,” Optimus nodded. “I just hope we win this one, and by extension, the battle.”

Meanwhile, with Megatron and Shockwave…

“So where did this new aggression from Defensor come from, anyhow?” Megatron demanded to know.

“Unknown, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave replied. “But judging by the looks of this battle, it appears that the Autobots have won already.”

“No, no!” Megatron hissed. “I’m so close to taking over Cybertron! I’ve come too far to be beaten now!”

To Be Concluded…

Chapter Text

As soon as Defensor and Bruticus stopped throwing punches, they started circling each other, while all the Autobots and Decepticons stood back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. The two gestalts glared at each other before charging at each other, and then grappled with each other in a lock.

“You Decepticons don’t care about anything except destruction!” Defensor growled. “Is taking over Cybertron not enough for you?”

“It will be enough, when all you Autobots are melted down to slag,” Bruticus retorted.

“Bruticus!” Megatron called out to the last Decepticon Combiner. “Make Defensor loose his cool again!”

“Lord Megatron, are you sure that’s wise?” Starscream inquired. “You’ve seen Defensor unleash his fury on Menasor. What if it backfires on us and he does the same to Bruticus as well?”

“I’m willing to take that chance,” Megatron replied. “Besides, this is getting too fun to watch.”

Starscream said nothing else as he went back to watching.

Back with Defensor and Bruticus, they had released each other from their hold and were now circling each other again. Bruticus had heeded Megatron’s advice and was now trying to deliberately make Defensor loose his cool.

“You know, it’s a funny thing,” Bruticus began as he dodged a punch from Defensor.

“What is?” Defensor demanded as he sent another punch at Bruticus, who dodged.

“Despite what you did to Menasor earlier, you still stand out as the weakest of the Combiners,” Bruticus mocked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Defensor inquired. “I’m a strong Combiner. Defending the weak does not make me weak!”

“Is that so?” Bruticus retorted. “Then answer this: why do you waste your time defending a defenseless city, when you should be out there with your comrades fighting? You’re nothing but a commoner who’s comprised of lower-level bots who aspired to do great things, only to have them put on hold because of this war.”

“At least we’re doing something useful, unlike you!” Defensor growled, making Bruticus growl in return.

“He’s not giving in,” Megatron hissed quietly, before calling out to Bruticus again. “Bruticus! Try something else!”

“Don’t let him get to you, Defensor!” Optimus called out to Defensor, who turned to him. “You’re doing great!”

Defensor sent a knowing smirk to his leader as he faced his archnemesis again.

“Don’t you see, Bruticus?” He asked. “This is why you Decepticons never win. You always hurl insults at your opponents and never support each other. We Autobots, on the other hand, always encourage each other and have each other’s backs!”

“Why, you…!” Bruticus snarled, before charging at Defensor.

Defensor smirked softly, as he took a fighting stance, preparing for whatever Defensor could throw at him.

“This is intense…” Bee let out as he continued to watch the fight unfold.

“You can say that again,” Optimus nodded in agreement.

“But it’s still a dead heat!” Elita pointed out. “The fight can still go either way.”

And Elita was right, for even though the fight between Defensor and Bruticus had gotten even more intense, neither side was willing to give in. Even if they exchanged punches, kicks, and laser fire from their respective blasters, neither Combiner was willing to go down.

“Why won’t you just stand still, and go down like a good Combiner!?” Bruticus roared.

“Not when there are many lives on the line!” Defensor spat, sending a punch at Bruticus, knocking him back.

“Bring it on, then!” Bruticus sneered, daring Defensor to come at him by motioning his hand with a “come at me” gesture.

Taking it as a challenge, Defensor eagerly charged at Bruticus, but the fight soon devolved into a wrestling match, with both of them tossing around on the ground, throwing various punches to each other.

“This is nuts!” Bee exclaimed as the ground started to shake.

“I just wish Defensor would just hurry it up and end it already!” Elita yelled.

“Megatron, cease this at once!” Optimus yelled to the Decepticon leader. “If this fight goes on long enough, it could end up rocking the surface of Cybertron!”

“Oh, Prime, you know I won’t stop until one of our Combiners is left standing,” Megatron reminded him. “May I point out that you agreed to the conditions of this fight?”

Optimus sighed, but said nothing as the fight wore on, though he, Elita, and Bee got ready to stop in if anything got out of hand, just in case.

Defensor and Bruticus kept wrestling each other, with every move they made shaking the surface of Cybertron, even leaving a few holes in the ground, but neither were unwilling to give in.

“It’s still deadlocked,” Starscream observed.

“Just the way I like it,” Megatron grinned.

“What?” Starscream questioned, looking up at his leader. “Are violence and revenge all that you care about?”

“I’ve heard enough of this!” Megatron snapped, before turning to Darkwing. “Darkwing, dispose of him!”

“As you wish, Lord Megatron,” Darkwing obeyed, walking up.

He then grabbed Starscream, lifted him up, and threw him to the back of the crowd, then took his place.

“Thank you,” Megatron simply said. “Now I won’t have to listen to his constant babbling.”

At the back, Starscream kneed as he glared at Megatron, before slamming his fist into the ground.

“Mark my words, old bot,” He hissed. “One of these days.”

Back to the fight, Defensor was now struggling, Bruticus pushing him back, making the Autobots worried.

“It’s all over,” Optimus sighed, as Elita and Bee watched in worry.

However, Defensor then began pushing Bruticus back, making the Decepticons gasp.

“No,” Megatron hissed. “Not now! Not now!”

Bruticus sent a punch at Defensor, but Defensor caught it, then spun Bruticus around, before hurling him, sending the Decepticon Combiner flying into a mountainside.

“Whoa!” All the Transformers gasped in shock and awe.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Starscream muttered at a level that Megatron wouldn’t hear. “Guess this will end very badly for Bruticus.”

Bruticus tried to get back up, but Defensor picked him up again, this time bringing his knee up to the Combiner’s back, breaking him back into his individual components. Starscream watched the debacle with a small smirk on his face.

“I was right,” Starscream whispered. “Guess even the nicest of bots have their limits, and when they hit theirs, it ends very badly for the perpetrators.”

Meanwhile, the Autobots were slightly disturbed by Defensor’s unnecessary show of aggression.

“Well, that was…” Bee trailed off.

“Harsh,” Elita said bluntly. “But at least we won.”

“Yes, barely,” Optimus nodded. “Who knows what might have happened if Defensor hadn’t given into his inner rage.”

“Then we would have lost,” Elita pointed out.

“I guess…” Optimus trailed off.

Defensor walked back over to the Autobots and separated back into his individual components, and then Perceptor walked back onto the battlefield to announce the winner.

“Well, I suppose the winner of this match is obvious,” He said. “Defensor has won, which means, by extension, the Autobots win!”

The Autobots started cheering, while the Decepticons sulked in defeat. Suddenly, a stray blast was shot at Perceptor, hitting him in the chest, knocking him back.

“Perceptor!” Optimus cried, catching him, before setting him upright. “Are you all right?”

“Fit as a fiddle,” Perceptor assured, before wincing from the pain. “Actually, no, it hurts much more than I imagined.”

Optimus then carried Perceptor over to Ratchet and First Aid. “You two, take care of him,” He instructed. “I’ve got to find where that blast came from.”

He then jumped onto the battlefield and stood in the center.

“Who did it?!” Optimus roared. “Who is responsible for firing on a Transformer, an Autobot no less, who has no experience in combat?!”

The Decepticons looked amongst each other, before they parted, showing Megatron holding his fusion cannon up.

“Of course,” Optimus seethed. “You just couldn’t accept your defeat gracefully and leave well enough alone, could you, Megatron?”

“Silence!” Megatron snapped. “I came out here to win, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“The war is over, Megatron!” Optimus yelled, pointing at him. “You’ve lost!”

“That was only a test,” Megatron argued. “The real end of the war depends on a fight between us, the ones who started it all.”

“You started it first!” Optimus countered. “You broke our pact and let me fall!”

“And then you escalated it by banishing me!” Megatron spat. “Therefore, I propose a duel between us. The winner will walk away alive, and the loser will be left out here to rust.”

“I accept!” Optimus immediately accepted. “I just want to end this pointless war. It has gone on far longer than intended!”

Elita ran up to Optimus and stood next to him. “Prime, don’t do this!” She pleaded. “You’re basically asking for your death sentence!”

“Stand back, Elita,” Optimus assured, putting a hand on her shoulder. “This is my fight. If I don’t survive, you’re our only hope for the Autobots. Do I make myself clear?”

Elita sighed, not liking the conditions of the fight, but reluctantly accepted them. “Perfectly,” She answered.

She then ran back up to the other Autobots, while Optimus turned back to Megatron, ready to do battle.

Chapter Text

Former brothers Orion Pax and D-16, now eternal enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron, stood across from each other on the surface of Cybertron, glaring at each other, while their respective armies stood on top of the cliffside surrounding them to watch the fight. As Megatron promised, this was going to be the battle that would end the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, and Optimus knew he had to give it his all to prevent Megatron from winning.

“Don’t do this, D,” Optimus shook his head, unwilling to kill his former friend. “Please don’t go this way.”

“No, you’re still holding on!” Megatron roared. “D-16 is dead! He died when you betrayed him for Sentinel!”

“Why do you keep twisting the words around?!” Optimus demanded. “You saw the truth with your own optics, listened to the facts with your own audio receptors, and still you deny the fact that this could have been avoided if you hadn’t pulled the trigger on Sentinel!”

“He took everything from us!” Megatron argued furiously. “Our leaders, our ability to transform, our freedom! I was simply trying to get it back!”

“Through revenge and cathartic violence?!” Optimus questioned. “No wonder you went insane!”

“What was that you said?!” Megatron snapped.

“You heard me!” Optimus yelled. “As I mentioned before, Alpha Trion gave us four of the Primes’ transformation cogs to use for good, but you poorly chose the opposite, and yet hear we are now.”

“Don’t lecture me, Prime,” Megatron sneered. “I see through the lies of the Primes. I understand now that they’re a problem that must be taken care of.”

“‘Taken care of?’” Optimus inquired, not believing what he was hearing.

“Don’t make me destroy you,” Megatron gave the Last Prime a seethed warning.

“D—I mean, Megatron—My allegiance is to Cybertron!” Optimus said desperately. “To democracy!”

“Then so be it,” Megatron hissed. “I won’t hold back, just so you know.”

“And neither will I,” Optimus said, resigned. “Let’s finish this once and for all.”

“And so it begins, and ends,” Megatron spoke in a harsh whisper, before bringing out his war club.

Optimus produced his Energon axe, before charging at his former friend, and then Megatron did the same. Optimus tried to slash his axe at Megatron, who blocked it with his war club, then tried to do the same to Optimus with his war club, but Optimus deflected his attacks with his axe. The two friends-turned-enemies weren’t holding back, making the battle a dead heat, with neither leader seeming to give in.

“They’re both equally matched,” Bee observed. “Just like their last encounter in Iacon.”

“And they’ve both become stronger since the war began,” Elita added. “This is not just a battle that’ll determine the end of the war. It’s a test of strength to see who is the stronger Transformer. And I know exactly who the winner will be.”

“Well, then, let’s find out,” Bee said as they continued to watch the fight.

Megatron aimed his fusion cannon at Optimus and opened fire, swiping Optimus off his feet.

“Optimus!” Elita and Bee cried.

Fortunately, Optimus was able to regain his footing before he could fall.

“Is that all you got?” He asked, panting.

“Why won’t you go down like a good bot?!” Megatron roared as he fired again, but Optimus dodged the blast, then ran up to Megatron and grabbed his fusion cannon.

“Cheap tactics won’t win you this fight,” Optimus sneered. “I’m wise to all your tricks, so don’t try anything stupid.”

“Why are you still holding back?” Megatron questioned. “You said yourself after our last encounter that you wanted to go to war.”

“Not by choice!” Optimus retorted. “I only said that so I could defend my men from you! Meanwhile, you recklessly endanger your soldiers by constantly throwing them into the crossfire.”

“How dare you say that!” Megatron snapped. “If anything, my strength makes me the better leader!”

“But it won’t win you the fight!” Optimus gritted as the two grappled with each other in a struggle.

Megatron won the struggle and pushed Optimus back, sending him flying to the ground on his back. He then got his war club back out and tried to hit Optimus with it, but Optimus brought his Energon axe back out and blocked it just in time. Optimus then kicked Megatron with both his feet, sending him back, before he pushed himself back up. Megatron also managed to get back up, and the two stared at each other while standing a safe distance away before making the next move.

“I have failed you, D,” Optimus nodded sadly, acknowledging his responsibility for turning Megatron into what he was now. “I have failed you.”

“I should have known the Primes were trying to take over,” Megatron said coldly.

“Megatron, Sentinel Prime was evil!” Optimus argued frantically. “He was the one who killed them all!”

“From my point of view, all the Primes were evil!” Megatron retorted. “And that now includes you, the Last Prime!”

“Then you are lost!” Optimus snapped.

The two then slowly approached each other and circled each other.

“This is the end for you, Prime,” Megatron hissed as he lifted his war club to attack again.

The two kept hitting each other with their respective weapons, each trying to throw the other off-balance, but simultaneously locked their weapons into each other. Both Autobots and Decepticons alike watched the fight with great interest.

“Well, I must say, Megatron has come quite a long way since the start of the war,” Starscream admitted. “He’s become quite the calculated leader, just like myself.” Then he said quietly to himself. “But I will never, ever forgive him for stripping me of my position as leader of the High Guard.”

“I never thought I’d actually be led by the very miner I so despised,” Darkwing said quietly, having developed something of a respect for Megatron. “But he definitely owes me. The first chance we get, that Last Prime is mine!” He was still holding a grudge against Optimus for deposing him of his position as supervisor of the mining crew.

“Does anyone have any Energon cubes?” Bee asked. “I feel like snacking on some during this match while I’m at it.”

“Bee, please, this is serious,” Elita said seriously. “The fate of Cybertron hangs in the balance, and it all rides on this final duel!”

“Okay, okay, chill,” Bee assured, waving his hands in the air in front of him. “It was just a suggestion.”

The two then went back to watching the fight.

When Megatron tried to hit Optimus again, the latter jumped up to dodge the attack and landed on a nearby ledge. Megatron looked up to him as the Autobots and the Decepticons watched, tense.

“This is it,” Elita said. “I have the feeling this will be the move that decides everything.”

“It’s over, Megatron!” Optimus called. “I have the high ground!”

Megatron approached Optimus menacingly, glaring up at him.

“You underestimate my power,” He growled.

“Don’t try it,” Optimus pleaded, shaking his head.

Despite Optimus’ warning, Megatron leapt up, then tried to hit Optimus on the head with his war club, but Optimus sliced it clean off with his axe. Megatron roared in pain as he landed on the ground behind Optimus on his chest, then moved on his back and clutched his hand as Optimus approached him.

“What are you waiting for, Prime?” Megatron asked. “Finish me.”

Megatron laid on the ground, flat on his back, as Optimus rose his Energon axe. Megatron closed his eyes, expecting Optimus to decapitate him, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Optimus had simply sliced off his fusion cannon, much to his shock, surprise, and dismay.

“That would be the easy way out, Megatron,” Optimus panted, putting his axe away. “You don’t deserve it.”

Megatron walked over to his fusion cannon and picked it up. He tried to put it back on, but was unable to, forcing him to hold on to it as Optimus addressed him.

“Well, it’s over,” Optimus said. “I have won, and by extension, the Autobots have won. The war is over.”

“It is never over!” Megatron roared. “Not by a long shot! I’ll be back, and next time, I won’t hold anything back!” He then turned to his army. “Decepticons, return to base!”

Megatron transformed into his vehicle mode, reattaching his fusion cannon in the process, and retreated, followed by Starscream, Darkwing, and the other Decepticons. Optimus stared at his former friend as Megatron led his army away, before walking back over to join his Autobots. Elita and Bee then approached their leader to see if Optimus was okay.

“You did everything you could, Optimus,” Elita assured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, Megatron just kept making bad choices, even after you gave him a second chance,” Bee added.

“I suppose you’re right,” Optimus sighed. “I was a fool to try to reason with Megatron. Maybe he’ll come to his senses someday. For now, let’s just head home.”

“I’m all for that,” Bee agreed happily.

“Ditto,” Elita nodded.

The three transformed and rolled out for Iacon, followed by the other Autobots. Although the ultimate battle between the Combiners, as well as Optimus Prime and Megatron, was finally over, Optimus had finally accepted that trying to save D-16, or rather, Megatron, and bring him back from the darkness was now useless. Next time he saw Megatron, he would show no mercy. He just hoped that it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Inside his chamber in Kaon, Megatron was tossing and turning in great stress, as he was having a nightmare.

(Dream)

Megatron stood on top of a pile of corpses, Autobot and Decepticon alike, standing triumphantly.

“Now, I rule Cybertron with an iron fist!” He declared. “Nothing and no one can stop me now!”

“Not even from the Allspark?” A voice inquired.

Megatron’s bravado instantly shook, and then he turned to see the spirits of Alpha Trion and Megatronus Prime standing behind him. It was Alpha Trion who spoke.

“Alpha Trion and Megatronus Prime?!” Megatron exclaimed in shock. “But how? You’re both dead!”

“We have been watching you from beyond the grave,” Alpha Trion explained, sounding disappointed. “And all I can say is that I am very disappointed in you, D-16.”

“Stop calling me that!” Megatron snapped angrily. “I go by ‘Megatron’ now!”

“I expected you to use your transformation cog for the greater good, hoping you would do great things,” Alpha Trion continued, ignoring Megatron’s mini-rant. “But instead, you poorly chose the opposite. And now, because of you, Cybertron is being ravaged by war, depleted of its resources.”

Megatron remained silent, but in his mind, he wanted to deny that was true. Megatronus then approached Megatron and glared down hard at him.

“But I am the most disappointed in you of all,” He told Megatron. “You always said that you were my biggest idol, that you said I was the strongest Prime that ever lived, and yet, you killed my murderer, took my transformation cog, selfishly cast the one Trion gave you aside, and used it for your own selfish gain.”

Megatron looked down slightly in shame at his idol’s words, for he knew Megatronus was right, but just didn’t want to admit it.

“And now, Megatron, since you killed the Last Prime, I believe he would want some strong words with you, too,” Alpha Trion said.

He and Megatronus both parted was, and then Optimus Prime, looking battle-scarred from his alleged final battle with Megatron, approached his former friend and would-be slayer.

“How could you, D?” He asked accusingly, speaking in a monotone voice. “We were supposed to rule Cybertron together, justly.”

“No, please, I didn’t mean-” Megatron began, before he was cut off.

“Didn’t mean what? Didn’t mean to shoot me? Didn’t mean to let me fall?” Optimus demanded, his tone slowly rising with each sentence. “We were each given a gift, and you chose to use yours for destruction. Now, Cybertron is dying, and it’s all your fault!”

Megatron slowly backed away as the three spirits of the Primes shouted “All your fault!” relentlessly at him, making him back into a corner and curl up into a ball. He tried to block the insults by putting his hands on his head, but they wouldn’t go away. Suddenly, Alpha Trion, Megatronus, and Optimus picked Megatron up—The two elder Primes by the arms, and Optimus by the legs—and they began ripping him in half, much like he did to Sentinel.

“Wait, wait, wait! You can’t do this to me, Megatronus!” Megatron pleaded. “You’re my hero, the greatest Prime who ever lived?”

“You should’ve thought of that before you used me as an insignia for your Decepticon army and tainted my legacy,” Megatronus said coldly. “Now, you’re going to pay.”

Megatron cold only scream in agony as the three Primes ripped him in half, and then everything went pitch black.

(Reality)

Megatron’s optics shot open, and he immediately pressed a button, making the chamber stand upright. Once it was, the chamber opened, and then he stepped out, panting heavily, traumatized by the nightmare he just had, clutching the side of the chamber with one hand, and holding the other over his chest. After taking a few deep breaths, Megatron allowed himself to let out a scream, this one a scream of anguish and despair, rather than a scream of rage like the times the Autobots always defeated him and the Decepticons.

“What was that about?” He asked himself, wondering what the dream was about.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on his thoughts, as he soon remembered that he had to address his troops who were waiting for him, so he stumbled out of the room and walked slowly down the hallway.

In the square of Kaon, Starscream, Soundwave, the Seekers, the Coneheads, the Stunticons, and the Combaticons were all assembled, waiting for Megatron.

“Attention!” Starscream shouted, as the other Decepticons stood at attention. Megatron then rolled up in front of them in vehicle mode and transformed into robot mode.

“Good morning, Lord Megatron,” Starscream saluted, but he soon noticed that Megatron was rubbing his eyes and his forehead, exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. “Are you feeling all right?”

“I had a little trouble with my stasis chamber,” Megatron lied, not wanting to divulge in the nightmare he had.

“I see…” Starscream trailed off, seeing he didn’t want to talk about it. “You called us here, sir?”

“Yes,” Megatron nodded. “As you are no doubt aware, Energon reserves have been dangerously low as of late, but I have a solution to fix that.”

“Which is?” Thrust inquired.

“Our sun,” Megatron explained, pointing up to the sky. “We destroy our sun, we can guarantee enough Energon that will last us a lifetime. Shockwave and the Constructions are currently working on a harvester to blast the sun and extract the Energon from it even as we speak.”

The Decepticons seemed disturbed at Megatron’s morbid explanation of his plan, but decided not to argue or question it, fearing his fury. Starscream, on the other hand, immediately stepped forward.

“Destroy our sun?!” He questioned furiously in shock, finding Megatron’s plan to be far too extreme. “Have you gone mad?! Our sun was created by Primus himself, much like the Primes! You take that away, you won’t like what you get!”

In response, Megatron loaded his fusion cannon and aimed it at Starscream’s head. “Are you questioning my direct order?” He asked with cold fury dripping in his voice. “Especially after I gave you a promotion to my second lieutenant? Remember who the Decepticon leader is, and don’t you forget it!”

Seeing that his leader was serious, and not wanting a repeat of what almost happened when Megatron usurped him as leader of the High Guard before they became the Decepticons, Starscream wisely backed off and walked back over to the crowd of Decepticons that were assembled, angrily muttering to himself.

“So, anyone else want to object?” Megatron asked.

Stunned silence was his answer, from all the Decepticons, especially Starscream. “No? Well, it’s settled then,” Megatron said. “Once we destroy the sun, we’ll have all the Energon we could ever ask for, maybe even more. We’ll finally rise up!”

“Rise up!” The Decepticons chanted, raising their fists into the air at Megatron, who also raised his fist into the air, and then they were dismissed.

Over the next few weeks, Shockwave and the Constructicons were hard at work constructing the Decepticons’ sun harvester. As always, Scrapper supervised the construction, while Shockwave assisted in the construction efforts, using his cannon arm to stabilize the beams Hook placed, assisted by Scavenger and Bonecrusher. Finally, it was ready. Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, the Seekers, the Coneheads, the Stunticons, and the Combaticons had gathered in the same underground cavern where Shockwave and Megatron found Trypticon all those cycles ago. This time, the aforementioned Decepticons were joined by two new members: One was light green and teal, and the other was yellow, cream, and dark grey; their names were Staxx and Greesepit, respectively. Megatron stood in front of his troops as he observed the harvester.

“Magnificent,” He marveled, before turning to Shockwave and the Constructicons. “Well done, men. Now let’s get this sun harvester up and running.”

“Must you call it a sun harvester, Lord Megatron?” Shockwave inquired. “I have a feeling that name is taken already.”

“All right, all right,” Megatron said. “How about a… sun beam?”

“A sun beam?” The other Decepticons questioned.

“Yes, because it’s a beam,” Megatron reasoned. “And we’re using it to… take out the sun?”

The Decepticons stared at Megatron in silence.

“Acceptable,” Soundwave finally said.

“Yeah, I like it,” Staxx assured.

“Same here,” Greesepit agreed.

The rest of the Decepticons voiced their agreement for the new name of their sun harvester, now known as a sun beam, pleasing Megatron.

“Unfortunately, Lord Megatron…” Shockwave then said.

“Yes, Shockwave?” Megatron asked.

“We have only 12 hours until the sun is in optimum position, but the sun beam needs an entire day to recharge,” Shockwave explained.

“Hmm,” Megatron hummed as he put a hand on his chin and began to think. “I wonder how we can synchronize the two times together so we can perfectly time when to fire the beam at the sun as soon as it’s fully charged?”

“I have an idea, Lord Megatron,” Blast Off said, raising his hand.

“Yes, Blast Off?” Megatron asked. “What is it?”

“What if we made engines, so we can move Cybertron closer to its sun?” Blast Off suggested. “That way, the beam will be fully charged, and we can fire it at the sun once it is.”

“Very good,” Megatron commended. “I approve of your request. Take the Constructicons with you, Blast Off.”

“Yes, sir!” Blast Off saluted, before turning to the Constructicons. “Well, you heard him, men! Let’s go and build some engines!”

He began to ran off when Scrapper stopped him.

“Remember who the Constructicon leader is, Blast Off!” He barked.

“True, but Lord Megatron put me in charge of the engine operation,” Blast Off argued. “And I say follow me!”

The rest of the Constructicons eagerly followed Blast Off, while Scrapper lagged behind, not liking the idea of being led by a Combaticon, especially one who wasn’t the Combaticons’ leader.

Blast Off led the Constructicons to the farthest part of Cybertron, where the crossroads to Kaon and Iacon met, on the easternmost side of the planet. They had managed to find some recyclable items and other scrap to make into homemade engines. After a long and arduous 48 hours, the engines were finally complete, then Blast Off walked up to Scrapper with some kind of device.

“Blast Off, what is this?” Scrapper asked.

“It’s a remote that allows you to activate the engines,” Blast Off explained. “But don’t activate it until we get back to Kaon, all right?”

“Of course,” Scrapper understood, taking it.

“Now, let’s return to Kaon!” Blast Off announced. “Megatron will be very pleased.”

The Constructicons nodded, and then Blast Off transformed and flew back to Kaon, then the Constructions transformed and followed him on the ground.

When they made it back to Kaon, Blast Off gave the remote to turn on the engines to Scrapper, who then handed it to Megatron.

“So you’re saying this remote controls the engines you built?” Megatron asked.

“Yes, it is,” Blast Off nodded. “But you shouldn’t activate it yet. Wait until the time is right.”

“Shockwave!” Megatron called, causing Shockwave to push his way through the crowd of Decepticons and walk up to him.

“You called, Lord Megatron?” Shockwave asked.

“How much longer until we’re in optimum position to blast off to the sun?” Megatron asked him.

“Very close, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave assured, holding out a timer and a tracker, for the time to activate the launch and tracking the direction of Cybertron’s sun, respectively.

“Okay, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave said as the devices both hit the same mark. “Activate the engines… now!”

Megatron pushed the button on the remote, and then Cybertron started to move, slowly, but surely.

“Cybertron’s moving!” Starscream exclaimed. “Slowly, sure, but definitely moving!”

“Shockwave, how long until we reach the sun?” Megatron asked.

“I’d say approximately 24 hours at maximum,” Shockwave explained. “These engines aren’t as necessarily fast as the engines we use for our spaceships, or the engines Blast Off and the Aerialbots use.”

The Decepticons looked into the sky and saw as the sun got closer to Cybertron.

“Okay, battle stations, Decepticons!” Megatron began giving commands. “Stunticons and Combaticons, form Menasor and Bruticus and stand guard in the city! Starscream, take the Constructicons, the Seekers and the Coneheads and guard the gates to ensure the Autobots don’t intervene! Staxx and Greesepit, you stay with Shockwave, Soundwave, and me! Now, let’s rise up!”

“Rise up!” The Decepticons chanted, before they dispersed.

Megatron then looked back at the sun with an evil grin.

“Very soon now, I’ll have enough Energon to stock up on, and I won’t even have to mine for it,” He sneered. “I’ll be the most powerful Transformer in all of Cybertron!”

Chapter Text

In Iacon, in the Autobots’ Command Tower, Ironhide and Jazz were on monitor duty, when suddenly, they felt the entire building begin to shake, making them fall out of their seats. The two managed to get back up slightly and hold on to the console, when the shaking suddenly stopped.

“What was that?” Ironhide asked.

“I don’t know, but we should probably tell Optimus Prime,” Jazz suggested.

Just then, Elita-1 and B-127 came running into the room.

“You won’t need to,” B-127 told them.

“Optimus is already organizing a meeting right now,” Elita-1 explained. “He says it’s urgent.”

Ironhide and Jazz got fully back up, let go of the console, and followed Elita and Bee out of the room.

A few minutes later, Elita, Bee, Ironhide, and Jazz had joined several Autobots in the conference room, where Optimus was holding the meeting.

“Autobots, I have received a prophetic message from the spirits of the Primes,” Optimus explained as the meeting began. “I don’t know if Megatron received the exact same message, too, but I do know they said something that involves moving Cybertron closer to the sun so they can extract the Energon from it.”

(The night before)

Optimus was in sleep mode in his stasis chamber, when the Matrix suddenly glowed in his chest. He then found himself transported to some sort of astral plane, surrounded by the spirits of the Primes. The spirit of Alpha Trion stepped forward and stood in front of him.

“Alpha Trion…” Optimus breathed in awe.

“Hello, Optimus,” Alpha Trion greeted. “You do know why we called you here, yes?”

“Yes, I do,” Optimus nodded.

“Megatronus Prime and I contacted D-16 in a dream,” Alpha Trion explained. “Suffice to say, we were both very disappointed in him that he chose to use his new powers for evil, instead of good as I had hoped.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Optimus mumbled. “Oh, and by the way, his name is Megatron now. And he’s only gotten worse in these last few millennia of war.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” Alpha Trion sighed. “Anyway, I’ll get right to the point. Cybertron is currently undergoing some form of crisis.”

“Crisis?” Optimus questioned, intrigued. “What kind of crisis?”

“Megatron is trying to push Primus closer to the sun,” Alpha Trion explained grimly. “Even though he’s supposed to remain idle after he transformed.”

“Why would he do that?” Optimus wondered. “Doesn’t he know the results could be catastrophic if he does so?”

“Well, me and Megatronus did try to tell him that, but I believe we couldn’t get through to him,” Alpha Trion sighed regretfully, Megatronus silently nodding in agreement. “He wants to steal all the Energon from the sun.”

“And when he gets to the sun, how’s he going to extract all the Energon from it?” Optimus inquired.

“I do believe that he’s made a sun beam for that purpose, although we Primes tend to refer to it as a sun harvester,” Alpha Trion explained. “I don’t know why he insists on calling it a sun beam, though.”

“Well, how do we stop it?” Optimus asked. “How do we stop Primus from crashing into the sun?”

“I do not know yet,” Alpha Trion replied. “But I do know that you should take your Autobots to Kaon and destroy the sun harvester. It’s the only way to save the sun, and save Cybertron.”

“Understood,” Optimus nodded.

“Good luck, Optimus Prime,” Alpha Trion wished as Optimus was transported back to the living realm.

(Present day)

The Autobots sat in silence as Optimus finished his tale of his late night trip to the astral plane.

“So, you see, if Megatron destroys the sun for Energon, the results could be catastrophic for Cybertron,” Optimus explained. “Which is why we need to head to Kaon now and stop him. But first, I need some volunteers to be a part of my team for this mission. It will be dangerous, but we must give it our all to put a stop to Megatron’s ultimate plan once and for all! Now who’s with me?”

The Autobots remained silent, taking in Optimus’ words. They could tell that he was being serious, and that some of them might not even make it out alive in this battle. Finally, Elita stood up and walked over to him.

“Prime, count me in,” She offered. “After all, somebody’s gotta watch your back, and if anything ever happens to you, I’m usually the first one who takes command.”

“Count me in, too,” Bee said as he joined them. “We’re each the founding members of the Autobots, so we gotta stick together.”

Optimus smiled slightly that his two top lieutenants immediately volunteered for this mission.

“So, anyone else?” He asked, turning back to the crowd.

The Autobots stared in silence once more, contemplating about being a part of the mission, but afraid of what might happen to them if they did go. Just then, Ultra Magnus stepped forward, along with Hot Rod, Warpath, Chromia, Dead End and Wildrider, now a part of Ultra Magnus’ crew, along with their newest member, a light blue, dark blue, and silver Autobot named Blurr.

“We’re in? Oh, we’re in, we’re in, we’re in!” Blurr said in a rapid-fire voice. “Count us in, Optimus! We’ll follow you, I’ll do everything you say-”

“Put a muffler on it, Blurr!” Wildrider snapped in annoyance, shoving Blurr in the face with his hand, shutting him up. “Yeah, we’ll go on your little mission because laying our lives on the line is what me and Dead End have gotten used to these past several stellar cycles.”

“Although I don’t usually express my emotion as strong as Wildrider, I must concur,” Dead End agreed. “I desire to have revenge on my former Stunticon teammates for deserting us.”

“Very well said, you two,” Ultra Magnus praise, before he became stern. “Although next time, wait to speak until you are asked to be spoken to, do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly,” Dead End and Wildrider both answered in unison.

“Good,” Ultra Magnus nodded in satisfaction.

Moonracer, Firestar, and two female Autobots named Greenlight and Lancer also stepped forward.

“Count us in, too,” Firestar spoke up on behalf of all the female Autobots. “If Elita’s going, we’re all going. Can’t have a girls’ fight without us, you know.”

“Thanks, girls,” Elita said thankfully.

Just then, Jazz, Ironhide, Arcee, and Sideswipe immediately followed behind them.

“I’m coming with you,” Ironhide said. “After all, somebody’s gotta look after you.” He laid his eyes on Chromia as he said that.

“I can look after myself,” Chromia asserted. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Fine,” Ironhide shrugged. “Have it your way.” He then turned to Optimus. “I’m still coming along. You’re not leaving me out of this fight.”

“Fair enough,” Optimus said. “Your dedication to the Autobot cause never ceases to amaze me, Ironhide.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ironhide said, pleased.

“Will we be taking the Aerialbots and Protectobots with us, Prime?” Elita asked.

“Of course we are,” Optimus answered. “Megatron no doubt will have his Combiners ready to fight, so we should, too.”

“It’s settled, then,” Elita said. “With the 30 of us, the Decepticons don’t stand a chance.”

“Uh, I hate to point this out, but shouldn’t we get going?” Bee asked everyone. “We’re kinda running short on time here.”

“Bee is correct,” Optimus agreed. “The sooner we leave, the sooner we can stop Megatron. Now, let’s transform and roll out!”

The 18 Autobots then left the room.

Later, the Autobots who elected to go on the mission—now joined by the Aerialbots and Protectobots—were racing across the surface of Cybertron, with Blades and the Aerialbots flying through the sky, while the rest rumbled across the ground. When they eventually reached Kaon, they saw Devastator, the Coneheads, the Seekers, and Starscream standing guard at the front gate. They all transformed, hid behind a rock formation, and peaked their heads out of it to see their opposition.

“There they are,” Optimus whispered. “But I only see the highest members of the Decepticons, plus all their Combiners.” He then turned to Ultra Magnus. “Ultra Magnus, you and your team distract them while we find a way to enter the city.”

“Of course, Prime,” Ultra Magnus acknowledged.

“Hey, how come we can’t go with you?” Wildrider complained. “Our future teammates are in there!”

“What did I just tell you about questioning a direct order from your Supreme Commander?” Ultra Magnus reminded the ex-Stunticon firmly.

“Sorry, Ultra Magnus,” Wildrider apologized, sighing.

“Come on, Wildrider, let’s go,” Dead End told his comrade, obediently following Ultra Magnus and the rest of his team, with Wildrider reluctantly following.

“Warpath, get their attention,” Ultra Magnus instructed.

“You got it,” Warpath gave Ultra Magnus a thumbs-up, before transforming into his vehicle mode. He then fired a few stray shots into the air, catching Starscream’s attention.

“Nova Storm, Redwing, Slipstream, go see what those shots are about,” He ordered the three female Seekers.

“Understood, Commander Starscream,” Slipstream acknowledged, before the three transformed into their jet modes and flew off.

“Here they come! Get your weapons ready!” Ultra Magnus ordered his troops.

The Autobots in Ultra Magnus’ squadron nodded as they began firing at the three Seekers.

“They’re distracted, let’s go,” Optimus told his remaining Autobots quietly.

The other Autobots nodded as they followed Optimus into Kaon.

After they got to Kaon Square, they saw Menasor and Bruticus standing guard, much like Devastator and the flying Decepticons at the outside gate.

“Silverbolt, Hot Spot, this is where you and your teams come in,” Optimus told the Autobot Combiner team leaders. “Just keep them distracted, and don’t do anything extreme like in the Combiner matches.”

“We’re on it, Prime,” Silverbolt assured.

“You can count on us,” Hot Spot nodded.

“Aerialbots…” Silverbolt began as he turned to Air Raid, Slingshot, Skydive, and Fireflight.

“Protectobots…” Hot Spot addressed First Aid, Streetwise, Groove, and Blades.

“Transform into Superion!” Silverbolt commanded.

“Merge into Defensor!” Hot Spot declared.

The Autobot Combiner teams quickly transformed into their combined forms, then began battling the other two Decepticon Combiners. Luckily, Optimus and the remaining Autobots managed to sneak off amidst the chaos.

In Shockwave’s lab, Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, Staxx, and Greesepit had just got back up from the underground cavern where the sun beam was being kept.

“Shockwave, check on the other Decepticons,” Megatron instructed. “I want a progress report.”

“Of course, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave nodded.

Shockwave walked over to the monitor and turned it on, only to find the other Decepticons engaged in battle with the Autobots. Devastator was trying to draw fire away from Ultra Magnus’ crew, while Superion and Menasor, as well as Bruticus and Defensor, were deadlocked in battle.

“Oh, dear,” He mumbled. “Lord Megatron is not going to like this.”

“Like what?” Megatron asked, walking over to Shockwave, only to grow angry when he saw what was happening on the monitors. “The Autobots! They’re here?!”

“Indeed we are, Megatron,” Came Optimus’ voice.

Megatron and the other Decepticons turned to see Optimus Prime, Elita-1, B-127, Ironhide, Arcee, Jazz, Sideswipe, Firestar, Moonracer, Lancer, and Greenlight standing in the doorway to Shockwave’s lab.

“Prime!” Megatron snarled. “How did you find us?!”

“The wisdom of the Matrix led me and my Autobots here,” Optimus explained. “But back on topic, where is this sun beam you speak of?”

“You’ll never find it!” Megatron growled. “Darkwing, Airachnid! Make sure of that!”

Darkwing and Airachnid suddenly dropped down from the ceiling and landed between the Decepticons and Autobots.

“Sorry, but we can’t let you pass,” Airachnid apologized sarcastically.

“We have our orders!” Darkwing sneered. “You’re never gonna find the sun beam!”

“We’ll handle them,” Moonracer said to Optimus. “You just follow Megatron.”

Optimus nodded in agreement.

“Laserbeak, Ravage, eject,” Soundwave said, releasing Laserbeak and a new Minicon from his chest. This was a black and silver Minicon with two silver rocket missile launchers on its hind legs; this was Ravage.

“Assist and attack,” Soundwave commanded as Ravage and Laserbeak joined Darkwing and Arachnid in fighting the Autobots.

Megatron and the remaining Decepticons then ran over to the elevator, opened the door, and stepped in as it went down, but Optimus and the remaining Autobots ran over to the door, and then Ironhide opened it and the Autobots jumped down the shaft.

The elevator carrying the Decepticons reached the underground cavern where the sun beam was being held, and then the Decepticons stepped out and ran towards it.

“We’re almost in optimum position to fire at the sun,” Shockwave reported as he began working the beam’s controls. “Activating sun beam now.”

“At last, all the sun’s Energon will be mine!” Megatron smirked.

“Not if I can help it, Megatron!” Optimus called, before Megatron’s smile dropped, and then he turned to see Optimus and the other Autobots standing there behind him. “If you think you can just destroy our sun for Energon, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Shockwave, keep charging that beam!” Megatron ordered. “The rest of you, help me handle Prime and his men!”

“Rumble, eject and attack!” Soundwave droned as Rumble emerged from his chest.

“I thought you’d never ask, Soundwave!” Rumble sneered.

“Optimus?” Bee asked.

“I’m on it!” Optimus said, charging forward.

Optimus proceeded to make quick work of the Decepticons, slicing his Energon axe at some of them, and firing his blaster on the others, until only Megatron and Shockwave remained. Megatron fired his fusion cannon at Optimus, who dodged it, leapt forward, and sliced off Megatron’s fusion cannon with his axe.

“Oh, no, not again!” Megatron moaned, before bending down to pick his fusion cannon up.

“Lord Megatron!” Shockwave cried in concern.

“Don’t worry about me!” Megatron assured as he put his fusion cannon back on again. “Just focus on charging the sun beam to full power!”

Before Shockwave could do that, he was suddenly shot in the chest by Optimus, knocking him back.

“Well, that takes care of Shockwave,” Elita let out, a bit dumbfounded by the anticlimactic confrontation.

“Yes, but at least now we can finally put a stop to this madness,” Optimus said, reaching for the sun beam’s controls.

However, a stray blaster shot completely fried the controls, making the process irreversible. Optimus turned to see that Megatron, now with his fusion cannon reattached again, was the one who fired.

“No!” Megatron shouted. “I won’t let you ruin my greatest plan yet!”

“Great! Now what are we gonna do?” Elita asked.

“Bee!” Optimus called.

“Yeah?” Bee asked.

“The photon channeler!” Optimus ordered. “Hop up there and see if you can…”

“Slice it off and shut it down manually?” Bee finished. “I’m on it!”

Bee got out his knife hands, now known as stingers, and stuck them into the sun beam, before he began to climb it. Once he got to the top, he started using his stingers to slice the cannon end of the sun beam rapidly, sending all the pieces falling onto the ground, until there were no more left.

“No!” Megatron cried. “So close!”

Suddenly, the cannon started to overload.

“It’s gonna blow!” Bee screamed, running away from it.

“Take cover!” Optimus shouted as the Autobots and Decepticons ran away from the beam, which then exploded. When the Transformers recovered, Megatron saw that he was being kept down by Optimus, before quickly realizing that they were still sworn enemies, and then hastily got up.

“Thanks again for ruining my best plan ever, Prime!” Megatron thanked sarcastically.

“It was never your best plan!” Optimus argued. “It was never a good plan to begin with! When are you going to draw the line and stop this pointless war?”

“Never!” Megatron answered angrily.

“Then you’ve left me no choice,” Optimus said with acceptance of Megatron embracing his dark persona. “We’ll just keep attacking you, and you’ll just keep attacking us, until you finally come to your senses and surrender peacefully.”

“That will never be the day!” Megatron roared.

Optimus just ignored him, however, and turned to his Autobots. “Autobots, fall back to Iacon,” He ordered. “Victory is ours…for now.”

The other Autobots stood up and followed Optimus to the elevator, then rode it back up to Shockwave’s lab. Once they made it back up, they encountered Firestar, Moonracer, Greenlight, and Lancer. The four female Autobots immediately ceased engaging Darkwing, Airachnid, Laserbeak, and Ravage and followed the seven Autobots out of the lab.

(Kaon Square)

Superion and Defensor were still fighting Menasor and Bruticus, when they saw the sun beam explode from the distance. They then saw Optimus and the other Autobots leave Kaon in their vehicle modes, separated into their individual forms, transformed, and followed them out of the city.

(Gates of Kaon)

The Autobots emerged from the gates of Kaon onto the surface, past Ultra Magnus’ crew, Devastator, Starscream, the Seekers, and the Coneheads. Realizing they just scored a major victory, Ultra Magnus and the remaining Autobots transformed and rolled out after them. Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Staxx, and Greesepit reached the surface just in time to see the Autobots leave. Megatron gritted his teeth in anger and clutched his fist as he watched them go.

“The Autobots have won this time, they have won again,” He hissed. “But one day, I, Megatron will emerge victorious!”

“What’s he doing?” Staxx asked Starscream, confused.

“He’s monologuing to himself,” Starscream explained in a whisper so Megatron wouldn’t hear. “He does this quite often, especially when we started losing more battles to the Autobots.”

“Might as well get used to it, Staxx,” Greesepit told him. “‘Cause I have a feeling this war is still far from over.”

And with that, the Decepticons walked back into Kaon to recuperate and to prepare for the next battles ahead.

Meanwhile, on the Quintesson homeworld, the Quintesson High Commander, unbeknownst to the Autobots or the Decepticons, had sent a surveillance drone to spy on Cybertron, and was watching the footage of the sun beam’s destruction from it.

“So, there are now two factions of Transformers on Cybertron who are at war with each other,” He said. “That’s rather…intriguing. Perhaps I can manipulate the current situation on Cybertron to my advantage.”

He then stood up from his throne and addressed his soldiers. “Prepare my ship!” He ordered. “It’s time we pay Cybertron a little visit.”

The Quintesson Soldiers obeyed and walked off to prepare their commander’s ship. Although Megatron’s greatest plan yet had been stopped, the Transformers’ true war with their worst enemies, the Quintessons, was about to begin.