TFARCHIVE FORUMS

In the most populous of the world's cities, the streets are continuously abuzz for thousands of square miles. A nonstop stream of humanity surges from place to place, particles of consciousness barely aware of their own individual insignficance in the formation of compressions and rarefactions in the wave of life with the frequency of a heartbeat. Their massive towers rise in defiance of the myriad threats that have failed ever so narrowly again and again to wipe them out of existence, and the people continue to live, breathe, laugh, and procreate by remaining oblivious to the subtle but intrinsic (and, they have learned in recent years, humblingly primitive) defense systems that military men watch over around the clock at the city's edges... This is Tokyo, Japan.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan was bored. He stood, as he always did on the late evening shift, by a door, in the shadow of the grand Imperial Palace. It was a great honour, his father told him, to guard this place, and he had always nodded and agreed dutifully.

He was still bored. His friends had all gone off and joined the army, something he'd always wanted to do. But tradition, tradition had him here, watching the shadows grow longer, watching his life slip away.

There was a crack from the distance, a sudden thunderclap. Hiroyoshi Tenzan scanned the skies. A storm hadn't been forcast, and the skies were almost completely clear.

Something caught Hiroyoshi Tenzan's eye, light from the nearby bustling streets glinting off metal. A plane, the homour guard thought... until it got closer. It was a tapered dart, he realised, unlike any plane he'd ever seen. As Hiroyoshi Tenzan watched, four wings unfolded from the craft, like a butterfly. As the ship approached, Hiroyoshi Tenzan thought it looked quite beautiful.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan was the first to die.

***

"Hit the ground running, boys," Blackjack yelled as he slammed a fist against the assault craft's door release. He lept out, drawing his rifle from subspace, firing wildly at a nearby group of men. The panicked Japanese fell, screaming.

Road Hugger followed, landing on the walls of the Imperial Palace. He swung a fist into the building, gouging out huge chunks of masonry from the ancient pagoda.

Hyperdrive transformed in midair, hitting the ground with wheels spinning, charging straight for the main gates. He barely registered the humans diving for cover as he slammed into the oak reinforced doors, splintering them.

A squad of troops sprinted out of a nearby building, rifles trained on the micromasters. Blackjack's face twisted into a sneer, and he marched straight toward them, their bullets richocheting harmlessly from his armour. With one sweep of his hand, he crushed all five men. "Road Hugger," he commed, simultaneously monitoring local radio frequencies, "plant the first explosives. Detour, take off. Go straff somewhere populated."

His patrol moved off to comply. "Lord Gigatron, landing site secured. Estimated time for local military response, 18.3 Earth minutes."

He continued firing.

The traffic was packed tight, hemmed in on all sides by towering, neon-lit skyscrapers. Pedestrians, both native and visiting, took their chances, darting through the slow moving flow of metal. A brilliant blue laser bolt drew their attention, as it slammed into a building, sending debris down onto the streets. A second volley ignited a parked row of vehicles, their burning chassis smashing through the glass fronts of shops and restaurants. The people screamed and ran, the drivers abandoned their cars, as Detour maneuvered the attack craft around for another pass.

***

Imperial Palace

Blackjack watched as Road Hugger finished planting his explosive charge, and as Hyperdrive had his fun, playing a deadly game of 'chicken' with some humans. He flicked open his wrist communicator, ordering a report from Detour.

"You should see them run, boss! Hold on... I've got human aircraft approaching... two fighter jets and some unarmed helicopters..."

"Excellent," Blackjack grinned. "Right on schedule. Take out the jets, but leave the 'copters - I believe them to be documenting our attack. Let them."

He ended the transmission.

"Road Hugger, Hyperdrive... let's go."

The three micros walked out of the Imperial Palace complex, onto the streets, with only Road Hugger looking back - to set off his charge.

The bomb exploded, caving away half of the ancient stone Palace, coating the rest in an incendriary chemical that soon caught light.

Within moments, the structure was ablaze...

The authorities were well aware, and (perhaps a good thing, perhaps one ugly) they were far from surprised by the event.

"General!" a radio operator cried. "They've demolished the Imperial Palace, and several more are on course! Bigger ones this time, sir!"

General Saisho was an aging man, but he looked young for late fifties. The lines in his face were tight and experienced, and his thinning, slicked black hair and mustache presented the look of a man worn but determined. He squinted at the monitors with a stoney frown that rarely left him.

"Evacuate the entire metropolis," he commanded gruffly. "Continue standard response procedures. Prepare the new weapons."

The radio man nodded and quickly tapped out a message. Every second counted...

********

Downtown Tokyo

The rumors flew, and each had a different twist, but they all knew better than to ignore the underlying theme: the Transformers were attacking again. Those in the streets rushed for any sort of cover they could find, while those working in the great steel and glass towers hurried to the evacuation subways that lined the entire city. The government had grown wise in cutting unnecessary losses in these situations, and they knew filling the streets of downtown Tokyo with millions would only be filling the barrel with fish.

It was with little satisfaction, then, that Gigatron crashed through the top fifteen stories of the Hybrid Technologies tower in hand mode, causing the windows to shatter and the beams to crumble on their supports. The jet fighters were already beginning to approach as the emergency sirens wailed, but he cared little. He needed to make a good show for the Autobots, after all.

(OOC: Oh, giant hand mode! *squeals with glee*)

Dockyards, Tokyo

"Remain calm! There is space enough on the evacuation boats for all of you!"

If the police officer's shouted instructions had little effect on the gathered dockworkers and frieghter crews, Masao Tanaka couldn't tell.

A cargo-handler on a short-haul freighter, Masao rarely visited Tokyo. He certainly never expected to be caught up in one of the city's all-too-frequent monster attacks during one of his brief visits. However, he did his best to keep a level head. Panicking in a crowd this size, he knew, was every bit as dangerous as whatever monster, demon, giant robot, or mutant irradiated lab rat happened to be running amok.

The authorities should have whatever it is under control in a few minutes. They certainly have enough practice at it...

A growing murmur in the crowd attracted Masao's attention. Turning, he saw a...disturbance of some sort in the water nearby. Ripples, signifying something moving beneath the surface.

Something large.

Before he could say anything, Masao felt the dock jerk beneath his feet. Seconds later, it happened again. Only a few feet away, the dock was splintering.

Something beneath us, he realized.

A third strike, and a huge hole opened up in the dock. A massive, pink-and-blue figure shot up, landing in the midst of the crowd. Dozens of nearby people fell into the water, swimming for their lives. Masao was one of them.

Almost as if it didn't see the crowd of humans, the monster headed away from the dockside. Miraculously, no one was crushed as the snarling, crablike monster stalked off towards the city centre.

Buildings and vehicles, however, were not so lucky. From the dockside, down the streets of Tokyo, Squeezeplay left a trail of destruction that could have been spotted from orbit.

Detour finished strafing the streets again, and pulled up, angling his attack craft towards the approaching fighters. He flicked the ship's sensors on, registering that the human aircraft were state-of-the-art, yet still no match for a Decepticon war machine.

The jets raced over the horizon, locking on heat seekers. The projectiles crossed the distance between the combatants in mere seconds - only to impact on the assault craft's energy shields.

Detour felt the vibrations from the explosions, but other than that, ignored them. He activated the plasma cannons, sending the jets scattering, one diving downwards towards the streets.

***

Road Hugger rolled his neck round, pointing his laser rifle up at the fast approaching jet, taking a careful aim. The purple mech ignored the humans running around his feet and pulled the trigger once.

The brilliant beam of red light impacted the side of the jet, hitting a fuel tank, causing the machine to explode spectaculary, raining fire and debris onto the square.

Road Hugger grinned behind his faceplate and commed Detour.

"One for me."

***
Detour sneered, yanking hard on the assault craft's controls, giving pursuit to the remaining jet. The Japanese pilot tried his hardest, dodging between the skyscrapers of downtown Tokyo, but the Decepticon effortlessly kept up with him.

The assault craft quickly juked right, rounding a building, coming at the fighter jet from the side. Detour waited until the last possible moment, his targetting HUD screaming status green, and fired. The jet melted as the plasma cannons cut into it, a charred husk impacting into the streets.

"One for me. Extra points for style, too."

***
Blackjack listened to his men's banter, even as he continued to blast at the retreating humans. Hyperdrive was doing a more enthusiastic job, he noted, laughing maniacally as he killed the insignificant beings.

Where are... ah, right on cue...

Blackjack strode towards the van that had just pulled up, a TV crew trying to get themselves set for broadcast. The female reporter screamed as he came near. The micro swatted her away and grabbed the now-running camera.

"People of Tokyo, your suffering is over. You are all going to die, and there is nothing anyone - especially the Autobots can do about it..."

The micromaster crushed the camera between his fingers, and went back to the mission.

If that doesn't bait the Autobots out, nothing will...

With the second squadron of jets incoming on the horizon, Gigatron knew they had come for a show - and he'd give them one! He transformed to his jet mode, quickly picking up speed and rocketing directly toward the interceptors. One reacted quickly enough to get off a missile before breaking formation to avoid the fast-moving Decepticon, but Gigatron barrel-rolled like a lightning flash, and the confused missile sped on to impact a skyscraper, raining glass on the streets below.

"Ahaha! Your efforts at defense are only an affront to your dear civilians, pathetic fleshlings!"

Gigatron swooped back around in an instant, and before the pilots' neck-craning could bring him into view, he had locked on and fired a pair of missiles to summarily vaporize two jets. The remaining warriors attempted to retaliate, but it was only a matter of moments before the entire brigade was spinning aflame to the streets below.

Satisfied, Gigatron swooped down on the gates of the Imperial Palace and transformed to dragon mode. With his wings fanned ominously, one head spit a cone of flame indiscriminately across the streets while the other looked about for journalists.

"The Autobots are helpless against us!" he cried. "Humans, banish them from your world - or this city shall not be the last to suffer such a fate!"

Blackjack watched as Gigatron took out a wing of fighter jets. The streets were nearly deserted now, the surviving humans having escaped into the subways where the micromasters couldn't follow. Hyperdrive had taken to kicking in shop windows, clearly enjoying himself.

He commed Detour: "Bring the assault craft down, Detour. My sensors are picking up human tanks approaching from the north. Let's give them a surprise."

Moments later, the metal craft swooped down between the neon skyscrapers and landed, just as the first rank of armoured tanks rumbled into view.

In his command station, Detour initiated the assault craft's transformation process, turning it into a bunker-style staging post, plasma cannons aiming towards the human military.

"Soften them up, Detour," Blackjack cried. "Road Hugger, with me!"

He transformed, speeding towards the tanks, Road Hugger pulling up alongside him. They both deployed weapons, even as Detour opened fire.

The tanks returned fire, but the micromasters easily juked out of the way. The plasma blasts impacted the tank's armour, weakening it. Blackjack and Road Hugger opened up with laser fire, buckling the armour further.

The lead vehicle could only take so much, exploding in an incandescent fireball.

Road Hugger swerved off, setting up another attack run.

"When are we gonna get a real fight, ha ha hah!"

A line of police officers formed at the dockside, trying to contain the menace that had damaged several of their escape barges and placed the lives of countless citizens at risk. They took cover behind their cars, firing at the metal monster with sidearms, shotguns, and assorted other weapons. They even had a portable water cannon, hooked up to a nearby fire hydrant.

Squeezeplay simply laughed at their feeble attacks, then sunk his claws into the nearest police car. He hefted the vehicle over his head, then sheared it in half like a piece of stale bread. The remains of the vehicle, he tossed into the ocean.

Striding over the line of officers, the Headmaster continued past them, into the city. The cops tried to follow him, but a single smack of his heavy tail on the dockside sent them all falling backwards. The section of dock between him and the humans collapsed, effectively marooning the humans on an artificial island.

Squeezeplay took no more notice of them, simply continuing his wandering path into the city.

No mass murdering? Lokos asked, somewhat confused.

They aren't worth the time it would take to kill them, Squeezeplay explained. Few of your kind are.

This wasn't going precisely to plan...

The Japanese tank division had regrouped and was, right now, bombarding the Sports Car Patrol's position, which was shored up only by the firepower of the transformed assault craft. And that wouldn't last long, as Detour was reporting that the ship's plasma cannons were beginning to overheat.

"Gonna need a plan, boss," Road Hugger growled as another volley exploded behind their makeshift barricade.

Blackjack ducked back down, debris raining down on him. "Our best current course of action would be to..."

Road Hugger vaulted the barricade, transforming to Sports Car mode, and headed, full throttle at the human battle line. "Aww, to heck with it - Hyperdrive, follow me!"

Blackjack watched his two troops charge out and shrugged, giving them covering fire as best he could.

The pair of micromasters avoided most of the human's panicked return fire until they were within close range. Then, Road Hugger transformed, his momentum taking him up and onto the tank's hull. The tank's cannon was halfway through it's firing procedure when 'Hugger yanked it sideways, sending the shell straight through the side of the next vehicle in rank.

Hyperdrive deployed his laser cutter and ripped up another tank's tracks before transforming and leaping on top of the vehicle. A number of swift punches buckled the top hatch, and the micro reached in, grabbing the human turret operator and tossing him to one side. He pulled one of the explosive charges from subspace and armed it, dropping it into the tank before transforming and heading on to his next target.

The tank exploded spectaculary, showering its colleagues with white hot metal shards. Damaged and decimated, the tank unit began a slow withdrawal...

OOC: Thanks for telling me about Windcharger being added to the Autobot roll call.

IC: Windcharger made it onboard Skylynx at the last second before take-off, having to pretty much pull a 180 to get to to the Autobot transport.

"Almost missed my bus." He joked as he transformed back to robot mode.

Over the Pacific Ocean:


Sky Lynx: "ETA Tokyo: 5 minutes."

Ironhide: -nods- "Big Daddy, you an' yer Micros tackle their micros. Catilla, you, Override an' Windcharger take on Squeezeplay. Quickmix, you an' yer Nebulan partners get th' humans outta th' area." -pulls energo-axe, activates it- "Me, Ah'm goin' Gigatron huntin'. Sky Lynx, after ya drop ever'body else off, come back me up. Mahght not need it, but jus' cause Ah'm brave don't mean Ah'm stupid."

Over the Pacific Ocean

"Gotcha, 'hide" Catilla nodded, pleased his gun was in good working order and putting it in sub-space, then he patted his shell on the side.

It opened a second later and he got back in as it closed around him before he grinned while flexing his claws and his tail waved in the air "As the humans say, let's get ready to rumble"

Over the Pacific Ocean

Override smiled to Windcharger and Catilla.

" Ha! Three of us versus one of them, I hope that's fair!", brawled the triggerbot.

" Or fair for us!", thought Override for himslef.

Aware more immediately of the approaching tanks than the approaching Autobot shuttle, Gigatron transformed to bat mode (his dragon flames were mostly useless in the near-empty streets) and fluttered directly above the first line of sophisticated tanks. The drivers' shouts over the speakers and the aligning cannons were ignored, as Gigatron used his powers of suggestion to take control of a gunner's will.

The turret stopped and changed course, lining up on the tank next to it. Terror and an unpleasant judgement call caused the possessed turret to explode as the gunner in the tank behind assumed he was a traitor; panic and confused misinformation bloomed like wildfire, and in moments the entire brigade was opening fire on itself while Gigatron cackled from above.

Sky Lynx

Big Daddy looked out the window to find out which Micros they would be facing.

"Oh, great," he muttered. "It's those guys again."

The others turned to look.

Greaser grinned. "I've been waiting to get another crack at them."

Sky Lynx:


Sky Lynx: -thinking- "What do you mean, come back?"

Ironhide: -tabs door control, opening the main hatch- "Ain't it obvious?" -tabs control again, leaps out as hatch closes-

Sky Lynx: -dropping towards a nearby park and landing, opening the main hatch- " Is it me, or is he insane?"

********************
Dropping towards Gigatron:


Ironhide: -panels on his back whir open, booster assembly hums out and flares, the jets slowing his descent, panel in right forearm popping open, drill assembly whining up and locking, drillbit extending and locking, right hand retracting, spray nozzle whirring into position, energo-axe in his left hand igniting, glowing electric blue, lands in front of(but a slight distance away from) Gigatron, knees bending slightly to absorb the rest of the impact, booster pack retracting into his back, drill spooling up to speed as he straightens- "Ah got a feelin' th' Imperial gardeners ain't gonna lahke either one'a us too much b'fore today's out."

Dockyards, Tokyo

Squeezeplay looked skyward as he noticed the incoming shuttle. He glared at the familiar-looking figure of the approaching craft, a anticipatory fuel-lust in his optics.

At last, he thought, some competition!

The Headmaster hoisted a small car over his head, then tossed it into a nearby abandoned building. The vehicle crashed through the multi-story structure, which then began to collapse on himself.

That should draw some attention, the Decepticon thought grimly.

Here we go again... Lokos' voice said from the back of his mind. Squeezeplay, as per usual, ignored it.

Blackjack paused for a second from firing at the rapidly retreating Japanese tank division as his sensors pinged internally.

Ah, right on shcedule...

He looked upwards as Sky Lynx made a pass, vanishing around the towering buildings.

"Sports Car Patrol, form up. It's time we gave ourselves an actual test."

He didn't bother comming Gigatron. Indeed, from the few encounters he'd had with the Decepticon commander, Blackjack expected he'd already sensed the Autobot's incoming presence.

"All here, boss," Detour pointed out. The yellow mech had left the assault craft on autopilot, chasing the humans.

Blackjack smiled cruelly. "All right, patrol, transform. Let's shake some dust..."

Tokyo, landing Park

Override transformed into his bike mode, charged his twin particle beams and rolled towards the dockyards, where Squeezeplay drawed his attention.

" He's brave,Sky Lynx!", said refering at Ironhide's impressive landing, "Catilla, Windcharger, with me!"