TFARCHIVE FORUMS

(OOC: Here is the big stuff...The Autobots have lost Metroplex, while they saved his personality, his body now belongs to Metrotitan. Bludgeon is on Earth with the tapes, save for Squawkbox who is on Cybertron with Jhiaxus. The Autobot forces are split, with some leaving with Prime, while others, such as the Wreckers and Dinobots still in the thick of things. Jinrai failed in his attempt to save Whitespeed who had fought toe to toe with Galvatron...who himself was injured. A more detailed summ will be coming, I promise, but this should get us started.)

Its funny what a fragile thing life is...for Transformers, the concept of death is a foreign one as they are well neigh immortal. Yet, everywhere that was once pristine and full of life, now only death and destruction remain. The pinnicle of Autobot science lies in ashes, its main component Metroplex, converted to a new entity: Metrotitan.

Even Galvatron is aware of the fragile nature of life...in fact his life hangs in the balance after taking a brutal assault by the Autobot Whitespeed...who also hovers on the brink of death. Of all who have faced whitespeed and his offensive assault, Galvatron is the first to survive...but for how long?

Galvatron: "Gigatron...Skywarp... I require a bit of assistance..."

With that said, Galvatron slumped backwards smiriking at Whitespeed...
---------------------------------------------
Somewhere in space...

A transport ship of Cybertronians serving the Liege Maximo has been deployed in search of Jhiaxus...yet they have found no trace of him...in fact they found nothing unusual until...

pilot: "Captain...some sort of disturbance has caused me to lose control of the ship!"

captain: "That isn't possible...where are we?"

pilot: "i am unsure...we are unable to get any readings!"

captain: "then give me a visual you clod!"

it is at that moment, that the crew see the wave of the time rift, just as it washes over them...and a moment later the most powerful ship in the Cybertronian Armada blinks out of existance...

Metrotitan transformed into his city mode and offered his repair bays to Gigatron, Skywarp and anyone else to help repair Galvatron.

Noktaraus shut down the viewer monitor that had zoomed in on Jinrai. The camera shot followed him down until he had reached Whitespeed's position. Too late. The camera zoomed out enough to see Galvatron finish Whitespeed off before Jinrai could get there.

A doomed attempt. Not that they could know. Not that it couldn't have possibly been avoided some other way. But the events played out, Whitespeed was defeated, probably dead or would be.

How many more Autobots would die, because everyone else was leaving? How many stranded on Earth to fend for themselves while trying to fend for the planet?

The biggere question hit Noktaraus hard: why had he chosen to be on this ship when he knew it was most likely the wrong choice?

Because out there, I'd be dead. Even if it was for the right reasons, I would be dead, and I wouldn't be around to set the wrongs right. I wouldn't make a difference.

Logistics. Noktaraus wouldn't have made a difference. But in this group, the direction they were heading, would he make any more or less of a difference here?

Noktaraus turned from the monitor in the small room and walked down one of the many halls of Grand Maximus.

***Shatterbolt, Ignition ~ Carried over from "End of Days, Chapter 1"***


<..."Understood, shatterbolt... you and ignition... return to grand maximus immedieately. we're departing as soon as we can get through this defense grid... and jinrai gets back here with whitespeed.... I only pray they're both still alive...">

"Gotcha Prime. Good luck... We'll see you there."

Shatterbolt said with a sigh. She glanced over at Ignition and gave a weary grin.

"Well, let's go, Iggy... Primus, but we're filthy... who knew battle could be so messy?"

***

They reached their destination silently... which was odd. Very odd. Shatterbolt cast a curious glance at her younger comerade as they landed and entered the complex.

"Iggy... you okay...?"

Ignition merely cast her a half-glance, then stepped inside the complex.

In all the years they had known each other, Shatterbolt had never known Ignition to be quiet for more than a few Earth minutes. Her sudden silence was worrisome.

"...Perhaps this mission was a bit too much for her... but there's nothing I can do about that, we're fighting for survival now..."

Shatterbolt followed Ignition quietly for a few moments as she tried to think of something to say. Anything to say.

"Even if it's a comment on the weather, for Primus's sake...."

"Hey, Iggy... nice flying tonight, huh?"

As Ignition looked up, Shatterbolt smiled and tried not to look embarrassed at the obviously reaching attempt at conversation she had just made. Ignition stared at her bleakly for a second before her expression turned to one of irritation.

"Whatever... I've... gotta go. Bye."

At that, she turned, quickly transformed to flight mode, and raced away.

Shatterbolt watched her go with a small, wearied sigh. She followed the same path Ignition had taken, but at a much slower pace.

"I know how you feel, kid... I feel like running away, too... "

Astrotrain broke off his assualt from Springer, transformed to robot mode and ran to Galvatron.

Kneeling down, the Triple Changer glanced at his leader.

"Lord Galvatron...I can return you to Metrotitan, if you wish," at the same time summoning his ionic diplacer rifle from subspace, glancing about to see if any errant Autobots managed to still be around and kicking, glancing warily at Whitespeed.

Jinrai was stunned... he was too late...

"BLAST IT!"

Leaping over the downed galvatron, he abruptly scooped up whitespeed, and again took to the skies... burning his jets at maximum output... he arrived at grand maximus just as the ship was preparing to pass through the defense grid...

"Grand... get a hatch open. I'm back... but... whitespeed...didn't make it... I managed to retrieve his body. that's about all I COULD get... galvatron... "

jinrai went silent.... the image played back in his mind... galvatron slipping past his punch. and then blowing whitespeed to pieces... it was burnt into his memory...

Bludgeon was knocked back slightly by the sudden force of Blaster's sonic waves. He took a step backwards, and grinned, a cold, insanely evil grin.

He picked up the head of Sideswipe, and ran.

==

Frenzy hovered in mid-air, watching the chaos below him. He glanced at the small cassette in his hand... "I know ya can hear me, Rav... I'm gonna try something you'll hate me for... but ya ain't got a choice in the matter. Transform in seven and a half seconds..."

And on that, he made a dive downwards, toward the heart of the battle.

==
Buzzsaw circled the behemoth again, happy that he was undetectable to Metroplex's scanners.

Strange how he seems impassive toward Decepticons, and aggressive toward the Autobots... The condor mused. Anyway, back to business...

He had been drawn to the giant, not because it was the largest being on the battlefield, but because he had felt a tug towards it. Now, as he circled lower, that tug became stronger...

Galvatron pulled himself up still smiling as Astrotrain arrived.

Galvatron: "Ah...its good to have allies you can depend upon. Get me back...we haven't much time."

on comm: "Gigatron rally your squad...the Earth is now yours...make me proud! I leave within the hour, as soon as Skywarp is ready! Meet me in my quarters for final briefings!"

Again as Galvatron was helped by Astrotrain, he smirked towards the departing Autobots...it was all too perfect.

Broadside had flown close enough to Metroplex/titan to realise something was wrong, mainly, that it was crushing autobots, he might well have become a target had it not been for the sudden transformation to Citymode, undertaken by the giant transformer. Now what? where should I go? Where can I go? Decepticon scrap seems to be taking control, slag now what?

~~~~~~~~~

Outback walked along the corridors of Grand Maximus, he didn’t like abandoning Earth like this. The people of earth couldn’t fight the decepticons, they were at an even greater disadvantage than he was. His conscious was troubled by these thoughts, but, dying wouldn’t solve the matter.

“Heh, and is there anything you can do to help it?” he asked himself aloud, not sure what the answer was, or if he liked that train of thought. He didn’t like being alone, he, he had to find some other autobots to be around, then he wouldn’t think about such poor qualities as he possesed.

Darkwing and Dreadwind huddled around the homing beacon, hoping that someone would come to their rescue.

Wheeljack made his way to an intercom and clicked for the room Optimus Prime was in.

"Hey, Prime? It's Wheeljack. We, eh, don't have enough bodies to handle medical and repair throughout the ship, so we're gonna localize in the main med-bay on deck 17-E. The other bays'll be open for use, but we thought it'd be best to let everyone know where we are. I'll be helpin' the staff we got down here. I know I'm an inventor more than a medic, but I know somethin' about repair work. If you could put that announcement out for us--we think the crew can use hearin' some direction from the commander. Even for somethin' like this."

Wheeljack paused a moment, then continued. "Oh, and once we get the major injuries taken care of, we'll have to do a pattern scan on those of us who have been in combat. Yourself included. We'll let ye know when we start that up."

A radio transmission came into Gigatron's head as the storage room shifted back to its original position.

"I'm on my way," he replied.

The doors thundered open in quick sequence. As Gigatron raced for the lift from which he had entered, another broadcast came to him. Galvatron again. Gigatron stopped, listened, spun around, and made off for Galvatron's quarters. As he ran, he prepared the universal imperial frequency.

"Decepticons, this is Gigatron. The following are to assemble in the briefing room in one hour. Constructicons, Overlord, Soundwave, Reflector, Ramjet, Cyclonus, Apeface, Chaoticons. Damage repair shall wait until after the mission statement. Gigatron out."

********

Waiting. Reflector stood in the usual circle, taking in the surrounding battle's final blows. Spectro wore an annoyed smirk, watching over his left shoulder as Metrotitan slaughtered a few remaining valiants. Spyglass stared straight up, rocking slightly. Viewfinder stared at the ground, his arms folded over his chest and his right foot tapping methodically.

Spectro pointed. "Hey, guys. Check it out."

They unreluctantly abandoned whatever thought may have been running through their heads, though it was unnecessary to look. They could hear the gargantuan Metrotitan's transformation and feel its vibrations. The robot settled slowly back into its city mode.

"Finally."

Viewfinder took one step toward the city, and stopped. The transmission ended; he glanced at his brothers. Nothing was exchanged. They headed for the destination.

********

Grand heard God Jinrai's words. Casually, he entered a slow walk down the corridor of his ship. His eyes were not on Optimus Prime, rather a control panel on the left side of the hall. His gaze nonchalantly left the plaque of buttons as he automatically padded in a sequence, allowing the bottom hatch to open. He beckoned again, mid-stride and halfway to his target.

"Optimus Prime. If I may have a word with you..."

********

Roadbuster watched with horror as Galvatron fired his last blast into Whitespeed's back. His eyes dimmed.

"No... Damn you, Galvatron! Damn y--"

He was not ready. Roadbuster had been so intently focused on Whitespeed that he had not noticed Dirge's advance. By the time he felt those cold, metallic hands wrap around his and intertwine in his fingers, he had already lost the advantage. The two combatants stumbled to the ground, Roadbuster on his back.

"Springer!" he shouted. "I think it's about time we call retreat! The two of us versus the whole Decepticon army... I'm no coward, but I don't like those odds!"

[This message has been edited by Reflector (edited 11-17-2001).]

Blaster sighed with sadness as bludgeon ran away he stepped over the rock and walked to the body of his fallen comrade sideswipe. Picking up the body and starting to walk back to the forest "I'll get your head back don't worry" blaster said as he started to climb the hill to the forest. Once Blaster got there he set the body down and transformed into radio mode "Optimus Prime This is Blaster where are you guys landing"

Soundwave was nearly thrown off his feet by the transformation. At last....

With the armoured plating now realigned, he was able to receive Gigatron's transmission. One hour? Plenty of time to get back to my toy... or to kill whichever Constructicon over-ruled my veto on activating Metrotitan...

But then he noticed something else... and smiled...

===

Frenzy flew down at a sharp angle, propelled by the thrusters on his back-mounted cannons. He counted down the seconds, then swooped in low above Springer... and flung his cargo down to the ground behind the Autobot.

===
Ravage counted... 3... 2... 1

He transformed. And landed silently behind a large green Autobot. He recognised him immediately, by sight and stench. He bared his teeth... and waited...

===
Buzzsaw was almost knocked out of the sky as the giant Autobot reconfigured itself in front of him... He had been homing in on something... in a leg module...

Now the legs were gone, but to a machine following a signal, it hardly posed a problem.

He located the area he sought... and flew at it... They didn't call me Buzzsaw for nothing... He turned sharply as he reached the wall, and used his wing to tear an opening in the metal...

Adeara watched as Galvatron blew the attacking Autobot apart. Then she watched as the giant robot transformed, and she recognized him as what once had been Autobot City. A thin laugh escaped her, and she ran for the city.....

The pain was incredible. As he rode in the arms of Jinrai through the halls of Grand Maximus, Whitespeed barely had enough energy to lift his head to assess his wounds. In the end, he wished he had not even looked. His chest plate had been blown completely off, and he had huge holes in both his sides and on his left shoulder. As he felt the mechanisms in his chest begin to fail, he hoped that he had brought Galvatron down with him. As Jinrai entered Optimus Prime's chambers, Whitespeed looked up at his rescuer....who was not quite Optimus Prime.

Whitespeed: "Pu...puh....Pr..Prime?"

[This message has been edited by Starscreamsghost (edited 11-17-2001).]

Galvatron pulled himself up still smiling as Astrotrain arrived.

Galvatron: "Ah...its good to have allies you can depend upon. Get me back...we haven't much time."

"As you command, Galvatron," Astrotrain replied. The Triple Changer returned his displacer rifle to subspace, then lifted the Decepticon Commander in his arms and began to run.

With his exceptional speed, Astrotrain was soon within the confines of Metrotitan.

"Decepticons! Lord Galvatron returns!" Astrotrain shouted as he hurried Galvatron to his quarters.

Carefully, he placed his leader on his recharging bed.

"Lord Galvatron, I will remain with you, if it pleases you." Astrotrain stood back from his leader, concern on his face, trying to appraise the damage.


*******

Dirge grappled with Roadbuster, as the two fell to the ground.

"Yes, go ahead and call a retreat, Autoscrap! You can't hope to win!"

Dirge applied more pressure, face contorting with glee and wrath equally.

"Quake...with...fear!"

Prime's gaze turned to grand, but shifted as jinrai arrived with whitespeed...

"Jinrai! Get him to med bay, Deck 17!"

Jinrai Transformed, godbomer separating, and loading whitespeed into his trailer, staying in the trailer with him... Jinrai sped off for the lift tube, replying to whitespeed as he transformed....

"No, whitespeed... but a friend none the less..."


Prime returned his attention to grand...

"Yes, grand? I appologize, but if you may be brief... as you can see... we have a bit of a situation with whitespeed..."

Broadside flew down after Frenzy having located him moving to attack a fellow autobot, he knew Springer could handle himself without any help, he just felt the gesture needed to be made, he didn’t see Frenzy throw the black cassette down, it was a small thing, and he was intent on his target. Your mine little decepti-scrap. he thought coldly, the action of battle distracting him from his usual fear of flying.

Gigatron made incredible progress through the mammoth city. He had carefully studied the designs in his time, fascinated by the complex twisting of the halls. In a flash, he had reached the former resting place of the Autobots' glorious leader.

"Galvatron!" He was shocked at his commander's appearance. "Are you all right?"

********

Grand nodded to Prime.

"I apologize for interrupting, but we have another problem. To put it in short... We need to get past the Decepticons' defense grid if we are to escape the planet. I've been informed you know a way."