| abstract
| - Thu Nov 08, 2033 Tar and oil have collected over long eons and hang down in snaking columns from the metal walls of this cavernous room. The walls seem to be of different texture from the ones in the tunnels, the metal less refined and duller. The dimensions are quite respectable as its biggest dimension wanders around 100 yards and the smallest 60. To the south end of the cave, you make out some movement at about ground level, but hearing the strange rushing noise, your sensors determine that it's probably an underground channel of liquid of sorts. The only other opening besides the one out is located at the southwest end of the chamber. It's nothing more than an opening, and if you have any olfactive means you can make out something: IT STINKS! Hubcap Exosuit Elita One Amber MacKenzie Buzzkill Scattershot Shockwave Jump Tank The City Upwards Underground River Small Opening Far below the surface of Cybertron, in a place called "The City," the EDC has taken up residence, occupying portions of the city. The residents didn't mind too much at first. When Cybertron began producing energon again, they no longer needed to scrounge for energy. But that problem was replaced by another--wild packs of Cyberanimals constantly antagonizing the city, causing mayhem. And the planet itself seemed... upset at the substantial EDC presence. Every now and then, a building in The City would abruptly collapse as something transformed under it, removing its supports. "I'm telling you," one beat up robot explains down at General Cross, "You gotta let us leave. This... this planet. I don't think it likes you guys." "Leave?" General Cross says with a glower. "And let the Decepticons know where we are? I can't allow that. You'll remain in the city." "But..." "REMAIN IN THE CITY," Cross snaps, cutting the robot off, then he turns away, walking past scores of EDC troops who are trying really hard to disguise how utterly displeased they are at this state of affairs. "What the hell are we even doing on this planet, now?" one soldier mutters to a friend. "And where the hell was the General for the past few days? He just pops back up, no explanation!" Cross is oblivious to their discontment, trying to track down Apocryphacius. Triggerhappy has arrived. Swindle has arrived. Swindle strides into the room looking to make a deal. Loadout has arrived. Apocryphacius is at the outskirts of the city, lost in his work. As long as he is thinking about his work, he is not thinking about other things, and if he is not thinking about other things, he does not end up staring blankly off into space or breaking down into screaming fits. So staying focused on his work keeps his life relatively pleasant, despite the wretched stench of the area. Something is rotten in Denmark, indeed. He has his usual set up of a frequency modulator, a collimator, a crystal, and a power source. The crystal is rather larger than any with which he has worked prior, but despite that interesting fact, he is frowning. He looks over his calculations again and mutters direly, "No way around it. If this is going to work, I will need to tap the City for power." Shockwave may not be one for displaying emotion, but even he seemed downright eager to bring about the end of the EDC's recent foray into competence. As soon his scouts determined the site's location, a strike team was quickly put together and launched. Leading the team personally, Shockwave, a team of Insecticons under Buzzkill's command, Swindle, and Triggerhappy descended into the massive Istoral Trench--the deep gouge that has existed on Cybertron since as long as Cybertronian history has been recorded. The deeper they go, the darker it gets as they pass where the light of the twin stars of Alpha Centauri can reach. Reaching the buttom, Shockwave leads the team on a difficult journey through small, claustrophobic tunnels. At regular intervals, Shockwave reaches what seems like a dead end, only for the wall to transform out of the way, revealing a new passage. This does not seem to faze the cyclops. Shockwave's orders from Polyhex should remain strong in the minds of the Decepticons with him: Infiltrate The City. Annihilate all humans and any Empties that get in their way. Kill Franklin Cross. Hubcap stares down at a device in his hand, following the signal that he doesn't know was placed by Shockwave. "I'm getting a reading..." His sensor is apparently resonating with Apoc's modulator. Swindle was for once glad to be foraying out onto the field of battle. Watching over the mining operations and coordinating the logistics for maximum efficiency and output for the faction stores to the point he can skim a bit off the top without anyone else really noticing may be profitable, but it was rather... dull. Somewhere deep in the hustler's circuits that Combaticon lust for blowing someone else's slag up had start to twitch, and badly. That and a 'lost' underground city now filled with meddling humans and their meddling anti-robot weaponry held so much potential in its own right... "Huh, internal reconfiguration substratas are functioning again." The wheeled dealer muses a bit more in awe than surprise as the wall transforms for Shockwave and the rest of them to pass. "A sigh of how far this ol' ball of metal and war rust has recovered." Galvatron has arrived. The EDC used to be just a minor annoyance but ever since the attack on Polyhex they have jumped all the way to the top of the Decepticon's list of things to annihilate. Buzzkill and her team of Insecticons trailing behind her are more than pleased to be a part of this invasion, to see the EDC crushed underneath them, to finally end Cross once and for all. "Living in the tunnels like rats," one of the Insecticons, a tall lanky butterfly, remarks as they journey through the underground to the city. Buzzkill gives the butterfly-con a scowl, "Of course, what else would you expect from such filthy creatures?" MOMENTS AGO! In the Iacon Training Center, Scattershot is beating the crap out of Strafe and Afterburner, when the holodeck representing the surface of Mars shimmers away. From the viewing center, Bottlethrottle crackles over the loudspeakers. "Sir, you'll want to take this call." Scattershot glares up at Bottlethrottle, the currently untrustable but still impeccable executive assistant, and nods. A heads up display glows to life: Whirl. "Hey boss! You guys fighting? Nice. Beat someone to death with your backwang. Anyway, Shockwave is moving, and he's heading towards the Isotral Trench. At first, Sideswipe and I thought it would be a good time to, you know, kill him like you ordered, but he's...Well he's got a bunch of dudes with him and this looks important." Whirl steps to the side, revealing Shockwave's assault party head into the Istoral Trench. Scattershot scowls. "They found Cross." SHORTLY AFTER: The Autobot pursuit party digs deep underground, in pursuit of the Decepticons in an awesome Autobot drilltank! Nosecone drives the tank, looking sort of depressed that he's not doing the drilling. Scattershot turns to the gathered group. "Autobots, do not fire until fired upon, but make no mistake: these aren't confused humans. You're engaging an enemy with a lethal technology." He glances at Hubcap. "Readings?" The drilltank that the Autobots comandeered shuddered as it broke through another floor. Elita muses to herself for a moment about previous expeditions into the planet's lower levels, searching for lost tech. An inperceptable smile crosses her face for a moment, for her last foray had success. Still the drilltank had its uses, faster transit than taking the conduit paths, though her additional knowledge of the underground of her home planet helped. The tank shudders as it experiences freefall for a few moments, buckling as it starts driving down a large ramped freight path. <> The idle work seems to please her, or perhaps it is simply the enjoyment of being home, and having an edge. "Here's what I don't get. Cross was in custody, disappeared, was spotted in Subaqua? and now he's back here....I can't see the man using doubles, considering his blatant hatred of robots. What, if anything, does MECH want here?" Marissa Faireborn emerges from the Hyperion Hotel. Marissa Faireborn has arrived. Loadout was NOT a happy camper right now. Not because he had to come out of the medical bay and his fussy cleaning tendencies around the base, but the fact that being pretty much the only available technical type right now he's pretty much responsible for putting others back together if they inevitably get all bashed up. Not that he usually minds that sort of thing... ...what he -does- mind is having been stuck back in the chaotic engine area of the drill tank, being bounced and rattled around as he struggles to keep the machinery from having a fit at the way that it's being driven like a maniac. "For the love of Primus...must we go so -fast-!?" Hanging on with one arm wrapped tightly around a reinforcing strut, Loadout uses the other to rap one hand firmly against a metal plate on the engine block to keep it from shaking loose. Exosuit doesn't appear too pleased as she sits near the back of the drill tank, mulling over the readings of her exo while she checks through her weapons and such. The results from the underwater base the others raided weren't what she expected. Who the hell were this MECH? In all her years she hasn't heard a single thing about them, so that's most likely how they wanted it, pure secrecy. But learning that Cross is their agent? This only fuels her anger towards him more. Elita's question on what MECH wants garners an unamused quirk of a brow however, the Nebulan's tone a little stingey. "Considering how they said they want to pretty much wanted to wipe your kind from Earth, I'm guessing they're here to destroy the source as well." "If that's what it takes, do it," Cross says, appearing behind Apocryphacius. "Because... well, if we're going to end this war, then one little city losing power for a week or however long isn't going to amount to a hill of beans. Now... Here's the coordinates, Apocryphacius." He hands the Quintesson datapad, which gives an extremely precise set of GPS coordinates, as well as a blurb under that stating, "Object has a radius of 45 meters." But what is the object? "I guess this is what my entire life has been building up to," Cross says. "End the war, then let the victors rewrite history so that I'm a hero." Apocryphacius takes the datapad, looks at it, and then sets it down at a makeshift table made of half-broken crates. He runs the calculations a few times and then keys in the parameters. Then Apocryphacius asks, "Nerves, sir?" Cross seems to be trying to cheer himself up, given how he was not so long ago speaking about how this is a one-way trip and a terminal contract. "I would be more certain about my ability to safely transport the object if you would tell me what it /is/, of course. However, if this is the information you can provide, sir, then the teleportation system is as ready as I can make it. The lever is yours, sir," and he points at a large, ominous lever. Fusillade has arrived. Triggerhappy hadn't been surprised to find himself ordered off to the Istoral Trench to accompany Shockwave and Buzzkill in their assault on the EDC's base of operations on Cybertron. He is feeling quite confident about getting to finish off the humans once and for all this time as he follows the scientist down through Cybertron's winding underground passages and through the transforming door. He glances at the Insecticons when they begin muttering about the humans. What Earth creature -is- that fem modeled after, anyway? A butterfly? Oh, right...it -was- a butterfly. Heh. He chuckles in response to Buzzkill. "Yeah, and this time we're gonna turn them all into piles of blood, water and squishy uh...whatever else is inside of them." he says, putting a fist into the palm of his hand for emphasis. "I wonder if their Autobot -friends- are gonna come and protect them while they try to blow up Cybertron or infect us all with some kind of toxic energon." Shockwave and a small army of Insecticons make it fairly easy for the Autobots to follow, carving through tunnels as needed. Shockwave is focused on those in front of him, unaware of those behind him. "There is more life in Cybertron than the fleshlings will ever realize, Swindle," Shockwave emits as another doorway spirals open for the Decepticons. Although he doesn't comment on it, Shockwave brought the Insecticons specifically because he felt they were ideally suited for underground work. Filthy creatures indeed. The journey takes hours of hard slogging through the tunnels. Finally, Shockwave and the others emerge from a tunnel, reaching the top of a cliff that overlooks The City. They're a good five Transformer-scale stories up from the main level of the underground habitat. 'Citizens' of this slum are milling about dowm below, but they don't seem to have noticed them just yet. Motioning for the others to shut up for a second, Shockwave radios: <> Yes, Shockwave knows what he said. 'Sniper nest' just means 'place where Triggerhappy can rain death on huge swaths of targets all at once'. The butterfly Insecticon is in fact a robot bro, or a robro if you will. He must have seriously pissed someone off to end up with an alt mode like that. "Damn, you're aggressive!" the butterfly exclaims in response to Triggerhappy's gorey description of blood and guts and such. "I like that. We need more psycopaths in the Empire, that's what I think!" Buzzkill just slaps the butterfly across the face, obviously displeased with his stupid comment. At Shockwave's command, she gives the signal to her team to take out any threats on the city's perimeter. "Be swift and don't let anyone spot you." Several generic looking purple and black robots emerge from the tunnel and transform, taking the form of horseflys and flying towards the city to destroy any sentries the humans may have set up. "Sentry duty for the inevitable. Gotcha." Because really, it's only a matter of time. Either the squishes or the bots are going to notice sooner or later, it's all in who turns up first. Swindle rubs his chin for a moment. "Well, might as well set up while I'm doing so." The shyster pulls a cybertronian weapons case out of subspace and sets it down on the cliff, deactivating the locks and opening it up. After a few moments he holds up a pair of different body casings. "Do you think we'll be blowing up anything tonight, or is this going to be a more precision based operation?" Glances down over the cliff edge. "I bet if we demolished the ruins and chased out the squatters, we could get some prime real estate values going up here. Or turn it into another industrial nightmare. Oh, such decisions to make~" Scattershot pats Nosecone on the shoulder. " You heard Hubcap. Hang back and drill casually. We'll let the Decepticons make an entrance for us. I want to see what Shockwave intends to do before we make our move." He grins at Elita One. "After all, the stealth thing worked great yesterday, you know?" In the back, Afterburner stares at Loadout. "We're probably going to need to be in camo down here. Want me to cover you in metal pieces and oil?" He just stares. Loadout gets the feeling that he's not really asking. And finally, Scattershot gives a nod to Marissa. "It's your call, what happens with Cross. You want him alive?" Behind the drilltank? A small unit of Autobots, including Strafe and Lightspeed, hangs back in case back up is needed. Lightspeed sighs. "I wish I was a spaceship." Strafe glares at him. "I wish you were mute." The drilltank enters a cavern where the Decepticons are now visible, though a decent distance off. Nosecone kills the lights. And the giant loud drill. Scattershot gives Elita the thumbs up. "Lead us out, but let's not announce our arrival quite yet. We don't want Cross bailing because he hears us fighting with the neighbors." Elita One gives a shrug to Scattershot, "I'll do what I can, right now, we're on course for above the signature. Since it appears they're at the City, there's some exhaust ports we can slip through, if not, we just drill right into it and literally crash the parade." With a worried voice, she adds, "I wouldn't mind hearing the call on Cross too. Granted you're not yet reinstated, but frankly, if he's going to try to endgame MY planet..." Her voice grows firm, "I'll do what I must." Her resolve is cut short for a moment, as she veers the drill hard to the right, "New hole! Blast it all." Even so the treads slide sideways for a few brief moments before traction is restored. She pulls down a second lever, "Heading back into the walls." A shudder embraces the drill as she guides it deeper, until it breaks through, freefalling yet again then crashes on a floor just above The City. "That should do it." It had been an interesting trip to Cybertron after word came that it was time to go 'smoke' Cross out and end this once and for all...she hoped. It was a bit of an uneasy silence between her and Scattershot for most of the way, more professional speak then anything they'd had before. She was all business now, her back ramrod straight, her features schooled to show very little emotion if possible other than determination. She stayed with the drill tank. She was in the land of giants at the moment and this was their show to get them from point A to point B. It wouldn't be until later that she might come into play. Keeping Amber near her, she made sure the other woman was as prepared as possible. When Scattershot asked her the question about Cross being taken alive, she looked up at him, "Yes. He is to be taken alive if at all possible." "No I most certainly do -not- want you to cover me in anything or even come within arm's reach of me if possible!" Loadout states in response to Afterburner. Bad enough with all the jostling around he's already been mussed up in here, but that can always be solved with a vigorous cleaning session later. For now though, as the tank finally comes to a halt, Loadout gives a faint sigh of relief, dusts himself off, and prepares to disembark after the others, from the rear of course. Not cause he's a coward or anything but he isn't built for front line combat. There's a reason he's called 'support'. Amber MacKenzie is as prepared as a civilian can be; she has a pistol in her pocket, and she isn't afraid to use it! "I'd like to know the composition of his forces here, too, ladies and gentlemen. It makes a big difference whether we're dealing with misled EDC troopers or Silas's forces." She pauses as she's roughly jolted about the drill tank, hanging on to the arm rests to steady herself. Well, the seat harness does a lot of the work, but it makes her feel better. The drill finally slowing signals Velum to finally stand from her seat in the back, albeit a little shakey due to the movement, and both move a little closer to the front, fingers tightening on her controls in anticipation. But at Marissa's words, Velum can't help looking down and over to the woman, bit of a smirk on her face. "Commander.." Yes, in her eyes Faireborn is still the rightful leader. "Permission to slap around Cross a bit if we manage to take him in? I've been itching to do so for a while, honestly." She may sound like she's joking, but she's all too serious, though she doesn't continue on the subject and instead looks to the front, eyeing the Cons and all their bug lackies. "Ugh.. I hate bugs." There's a few EDC troops going about, some of them in vehicles, others just on foot. Very few look like they even want to be there. In fact, one man, after finishing a prolonged, circular argument with an Empty who wanted to leave The City, sighs, looks around, and says aloud, "You know what, screw it. Gonna take a whiz..." And he wanders off somewhere to add to the various foul odors of the city... and effectively abandons his patrol. He's one of the lucky ones, though, because the other sentries that the horseflies run into don't survive the encounter. Even so, the Decepticons will have only moments to begin their attack before someone notices the patrols aren't reporting in. Meanwhile, Cross grabs the lever, but hesitates for but a moment. "...I guess you could say that. But let me put it to you this way, Apocryphacius--safety isn't the issue. As for what this thing is..." He pulls the lever, and with a sickening tearing noise as reality is torn open and soon, appearing in front of Cross and Apocryphacius, is an enormous spherical object, which immediately deploys struts from itself to keep itself from rolling over. A weird shimmering roils about the device. "Don't get too close, it's warping gravity around it," Cross says. "Try to touch it and it'll rip you apart. Unless, of course, you're me..." He approaches the device, and the shimmering effect seems to part for him, and he steps inside, opening a panel on the side. "Now for my part. I'm the only one who knows who to activate the timer on this thing--by design, of course." He fiddles inside the panel, then closes it. For several moments, he stands there, staring at the panel. Then he turns around, and exits the gravitic field. "Well. That's that." There's a glum finality to his tone of voice. Hubcap paces back along the tunnel, where he slaps a receiver on the wall. Well, it worked last time. Shrugging a shoulder at Amber he grimaces. Shame you can't tell intent from appearances." And, yes, he's registering all incoming intel. General Michael Briar, General Nate Briar, and General Marissa Faireborn /never/ had this much insane mad engineering going on around them, Apocryphacius thinks dumbly to himself. He does not get too close. He just takes a look at the kind of reading that the sphere is giving off on his equipment. What do the neutrinos look like on this beauty? His tentacles twine around each other in nervousness, and he asks, "Sir. What did I just bring here?" Triggerhappy just gives the butterfly 'robro' a scoffing look, and is about to say 'Well you know what I think we need? More mechs with altmodes that don't look like some fragile organic.' But then Shockwave orders the team to quiet down, and so he keeps focused on the mission. It would appear that they had arrived at their destination. He peered down at the City, shaking his head. So, this was it? Rats indeed, this place was a -dump-. <>The Targetmaster nods quickly upon receiving orders and takes to the air above the cliff overlooking the City, following Buzzkill and her team just overhead. Once he's gotten to a good position, he scans the area. Hah, was that Scattershot and his Technobot friends? He wouldn't be surprised if so. He's tempted to start shooting at them, but instead keeps focused on the task given to him and opens fire on the sentries below. And then a giant sphere appears out of nowhere with a nasty ripping sound. <> Triggerhappy wonders over the comm, hoping Shockwave could shed some light on it. Right now all he can tell is that it's distorting gravity around it, and that does -not- bode well. Triggerhappy transforms into a blue and white Cybertronian aircraft. "There will be nothing left of this city to sell," Shockwave says, watching as Buzzkill's team moves in and Swindle sets up position. "Our priority is the destruction of Cross and his allies. All other considerations are secondary. No, collapsing the city is not enough. We need confirmation." Somehow Cross slipped out of the Autobots' grasp in Iacon, and Shockwave has no intention of letting the same thing happen here. Shockwave watches carefully as the horseflycons eradicate the outer sentries. One of the humans is out of position, and Shockwave points him out to Swindle for the Combaticon to take care of. Not having Triggerhappy's vantage point, Shockwave only hears about the sphere from the Targetmaster's description. From where Shockwave is, he sees all sentries either dead or about to be. <> This last bit, as Shockwave soars off the platform towards The City, he says out loud. "DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!!" He punctuates this with a massive arm cannon blast that shreds one of the ramshackle constructs the Empties are using as housing, causing it to burst into flames. With all the sentries destroyed and the call for the attack to start, the horseflies descend upon the city and transform to lay waste to any human not quick enough to evade the acid spewing from their rifles. More gumby Insecticons join them, one of them a giant water bug that uses it's long forearms to snatch up a fleeing soldier and pierce through him with it's sharp, needle-like proboscis. Truely a terrifying way to go. From above, Buzzkill scowls as her optics settle upon that bizarre spherical device of Cross'. She's never seen anything like it and hasn't the faintest clue what it could possibly be used for but she knows it's probably a good idea to blow it up. Or steal it. Oh yeah, maybe they should steal it, that's definitely a Decepticon thing to do. Better get a lesser Insecticon to try it just in case, Buzzkill doesn't want to get murdered by it. "You underestimate the prospects of a completely flattened stretch of lan--" But even Swindle shuts up when Triggerhappy reports over the comm, quickly assembling the rest of the weapon and then stowing the case away. The out of place soldier is indicated, and with a grunt Swindle jumps down the edge of the cliff, using his grappler to snare a crumbling wall ledge and hoisting himself in the direction of the man taking his 'break'. Shame that soldier has his hand 'elsewhere' than on his gun. Or you could say the Combaticon landing in the ally catchs him with his pants around his ankles -- literally. Swindle points a silenced pistol to the man's head (and it's muzzle roughly the same size as) and pulls the trigger. The gun emits little more than a muffled faint *bmff* and gasses venting out of the silencer mod. But the effects are all the same. Swindle takes a moment to stoop over the man, filch his wallet from his uniform pocket, and tuck that away in a compartment before jogging off to rejoin the others Scattershot Steps out of the drilltank as Shockwave fires off his first blast towards the ruins...flashing back a bit to a long time spent underground, defending Cybertronians from the Terrorcons. He gestures forward, letting Elita take the lead from here. "Remember, the Decepticons are not the objective here. We want Cross shutdown." <> And then, after a moment, Scattershot taps into a very specific radio frequency, stepping away from the group. <> Bottlethrottle begins activating small holodecks: blueprints of the city. Multiple small thrust mounted cameras launch, giving the map a real time view of events. Instant command post! Loadout steps out of the drilltank right after the others, taking note of the state of...disrepair of the city itself. While it's true that the situation of your average Empty is no longer so desperate lately thanks to Cybertron beginning to offer up nourishment to its denizens again, that doesn't mean they've all taken onto neat and tidy habits when it comes to their housing. Old habits die hard, afterall. "Euugh..." He makes a face, before breaking into a quick trot so as not to be left behind. He doesn't carry a rifle or any other sort of exterior weaponn like the others do, so it makes it easier for him to be a bit more mobile as he darts from cover to cover in pursuit of his fellow Autobots. "I'll -never- get accustomed to this..." he grouses as a stray shot streaks by overhead. Nowhere close to him but enough to make him dart his head down a little more. Marissa Faireborn steps out of the Drill and pulls her riffle off her shoulder and then moves towards a broken down piece of machinery off to the side and climbs onto it so she can see and be seen. Bellowing in her best commanding voice, she begins to shout orders "EDC TROOPS! THIS IS GENERAL MARISSA FAIREBORN! RETREAT TO EVAC POINT ALPHA-O-9er. DO NOT ENGAGE THE DECEPTICONS. EVAC NOW!" Man, when she wants to be heard, she knows how to be heard! Elita One squints, kneeling as she looks down onto the City. After Scattershot transforms, she turns to start reading the displays. "Armor sighted here...and here. If the Decepticons are attacking, they're looking to kill Cross. Anything else can be mopped up...." Alarm crosses her face, "What in the name of Primus is this....oh sweet Matrix, don't tell me he's bombing Cybertron." She's not totally sure of the measure, "Hubcap, can you patch us into all channels? Get some readings on this thing, we need all the intel we can get." She motions to a less firefight oriented corridor, "Velum, I think we can break lines and get to the inside, we take out armor, and then we head straight for this bomb and Cross." She motions to Loadout, "Advance with Marissa, the more EDCers we can get routed, the better its going to be for everyone." She hefts her cannon, as she starts darting towards the battlefield. "We're not losing our home today, Autobots. Move!" Amber MacKenzie disembarks from the tank as well, and as is typical of her, she takes to cover but makes a stop first, whispering briefly to Marissa, "I'm taking off to look around, General. It's what I do best." And then she's gone. Slipping stealthily from one piece of junk to a pile of debris to an unidentifiable chunk of metal, she tries to get a good view of the camp and whatever the bloody hell that object is. Hubcap carefully makes his way through the base, using his superior senses to avoid conflict, although he does leave markings behind him on the walls. Then he clenches his jaw shut, bloody superior officers... Readings on the sphere are off the charts, yo! Seriously, though, they are. Anyone who has even a really primitive scanner will no doubt pick up something that's way, way over 9000, and there's no mistaking where it's coming from. "What do you THINK it is, Aprocryphacius?" Cross says, pointing at the sphere. "All of our experiments thus far, the superweapons we've made, the guns, the bombs... ultimately, they were all just a warm-up to THIS, the Planet-Buster. Once the timer's up, it'll go off, and Cybertron, and everyone on it, robot or no, will die. I'm sorry, Apocryphacius." But there's no time for further apologies as suddenly explosions erupt on the other side of the city. "Damn, they always know how to find these damn things!" He presses two fingers to his earpiece. "Sophia, get over here!" And somewhere in The City a little tank comes to life and zips away, dodging past panicking Empties and scrambling EDC troops. The EDC response is confused at first, as the Decepticons took them by surprise yet again. But with something to finally fight, the EDC troops seem to eagerly step up to the task, and soon troops are taking potshots from seemingly out of any window at the Insecticons, tanks roll through the streets firing shells into the Insecticons and driving right over any that fall, and VTOLS rise up into the air for air support. And the Empties contribute nothing, of course, and raise their hands up and beg for mercy as the cons begin their assault. "We got no problem with you guys, they held us prisoner in here!" one cries. As that's going on, an Insecticon Giant Asian Hornet, Stingblade (because his stinger is a SWORD! Well, it is when he turns into his robot mode and--whatever). He cries, "I shall get that prize for you, Buzzkill, then I shall be rewarded!" And he transforms, buzzing off to grab the sphere... and is promptly ripped apart by the powerful gravitic forces surrounding the sphere. "Damn!" Cross says, jerking away from the sphere as Insecticon bits go everywhere. "Well. We just need to hold them, Apocryphacius!" Sophia II rolls up, and Cross climbs in. "It's time to go to work." Some of the EDC forces react in confusion as they get an order from Marissa to stand down, and then another voice chimes in. "This is Colonel Stevens," says the new man. "Marissa Faireborn is NOT in our chain of command anymore, disregard her orders and continue to hold this position." The order to move out has Velum standing straight now, her suit's grip on the size-appropriate assault rifle tightening as she steps from the shuttle. Elita's order has her nod to the femme before turning to the swathes of Insecticons as well as the regular Cons beginning their assault on the city. "Got it. I suggest we don't shoot whatever the hell that sphere thing is though. Who knows what other crazy tech Cross is using now." And with Elita One on the move, Velum falls in line, exo running off into the throws of the fight while firing off a few stray shots to keep a few bugs and EDC forces at bay until she gets into the heart of this. Combat: Amber MacKenzie slips into the shadows and out of sight... Apocryphacius stares at the sphere, having one of those mental lapses that are becoming so common with him. It's like his mind wishes it could move to a different reality. He starts tilting to one side, like a dirigible that is crashing in slow motion. General Cross wants to destroy all of Cybertron? Does Apocryphacius have that straight? One of his tentacles snakes out and lifts up a syringe. He loads it with a cartridge, and he taps it several times, to get the bubbles out. Then he slowly asks, "Sir, is there one of these on Charr, as well? I was not... aware of you having a second specialist in interplanetary instantaneous mass transport. Or any presence on Charr," but then, Apocryphacius has been unaware of many things, "Because if you do not have one of these on Charr, you will wipe out Iacon, thereby enraging the Autobots, who will most likely leave Earth to regroup. Then the Charr-based Decepticons will spacebridge Earth into the sun. Humanity dies. The Charr-based Decepticons will then wipe out the remaining Autobots. Pax Decepticonia will spread across the universe within a hundred years. The war is over - because the Decepticons have won. And I suppose you do not care, because you died having your revenge on the Autobots for whatever it is they did to you." "Sir." Now up high near the ceiling of The City, Shockwave is able to see what Triggerhappy considers "Cross's latest model of Cybertron Apocalypse-o-Matic", but on first sight he has no idea what it is. The Decepticon moves forward, blasting at EDC (MECH?) soldiers and Empties alike. Chaos begins brewing beneath him, but Shockwave's focus is on this strange new device... until he receives a radio transmission. <> he exclaims in surprise, both to Scattershot and to his own troops. <> Looking back at the device, Shockwave instantly identifies it. <> he broadcasts. Though he is loathe to do so, he includes the heroes in this. <>Shockwave is only partly surprised. He knew there would be a cybercidic weapon here--the scanners he gave to his Decepticon scouts relied on it--but he didn't realize the scale of it. Then Faireborn's voice is heard, shouting at her soldiers to rally back to her. They just might, Shockwave decides. Most humans will understand which way the wind is now blowing, and it is no longer with Cross. At their heart, humans share many similarities with Decepticons in such cases. Still, as an EDC tank knocks Shockwave out of his attempt to analyze the bomb by blasting him out of the sky, the Guardian of Cybertron hits the ground, wipes off the dark smear of soot that the shell created on his chest plate, and proceeds to smash the tank repeatedly with vicious overhand swings. The entire front side of the war machine is crushed beyond recognition. Combat: Apocryphacius has finished building a new weapon. Behold: Nice Trip! It seems Shockwave is busy spearheading the assault, so Triggerhappy decides to take a closer look himself. He transforms again, and hovers a short distance away, zooming his optic sensors in on the sphere and the area around it. Aha! Cross and a Quintesson are standing near it, with Cross having just exited the distortion field. <> And so, he flies in front of the EDC commander as he is getting into his tank and Apocryphacius is just finishing explaining what he believes will happen if he blows up Cybertron. "Hey Cross! Good to see you again, fleshy!" He grins. "Say, what's with your new toy? Trying to destroy our beloved home planet again? We all know what happened -last- time one of yours tried -that-! You know I have to give you credit for one thing. You sure are good at making mechs blow a piston. Slag, even your so-called 'friends' hate your watery guts! Hah! And what are you hoping to accomplish by doing this, anyway? You know as well as I do that we don't just call Cybertron home, in fact, we've been calling the entire -galaxy- home for past millennia or so. You blow this place up, we'll just go take over some other planet, like oh, maybe Earth!" And with that, he unleashes a barrage of high-energy photons at the human as his Quint. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Jump Tank with his Full-Auto Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Apocryphacius with his Full-Auto Area attack! Combat: You took 10 damage. The Insecticons continue their assault on the city, though their job gets that much tougher once reinforcements begins firing back at them. The horsefly-cons transform and take to the skies to intercept the air support, trying to latch onto the VTOLS and disintegrate their armor with their acid spewing mouth parts. The water bug currently feasting on a now dead soldier is struck by a tank and promptly run over, exploding into a mess of robotic guts and wires. Meanwhile, Stingblade tries to be a hero and retrieve the device. Buzzkill looks on with a smug expression on her face though it doesn't last after the hornet is brutally torn apart from the device's gravitational field. Oh well, that guy was kind of a kiss-ass anyway. "Insecticons! Stay strong and victory shall be ours!" Buzzkill shouts before transforming into her sweet honey bee mode and buzzing low over the city to assist her troops by taking out larger threats, like the Nebulan piloted Exo running around shooting up her dudes, with some lasers. Where does she shoot those lasers from anyway? It's probably better if you don't know. Buzzkill transforms into a giant robotic honey bee. Bzz bzz! Combat: Robotic Honey Bee strikes Exosuit with her Mystery Lasers (Laser) attack! Enemy soldiers. Enemy artillery, enemy armor units, enemy aircraft, all on the move to intercept the bigger, noisier Decepticons (and Autobots)... it's hard to tell if Swindle is tallying up the potential enemy strength, or potential profit on salvage after this is over with. But this was the sort of conflict a Combaticon like him excels in. This is also why he brought some of the fancier toys out of his personal playchest. Positioning himself down on one kneel, he pulls a rather large rocket-launcher out of subspace and shoulders it for balance, takes aim, and fires. The rocket roars over one of the moving squads of tanks and slams into the side of an Empty building, the detonation sending the entire structure crashing down onto the deployment. The tanks will likely just get stuck for a bit, but that rubble is likely to crush any foot soldiers or Empties caught beneath the collapse. Lowering the weapon and standing again, Swindle smirks in amusement at the cloud of rust and ash billowing upward. "I do love the smell of collateral damage in the evening!" Someone might want to do something about him before he takes out the heaviery ordinance there. Jump Tank feels his jaw tightening as he steers towards the fighting. Does Apocryphacius have a point? "No! No, dammit, we have a plan, Apocryphacius! We've got a plan! This whole invasion, the assault on Polyhex--it was all to lure the Decepticons to this world! As many as possible! And when we've destroyed the ones on Cybertron, the rest around the galaxy should be fairly easy pickings by comparison! ESPECIALLY once Shockwave, the REAL threat, is gone!" He doesn't have much more time to explain, though, as shots pepper his tank. "Triggerhappy! You're damned annoying, but at the least this is the last time I have to deal with you! Maybe I can even have the satisfaction of killing you before the bomb goes off!" He throws his tank at the Targetmaster, a drill extending from the front of the tank as he tries to run him through. Combat: Jump Tank misses Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with his Drill attack! [Pulled -2] Amber MacKenzie really hates these situations. Weapons of doom aren't her thing, especially since the attack from Mars in May. Regardless, she studies the battlefield closely and begins working her way towards the dangerous and scary Sphere of Doom, trying to avoid *everyone*. At least there is plenty of cover, and that's even before they started blowing things up. Smoke, burning buildings, weaponsfire... And bloody hell, is that Apocryphacius over there?! She winces as some Decepticon opens fire on him. Note that she's not so worried about Cross, who's also over there. That's the direction she was already going, and she continues on her way. You receive a radio message from Amber MacKenzie: Please tell me you're not involved in this, Apocryphacius. Scattershot scowls at the heads up. <> "Autobots, we need a perimeter set, resisting EDC arrested, and locals evacuated. Take yer pick." Scattershot jumps in the air and transforms, blasting through the battlezone towards Shockwave, flanked by Strafe. He touches down near the big purple cyclops, staring at the massive fluxing energy thing as the other Technobots arrive. "Son of a bitch..." Upon hearing the familiar voice of Col. Stevens, she smirks and bellows, "Stevens, I don't believe your men will follow you when they hear of your indiscresions with young boys, and the fact that when your wife found out, you beat her until she dropped into a coma, then blamed it on a home invader." She looks at the men fighting, and yells, "Soldiers of the EDC, Now's the time to take a stand on whether you're going to follow a man who declares sapient beings as objects - which you know to be worng - or follow your true Commander, someone who cares enough about you to get your asses out of here and save as many of your lives as possible. Evacuation is best, but if necessary, we can combine forces to win out this day. Cross' reign is over!" Apocryphacius taps the syringe a few more times - and then is blasted by Triggerhappy, which blows a chunk out of his dome, revealing sparking circuitry and fried organic components. He screeches in pain. Then Apocryphacius grits out, "Sir, I have never seen Quintessa, and I never will, because it was destroyed. Maybe everyone there deserved it. That is not for me to judge. Neither is Cybertron. I am sorry, sir." Then he tries to drive the syringe through Sophia's armour. If this works, Apocryphacius will... have an untouchable bomb to defuse, and /everyone/ shooting at him. It will be the exact opposite of awesome. Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. Combat: Apocryphacius sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Jump Tank with the Apocryphacius-forged Nice Trip attack! Combat: Jump Tank has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Used up 1 Charges. 1 remain. You receive a radio message from Amber MacKenzie: Oooookay, I think that answers that. Enemy fire was coming in from several directions, fortunately not much of it was actually aimed at Elita and Velum. One of the EDC tanks starts to roll on past. The Cybertronian terrorist spews a glut of plasma at the tank's main cannon, warping the barrel. She returns to her high speed assault, having blunted at least one more piece of armor. From on high, she noted Decepticon fire towards the bomb's area. It was almost certain that's where Cross was, that's where it all mattered. She approaches, just in time to see Cross roar past her towards one of the Cons, and that left....Apocryphacius. It was a horrific sight, just seeing how the bomb was collapsing gravity about it. As she watched, shrapnel and dead Insecticons simply were crushed into oblivion as they approached it. The sight of potential devastation was so overwhelming, she lowered her rifle. No doubt the Quintesson saw her standing there, her mouth open in sheer horror. It took a few moments for her to speak, ".......Apocryphacius....You built this?" She gestures to the bomb, "This is madness, you can't do this....Disarm it, you have to. There are too many innocent lives at stake. No matter how out of line the Autobots have been, the planet does not deserve this!" Her receptors flicker, <> Her voice trails off, as she sees the Quintesson do something completely unexpected. Unsure if he even heard her words, she approaches, "Let me help you here..." You send a radio message to Amber MacKenzie: I cannot tell you that, Amber. Loadout is still darting from cover to cover, not having to open fire, thankfully, as he hasn't been singled out as a target. Well this is a pleasant surprise, isn't it? But what's that? A bomb? A planet-buster bomb? Is such a thing possible even with the crazy weapon that Cross and his cronies came up with? Can he afford to -be- skeptical? He casts a quick glance towards Marissa, then back again. Well he -is- the designated technical Autobot present, isn't he? "We'll figure it out somehow..." And with that, he proceeds to transform, dropping down on all four wheels and suddenly accelerating forward in a roar of engine acceleration that takes him rumbling past some of the fighting and even closer to the bomb itself. Catching air at the last moment, he transforms once again before landing and skidding to a halt nearby, raising one hand to shield his optic visor as he peers at the ominously functioning device. There's got to be a way to figure this out...it's a device, like any other. Exosuit barrels right into the fray, making sure to step over the humans as she dives deeper into the city, already spotting Triggerhappy as he soars through the sky to confront Cross. Two traitors in one spot? One to her faction, the other to her kind. Oh how easy they were making it. But just as she begins making a beeline for the Targetmaster, an actual bee sees fit to start firing upon her from behind, leaving a few scorch marks on the back of her exo. Eyes are aflame with fury as she swings her rig around to face Buzzkill, jaw clenching and hands tight on the controls. If she's gonna try and prevent Velum from reaching her target, then the Insecticon will have the curtesy of recieving her fury instead. And that comes in the form of a raised assault rifle as Velum momentarily veers off course to chase down the bee, a spray of bullets firing in her direction. Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Exosuit strikes Robotic Honey Bee with her Pistol attack! Colonel Stevens' response is to sputter over the radio, "Uh, I er, uh.. that's.. that's not true!" But he soon falls silent, as the charges are true. In fact, that bit of blackmail is how MECH got to him in the first place! With him falling silent, it's up to Cross to rally the troops, "Men," he begins, "Disregard Faireborn! We must win this fight! We must do this for--" The lights abruptly go out in Sophia, power is lost, and his radio dies. "--what? Apocryphacius, what have you done!?" With Cross silent, there's no one left to oppose Marissa now! "Hellz yeah, Commander!" yells a Stereotypical Black Soldier over the radio. No, that's not his name. "I got yo back!" And so now, the EDC is beginning an orderly, fighting withdrawal out of The City! Hubcap draws up sharply, trying to triangulate the sources of various statements "I, it, too much data..." You receive a radio message from Amber MacKenzie: And do you understand now that this is wrong? The hissing rumble of Cyclonus' nuclear pulse-jet engines arrives after Cyclonus himself does, flashing across the firmament as he rolls upside down and launches Galvatron towards the battle at supersonic speeds. The Overlord tumbles briefly before he tucks his arms back and plunges towards the ground, bleeding off speed while he stabilizes himself with his antigravs, so that by the time he flips back around and hits feet-first, he's only travelling at a few hundred miles an hour. The metal plate still buckles under the hammerblow, Galvatron spearing through it and plunging into the cavern below, where he lands amidst the battle like a stray artillery shell. Galvatron rises, steaming and shaking off shreds of metal, to step from the crater. He takes a moment to take in the scene; something unnatural drawing in light and heat and matter towards it, that's a thing he's familiar with. Shockwave and his troops ravaging Empty Town, and the EDC surging back out to meet them. Casualties on all sides, civilians as well as soldiers. Galvatron may not be entirely clear on the science, but he is a virtuoso of battle and he can smell the course of this one. It isn't good. "Where is the human warlord?!" bellows Galvatron, snatching an EDC exo and twisting it in half to hurl the upper half into an approaching tank. "Tell him his doom is come! The planet itself guided me to this place! Whispers in the walls! Lights on the land! Cybertron rejects your disease, Earthlings! I am here to carry out the purge!" Combat: Galvatron inspires Swindle, Robotic Honey Bee , and Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with noble and dramatic words! Cybertron shakes. Though no Autobot or Decepticon knows for sure, it's long been rumored that the homeworld of the Cybertronians has had some semblance of awareness. That Vector Sigma is at the core of the world is a truth, of course, but the planet itself has often shown hints of being able to react. Of knowing when things are happening nearby, or on its very surface. In times past the Decepticons had learned this the hard way during past forays, when Megatron had engaged in forays that threatened the world when it was still alive, before the long long sleep. Before Cybertron began waking up again in recent years. The planet still lives. And just maybe it is aware its life is in danger. The City begins to shake steadily, the great walls of the cavern about begin to shimmer and vibrate, gigantic slabs the size of gestalts starting to shift and slide as whole sections begin to reconfigure themselves. Though far from fully functional, the planet begins to divert energon reserves to this section of its suface as it starts to literally transform its own innards. SLowly. Oh so slowly, the walls...and the 'ceiling' above begin to close in with a distant, ominous rumbling. It's all that Cybertron can do to protect itself, having to rely on the antibodies, its Cybertronians to do the rest. But the planet does not sit idly by all the same... <>Shockwave radios back. He too wants to know what Cross has done here, but he suspects the General would go to his grave before revealing anything, which is a wish Shockwave will gladly grant. The cyclops reaches forward with both arms, grabbing what's left of the EDC tank and hurling it away. The wreckage smashes through another Empty's shack, annihilating it. Stepping forward, ignoring the other EDC soldiers as their smallarms fire ricochets off his armour, Shockwave is privy to Marissa's incredible comeback. Not one for combat banter himself, even Shockwave recognizes that "oh yeah well you're a wife beating pedophile and here's proof" is about the most epic verbal slapdown since Galvatron gave Starscream a hint. Soon, Shockwave arrives where Apocryphacius, Cross, and Triggerhappy are battling. He's in time to see the Quintesson turn on the human with a needle. "Treacherous creatures, aren't they?" Shockwave says out loud. But then the walsl begin to move, Galvatron smashes his way in, and the planet itself rises up against Cross. "Triggerhappy, kill them both," he says of Apocryphacius and Cross. Shockwave meanwhile steps up to the device to find a way to shut it down. You send a radio message to Amber MacKenzie: I /understand/ that I obeyed orders, as a good soldier should and that I am now breaking those orders. I understand that I will be found guilty of high treason if I do not die here. That is what I understand. Robotic Honey Bee is struck by Velum's attack, the rounds from her assault rifle shredding her big, fat, striped butt into pieces. She's a pretty hardy Insecticon though so it's far from enough to put her out of this fight. "Pathetic mortal, this city is ours to destroy!" Buzzkill zips around the Exo, her wings buzzing obnoxiously as she comes in close, close enough to grab hold of the exo itself and perch upon it's back. She snaps her mandibles against the machine to get a good grip before thrusting her stinger against it, trying to puncture Velum's exo-suit and pump it's systems full of toxic venom. Meanwhile, the gumby Insecticons continue to put up a good fight against the humans. A swarm of robotic roaches scurry across the city, devouring anything and everything in their path. Even the butterfly gets in on this action, transforming into his ~beautiful~ alt mode and..fluttering his wings around. Wow, thats...really useful. Whose idea was it anyway to make a butterfly Insecticon? Combat: Robotic Honey Bee strikes Exosuit with her Piercing Sting attack! Combat: Robotic Honey Bee 's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Exosuit . Combat: Robotic Honey Bee 's risky attack leaves her temporarily incapacitated! You receive a radio message from Amber MacKenzie: You're guilty of following a man who befriended you when others threatened you. You are not the first man to be deceived by pretty words... and in all honesty, Cross might even feel true friendship for you... but he is not a good man. You will face charges, I'm sure, but I don't think the price will be as high as you think. Swindle looks up from the destruction both at Galvatron's bellowing arrival, and the sound of ancient forgotten machinery wrenching itself to life. Was the city trying to transform?... Or just close itself in. Keep the intrusion here so it could be delt with. It was doing that weird vage awareness thing that for eons had scholars on both sides theorizing just how 'alive' Cybertron had been. But now was not the time for philosophising. And retreating. For once, not the Decepticons either! Looks like Melissa is taking back command, and telling them to get the hell out with it. All the better. Everyone else is gawking at the planet-buster... Swindle on the other hand saunters up to lean lightly on the side of the incapacitated Sophia, grinning that charming yet greasy grin of his. "Well well, what do we have here? I almost don't dare calculate how much of your goverment's tax dollars went into it. Quite the piece of work you have there, 'general'... oh wait, you be a general you actually need an army, and I do believe you just lost yours." "You know, the Quint has a point. But even if it ends up to our advantage in the long run, I can't just let my home planet get blown up by some stupid organic. Though I do like the idea of spacebridging Earth into its precious life-giving sun!" And then the planet itself is doing its part to defend itself as Galvatron himself comes smashing in. He looks up in awe momentarily, feeling invigorated by this new turn of events. The Targetmaster then tuns back to Cross, still grinning as even Apocryphacius turns against his ally. <> He responds on the comm before turning back to the human, this time leveling his bindary bond partner Blowpipe's gun form at him. "Face it, Frankie! You're just not going to win this one. Just look around you! Wouldn't take a logician like Shockwave to figure out how badly the odds are stacked up against ya!" But as he's ranting, he turns on a private channel to Elita One, whom he spots attempting to disarm the bomb. <> Apocryphacius just stabbed his best friend in the back. He supposes that he really is just like every other Quintesson. Apocryphacius shakes a little, feeling ill. Bitterly, he replies to Elita One, "No. I did not build... this. /Kind/ of you to assume that I did. Go on, just /command/ me to disarm it in that presumptuous, righteous way that you Autobots have. The fact is, the only one who can disarm it is General Cross. The gravity field does not affect him. You had better see about peeling him out of Sophia II. Alive. Unharmed. Obviously." He checks on the crystal that brought the sphere here. Is it still stable? Maybe they can just teleport the bomb somewhere else (like Charr, it would actually be really excellent if they sent it to Charr). They would need a power source, though, and they already drained this city... except it is changing around them. Maybe they can find enough power, after all? Marissa Faireborn sees she's having an effect and once Cross suddenly goes silent, after seeing Apoc's heroic? charge with the needle at him, she yells, "EDC Troopers, retreat to Alpha-O-9er. Rear guard cover for remaining extraction. Send word down the line. NOW!" She wants to get the EDCers to fall back behind the Autobot lines, to get the Cons away from them and the battling to stop as much as possible. You'll still have a few die hard muscle bound jerks who think they can take them all on and perhaps they are the ones who will make a difference or keep themselves out of the gene-pool in the end. after bellowing her orders, she jumps down from her spot and begins trying to work her way over towards Cross and where Apoc is. Upon hearing Shockwave's order to kill both Cross and Apoc, she pulls her sidearm and tries to move to get in between Apoc and Triggerhappy, foolhardy thing that is to do. "Don't! They might be the only two to know how to shut it down, or at least the Quintison might be the only one to figure out how to if Cross is out for the count...." Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Jump Tank with his There's no version of this where you come out on top... attack! Loadout was keeping his safe distance from the gravity field of course, still shielding his optic visor from flying debris and otherwise as he studied the whole thing. What was going on around him was....well, all but forgotten, but he's listening to what's being said. Thankfully he's not focusing on the -Quintesson- being present and more on his words. "Then if Cross is the only one who can disarm it, then it is unlikely we will convince him otherwise. There is of course the option of putting this bomb out into space somehow...if the logistical problems can be overcome." Not to mention the gravity barrier, it would seem. Jump Tank 's engine eventually restarts itself, having purged whatever the hell Apoc pumped into it from its systems... just in time to take another blast which cracks Sophia's canopy. "You're wrong, Decepticon! Most of your power base is here--" And Galvatron comes bellowing in as per usual. "INCLUDING your figurehead! Good look maintaining order once he's dead!" He bounds up into the air, hovering above the fracas thus far, and points himself at Galvatron. "But hell, why not start now? Here's a small sneak preview, Galvatron!" And a small cannon extends from the tank, firing a brilliant pale beam at Galvatron! Combat: Jump Tank 's Cybercidic Radiation Ray attack on Galvatron goes wild! Combat: Jump Tank strikes Apocryphacius with his Cybercidic Radiation Ray attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: You took 0 damage. Combat: Jump Tank 's attack damages your armor. Elita One snorts, "Get over yourself. Not everything's racial prejudice, Apocryphacius, I'd have said the same to any technician near that thing." She shifts her stance to aim towards the melee Cross has gotten himself into. "If you can't disarm it, then I guess I'll have to see to it. You going to assist, or just let it happen? It is your actions that define you, my good Quintesson. Not all Autobots deserve the name, you proved that, not all Quintessions deserve their reputation. Proved that too." Plasma thumps out of her cannon as she tries to alleviate the pressure on Cross. "I've been worrying about labels a long time now, but here we are..trying to save a planet." She calls back to Scattershot on an open channel, < Combat: Elita One strikes Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -3] The city continues to shake ominously, and the upper spires of several buildings actually buckle as the ceiling makes contact with them. Inch by inch, foot by foot, the walls and ceiling continue to grind down slowly and steadily as the planet begins to close up this area like one would pinch down on an infected sore. Just as ominously, as the humans begin to try pulling out of the area, those who are following Marissa's directive...their way out is suddenly blocked. Tunnelways are sealed, streets are closing up. Something in the planet's defenses has identified the organics as the source of the problem, sealing the infection in. Closing, and crushing in on it. Exosuit is glad to see her gun tear at Buzzkill's obscenely stripey behind, still moving forward, though she stops when Buzz darts fast in the air, maneuvering around the suit and actually landing on her back, the added weight making her exo visibley sag. "Agh! Get off my suit, you damned pest!" Velum hisses, rocking back and forth to try and shake Buzz off before that stinger pierces and holoscreens flash in warning from the venom now flowing. Thankfully it doesn't wreak havoc on her systems, but it does start to eat at the armor, a roiling hiss rising from the metal while it drips down her back. "Shit shit.." And to top it off, Triggerhappy is ready to execute Cross, something that has Velum stiffen up when she sees Blowpipe lowered. She hated Cross, but she wanted him alive. "No!" Caution goes right out the window when the trigger is pulled, the suit shifting into action under her command now. Struts shift from the back, keeping her grounded while the large cannon attatched to her exo's back swings up onto the shoulder, handholds popping out the front and allowing Velum to aim while a brilliant blue forms in the barrel. It's only seconds until she has the Targetmaster in her sights before letting loose a large blast, sending a crackling shot of energy soaring over the buildings between them. Amber MacKenzie is slow arriving; where the Cybertronians move freely, she has had to sneak. Still, she arrives eventually, trying not to let the ceiling lowering itself like in an Indiana Jones Jr. movie bother her too much. Or the news that the sphere is going to destroy the planet and everyone on it. At least much of the fighting has stopped. Seeming to appear from nowhere, she joins General Faireborn between Apocryphacius and his would-be attacker. From what she just overheard, if Cross dies, so does their best chance of stopping the Sphere. And speaking of Cross... she blinks and flinches as a beam of light passes over her left shoulder to strike the Quintesson. She guesses they're not friends any more... Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Exosuit misses Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with her Nebula Cannon attack! Combat: Amber MacKenzie appears from the shadows... Robotic Honey Bee is pretty proud of herself for landing such a great hit on Velum's exo but that pride quickly ebbs away once she realizes she's gotten herself stuck. The Insecticon begins to panic, all six of her legs flailing around wildly as she tries to pull herself out. Curse those terrifying barbs of hers! They seemed like such a good idea at the time.. "Augh! Stop!" Buzzkill shouts in vain as Velum rushes towards Triggerhappy and opens fire. "I'm stuck back here! HEY!" The only one who comes to her rescue is none other than BUTTERFLY GUY (no that's not his real name but Buzzkill never bothered to learn what it was.) "Hey Buzzkill, you just...HANGING AROUND? Hahaha, get it, because you're stuck and kind of hanging off there? Primus, I'm clever.." "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP AND HELP ME YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!" Buzzkill is practically screaming at this point, spittle flying from her jaws as she does so. Butterfly guy transforms into his robot mode and wraps his spindly arms around Buzzkill's bee waist and begins tugging on her with everything he's got until he finally pulls her free. "I think I deserve a promotion for this." Combat: Robotic Honey Bee takes a moment to shake off the effects of the last attack. Shockwave receives Elita One's plea, followed by Marissa jumping in between Triggerhappy and Apocryphacius. Additionally, Franklin has just blasted his ex-favorite Quintesson. Turning his head away from the sphere and towards Elita One, he considers, "Hrn... very well, Elita One, we shall join forces... *this* time. Triggerhappy, focus on Cross. The Quintesson can die next." Back to E1: "We have an anti-cybercidic field that can nullify the effects of the weapon... but not on this scale," he looks back at the sphere. "Now, send me the schematics on whatever device the Autobots have created and I will formulate a plan." Shockwave hasn't seen Loadout here, and therefore considers himself the sole technician here. He is relatively unconcerned about Franklin Cross himself since Galvatron is here, and there ain't no stopping Galvatron. The cybercidic ray which should've dissolved a large chunk out of Galvatron instead only burns off a patch of his paint, ricocheting off the hull underneath like a laser from a mirror, and happens to strike poor Apocryphacius instead. A malevolent grin spreads across Galvatron's dark face. "It SEEMS, Earthman, that there's something you don't KNOW about me," he says in a conversational tone as he stalks purposefully after the jump tank. "Although I fight FOR Cybertron, I am no longer OF it. Cast adrift by traitors, I was taken up in the arms of the Arch-Fiend, a being as foreign to Cybertron as any alien, but vastly greater. He remade me, in his own image, to be his herald. I am now free of him, but his power remains mine- the Power Cosmic! I am BEYOND your little tricks. Before me you are as a worm in the sun." His cannon casts a warm tangerine glow as he charges it up, turning to present his raised arm to Cross. "You can hope for nothing more than to writhe in my light!" Combat: Galvatron sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Galvatron strikes Jump Tank with his Nuclear Furnace attack! [Pulled -8] When the Sophia lurchs back to life Swindle darts back a few steps and ducks, letting the tank turn away and open fire.... and pelt the quintesson for screwing up the machine, it would seem. "Huh. Wasn't expecting him to turn on his pet until after the Quintessons double-crossed him." And naturally, the 'good' humans and the Autobots step in to try and protect the space squid. Typical. "Somehow I doubt Cross is going to listen as long as he's tucked away in his precious toy there. Even if we want him alive... temporarily." He's considering ways to disable that tank.... but then Galvatron just takes the direct approach. That's not going to be a problem for very long now, so he wanders over to join the others investigating the actual device. "Has anyone considered trying to reverse a frequency modulation opposite the defensive field to counteract it's..." Glances alongside at the remaining bits of Insecticon, "repulsive force?" Scattershot radios back to Elita. <> He gives Shockwave a look. "We'll formulate a plan together. You ain't the only smart guy here. Technobots! Bring the brains!" The five transform to form Computron, who punches a big piece falling city falling towards Shockwave harmlessly to one side. "SHOCKWAVE, YOUR CYBERCIDICS CAN ACT IN SYNERGETIC FELLOWSHIP WITH AVAILABLE AUTOBOT NANITE TECHNOLOGY. WE MUST SELECT A PROPER DELVERY AGENT. PROCESSING." <>Triggerhappy replies eagerly, content to continue doing what he has already focused on. He laughs as the Sophia's shot is somehow deflected at Apocryphacius. "Oh yeah that reminds me, another thing you're good at: Underestimating us! I think you've forgotten that we've already come up with a way to counteract your disintegrator crystal things. So all we have to do now is use it against your big bomb." He knows it isn't as easy as he's making it sound, but anything to discourage Cross, right? He hovers into the air slightly, moving sideways abruptly to get a better angle on the jump tank for his next attack, causing Velum to miss him. With so many shots flying this cycle though, he doesn't even notice who it was that had fired that particular shot. Remaining focused on Cross as per Shockwave's orders, he suddenly transforms into his jet fighter form and flies straight at the Sophia just after Galvatron's attack rips through it. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter misses Jump Tank with his Staying focused (Ram) attack! Brilliant, incandescent light crackles all around Apocryphacius when General Cross's cybercidic radiation engulfs him. Then, after a moment, the lights dancing over his frame stop, and Apocryphacius hovers there, shaken, but... no more injured than he was prior. His active optics cycle a blink, and he says, "...faaascinating! Hah, the calculations /were/ correct - cybercidic radiation has no effect on me." He seems to be absolutely delighted by this development. Then he remembers where he is and what is happening. He snaps at Elita One, "My racial prejudices? /My/ racial prejudices!? I - I - I, ugh, nevermind, this debate is not worth what time we all have left. In case you had not noticed, I was checking the stability of this crystal and looking for power sources to see if I can just teleport this bomb elsewhere." Maybe inside Shockwave. That Decepticon has it coming, ordering the murder of General Cross and roughing up Brussels and refusing to go down when Apocryphacius throws a transgenic pumpkin at him! Wait, no, Charr is still a better idea. Putting the bomb inside Shockwave mean everyone still dies; it just means Shockwave dies first. Shockwave can die another day. "...but in any case, the crystal is a bit burned out. Teleportation is off the table. There may be some other way to - General, look out, Triggerhappy is after you!" Having an easily derailed train of thought is not the best thing in this situation. Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. Elita One's optics turn to Galvatron as she absently answers Apocryphacius, "Sorry. Can you help radio your calculations to Shockwave and Computron?" Her attention refocuses on the enemy, THE enemy. This was not a fight she wanted, but there was little other option available, not when Computron was needed elsewhere. Elita starts going over all of the Warlord leader's strengths, his few weaknesses. It was always rumored his cannon actually pulled in energy from other dimensions. She looks behind herself at the bomb...No guarantees. Better to let Computron do the thinking for now, keep your own head in the game, otherwise you'll get blown apart. Focusing more on her agility, than her accuracy, she tries to anticipate the Con Leader's moves, "Can't let you do that, Galvatron. Cross is the only one who can get through that field. Cybertron is in peril. Don't you understand that?"" Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Elita One strikes Galvatron with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -3] Jump Tank gapes as Galvatron is completely unaffected by the Cybercidic weapon! "How!? That... but... th-that isn't possible!" He'd seen Trypticon shrug the weapon off, but to *deflect* it is something he never expected. And he's so stunned that he doesn't even notice Galvatron is going to blast him until he's already blasted. Even at a lower setting, the cannon devastates his tank, flipping it over and onto the ground. Cross himself crawls out of the cracked canopy with a grunt, and to his surprise, despite Apocryphacius betraying him, the Quint still warned him! And so, Cross dives away before Triggerhappy slams into his tank. "Engh, dammit... dammit! It can't end like this, I put too much planning into this! Nngh! Go to hell, Galvatron!" He stands, teeth clenched, pulling out his laser pistol and firing at Galvatron. "You, your false godhood, your planet, GO TO HELL!" Franklin Cross hops out of his jump tank! Combat: Franklin Cross sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Galvatron with his Laser attack! Exosuit nearly slams her console when her shot flies past, and he doesn't even take notice. "Damnit..." Heat rolls heavily off the end of the cannon now, the air shimmering while it tries to cool and ready another shot, leaving her to focus back on the pair of Insecticons now behind her, the butterfly having successfully wrenched Buzz from the suit, leaving a rather ugly, gaping hole. With her rig still in firing mode, she swings it back around to face the two, grimacing heavily. "Don't you bugs ever get the hint??" And with that she lurches forward, sending the butt of her assault rifle into Butterfly guy's pretty face with one hand, the other extending a large blade from the wrist which she attempts to slash Buzzkill with, hoping to fend her off. You send a radio message to Scattershot: Here, have a data dump of all my notes on these crystals. It is a rather large file, so this may hurt. Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Aggressive. Funny how everyone loves the Quintesson when they need his help, Amber observes cynically, stepping up to join him. She's suddenly reminded of her Quintesson-babysitting when she was sent back to the past... At least Apocryphacius isn't four fifths insane. "Still looking after him," she idly notes, unsurprised. Her attention is on her surroundings. There's the ceiling getting closer all the time, there's the scuffle between Triggerhappy and Cross, then Galvatron and Elita. Marissa Faireborn realizes she's way out of her depth without an exo-suit and though she tried to protect the QUintisson, he seems to have things under control...backing away, she turns and heads back to take care of her troops that are now cut off, organizing them and shouting orders for them to get into some semblence of formation and order, just in case they either are needed for battle or a hasty exit. She sends several out to try and find any wounded on the battle field as well. If the bomb doesn't destroy the planet, the planet might destroy them! The ceiling continues to descend, and in places EDC troops have to move quickly to avoid falling down chasms that begin opening up abruptly all across the area. "The planet's gone mad!" cries an Empty. "I told you idiots those humans were no good, but did you listen? Nooooo." Hubcap falls to his knees and grimaces, raising a hand to his head as data gets dumped over radio frequencies. "I wish people wouldn't /do/ that!" "You know, Buzzkill, maybe you should just get your barbs removed," Butterfly Guy suggests as he carries Buzzkill over to the rest of the group, her big heavy bee butt weighing him down a bit. "I mean, what purpose do they serve anyway? It just seems like you're trying to compensate for something or lack OF something I should say. See where I'm going with this?" Buzzkill tries to slap him with one of her bee legs but Velum beats her to it, Butterfly Guy's face collapsing under the weight of the assault rifle slamming into it. The poor guy is struck so hard it pretty much knocks him right out of the sky and onto a pile of dead Insecticon horseflies. Meanwhile, Buzzkill gets a wrist blade straight to the gut, tearing her open and causing energon to rain down all over the place. "Augh, you dumb bitch! There's a planet-destroying bomb that could go off any minute and you're attacking /me!?/ Get your priorities straight!" Shockwave take a step to the side, neck craning upwards as the Technobots merge to form Computron. A dark shadow pases over both him and the cybercidic sphere. The Decepticon was ready to bolt when a peice of The City nearly collapsed on him, but the behemoth swatted it aside for him. It does not convince Shockwave to trust the Autobots, but... "Nnn, though I am loathe to work with the Autobots... the safety of our planet is at stake," he tells Computron. "Transmitting anti-cybercidic field to you now." He glances at Apocryphacius. "Doublecheck whatever technical assistance the Quintesson gives you, Computron." As Cross is forced to flee his tank, Shockwave watches as he tries valiantly to defeat Galvatron with a mere pistol. Shockwave would find it hilarious if he had a sense of humour. "Cease toying with him, Galvatron. Finish him off," he recommends. Great, the Autobots brought their giant geek with. Well that will maybe help get something solved here. Even as the fighting continues to play out in the background Swindle takes a thoughtful look up at the sphere. "Would a casing with an anti-gravity field of its own help, big guy?" He grabs the 'grille' decoration of his abdomen and pulls it open, reaching into the revealed storage compartment beneath it. Really, did you think that was the actual front of his alt mode? Seriously. There's no way you could compress the actual front of a vehicle like that. "I'm pretty sure if I don't have one here, I've got the parts to put something to that effect together. Need anti-gravity fields any time I visit Nerlux VIII. Nice place, very tropical, but the gravity is 10 times earth's, can get very... uncomfortable quickly." Triggerhappy nearly flies into a dilapidated building after Cross manages to dodge him, but he transforms and lands smoothly on his peds just in time. He laughs as Galvatron's blast knocks Franklin's tank over, and the battered human crawls out, spluttering in surprise at the fact that his Cybertronian "doomsday" weapon is completely ineffective against Galvatron. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're surprised yet AGAIN. Didn't something like this happen -before-, or is your memory really that bad?" He reaches down and attempts to pluck the human off of the ground, intending to toy with him just a -bit- more before extinguishing his pathetic existence. "See, I told you this cycle wouldn't end well for you, fleshy!" Triggerhappy reverts to his root form. Combat: Triggerhappy sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Triggerhappy strikes Franklin Cross with his I told you so! (Grab) attack! The surviving Insecticons take a few steps away from Triggerhappy after he picks up Cross. They managed to live through this ordeal so far, better not take any chances considering what they expect to happen next. Galvatron only hisses through his teeth as a plasma bolt cracks into him from behind, blasting a divot out of one of his back pylons. "Hell, yes. I'm familiar with the concept!" He pursues Cross, feet pounding across the ground as he charges his cannon again with a deep hum "A place of infinite darkness, of utter cold! Hopeless, forsaken! The point of the universe furthest from the Creator! The carven rim, the inmost pit!" Galvatron advances on Triggerhappy and Cross, firing from the hip. "Where do you think I COME FROM?!" Combat: Galvatron strikes Franklin Cross with his Gunslinger Area attack! [Pulled -11] Combat: Galvatron strikes Triggerhappy with his Gunslinger Area attack! [Pulled -11] Apocryphacius has transmitted his data to Computron, because he is not going to send his data to Shockwave. Shockwave keeps talking about killing him! The Quintesson tries to grab General Cross away from Triggerhappy, or, if he cannot wrest the human away from Triggerhappy, at least provide emergency aid. He points out, "No. It does not have to end like this. You could defuse the bomb... under extreme duress. /I/ go down for high treason. You are exonerated because you cannot be held responsible for my rogue actions and retire somewhere." He shoots a pointed glance at Marissa and also at Elita One and finally at Amber, plucky news reporter. "All the witnesses agree. Do they not." Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. Combat: Apocryphacius quickly patches up some of Franklin Cross's minor injuries. Computron does not move or look at anyone, because he's really big and doesn't move except for punching usually... <> <> <> <> He pauses. <> Pause. <> He glances down at Shockwave. <> Marissa Faireborn continues to get her people organized, to get the wounded off the field and medical aid to them if possible while waiting for either the end to come or for the planet-killer to be disarmed. Elita One frowns, Galvatron didn't even register her blast. She barely notices the Quintesson's thoughts as she rushes towards the Chaosbringer's own. Elita covers the ground quickly even as Galvatron toys with the human. This was it, if he was to be saved, she had to break it up, the start was to get into melee. First there was a scrap of building to gain some height, then a leap to a ruined Insecticon trailing to the ground. It was all she had to get extra momentum, so from there, she clasped both hands onto her cannon and struck towards her enemy. "ALL I KNOW....." She shouted as she descended, "IS WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Elita One strikes Galvatron with her A Woman Scorned attack! Suddenly, Galvatron is barreling toward Triggerhappy. Oh...-slag-. He'd just realized what he'd done wasn't such a good idea... Sighing inwardly, he reminds himself of why he would immediately join Shockwave if the mech decided to stage a coup against Galvatron. Well, anyway that was something to think about on another cycle. Right now he had getting out of Galvatron's way to worry about it. However, he is too late, and the blast strikes the hand he was holding Cross with, blowing it to pieces. Ouch. Well, at least Cross was dead. ...Right? "I will take that as a yes... Aha, here it is." Swindle pulls an oddly shaped device out and shuts the compartment, then sits down on the edge of the topsided Sophia to fiddle with it. "Just need to recalibrate the settings, larger field deployment, containment frequency...." He looks over his shoulder as Galvatron blows off Triggerhappy's hand. "I'll put a pair of replacement hands on your tab." Then back to modifying the anti-gravity device. "Come to think of it..." Swindle looks up at Shockwave, then at Computron, then down at the device. Shrugs and hands it over to the bigger nerds. "Eh, we'll call this one on the house. I'll take the minor loss to resale values over being crushed like a discarded can after a Ginsu knife demonstration." Franklin Cross struggles in Triggerhappy's grip, but, well, giant robot and all. "Let go of me.. you... drooling lunatic!" he mutters before Galvatron charges at him. He goes wide-eyed, however, when he sees Galvatron shooting at him--while Triggerhappy is still holding him! is showered with shrapnel as Triggerhappy's wrist explodes around him, and the next thing that he knows, he's on the ground, looking up at a very fuzzy Quintesson. "Nghh... aggggh," he wheezes, trying to stand back up, but he's wracked with pain from the shrapnel that showered his body. His lower left arm is completely missing, but the Quintesson is patching him back up all the same and stopping the bleeding. "Just... let it happen, dammit," he wheezes at Apocryphacius. "Don't you realize it yet? You... know we've forced members of the Concurrence to work with the EDC. Ask yourself... hnghhh.... which super-criminal... has the EXACT same skillset as me? I'm not a man... that deserves... to live..." FLASHBACK Spike, at his Inaugural ball, gets shot in the chest. FLASHBACK Galactic Olympics, on Cybertron itself. A mall servicing both Cybertronians and humans suddenly explodes, killing dozens. Exosuit actually pauses when Buzzkill yells at her, the Nebulan pausing a moment before giving a shrug. "I know. But I seriously hate bugs, and you deserved that stab." Sage words, which are punctuated by a swift backhand to the bee's face before Velum is finally able to focus on the serious crisis at hand. After moving away from the bugs, she looks back to the group gathering near the sphere, eyes locking on the dangling Cross in Triggerhappy's grip. And Galvatron shooting at him. What the hell, why aren't they stepping in to stop that? Mouth twists into a hard line now, cannon rig shifting back, Velum ignoring the gaping hole in her armor as she begins sprinting off to the group. Galvatron and Shockwave, the biggest threats, may be there, but she was told to recover Cross, and that's just what she'll do whether he's still alive after that blast or left a corpse. She was aiming to snatch him from Triggerhappy's hand, but once that's blown off she's left skidding to a halt before the others, a look of shock crossing her face at the dieing man. ...What can she even do now? Exosuit slaps Cross for not waiting for her pose Shockwave is perfectly silent and perfectly still as he and Computron process data together. He's only faintly aware that Triggerhappy has gotten Cross, or that Galvatron is shooting at the both of them now. <> Shockwave sends the numbers needed to make it work back to Computron to be doublechecked. At the Technobot's last comment, however, Shockwave shakes his head, "No," he says out loud. "Franklin Cross has demonstrated he is willing to perish horribly to further his cause. We continue with our plan." Shockwave's concentration is so great that he cannot react to the life draining away from Cross. "Activate immediately, Computron," Shockwave states. Elita One has just opened fire again, and so the Autobot/Decepticon 'alliance', such as it is, might be breaking down already. Galvatron kids across the ground with Elita, bowled into with enough desperate force to carry him away from Cross (and the unfortunate Triggerhappy and his 'collateral handage') until they fetch up against the wall of an Empty's sad little shack, cracking it deeply and shattering all the windows. "Nnnng! Again?! You are starting to irritate me!" He tears his arms free of Elita's grip and tries to get ahold of her slender neck so he can start squeezing it. Incidentally this means he misses out on Cross' wounded revelation to his Quintesson friend. Combat: Galvatron sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Galvatron strikes Elita One with his Bare Hands attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Elita One's Agility. (Crippled) Triggerhappy stumbles backward, gripping his handless wrist as energon and other fluids gush freely from the severed joint. Pain pulses up his arm and radiates across his shoulder and upper torso. "F-frag..." But then he notices that Cross isn't dead yet, which mean he still had a job to finish. He lets go of his festering arm, clencing the one fist he has left before picking his weapon off the ground (he'd dropped it when he'd lost his other hand). The Targetmaster aims quickly in the general direction of Cross and his attending Quint, determined to finish off the organic. Combat: Triggerhappy strikes Franklin Cross with his Finishing it attack! ZAP! Cross gets flipped over as a shot lands below his feet, and yet the Targetmaster didn't quite aim high enough to kill him. Maybe it would have been better for him if he did, given his legs got toasted. Anyway, he screams in pain for a few good moments before he settles down, shuddering. "Y-you don't get it, there's Agents watching. If I help you, I'm dead anyway... I'm... just sorry I had to drag you down with me." The planet seems to be trying to encourage everyone to hurry up and find a solution, as giant pillars suddenly burst up from below, THROUGH the floor. And the bomb itself seems to be coming to life, humming louder and louder. <> Shockwave radios back, <> The Decepticon is still processing data, acting as a subprocessor for the Technobots. It's the sort of thing that only the more machine-like Transformers can get away with. He would help the others but the bomb has to be the top priority right now. Marissa Faireborn puts someone else in charge of getting things organized to evac if an exit can be found and getting the wounded taken care of, then she makes her way over towards where Cross is after watching the battle from a bit of a distance and listening to all the 'techno' babble. Finally, she kneels down next to him, so long as no one else is standing over him, on him or crowded around him. "Franklin," she says quietly to him, "Listen to me. If this goes off, you may get your revenge, but you will be taking some good humans with you. You might think it's a necessary sacrifice, and that may be so...but in the long run, is your revenge worth the lives of the human population? Did you consider that by taking out Cybertron, you'll leave a massive power void and a very angry race of mechs...No matter your past grievences with them, is it worth risking the lives of Earth, our home?" She looks around. "If there are Agents? Let them come after me. I'll deal with them. Please...don't do this." Science. It's awesome. Computron activates the crystals, a massive rift opening around the bomb...Nightmarish tentacles wrap around it, pulling it in to maybe eat it...or anime penetrate it, or whatever Cthulu things do. More tentacles start grope out of the rift, however, grabbing at Insecticons and whoever they can find... <> Computrons own nanite loaded weapon systems engage and start firing, the energy of their attacks overloading the crytals...Shockwave's contribution should put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak...AND SAVE THE PLANET! Apocryphacius is, it should be noted, fairly naive and gullible due to having the social skills of a rock. He was never going to be able to develop proper human social skills, because he is not human, and he never developed proper Quintesson social skills due to not being around Quintessons. Apocryphacius would like to think the best of people who are nice to him. He would like to argue for rehabilitation, rather than retribution. However, while rather badly in denial, he is not /stupid/. What criminal has that skillset? "Oh." "If I had better social skills, I probably would have lost multiple friends to you." Curie-condemn it! There is being a bad judge of character, and there is being a complete /moron/. "I suppose I will just lose one." Unfortunately, there is nothing Apocryphacius can do about Triggerhappy's fire. Maybe if he had spent more time working on forcefields and less time working on weapons! "I really am sorry, sir. Even so." He looks obliquely at Marissa and comments, "I have already calculated that destroying Cybertron without dealing with Charr will lead inexorably to humanity's destruction, the extinction of the Autobots, and Pax Decepticonia ruling the universe." It is possible that he is simply being pessimistic due to stress. "But if Computron and, ah, /Shockwave/ need more firepower... I do make a habit of carrying high explosives with me. Including fusion devices, at the moment." He reaches for the partially burned-out crystal. Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. Exosuit barely bats an eye at Galvatron beginning to choke out Elita after she attacks him, her mind focused on Cross as he lays dieing, mouth falling into a frown, face holding a look of ..pity? The exo takes a step forward, bending down a little to get closer. "Cross... despite all the things you've done, the strings you've pulled, and the people you've worked with up until now.. Somehow I still had a sliver of a respect for you. Still do. And maybe, even after all the bad you've done, maybe there's at least one good thing you can do before you go.." But her words cut short when Triggerhappy has the gall to shoot Cross again, Velum standing up straight in a flash, looking squarely at the Targetmaster. "Seriously?? We're all on the verge of dieing, and you still go and shoot him?!" And the fury is back, fueling Velum to literally leap at Triggerhappy and slam into him. Can you blame her? Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Exosuit strikes Triggerhappy with her Ram attack! Galvatron grins, plasma flaring and splashing across his face and leaving ugly scorch marks, but he only tightens his grip, squeezing Elita harder. He gets up to his feet, holding her aloft by the neck, and suddenly spins to try to slam her against one of the pillars rushing up through the floor of the cavern, shoving her into it as if he was sharpening a lawnmower blade on a grinder. At least it's keeping him distracted from the others- when he gets like this he seems to see nothing but his opponent. Or maybe 'victim' would be the more accurate word. Amber MacKenzie has no such useful skills. She can't help with the science, she can't help with the fighting. That leaves her to see Cross off. Wonderful. While she's not unsympathetic, she doesn't have enough positive feelings for him to actually comfort the man. With a sigh, she says truthfully, "I wish you'd just talked this out with someone instead of... all this." She focuses on his face; the sight of his battered, scorched body makes her queasy. "For a brilliant man, you've done some stupid things." Franklin Cross wheezes somewhat as Apocryphacius turns away from him. "I... understand. You know... for a... brief moment... it felt good, being one of the good guys. But I suppose... in the end... I wasn't very good at it." He listens to Marissa, and then Velum making appeals to him. Marissa pointing out that this won't turn out well, which Apocryphacius agrees with, ultimately. And Velum appeals to whatever humanity is left in him. He struggles with it. He became such a bitter man, later in life. Driven by a need for revenge, then exploited by MECH by his need for redemption. But maybe what he's being offered is a genuine shot at real redemption. "Alright. Your... plan is sound, but time is short. The bomb will go off if it's moved... even while it's going into the rift.. Sophia... disengage weapon locks. Switch crystal frequency to 1580.32384. Lock onto the bomb. Fire." And Sophia flips over, aiming its Cybercidic gun at the bomb, but this time, it fires a pinkish beam which strikes the bomb, and seemingly just in time, as it seemed about to burst. Its hull turns red, as if its interior is containing immense energy. While Computron and Shockwave puzzle over the finer points of finessing a solution Swindle takes a glance back at the others still trying to beat on each other. "I guess even in the threat of demise, some habits die hard." Turns back to the two, grinning. "I do have extra power conversion units too if you two need a boost." "Stand back!" Shockwave commands. The spreads his arms, making sure nobody is near him before bringing them up over his head, barrel sliding in out of subspace even as his legs connect and rocket boots lift him off the ground. <>There's a none too subtle *HUMMMMMMMMMM* that fills the cavern as Shockwave powers up to maximum capacity. "Hold the rift steady, Computron!" Shockwave calls out, abandoning the radio. Apocryphacius is reaching for a crystal, and Shockwave immediately understands what he is doing. "Quintesson, your life depends on the actions you take within the next ten seconds. Use your fusion bomb on my mark..." Shockwave's thrusters start to shake as he routes everything he has into his firing chamber. The rift has entirely enveloped the sphere, and the tentacles are continuing to grab at Insecticons. One of them is hauled in with a dreadful wail. "/Now/, Quintesson!" Once Apocryphacius has done his part with the fusion bomb (and, unwittingly, Sophia as well), Shockwave cuts loose with a concentrated blast. The light pink energy careens through the open rift, striking the crimson sphere just as it vanishes within. For such destructive beauty, it is remarkably noiseless. Bright, white light shines out through the rift, bathing everyone in its glow. It is reminiscent to the explosion that nearly destroyed Polyhex, or the one used against Trypticon at Muskrat Falls. But now, nullified by the nanites, the rift, the fusion bomb, the Jump Tank's firepower, and Shockwave's blast, all that's left of Franklin Cross's dream is harmless light and silence. Shockwave's legs combine as his back unfolds. A wide, silver barrel appears out of subspace and connects to his arms, completing his transformation into ray gun mode. Marissa Faireborn is knelt down next to Cross so not to hover over him. He's a dying soldier and she won't cosset him but she will at least be there at the end if it is his time. She sees what happens, hears Cross' words and then she looks down at him. "Thank you. I will promise you this Cross. I will do everything in my power to try to make Earth a better, safer place." Hey, orders are orders, and Triggerhappy is not one to disobey. And now his energon is all over Velum's exo-suit, still flowing from his lower arm. He glares at the Nebulan. "Get out of the way, I've got a -job- to finish. That disgusting bag of flesh needs to -die-." He snarls, attempting to shove Velum and send her and her exo-suit barreling backward into Cross and those around him as memories of the agony Cross had previously put him through involuntarily resurface. Maybe it was the pain from the severed limb, which was still burning from Galvatron's blast earlier. All that brain module zapping might have been somewhat therapeutic, but he certainly still had some of the crazy left in him. Combat: Triggerhappy misses Franklin Cross with his Out of my way! (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Triggerhappy strikes Exosuit with his Out of my way! (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Triggerhappy misses Amber MacKenzie with his Out of my way! (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Triggerhappy misses Marissa Faireborn with his Out of my way! (Ruckus) Area attack! Galvatron tosses the inactive Elita aside and looks towards the light, squinting into the blinding rift. To his credit he doesn't cover his eyes with his hand. Galvatron is the kind of person who looks into eclipses out of spite for the sun. ... and that would be Swindle clues to back off a bit... and duck behind something for cover. Just in case. Computron breaks into a collection of Technobots. Scattershot stares at where the portal used to stand, and nods to Shockwave before turning to his team. "Finish evacing EDC and locals. Get 'em behind The Wall to prepare for a trip home." He sighs, watching the scene before them: total chaos. Cross dying, Cybertronians fighting, the city transforming to defend itself... "Ah want to call it a day, Shockwave... let's pull our people off of each other." Apocryphacius does, on Shockwave's mark, make an impromptu fusion bomb out of the half-burnt-out crystal. There is a spiteful part of him that would have liked to use the bomb on Shockwave and Triggerhappy and Galvatron instead (the Insecticons are marginally less vexing). However, since Triggerhappy is back to his game of 'try to murder Cross', Apocryphacius reaches for another one of his syringes. He does not tap it for bubbles this time. Instead, he simply tries to drive it into the Decepticon and hisses, "You get. The slag. Away from him." Combat: Apocryphacius sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Triggerhappy with the Apocryphacius-forged Nice Trip attack! Combat: Triggerhappy has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Used up 1 Charges. 0 remain. Franklin Cross wheezes. "I guess... I did screw it all up. But... considering, I didn't have much choice." He looks up at Marissa. "I... am sorry for poisoning you, but, at the time, it was the only alternative he'd hear. But... at least, you can go back to doing what I failed to." More shots sound out right next to him, but Cross doesn't seem to notice. And perhaps Triggerhappy needn't have bothered as his eyes slowly close. Elsewhere, a group of EDC humans look up in fear, trapped between pillars as a final pillar descends towards them. But then, just as they're about to be crushed, the planet relents, and the pillars rise back up. How does the planet know that the threat is truly gone? That's a question only a few may know the answer to. "Ergh, just forget it already, you idiot! He's not worth it anymore!" Velum snarls as she grapples with Triggerhappy, making sure to get in a few punches to his ugly face before he sends her backwards towards the others. But thankfully his aim is off, Velum's exo landing with a hard thud away from the little group. She makes a move to get up, but pauses when the efforts of Computron, Shockwave, and Cross cause the bomb to give off a brilliant shine above her, the woman only able to stare in awe as the cockpit window tints to counteract the light. It's actually quite lovely, despite its capabilities. With the lightly slowly diminishing, the Nebulan holds off on attacking Triggerhappy again, suit sitting up now to turn to Cross, an actual smile now gracing her face. "I knew there was some good in you.. Thank you, Cross." But the smile fades as his eyes close and she grimaces a little, finally standing. "...We need to get out of here before the Cons turn back to us. ...At least give him a proper funeral." Marissa Faireborn watches as Cross' eyes close and she looks up at Amber before rubbing her forehead in frustration. "Such potential wasted on revenge," she said in frustration. She looks up as Shockwave draws close, runs his scan and she moves closer to what's left of Cross, standing between him and the rest of the mechs. "Don't. He's gone and that's it. Nothing you do will make this any better." Triggerhappy had been rushing forward about to pound Cross' body into a pulp on the ground once he had knocked Velum away when Apocryphacius suddenly stabs him with a syringe. "N-no...I...have to--" He stammers, perhaps unaware that Cross' life has already gone out of him but his voice just statics into nothingness. Already woozy from energon loss, he staggers forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground near the now-dead human. Galvatron kicks Elita across the damp ground towards Scattershot with a limp clatter. Little broken pieces rattle around inside her. "Take your poor excuse for a 'leader' and get out of here while I have no great interest in hurting you, Scattershot," Galvatron snarls. "Today all sons of Cybertron should rejoice at their common enemy's defeat." Galvatron walks over to look down at Cross briefly, hands clenched. He addresses the body, but it seems he's talking to Marissa instead. "A pity, that after all he was weak, and showed mercy. Still, a momentary lapse, at the end. He was worthy to be a warlord of your unworthy species. I will let you live to attempt to fill his shoes." Marissa Faireborn motions to Velum, "Help me pick him up. We need to get the troops out of here and up to the evac point." And with that, she looks at Amber, "Can you supervise this while I go get the troops ready and we do a last sweep for injured and gather up the few dead? Apocryphacius , having satisfied some of his species's baser violent desires, turns back to Cross, whose eyes are closed. He shrieks - and his voice is honestly pretty unpleasant to hear when he's upset - he can literally break glass, after all - "No! Slaggit, no! I /reject/ this reality." He looks back at Triggerhappy, tentacles twitching, and he thinks about all he /things/ he could do the paralyzed Decepticon. Galvatron hauls up Triggerhappy in one hand and gets him back on his feet. "Stand aside, Triggerhappy. The Earthlings have my leave to bury their lord on his native soil." Galvatron nudges the angry egg away with his foot if it keeps poking at Triggerhappy while Galvatron is propping him up. Marissa Faireborn looks upward at the Decepticon warlord, her face schooled in an unreadable expression. "I look forward to the challenge and hope some day to make Earth free of Decepticons." And with that, she walks over towards Apocrphacius, "Come on. Help Velum with his body. Lets go home." "Good enough for me!" Quickly Swindle snatchs up his anti-gravity device once the deed is done, before someone else tries to make off with it. Because that's his job! Eyes the Sophia for a moment... but then decides he's not in the mood try to lug something off here, not without Brawl or someone to do the heavy lifting. Though maybe if... Triggerhappy collapses on the ground. So much for that. "Well would you look at the time. I would love to stay and chat farther, but there's another operation with my name on it that needs me more." He holds up to fingers to his forehead in a mock salute, then turns partially to glance towards Shockwave. "Rest assured the next shipment will be on time. This little forway won't degrade the schedule any." Delivery of -what-? You never know with Swindle. And the Combaticon is ambling off before anyone can ask. He's a mining operation to see to... and some component/organ harvesting to pay off someone to do.... Scattershot gives Galvatron a smirk of a nod as Elita clatters at his feet. "Ah'll make sure t'send you a card next 'We stopped the weird interdimensional bomb together' day." Wolfwings lands next to him, transforming into robot mode. Scattershot lights a cigar. "Get her back to Iacon..." He sighs as the Decepticons start to pull out. "Leader? Heh. No one ever remembers Ah'm in charge..." He puffs the cigar, walking towards Marissa. "Maybe it's time to paint myself pink and get a time stopping whatsit. Maybe get a Prime interested..." He stops, picking up Apocryphcius gently. "Let's get you patched up, squiddy. Bottlethrottle will get you to the drilltank." Bottlethrottle is there suddenly, and transforms into a two wheeled ambulance thing. Shockwave steps back to rejoin Galvatron, standing just to his side as he announces that the humans may that the corpse of Franklin Cross. "We will discuss it when we return, Swindle." Yes, the Decepticons have further plans. Don't think the war is taking a break with Cross's demise. The Guardian of Cybertron eyes all of his enemies, one by one. Marissa Faireborn, no doubt on the path to retaking leadership of Earth Defence Command; weak and wounded. Scattershot, believing he has a chance to do serious harm to the Empire; foolish and reckless. Elita One, headstrong and defiant; dangerous but ultimately hindered by her own personal flaws. Velum, sitting next to Cross; ridiculous that she would have any sympathy for the madman. Apocryphacius, the brilliant yet clueless foreigner; likely to either embrace his people's legacy or perish. Amber Mackenzie, the scrappy human underdog; brave yet ineffectual. The Healthabots land and start pulling evacuating the remaining injured robots... Their leader Blue Cross transforms into a medical chinook. Elita One is loaded in. Exosuit remains silent now, the reactions from others no longer phasing her as she nods to Marissa, exo moving to gently reach down and scoop up the lifeless form of Cross, making sure he's arranged in a dignified manner in the large palms as she carries him off. She needs a seriously strong drink after this. And a lot of them. The Combaticon might have had a hard time capturing Sophia, because as it turns out, it's controlled, at least in part, by an AI, which rolls up slowly to Cross's body. It just sits there, inscrutably. Is it feeling anything? Can it feel anything? Or is it just responded to a condition programmed into it? Triggerhappy remains limp in Galvatron's grasp. If Apocryphacius wished to embrace the legacy of the Quintessons and exact revenge upon him in the most terrifying way he could imagine, he'd have to do it some time when Galvatron wasn't around, most likely. "Or perhaps," Galvatron muses, watching the Earthlings withdraw with their dead, "the quiet embrace of the clay would not be to his liking. Out of their many quaint death rites, it seems too... damp. Too still. A man of war should burn." He nods to himself. "A pyre would suit better, wrapped in fire for his shroud like a savage king." Apocryphacius is yanked up by Scattershot, clearly seething and quite likely to do something extremely unwise, like try to do emergency battlefield mnemosurgey on Triggerhappy's lasercore. When he is handed off to Bottlethrottle, in the dim light of the cavern, the Quintesson suddenly recognizes the silhouette, and he screams, "NO! No no no no no!" his faces wheeling around rapidly. Seems the pressure was finally too much for the Quintesson, and he snapped, eh? Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. Marissa Faireborn sighs and walks off to get her men pointed in the right direction. Galvatron turns on his heel, shoving Triggerhappy away. "We go, Decepticons. We have spent enough time in distraction. This puts me in mind of my old enemy and his upstart usurper. Primes are the only corpses I treasure." As Cross's body is carried away, Sophia follows Velum, apparently faithful to the end... The Healthabots wrap their evac on the injured and Nosecone pulls up in the drilltank. Afterburner steps out. "Last train to Iacon, idiots." He announces. Bottlethrottle rolls up the ramp with Apocryphacius screaming inside him and Faireborne's troops climb aboard. MEANWHILE, BACK ON EARTH Commander Silas stares at a clock from within a control room, where numerous personnel are monitoring reports from Cybertron. He watches the clock tick past the deadline for Cybertron's destruction. Then, a report comes in over the radio, loud enough for all to hear. "Sir... Recon Vessel Demetrius reporting in. The bomb has not been detonated. I repeat, the bomb has not been detonated. Cybertron... has not been destroyed" Everyone in the room sloooowly turns to Silas, who leans over onto his table, hands clenched, staring down. "Everyone," he says, voice tense, "Get. Out." And his men quietly, but quickly, walk out of the room, leaving their Commander to brood. ================================== Autobot =================================== Message: 3/131 Posted Author Order for: 5000 tons of nanites Fri Nov 09 Repugnus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Repugnus appears, looking a bit non-plussed. "Yep, heard the news. We saved Cybertron again, Cross is out, big woop." He snorts. "Perceptor, I want you to begin mass-producing your crystal-busting nanites. I'd say about 5000 tons oughta do it. When you're done, we're gonna get Fanfare and guys like him to sprinkle them on both Earth and Cybertron, and hopefully that way we can eradicate the damn things before someone figures out a way to implode the universe with them. And Perceptor? I don't wanna hear any crap about "science" or whatever, these things are too dangerous. That's an order. Repugnus out." ============================================================================== ================================= Decepticon ================================= Message: 2/90 Posted Author AAR: Cross's Demise Fri Nov 09 Shockwave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shockwave appears on the screen, standing in what appears to be an underground shanty town for neutral wrecks and Empties. The place has been torn up (even more so than normal, for a robo-hobo town). Lots of 'buildings' are either on fire or already burnt down, and Shockwave himself is showing a few signs of battle. Numerous Insecticons are also in the area, pushing Empties around and sifting through the wreckage. "General Cross, or the ex-Protectorate leader Compton Xabat as we now know him to be, is dead. He, his Quintesson lackey, and his remaining EDC allies attempted to destroy Cybertron using a massive cybercidic bomb from here in 'The City', a refuge underneath the Istoral Chasm for broken and lost Transformers. My strike team, consisting of Buzzkill and her Insecticons, Swindle, and Triggerhappy, infiltrated the camp and attacked. However the Technobots, led by Elita One, quickly arrived as well. I now believe they followed my team." Behind Shockwave, an Insecticon idly shakes down an Empty for pocket change while another runs away. Shockwave pays them no mind. "The EDC soldiers either perished at our hands or quickly swore loyalty back to Marissa Faireborn, and Computron and I were able to send the device through an inter-dimensional rift where it could be safely destroyed. Franklin Cross, aka Compton Xabat, was killed by Triggerhappy and Galvatron, who arrived part way through the battle." It was a bit confusing who exactly killed the ex-EDC General. "During my link with Computron, I learned all there is about Perceptor's solution to the cybercidic weapon, and as a result I am no longer continuing my work in weaponizing it for our own purposes." Shockwave waves his hand dismissively, "I leave the option available for other aspiring Decepticon scientists, however. Our forces will be returning to Polyhex immediately to enter the next phase of the war against the Autobots. Shockwave out." ============================================================================== ================================== Reports =================================== Message: 9/41 Posted Author EDC troops come home Sat Nov 10 Repugnus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (From GNN:) EDC TROOPS COME HOME The remnants of the EDC forces sent to invade Cybertron returned today. GNN has tried without success to interview the soldiers. EDC officers stated that, "All questions will be answered once General Faireborn has issued a statement." This revelation is particularly startling, indicating that Faireborn has retaken command of the EDC from General Cross. GNN has also tried to interview numerous world leaders about this development, but they have been extremely tight-lipped, with American Vice-President threatening to punch a reporter who asked him questions on this matter. Sources all over the world, however, say that world leaders are "terrified" of what happened while the EDC was at Cybertron. ==============================================================================
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