Beast Wars: 

Amnesty
By: Michael

Chapter 8

Six long, agonizing months had passed since Maximus Primal conquered Cybertron with his Vehicon drones. During that time, over four million Cybertronians, both Maximal and Predacon, had been either arrested or executed for opposing Maximus in any form or fashion.

In the meantime, the Axalon Crew had managed to gather various resistance groups across the planet secretly, in an allied effort to defeat Maximus' armies. It was an effort that seemed... rather hopeless.

The various underground resistance movements had been contacted through the Axalon crew's secret base, via secret electronic communications. Soon, nearly all groups had joined them.

While everyone initially voted for Rhinox, he had declined to be leader of the movement. One thing was certain; he was ashamed of himself for losing all hope when imprisoned by Senator Nero.

"I'm not fit for this," he said to everyone as he hung his head in shame, "There's someone better out there than me to lead you."

Rattrap was also chosen but he refused vehemently. "Hey!" he had said, "Just 'cause I was second-in-command to Optimus Primal doesn't mean I wanna make 'dis a long-term thing!"

Finally, during a meeting, Dinobot spoke out in favor of someone unexpected.

"Cheetor?" asked Silverbolt sceptically.

"Affirmative," said Dinobot, "It was he, after all, who came up with the strategy that saved you all. Furthermore, his abilities and tactical mind have improved by leaps and bounds ever since we came back from the Beast Wars!"

Rhinox and Rattrap looked at each other thoughtfully. Dinobot was right. Cheetor had been forced to mature very quickly throughout all of this. He certainly demonstrated his aptitude many times in near hopeless situations.

Cheetor listened to all of this intently but still had his doubts.

"Are you guys sure about me?" he asked, "I mean, I always did want to become a commander someday but I never was in this much of a hurry!"

Everyone stayed silent at the table. Finally Rhinox spoke out. "Cheetor," he said, "You've shown yourself to have the abilities necessary to fight for us all. In that moment where we were held captive, I gave up all hope. You, on the other hand, fought on and with your determination, rescued us all! You even helped to organize all these various resistance groups together!"

"Yeah," said Depthcharge, "I think Cheetor may have what it takes to turn the tide of this battle!"

"All in favor of Cheetor, raise your hand," said Rhinox. All at the table raised theirs. Silverbolt looked a bit hesitant but finally raised it.

In the slums of Destropolis, three figures went down the street, followed by a contingent of cycle drones. Jetstorm, Thrust, and Tankorr were on patrol.

In the past few months, the three of them had become inseparable companions and friends. They had developed quite a reputation on the streets as well. They had changed from young, naive clones to three fearsome generals who led the Vehicon armies.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're doing any real good," sighed Thrust, "Whenever people see us, they run as if we're the Swarm!"

"It's nothing," grunted Tankorr, "What we're doing isn't all that bad! Heck, crime has gone down drastically ever since we took over!"

"Maybe," mused Thrust, "But at what cost?"

"Hey!" said Tankorr almost defensively, "The vision Maximus has for this planet isn't half that bad! In fact, if I were running the show, it would be something like this, except better of course!"

Jetstorm and Thrust looked at each other and laughed. Now it was no secret to them that Tankorr said stuff like how he should be the ruler of the planet. What they didn't know, however, was that Tankorr was actually serious about it.

"What's getting you down?" asked Tankorr as he saw Jetstorm looking at the sky gloomily, "It's that stinkin' femme-bot again, isn't it?!?"

"How'd you guess?" said Jetstorm in a depressed tone.

"Ever since I saw the way you looked at her!" rumbled Tankorr, "But you know what? Maybe it isn't all that bad that you have an obsession with her."

"What do you mean?" asked Jetstorm.

"What I mean is that the next time you see her, you need to kill the fuzor and take her for yourself," explained the large Vehicon, "When she sees that you're the stronger 'bot, she'll go for you instead. But first things first! You need to prove yourself before anything else and bring Silverbolt down!"

"Hmm, not a bad suggestion, Tankorr," said Jetstorm darkly.

"Of course it isn't," smiled Tankorr malevolently.

Thrust shook his head. He had hung out with these two WAY too much.

At the underground resistance base, the crew of the Axalon stood before the assembled rebel groups and gave a short speech on Cheetor being nominated the leader.

"And so," finished Cheetor, "It's with great honor that I'm given the chance to lead you to victory against Maximus and his iron-fisted rule! Many of us may not come back from the final conflict but what really matters in the end is that we go into it fighting against a dictator who seeks to consume all life on Cybertron under his darkness!"

The groups broke in a tremendous applause. Many of their families and friends had been tortured and slaughtered by Maximus' forces.

Later that day, Cheetor met with Rhinox and Rattrap to discuss something of great importance.

"You see," said Rhinox, "The largest Predacon rebel group, led by this guy who calls himself Gigatron, is offering to join us!"

"I understand," said Cheetor, "I guess we're meeting with them right now?"

"Yup," continued Rhinox, "In fact, we need to go greet them right now, at sector 4.5436 in the sewers.

Dinobot and Depthcharge accompanied them along with two Maximal rebels to meet up with Gigatron.

Finally, they were at the exact location in the underground pipelines of Cybertron where Gigatron had specified for them to be at.

Gigatron and several of his minions stepped out of the shadows.

"So," he said in a manner that did not find itself pleasant with most of the Axalon Crew, "I see you've created a most powerful resistance."

Cheetor refused to be baited. "Yes," he said, "I received word that you would like to join our group."

"Absolutely," sneered Gigatron, "Your rebel forces need some diversity especially since there are so few Predacons in the makeup of your group."

"As a matter of fact," said Rhinox, "All of the Predacon underground movements HAVE joined us, except for yours! We are fighting a common enemy after all."

"Yes, yes..." muttered Gigatron, "And in return for my services, I only ask for one thing."

"And that is?" asked Cheetor.

"Tell me which of you loathsome animals killed Megatron!" he growled softly.

Cheetor, Rattrap, Rhinox, Dinobot, and Depthcharge looked at each other. Finally Dinobot stepped forth, his eyes meeting Gigatron's.

"I did," he said.

Gigatron immediately reached for his energy whip. The Predacons, seemingly at his command, did not draw their weapons.

Dinobot tensed but Depthcharge whipped out his gun in a split nano-klik, soon aiming it directly towards the side of Gigatron's head.

"Draw that whip and you'll lose fifty 'giga'-bytes of memory from your helmeted head!" he snarled as he threatened to press down on the trigger.

"Depthcharge, no!" cried Cheetor, "We need his help!"

Depthcharge finally lowered his gun. "You get off easy this time," he said, glaring at Gigatron. Gigatron decided not to draw his whip either.

"At the moment," he said huffily, "I have no time to deal with personal vendettas against you fools! But I warn you, after Maximus Primal is defeated, I will hunt down each and every one of you mercilessly!"

Despite his threat, Cheetor and the others could tell that Gigatron was plainly scared.

"It's a deal then?" asked Cheetor with a slight smile.

"For now," said Gigatron. The two of them shook hands.

Maximus Primal, meanwhile, had not been idle either. He looked up at the top of his tower where his chief scientists were working on a project that would ensure him ultimate victory over the land.

The Merlin Satellite it was called. Within a few days, it would be fully operational and soon, all sentient life on Cybertron would bow before him. For one thing, it would project a radio wave over all of Cybertron, stimulating the locking chips of all Transformers on the planet that had either Maximal or Predacon programming, thus taking control of their minds.

Ever since he slew Nero, he had felt a great cleansing, almost as if he were reborn. There were a great number of things about the Maximal senator that Maximus hated with all his spark.

However, before he could think of his past with Nero, Obsidian and Strika came out to meet him at the balcony of his palace.

"Maximus, sir," asked Obsidian, "Are you alright? You seem to be more contemplative than ever."

"Of course," said Maximus as he huffed himself up, "I was merely planning for the future."

"We'll be here if you ever need anything," offered Strika.

"I'm fine," said Maximus gruffly, "I appreciate your help. I'll be heading to my room now."

Obsidian and Strika looked at each other and then back at Maximus.

"This is it!" thought Tankorr. He had been planning this for the last three months. He watched as Maximus entered his room and shut the doors.

"This better do the trick," said Tankorr to himself. In his hand, he held a vial, containing a small, insect-like creature that he had purchased from off the streets.

It was called the Nega-bug, a small, illegal insectoid drone that contained the properties of Nithium cyber-venom, the deadliest form of it ever. Within three to four days, Nithium would have eaten away at the spark, killing its host permanently.

Without warning, a voice rang out from the room, an unfamiliar voice that Tankorr had never heard before.

"Tankorr, would you be a good lad and come inside!"

Whoever he was, he certainly unnerved Tankorr. Finally, Tankorr decided to enter the room...

About a mega-cycle later, Obsidian and Strika walked down the halls discussing Maximus' new plan. Suddenly, they saw Tankorr walking in the opposite direction. He looked very shaken and was mumbling something unintelligible like, "I....never... oppose Maximus... again...."

They saw Maximus standing behind Tankorr. Tankorr looked like he had seen a ghost.

"What happened?" asked Strika.

Maximus gave Tankorr a little pat on the back to send him off.

"Let's just say I gave our dear boy a lesson in manners," he said as he put the Transmetal X unit he had in his hands back into his leg compartment.

"We strike tonight," said Cheetor, "A combination of Predacon and Maximal forces will station themselves against the main palace tonight as a diversion. Myself and several others will infiltrate the palace through the sewers. Maximus has this new device called the Merlin Satellite that, according to a mysterious messenger, will mentally enslave all sentient life on Cybertron! Hopefully, we'll end Maximus' reign of terror tonight!"

The Predacon and Maximal rebel leaders nodded in agreement around the table.

"And what?" asked Gigatron, "You want me to send in my troops as cannon fodder for the Vehicons?"

"It's not like that, Gigatron," Cheetor began, "As I said before, a combination of both Maximal and Predacon forces will engage the Vehicons outside the main palace as a diversion. You're not the only one who has to make sacrifices."

"Hmph," snorted Gigatron as he went back into his moody, silent mode.

"I don't trust 'dis guy much," whispered Rattrap to Rhinox, "I've read up on how he's willin' to kill his own minions if necessary and now he's accusin' us of wantin' to sacrifice his men?"

"Don't trust him either," said Rhinox softly, "But we may need his help for the upcoming battle so he is a necessary evil after all."

"We are ready to do our part," spoke the Predacon leader of Cybertron's Southern sector, "Just take down Maximus and his toy!"

"Then it's settled," said Cheetor. Everyone nodded in accordance and left to brief their respective forces.

Blackarachnia looked everywhere for Depthcharge. It was in the mechanics building that she finally found him, walking out of the room.

"Depthcharge," she began, "I--"

"Outta my way," he said coldly and walked away from her. Before she could call after him, Blackarachnia felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go," said Cheetor sadly.

Blackarachnia sighed. "I keep trying to talk to him to tell him how grateful I am he tried to help get Silverbolt back AND to apologize for betraying his trust in the past... well, if he ever did trust me in the first place, that is."

"He's been through more than any of us can understand," replied Cheetor softly, "I think all we can do now is to give him his space and hope that one day, someone will reach him."

"I understand," whispered Blackarachnia, "Some day maybe..."

That night, everything proceeded according to schedule. Several tank drones patrolled around Maximus' fortress, shining their lights at any sign of movement.

One of them found a tiny orb that rolled harmlessly towards his unit. Bending over, he scooped it up for a quick scan for any dangerous properties. As soon as he picked it up, however, the orb detonated, taking several Vehicon tank drones with it.

Every drone perked its head up in alert as they witnessed the explosion take several of their comrades. All too soon, across the planet, a state or rebellion erupted as the gathered rebel forces of Predacons and Maximals attacked their Vehicon oppressors.

Meanwhile, a different sort of battle was to take place within the fortress of Maximus Primal. Cheetor, leading the Axalon crew, as well as two Predacon guards, across the sewers, finally found an opening that led to the palace floors.

"This is it," he said to his team.

"Whatever happens," said Silverbolt, "I want you to know that you have been the best friends I've ever known."

"Thanks, 'bolt," laughed Rattrap, punching the fuzor in the arm lightly, "We's gonna come outta 'dis alive, don't worry!"

"You're thinking positively for once, vermin!" pointed out Dinobot, "Could your attitude have changed?"

"Not likely, scalebelly!" retorted Rattrap. "But it's something Optimus would've said to us..." he said quietly.

Everyone went silent and hung their heads in sadness.

"It's okay, Rattrap," said Cheetor, "We miss him too..."

"Optimus gave his life for us and the lives of countless others," said Blackarachnia, "The least we can do is follow in his footsteps to honor his memory."

"Wazzpinator ready!" declared the giant wasp in that team.

"Let's do it then," said Cheetor as he opened the door that led to the corridors of the palace.

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"Intruders detected within the palace!" reported Obsidian to Maximus.

"Excellent," said Maximus, "Obsidian! Strika! You and the Vehicons will greet our guests personally! However, allow only the Transmetal II raptor to reach me!"

Obsidian, Strika, Jetstorm, and Thrust saluted Maximus. However, everyone soon realized someone was missing.

"Where is Tankorr?" asked Maximus angrily.

"He... was with us a mega-cycle ago," said Thrust timidly, "Dunno where the slag he is right now, Lord Maximus."

"It doesn't really matter," said Maximus absent-mindedly, "Right now, the tank drones are still functioning normally in battle so I will deal with Tankorr after this is through."

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Rhinox sat at the computers in the underground base. He had hoped to be there to help his friends but it seemed that they asked him to stay at base to give them advice through a radio-link they all had. After all, Gigatron had given them an electronic map of the palace and Rhinox, being the most apt with electronics, could communicate with them and help lead them through the mazes and corridors of the palace.

"As long as I'm helping them in some way," thought Rhinox to himself as he instructed the team to take a right down the Autobot antique rooms.

Little did Rhinox know, someone outside was waiting for the right moment to strike.

<This is the fastest way to get to the throne room> said the voice.

"Got it, Rhinox," replied Cheetor through the radio-link.

The team stepped into the throne room at last and, to their surprise, did not see Maximus at all.

"Strange," mused Depthcharge, "This guy's suppose to be really bold and fearless, not afraid of some small commando squad sent after him.

Abruptly, all the openings were closed down by steel doors. The lights dimmed for several nano-kliks, accompanied by the shots of gunfire. Once the room had become bright again, the two Predacon escorts with the Axalon Crew were down and out.

Obsidian, Strika, Thrust, Jetstorm, and two cycle drones stood before them.

<Uh-oh! You guys in trouble over there?!?> came Rhinox's voice through the com-links.

"Do not worry, Rhinox," replied Dinobot, "They will be dealt with swiftly!"

"Not so fast, Dinobot," said Cheetor quietly to him, "We'll hold them off! You and Depthcharge need to reach the satellite and destroy it!"

Depthcharge and Dinobot looked at each other briefly. "We're on it," said Depthcharge.

Cheetor and his team immediately opened fire upon the Maximal and Vehicon generals who fired back, no longer paying attention to Dinobot and Depthcharge who made their way around them.

"That was too easy," said Depthcharge to Dinobot, "It's almost as if they're LETTING us through!"

The steel door before them opened miraculously as well.

"What did I tell you?" asked Depthcharge. Dinobot just ran down the hall as fast as he could with Depthcharge behind him.

Silverbolt grappled with Jetstorm in the air. The Vehicon general was much stronger than he was, however. Silverbolt soon found Jetstorm's hands around his throat.

"Once you're out of the way, Blackarachnia will be mine!" growled the Vehicon general. "What!?!" exclaimed Silverbolt who managed to pry Jetstorm's hands off his throat.

"You heard me, father!" Silverbolt heard him yell, "Once I prove to Blackarachnia that I'm much stronger than you, she will love me!"

Silverbolt was not the most intelligent 'bot out of the Maximals but in this case, he was able to put two and two together clearly.

"You're my... clone?" said Silverbolt in almost a whisper. "That's right!" laughed Jetstorm as he punched Silverbolt brutally across the face, "Superior to you in every way and soon, Blackarachnia will think so too!"

What Jetstorm did not know about his "father" was that he obviously became very angered when it came to matters involving his beloved.

Silverbolt took out his spear and brought it down on Jetstorm's head with all his might, smashing the Vehicon general down into the ground.

Jetstorm got up, enraged and in pain. Concentrating all his power to the palms of his hands, he fired several balls powered by wind towards Silverbolt, who dodged them all and slammed into Jetstorm, the two of them continuing their brutal fight.

Cheetor and Blackarachnia battled against Obsidian and Strika fiercely. Strika swung her fists down, intending to smash Blackarachnia, who only leaped out of the way.

"Kinda slow, aren't we?" mocked Blackarachnia. It only angered Strika further.

Cheetor and Obsidian were also locked in mortal combat. "You've got no chance against one of Cybertron's greatest generals, boy!" threatened Obsidian, "I suggest you surrender!"

"Not a chance!" growled Cheetor as he flipped Obsidian over with a judo throw.

Thrust blasted at Waspinator with several shots as the wasp zigged and zagged across the air. Finally, he aimed correctly and blasted one of Waspinator's wings off. Zooming over towards the fallen insect, Thrust lifted Waspinator up and swiftly punched him across the floor.

"And to think that I was cloned from you," said Thrust disgustedly, "When Obsidian told us that we were the clones of the Axalon crew, I thought I came from the cat's circuitry. Imagine my reaction when I found out it was really you!"

He lifted Waspinator up and threw him against a large stone statue of Ultra-Magnus whose base had been nearly destroyed by the firepower that had racked much of the throne room.

"Rhinox...."

"Huh? Who's there?" asked Rhinox.

"Just a warning, father!" boomed the voice over the loud-speakers, "Come out and greet me in the junkyard now! I know your location and I'm warning you! I've rigged your underground base with several explosives, big enough to take this whole base out and disrupt your whole operation!"

"Can't take any chances... but still, I gotta help Cheetor and the others!" thought Rhinox. An explosion rocked the base from the science lab.

"That was just a warning, father!" growled the voice, "Come out now or fail forever in your endeavours to save this planet from the fiery grip of totalitarian rule!"

Hanging his head in defeat, Rhinox realized he had no choice, especially if he were to continue giving tactical advice to the rebels fighting against the Vehicons. He got up and quickly left the room.

Soon, he was outside in the junkyard, facing the hulking terror known as Tankorr.

"You called me father..." said Rhinox.

"Absolutely," laughed Tankorr, "I'm your clone, modified to have your peak strength and engineered with powers beyond your wildest dreams! To put it lightly, I've been endowed with everything that you could have had, if not for your pacifistic cowardice!"

"It all makes sense now," said Rhinox, "This is what Strika did with me and Waspinator when she had us down."

"You got it, sport!" rumbled the clone.

"What do you want?" demanded Rhinox. "This!" cried Tankorr as he thrust his fist into Rhinox, sending the Maximal scientist staggering back in pain. Before Rhinox knew it, Tankorr was laying into him, brutally beating him about like a punching bag.

Rhinox refused to take it lying down. As he fell, he noticed a large metal beam besides him. Picking it up, he smashed it across Tankorr's head, knocking the huge Vehicon down.

Tankorr roared in anger, got up, and fired his freezing ray at Rhinox, who quickly picked up another large piece of metal on the ground to use as a shield.

The ray struck the metal object, freezing it. Rhinox immediately chucked it at Tankorr, who punched through it, smashing it into pieces.

Tankorr concentrated intensely. As he did, Rhinox felt the temperature dropping rapidly. Several dagger-shaped icicles appeared out of thin air and launched themselves towards Rhinox. He quickly rolled out of the way, but not fast enough. One icy dagger embedded itself into his arm.

Ignoring the pain, Rhinox pulled it out and ran from Tankorr, hoping to lead him away from the base.

"Wanna play hide and seek, huh?" called Tankorr, "Fine! Don't expect me to play by the rules!"

"Can't keep this up too long," thought Rhinox as he hid behind some machinery, "I'm no match for him power-wise and the others need my help! There's gotta be some way I can outsmart him!"

Dinobot and Depthcharge ran down the hall as fast as they could. It wouldn't be long before the Merlin Satellite was fully
functional.

"The control room is down this way," said Dinobot to Depthcharge. They swerved left and found a room. Depthcharge was the first to enter. As soon as he did, however, a large metal door closed in from behind him, separating the two.

"Dinobot!" cried Depthcharge, "Hang on a sec, I'll blast through this thing."

"No!" he heard Dinobot cry from the other side, "I'll handle this myself, you need to prevent the satellite from broadcasting its signals!"

"Alright then," said Depthcharge and quickly ran up the stairs towards the laboratory room Rhinox told him to enter during an earlier briefing.

Dinobot pulled back and knocked a hole through the door with one punch. He then used both claws to rip through the door, creating a big enough hole for himself to come out of.

"Dinobot, so good of you to join me," came a voice.

"Show yourself!" demanded Dinobot.

Maximus Primal stepped out to greet Dinobot. "Primal!" cried Dinobot.

"In the metal," replied Maximus.

Meanwhile, in the deepest sectors of space, far away from Cybertron, three dark figures were having a gathering of sorts.

Inside the hollow room was a large circle, Tripredacus Council members Cicadacon, Seaclamp, and Ramhorn entered into the circle. Within that circle, was a cauldron that boiled with elements of unknown properties.

"Tripredacus Council, once again in session," announced General Cicadacon.

"Generals, if you would," said Seaclamp. The triumvirate stepped into their respective parts of that circle.

"And now," continued Seaclamp as he raised his hands into the air, "Let the resurrection commencement begin!"

The cauldron glowed with a luminous, green energy...


To be continued....