29.April.06

Beast Wars: Legacies

Chapter 7: Fall of the Tripredacus Council

By: Everblue

The city of Destropolis was a wreck. It was nothing like Rattrap, Cheetor, or Dinobot had expected.

The buildings were run-down while crime seemed to run rampant. It seemed that its inhabitants did not receive many energon rations as evidenced by their rusty armor and hollow optics.

“This place is a slum,” Cheetor muttered.

“Whaddya expect?” Rattrap answered. “The Tripredacus Council never cared much ‘bout their own people.”

As they looked up, the horror that was Tarantulas leered down at them.

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“People of Cybertron!” Tarantulas shouted loudly enough for several neighboring planets to hear as well. “The day of reckoning has arrived! For too long have I allowed you to wallow in your own debauchery! For now, enjoy what you have for I will return after the destruction of Earth to have the luxury of dealing with you!”

To the relief of countless Transformers, Tarantulas floated away from Cybertron gradually until he disappeared into the cold distance of space.

Cybertron was safe… for now.

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“I don’t know where they are,” said Cheetor, “but I’m betting the Tripredacus Council has all the information we need!”

“Perhaps we do not need to wait longer,” Dinobot pointed out.

Sure enough, several Predacon warriors surrounded them.

“What’re you doing here?” demanded General Eagleclaw. “You’d take advantage of a planetary crisis just to assassinate the Council?”

“We shall destroy any and all intruders who threaten the Tripredacus Council!” General Snakefang followed up.

“The three of you should just head back while we’re still capable of mercy,” growled General Staghorn.

Eagleclaw took out his drill-bit sword as Snakefang seized her electric spear and Staghorn revealed the steel tonfas held in his arms.  As they prepared themselves for battle, the rest of the Predacon generals stepped back.

“Honorable combat,” explained Dinobot to Cheetor and Rattrap. “Their strongest numbers versus us…”

“And if we win?” asked Rattrap.

“I believe they’ll let us through.”

“Oh, sure they will,” Rattrap replied sarcastically. “I’m sure they’re just as honorable as—“

“WATCH OUT!”

General Eagleclaw leaped through the air and kicked Rattrap aside. He thrust his drill-bit sword towards Dinobot only to miss.  In a split nano-klik, Dinobot was behind him.

Cheetor watched carefully as General Snakefang twirled her electro-spear several times before attacking. He whirled his head to the side several times as Snakefang thrust the tip of her spear towards his body. To Cheetor’s surprise, Snakefang slammed the blunt end of her spear to the ground and launched herself into Cheetor’s face with a flying sidekick that knocked him to the ground.

“She’s good…” muttered Cheetor before he got up again to engage his opponent.

Meanwhile, Rattrap was not faring so well against General Staghorn. He had been beaten down with a roundhouse kick to his face. Even though he was a Transmetal, Rattrap had to admit that his armor didn’t exactly give him ALL the protection he wanted as another kick to his stomach brought him down to his knees.

As Rattrap got up, he saw the tonfas in General Staghorn’s hands spinning rapidly, almost to the point it was like a blur. As Rattrap took out his gun, Staghorn struck him quickly and violently across the face with his spinning tonfas.

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“There can only be one way to destroy Tarantulas,” General Seaclamp explained. “However, I see that there are invaders here who wish to stop us.”

On the screen, the Predacon generals were engaging the Maximal Beast Warriors in combat. The Tripredacus Council observed this with great consternation.

“General Ramhorn! General Cicadacon!” Seaclamp ordered. “Our generals will no doubt lose to these Maximals! Go deal with them while I come up with a way to destroy that abomination!”

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General Eagleclaw squealed with delight as his drill-bit sword pierced Dinobot’s abdomen. The raptor howled in agony but soon, that howl transformed into a low snarl.

The Predacon general’s eyes widened with terror as Dinobot grabbed the sword and thrust it further into himself while Eagleclaw held on to his weapon desperately. Soon, Eagleclaw cried out as Dinobot grabbed him by the throat and slammed him head-first into the ground.

As General Snakefang attacked with another flurry of strikes, Cheetor grabbed her spear as it came into close contact with both hands. A surge of electricity entered into the young Maximal but he ignored the pain as best he could as he yanked the spear out of Snakefang’s grip, whirled around, and smashed her across the face with its dull end.

Rattrap, in the meantime, dodged two rapid-fire strikes from General Staghorn’s tonfas and rolled away before the third strike narrowly missed his head. Staghorn whirled around in anger as Rattrap threw one of his charges towards him. In an instant, Staghorn smashed the charge with his tonfas, not knowing what it was. Soon enough, a small explosion engulfed Staghorn and his burnt body fell to the floor.

With the three Predacons defeated, the rest of the generals glared at the Maximals but did not attack as a low rumbling sound emanated from the distance.

“What’s that sound?” asked Cheetor.

None of the Predacons had to answer his question as a large mechanical arachnoid appeared from afar, crawling and clawing its way towards the three Maximals.

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General Ramhorn cackled as he controlled the spider-like creature from within. Soon, he would have control of Cybertron just as Tarantulas promised him. He was the one who had betrayed the location of the Tripredacus Council to Tarantulas although he had a feeling their treacherous agent would have found them anyways. Shame was not something he felt, Ramhorn noted, because treachery was something so knee-deep and entrenched in Predacon society that he felt no regrets, even in betraying his own family.

Once he disposed of these Maximals, Cicadacon and Seaclamp would follow.

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“Oh man,” Rattrap moaned. “I didn’t think Tarantulas would leave a farewell present for them Tripreds…”

Dinobot and Cheetor soon noted that the Predacon generals around them had fled.  They now faced the behemoth that towered above them.

Turrents were mounted on the belly of the spider as they fired down upon the three hapless Maximals.

“Cheetor! Dinobot!” Rattrap yelled. “You two go on! I’ll stay to handle the itsy, bitsy spider!”

“You can’t!” Cheetor cried. “That thing’ll kill you!”

“Hey, I was the one who blew up Ravage’s state-of-the-art cruiser,” Rattrap replied as he dodged the lasers that rained down on them. “So have a little faith in me!”

Cheetor looked up at Dinobot who finally nodded.

Both Transmetal II’s ran off at top speed.  General Ramhorn took note of this as he aimed carefully and fired several cluster missiles from his control room. He cursed as the missiles struck the ground where Cheetor and Dinobot ran. At the speeds they were going, they were making themselves very hard targets to hit.

Rattrap took advantage of the momentary distraction to transform into vehicle mode and scale up the gigantic spider drone’s leg until he reached the top. As he changed back to robot mode, he took out his charges and planted several of them on the plating and its openings. In his haste, he did not see General Ramhorn climbing out of his cockpit.

Ramhorn cupped his hands together and smashed them down on Rattrap’s back. As Rattrap fell, Ramhorn produced an energon blade of medium length.

“This is the end of an era, rodent,” General Ramhorn laughed. “The age of Maximals has ended! In its place will be a supreme ruler better known as General Ramhorn!”

“I’m guessin’ Tarantulas made you ‘dis little promise, eh?” Rattrap asked.

“In his state of being, Tarantulas can promise more than mere riches,” replied General Ramhorn. “It is useless to resist him!”

“Ya know… you’re a lot dumber than you look!” Rattrap exclaimed. “You honestly think Tarantulas is gonna make you some kinda deity?”

“Absolutely!” bellowed Ramhorn.

“Tarantulas may be large and in charge right now,” Rattrap chuckled, “but he ain’t gonna make you no god.”

“We’ll see about that, vermin!” yelled Ramhorn as he lunged forward and slashed at Rattrap with his energon blade.

Rattrap quickly avoided the slash but Ramhorn slammed into him and pinned him down.

“Like I said,” growled General Ramhorn as he raised energon blade. “How can you resist Tarantulas when you can’t even stand against his knight?”

Rattrap reacted quickly and used both fingers to poke Ramhorn in the optics. The Predacon general howled in agony and dropped his blade, using both hands to cover his injured eyes. His optical nerve sensors went crazy, trying to deal with the excruciating pain.

“Time for me to scat,” noted Rattrap as he set off the charges on the giant spider drone.

Using the same route he had used when he got on top of the drone, he changed to vehicle mode and raced down one of the drone’s legs.

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The throbbing pain in his optics had subsided somewhat for General Ramhorn but now, he was faced with a very different problem.

Tarantulas had promised that nothing would be able to stand in the way of the spider drone he had given him. Now, realized General Ramhorn, the machine was on the verge of an explosion as another of Rattrap’s charges detonated, destroying the back hull. Now, he was trapped in the center of the flames, as they danced around him merrily.

Finally, the armored plating that he stood on gave way. He fell into several loosely connected wires that tangled around his body.

What he needed was to escape as quickly as he could.

After fumbling around and loosening the wires as oil freely poured out on the floor, General Ramhorn felt something familiar next to his fist. He grabbed hold of it as he realized what it was… his energon blade. 

As he yanked his hand out of the wires, he slashed through several cables; setting off a spark that fell on top of the oil. With one fleeting look, General Ramhorn realized what he had done.

Oh slag…

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Cheetor and Dinobot felt the ground shake as a loud explosion rocked the city from behind them.

“I hope Rattrap’s okay,” whispered Cheetor.

“He is versatile,” replied Dinobot. “He will survive and rejoin us.”

The two of them were pursuing one of the Predacon generals who raced away in jet mode. Where he would lead them would most likely be the location of the Tripredacus Council.

“He looks to be heading towards that building over there!” Dinobot snarled as he and Cheetor continued their pursuit.

Without a warning, a giant pair of mandibles smashed through the ground and clamped around Dinobot, smashing him into the ground.

“What is that?!” shouted Cheetor.

A giant insect-like mutant smashed Dinobot to the ground again and again. It was a hideous fusion of both metal and exoskeleton. A mantis was what it resembled the most.

“Cheetor!” Dinobot cried. “Pursue him!”

“But…” Cheetor protested. “That creature…”

“Don’t lose sight of the target!” Dinobot ordered as he fired a small blast towards the ground where Cheetor stood. 

The young Maximal looked at Dinobot helplessly but turned around to continue pursuing the Predacon jet.

Dinobot glared down at the creature as he narrowed his optical laser into a drilling beam that burned a hole inside the monster’s cranium. The insect screeched in pain as it dropped Dinobot and crawled back in torment.

“What are you?” demanded Dinobot.

“I am General Cicadacon of the Tripredacus Council,” it hissed. “We’ve long taken an interest in you Beast Warriors… especially you, Dinobot!”

“Explain!” Dinobot commanded.

“You’re the biggest obstacle in our conquest of this planet!” clarified Cicadacon as he transformed to robot mode. “You will prevent us from destroying Tarantulas and his evil so we cannot allow that!”

To Dinobot, Cicadacon was just as hideous and as insectile in robot mode compared to his beast mode. Two hook-like swords appeared in his hands.

“What?” Dinobot cried. “You are not under the control of that abomination?”

“Enough talk!” screamed Cicadacon as he attacked Dinobot viciously.

Being unprepared for how quick Cicadacon was, Dinobot howled as the Predacon general slashed through his chest.

“You aren’t prepared for this, are you?” Cicadacon cackled. “Now I may fight you on equal ground!”

“Stand down, Cicadacon!” Dinobot growled. “Walk away from that spider’s schemes and don’t look back.”

“You fool,” Cicadacon replied. “We’re trying to destroy Tarantulas!”

“I fail to see how,” scoffed Dinobot.

Cicadacon attacked again but Dinobot smashed his fist into his opponent’s chin, causing Cicadacon to see stars.

“This is your final chance,” Dinobot warned. “Stand aside or suffer the consequences!”

“Predacon generals never run in the face of adversity!” Cicadacon cried as he launched himself towards Dinobot again.

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General Tigerclaw landed gracefully as he transformed from jet to robot. Cheetor was no longer hot on his trails but he wasn’t sure if he had lost the Maximal or not.

As he entered into the building, he was sure to keep his sensors on full alert in case anything ambushed him.

“Where’s the Tripredacus Council?”

Tigerclaw gasped as he realized what was behind him. In a split second, a powerful grip grasped him by the shoulder plate and slammed him against the wall. He was face to face with the savage, feral eyes of Cheetor.

“I’ll ask one more time,” demanded Cheetor. “Where’s the Tripredacus Council?”

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Now was not a good moment for Cicadacon. It was true that he had inflicted many injuries upon Dinobot but he himself was not in the best of conditions. So far, his wounds were not healing at the rate that he had expected. Seeing how he could not keep fighting head-on with Dinobot anymore, Cicadacon took a step back.

“What’s wrong with me?” he shouted. “Why isn’t my body healing at the rate that your body is?!”

Dinobot chuckled slowly. In no time at all, the chuckling turned into mocking laughter.

“You fool! I have the spark of Protoform X within me! That combined with my Transmetal II technology has ensured me such healing graces!”

“I begin to see now,” said Cicadacon. “This is a battle I cannot win.”

Dinobot stared at his enemy with commiseration. He admired Cicadacon for being a dedicated warrior willing to fight for his beliefs but in the end, they were still on opposing sides.

“But…” Cicadacon continued. “I cannot just walk away from this. If the Tripredacus Council falls today… then let us die as warriors!”

Gathering every remaining bit of energy he had left, Cicadacon screamed furiously and charged Dinobot. Dinobot shook his head sadly and complied with Cicadacon’s request.

Colliding into each other with everything they had, Dinobot and Cicadacon struck furiously in the blink of an optic.

As soon as the dust cleared, Cicadacon’s head rolled across the floor. The body of the Predacon general fell to its knees and then to the ground.

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General Seaclamp’s preparations were nearly complete. With the powers at his disposal, they still had a fighting chance against the monstrosity that was Tarantulas. What he needed now was some more time before he could strike out with the powers of the Vok.

“Let me guess, you’re the leader of this trio?”

“Who are you?” demanded Seaclamp as he turned around to face the intruder.

“The name’s Cheetor,” explained the newcomer. “You must be the leader of the Tripredacus Council.”

“You’re right about that, child,” Seaclamp sneered. “Listen, I don’t know who you are or how you got here…”

“One of your generals sold your location out,” Cheetor replied casually.

General Seaclamp’s eyes narrowed at hearing it.

“And who, might I ask, did that?”

“It’s not important,” Cheetor snarled. “All I know is that you and your buddies are responsible for Tarantulas turning into Unicron Version 2.0!”

“You fool!” Seaclamp cried. “We do not serve that abomination!”

Before Cheetor could respond, something from the corner of his eye caught his undivided attention.

It was engraved into the wall but it was unmistakably the face of a Vok, long since deceased.

“How… how did you get that?” Cheetor demanded.

“Oh, that?” Seaclamp smiled. “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”

“Tell me and I’ll send your decrepit ass to one of Cybertron’s best nursing homes.”

“Careful, kid… you don’t know who you’re dealing with!”

Before Seaclamp could move, Cheetor’s gun was pointed directly into his temple.

“Tell me everything you know about Tarantulas and the Vok!”

“Since you’re so persuasive in your youthfulness, I’ll tell you,” Seaclamp smiled.

Cheetor’s gun lowered slightly but did not waver. He kept his eyes in direct contact with Seaclamp who seemed quite eager to share his tales like an elder would share a story with a young child.

“As you already know, Lieutenant Tarantulas did not die in the Beast Wars.”

“Tell me something I didn’t know,” Cheetor huffed.

“What you don’t know is that he stayed on Earth from its prehistory to current contemporary times where he has left the planet to return to Cybertron.”

“I don’t buy that,” interrupted Cheetor. “Maximals and Predacons can live for a long time… but not THAT long!”

“Ah, the insolence of youth,” sighed Seaclamp. “If you truly want to hear everything I have to say, then you’ll have to quit interrupting me!”

“Okay… go on.”

“Though he was long-lived due to his Transmetal technology, Tarantulas soon found himself aging and slowly dying from rust within a few centuries. Because of that, he had to find alternative ways to keep himself alive to continue his research and to keep sending back information to us through the warp gate via Predacon probes.”

Cheetor had lowered his gun at this point, being engrossed into the story.

“One way he achieved immortality was by creating cyborg implants through which his spark would feed off the energies of organic beings. When that body became withered and drained, he would transfer his spark to a new body so that he could feast off of its power for several years before starting over and repeating the process yet again. This is how he has been perpetually undying. None of us know the exact amount of human bodies he has occupied.”

“No way…” Cheetor whispered as an eerie chill ran down his back.

“Throughout his long life, Tarantulas has been influencing and shaping human history in many ways! No country, no world leader… no event has escaped his iron grip! He has played many roles through the past, many of which are the roles of infamous war criminals responsible for the wholesale slaughter of millions! Every single major war that has happened on Earth can be attributed to him!”

At this point, Cheetor did not know whether to feel incredulous or trusting.

“There was a certain point where Tarantulas withdrew from human affairs to go into hiding,” Seaclamp recalled. “It was when the Autobots and Decepticons awakened from their slumber. He and his unholy followers were not heard from again… until both Maximal and Predacon presence left Earth for good.”

“You’re talking about when we converted to smaller, more energon-efficient bodies?” Cheetor asked.

“You are correct,” replied Seaclamp. “After we had changed to the smaller, more compact bodies we have today, Cybertron was forced to take more of an isolationist stance from the rest of the galaxy in order to handle its own growing problems… such as energon scarcity and other petty domestic issues.”

A brief moment of silence passed between the two enemies as General Seaclamp continued.

“Because of our newfound isolationism, Earth was left to fend on its own. Tarantulas subtly sowed the seeds of distrust and hatred between nations. What followed immediately afterwards was a global holocaust of unparalleled proportions as country turned against country, baptizing each other with fire from the skies! When the dust settled, Tarantulas and his unholy minions finally had complete dominion over the Earth!”

“I’ve heard news about Earth being one thirds uninhabitable now,” said Cheetor. “I guess this explains why so little records about Earth remain intact and why Cybertron has had virtually no contact with it for this long.”

“Now I suppose you want to know about the Vok, am I correct?”

“Tell me.”

“Sometime during the Dark Ages in Europe, Tarantulas was able to enhance and augment new Transmetal technology. He had already developed Transmetal III technology at unparalleled rates. Now, he had created the Transmetal X unit, a device of immense power which he sent back to us along with the location of the Vok.”

“So that’s how he absorbed knowledge on the Vok,” muttered Cheetor who recalled when the Vok entered Tarantulas’ body in an attempt to destroy his spark.

“Our first test subject was Maximus Primal,” Seaclamp explained. “With his newfound power, we subtly guided him towards the location of the Vok within the distant corners of the known galaxy. It was then that he massacred and nearly destroyed the entire race with the power available to him. The few surviving Vok specimen left were reduced to physical states. In their physical states, our ships were able to apprehend them with relative ease. Through trial and error experiments, I was able to learn their secrets and attain a certain level of power they possessed.”

“And with that power, you deified Tarantulas,” Cheetor glowered.

“Contrary to what you believe, the Tripredacus Council had nothing to do with Tarantulas ascending to godhood,” Seaclamp replied indifferently.  

“Maybe not intentionally,” said Cheetor who took Seaclamp by the arm, “but I’m still taking you in!”

“Youth is wasted on the young,” sighed General Seaclamp as he allowed a surge of energy to rip into Cheetor, throwing the young Maximal to the floor.

Cheetor groaned in pain. It was as if he had been hit with three doses of Cyber-venom, enough to take out any normal Transformer.

General Seaclamp formed a ball of energy between his hands waited until Cheetor got back up to his feet. As soon as he saw the younger Transformer up again, he threw it into Cheetor’s chest, triggering a small explosion that knocked the Maximal against the wall.

Panting heavily, Cheetor struggled to catch his breath. Seaclamp, seeing his opportunity, leaped onto Cheetor’s back, pinning his opponent down while allowing electricity to surge into his body.

Cheetor screamed as he felt his strength leaving him. He would have to do something quick before Seaclamp overwhelmed him.  Moving faster than Seaclamp’s optics could see, Cheetor spun around and slashed the Predacon general across the face with his claws extended.

Try as he might, Cheetor could not get the deafening howls of pain out of his sound systems despite the fact that his enemy no longer had the upper hand. Quickly, he turned towards the direction his gun, rolled towards it, and snatched it with a surgical precision that even Tarantulas would have been proud of.

Cheetor rapidly spun around and fired at Seaclamp but it was too late. The elderly Predacon had formed an energy barrier in front of him which deflected the shot into the ceiling. To Seaclamp’s surprise, this did not deter Cheetor.

“You’ve decided to depart this life with honor, hmm?” Seaclamp gloated. “I suppose it’s true that only the good die young.”

Cheetor’s only response was a wry smile as a beam from the destroyed ceiling crashed down and smashed into Seaclamp, pinning him to the ground. The elatedness of victory on Cheetor’s part was short lived as Seaclamp quickly blasted the beam off with a powerful blast of energy.

Instinctively, Cheetor stiffened as he realized that there was something wrong.

And indeed, Seaclamp no longer seemed to be in any position to attack him. The powerful aura that had surrounded his body was now gone. What Cheetor saw was an old, frail Transformer gasping for air.

“I knew this would put too much strain…”

Cheetor quickly rushed to his side.

“What’s wrong?” Cheetor asked with more concern in his voice.

Seaclamp could not stand up any longer as he sank to his knees and clutched at the center of his spark chamber.

“The energy of the Vok… though powerful, it has put too much strain on my spark,” Seaclamp breathed painfully, “and combined with my infirm age, it will only be a matter of time before my spark passes on to the next dimension.”

“Let me help you!” Cheetor insisted, no longer viewing the elderly Predacon as his enemy.

“Hmph,” Seaclamp chuckled weakly. “You sound just like my grandson. Take me to that corner if you will.”

Cheetor complied and helped Seaclamp settle down against the corner of the room where he helped the leading Tripredacus Council director sit down.

General Seaclamp coughed. “Imagine that… being so feeble and helpless towards the end of my life that I have to rely on a Maximal for support.”

“Maximal or Predacon, you’re injured,” replied Cheetor. “It’s still not right to let you die like this.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Seaclamp agreed. “Not everyone can be picky about the manner they die in.”

“You’re not going to die!” Cheetor maintained.

“I am quite old,” Seaclamp explained. “Though we Cybertronians are long lived, even we cannot live forever. The time will come when all our sparks will rust and fade away like the stars.”

No words seemed appropriate enough at this time for Cheetor to utter. He merely knelt down besides Seaclamp in silence.

“In this moment…” Seaclamp sighed weakly. “We are no longer enemies. I know why you have come… you seek to destroy the Dark Lord Reborn.”

“Tarantulas…”

“There is… one way to end the life of that abomination,” General Seaclamp explained as his voice grew weaker. “I know of no other way to destroy him other than to use the Force Matrix.”

With his remaining power, Seaclamp summoned four devices which coalesced into one.

“This is the Force Matrix,” he coughed. “All four devices must be activated in order to drain a spark of all its energy. Neither the Tripredacus Council nor I will be able to destroy Tarantulas at this point. Though I do not relish in it… the fate of Cybertron is in your hands.”

General Seaclamp convulsed violently. His spark was fading and there was little he could do about it anymore.

“I… know I can’t save you,” said Cheetor, “but if there’s anything you need, just tell me and I’ll try my best to… honor your wishes.”

Seaclamp finally smiled. “Just make sure that General Cicadacon is alright. What grandfather, Maximal or Predacon, wouldn’t want his grandson to live in happiness?”

Cheetor nodded quietly and put his hand on General Seaclamp’s shoulder for reassurance.

“As of this moment…” Seaclamp said with his final breath, “Let the two of us be at peace with one another instead of combatants.”

The sad smile on Seaclamp’s face was frozen where it stood. As Cheetor watched somberly, the spark of General Seaclamp left his body and disappeared from the universe forever.

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Neither Rattrap not Dinobot had anything to say once they were met with Cheetor’s solemn stance.

Most of the lower-level Predacon generals had been arrested while Cicadacon seemingly escaped when no one was watching along with some of the more powerful Predacons.

Rattrap had nothing to show from his battle with Ramhorn while Dinobot did not retrieve any information from Cicadacon either.

Cheetor, however, was ashamed… ashamed that General Seaclamp had to die that way… without any of his comrades or family close to him. Moreover, Cheetor felt ashamed that he had inadvertently caused his death.

Without a word, Cheetor transformed to beast mode and flew back towards the direction of the other Maximals.

Rattrap and Dinobot stared at each other momentarily before speaking.

“Ya know something, Chopperface,” Rattrap observed. “I think we came lookin’ for the wrong ‘bots.”

“Yes,” replied Dinobot who had easily sensed the emotional turmoil within Cheetor. “Perhaps what we did today was not… the best course of action.”

“What was it ‘dat Cheetor had in his hands?”

“Something that will possibly spell salvation… or this planet’s doom.”

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The Tripredacus Council had fallen. Its remnants were now scattered across Cybertron’s solar system. When Cheetor thought about it, he realized now that despite their opposition to each other, the Tripredacus Council had been fighting for what they believed in. After all, an opponent with no beliefs or convictions could hardly be called an opponent at all.

But for the moment, he realized, they still had one more matter to take care of before he could live a normal life again. The time for contemplation could wait.

“I’ve figured out how the Force Matrix operates,” Rhinox explained. “Once activated, you must be close enough to the spark in order to trap it. A few meters at best will do the job.”

“Yeah,” Cheetor mused. “Only problem is… how do we get close enough to THAT spark?”

“Oh, we’ll get close enough to him!” Rattrap declared. “The armada we got right now should be able to blast that spider outta space before he reaches Earth!”

Indeed, Cybertron had an entire navy of Maximal and Predacons ready to defend their planet and any other planet from Tarantulas’ grip. Whether they would be able to stop him or not… was another question.

“Everyone knows the plan,” said Rhinox. “Should Tarantulas land on a distant planet like Earth, the nine of us will go down to the planet and stop him.”

“The nine of us?” asked Blackarachnia.

“Thrust and Jetstorm will be joining us,” replied Rhinox.

As mentioned, both Jetstorm and Thrust stepped out from behind one of the ships to greet the Maximal team.

“We heard about what’s going on,” said Thrust. “We wanna help you guys.”

“Yeah, if there’s anything we can do, just point us in that direction,” Jetstorm chuckled nervously.

An uncomfortable moment of silence passed between the Beast Warriors and the two Vehicons.

Silverbolt was the first to break that silence by offering his hand to Jetstorm.

“In any case, we are very fortunate to fight alongside you not only as allies, but as friends.”

Thrust crossed his arms and smiled as Jetstorm took Silverbolt’s hand and shook it.

“Not to be pessimistic,” Rattrap interrupted, “but this is one scenario we may not come out alive.”

“You think I’m afraid of a soft-shelled spider?” scoffed Depth Charge. “I say we go out there and hit him with everything we got!”

“I agree!” Cheetor nodded. “After all, saving the universe is routine for us now.”

Gradually, each of them stared up into the sky, unsure of what fate would bring. One thing they did know was that they weren’t going down without a fight.

To be continued.