03.August.06
BEAST WARS REKINDLED
Chapter One: Ultimate Predacon
Knucklehead sat at the base of
an enormous tree, looking out over the ocean beneath the island. Around him, the
Chaotix were lounging in various positions. They had spent an hour or so telling
their new friend an abridged version of Mobius' history, and had yet to hear a
response.
Finally he spoke. "Tell
me, has this planet ever been called Earth?"
Knuckles was surprised.
"Yes, a long time ago. Before the planet came to be called Mobius, it was
known as Earth. However, that planet ceased to exist when an alien species
bombed the planet, wiping out all life--or so they thought. A part of the
population survived, and that is where modern Mobians came from."
Knucklehead sat for a while,
then spoke. "Now I know how I came to be on this world. Since you've told
me your stories, allow me to share mine.
"I am a Maximal, one of
two races of transforming robots that hail from a planet called Cybertron. Long
ago, my ancestors entered into a war with another species, which they won. Since
that time, peace had reigned on Cybertron. That pod you found me in was
originally aboard an exploration ship that was traveling the galaxy, looking for
new worlds.
"The peace was shattered
when the Predacons, another faction of Cybertronians, stole an artifact leading
to a massive energy source. Unbeknownst to us all, it was in fact this planet,
which back then was known as Earth. The Predacons flew through time and space,
seeking to find it. Luckily, the ship I was on pinpointed the Predacon vessel
and chased after it.
"In the ensuing battle,
both ships fell to this planet in prehistoric Earth times. The stasis hold had
been breached, and the commander had all the pods launched to keep them safe.
For some time I hung there in stasis. Then, a massive energy wave disrupted by
orbit and sent me plummeting. I must have landed where this island would
eventually be, and been buried."
"How do you know you were
buried?" Vector asked.
"Because had I not been,
I probably would not be here. The various cataclysmic events this world has
suffered would have destroyed my pod and me with it, were we not shielded
somehow. As it is, I would have eventually decayed into nothingness had you not
recharged me, Knuckles."
Knuckles shrugged. "No
big deal. But here's my question: how did the Dark Legion find out about
you?"
Julie-Su piped up. "My
guess is that they didn't know what they had. They probably just found the pod
while excavating, and were trying to open it when we showed up. It's ancient,
yet highly advanced and completely intact."
Charmy posed a question.
"What are you gonna do now, Knucklehead?"
The Transformer, currently in
beast mode, shrugged. "I don't know what I'll do. My ship has apparently
been destroyed, along with all my comrades. I'm alone on this planet, with no
way to get off." He hung his head sadly, resigned to his fate.
Mighty had a brainstorm.
"What if we find a way to get you home?"
Knucklehead's eyes shifted.
"You would do that for me? A being you've only barely met?"
Espio nodded. "Sure man,
we've gotten to know you a bit and you seem like a cool guy. And we're all about
helping people out."
Ray posed the next problem.
"But how are we gonna get him there? Mobius has no space program that I
know of, and even if we did, we hardly have the technology needed to travel to
another solar system--or even another galaxy!"
Knuckles thought, then
brightened. "If we can't figure out how to get you to your people, we'll
get you people to come to you! If we can rig a transmitter, we just might be
able to contact your home planet."
Knucklehead was speechless.
Finally he smiled and replied. "Thank you all."
The group set off for the
Echidnaopolis airfield, which was on the edge of the city and would not force
them to wade through the crowds. Knuckles took the lead, arm-in-arm with
Julie-Su. Charmy and Ray flew above, keeping an eye out for unwanted witnesses.
Espio cloaked, keeping invisible in case of an attack, while Vector brought up
the rear of the group, listening to his walkman. Walking in the center were
Knucklehead and Mighty. Despite the pod's great size and weight, Knucklehead had
no problem carrying it strapped to his back, and Mighty watched in awe of the
powerful individual.
When they reached the field,
Knuckles had a small dispute with the others. They argued that Echidnaopolis,
with its advanced facilities and equipment, would be perfect for helping with
the transmitter. Knuckles, however, insisted that they go to Knothole and get
help from the Freedom Fighters. When pressed, he responded thus: "Two
reasons: One, we haven't visited
them in a long time, and I'm sure they'd like to meet Knucklehead too. And two,
I don't want those scientists getting their greedy hands on this pod."
Knucklehead, amused by their
antics, decided to make the decision. "I don't know much about Mobius, but
I do know that I'd like to make some friends. From what you've told me about the
Freedom Fighters, they sound like pleasant individuals, and I'd like to meet
them."
This silenced any argument
against it. Boarding an airship, the group took their seats. After placing the
pod in the cargo hold, Knucklehead sat in a chair that was, fortunately,
expandable. He looked around at his new friends, still intrigued by what he
discovered about them. Vector was listening to his walkman again; from the
motion of his head he was listening to some pretty intense music. Espio sat in a
meditative stance, his ninja training allowing him to sleep while maintaining
complete awareness of his immediate surroundings. Mighty sat at the window,
looking apprehensively as the craft lifted off; he was clearly not good with
heights.
Ray and Charmy, the only
flying members, were piloting the craft. That left only Knuckles and Julie-Su.
Knucklehead watched them, and what he saw made him smile. The two sat next to
each other, holding hands. They whispered animatedly, one of them occasionally
laughing softly at some joke the other had told, sometimes playfully shoving or
elbowing. With his robotic senses, he could have easily heard what they were
saying, but kept out of it. It was clear, even to someone who had never
experienced the emotion, that the two were in love.
Knucklehead sat back, letting
questions fill his mind. Would he be able to get home? Were there other Maximals
still in stasis on this planet? Would the Freedom Fighters become friends with
him as the Chaotix had? He continued to sort through these, but no answers came.
Deep in the secret Dark Legion
HQ, Dimitri sat in his command chair, staring at the Legionnaire bowing before
him—more out of fear than respect. He rested his head on his right hand, the
left drumming on the arm of his chair. To his right stood his grandson, Moritori
Rex, and to his left stood Kommisar, his great-great granddaughter.
Dimitri steepled his hands as
he spoke. "So, you managed to find the pod, and had it in the midst of a
battalion of Legionnaires, when you lost it?"
Speechless, the groveling
figure nodded. "And just why were you trying to open it there, when it
would have been far better for you to return here and let me examine it?"
The Legionnaire remained speechless. Finally, Dimitri snorted with disgust.
"Get out of my sight you sniveling wretch!" he barked.
The Echidna departed with a
speed that would have impressed Sonic the Hedgehog. With a sigh, Dimitri held
his head. He had invested so much manpower into recovering that pod, only to
lose it to his treacherous great-nephew and those idiotic friends of his.
Just then, Moritori's
communicator beeped. Answering it, he spoke for several seconds, then closed it,
a grin on his face. "My Lord," he spoke to Dimitri, "The other
pod has been recovered!"
"Other pod?"
Kommisar queried.
Dimitri's smile was a fearsome
thing to behold. "Yes, my dear, the other pod, which means my plans may
still come to fruition!"
Standing, Dimitri marched
swiftly to the science lab, his descendants trailing. Entering the lab, he
ignored the bowing scientists and focused on the pod, which glowed with energy.
He looked at a nearby screen, and was pleased to discover that the translation
program he had developed had decoded the language contained in the device's
computer.
With a triumphant grin, he
went over to a nearby console. The computer, hooked into the pod, now had
several options locked into it. Typing swiftly, Dimitri entered a command.
The pod's internal voice
sounded. "Protoform activated."
Dimitri smiled, and continued
working. Locating the personality programming, he adjusted the entity's
attributes to his liking. He then proceeded to the DNA scanner, and opened his
library of DNA samples to select his new warrior's beast mode. He disregarded
Knuckles; no soldier of his would look like that weak descendant of his brother.
After passing over all the Echidna DNA, he looked to the samples from other
Mobians. He was rather disappointed by the choices, but the disappointment faded
when he reached a particular name.
Smiling, Dimitri spoke to the
console. "Computer, activate DNA scanning sequence in the pod. Download DNA
strand extracted from subject PS-2, codename: Shadow the Hedgehog."
The pod glowed brilliantly as
the DNA was uploaded. Within, the protoform began to mold itself to fit the
shape of its new body. There was a hiss of air as the pod seals released, and
the Legionnaires all took a step back as smoke flooded from the container.
Within the smoke, a pair of
glowing red eyes opened.
To be continued...