14.Oct.06

BEAST WARS REKINDLED

By: Spectre the Hechidnat

Chapter Six: Race to Recharge

Knucklehead smiled as he slid his hand from the repair unit Rotor had rigged up. Finally, after a week of sitting around doing nothing, he could finally go back to his normal routine. Soon, it would be as if his injuries at the hands of the Mechanaut had never happened.

Knucklehead smiled as a new thought came into his mind. No, not entirely. There was one factor that had changed that would stay that way, if he had anything to say about it.

True to her word, Twinbrush had visited several times every day to make sure Knucklehead didn't get bored. They had talked about everything that came to mind. But above all, as they talked, their friendship towards each other grew. Knucklehead knew only one way to describe what he was feeling: love.

Still smiling, he slipped outside into Knothole City. Moving quickly, he headed towards Twinbrush's small dwelling.


Twinbrush's eyes fluttered open at the sound of someone knocking on her door. For a moment she just lay on her stasis pod bed, feeling strangely tired. Then, asserting herself, she stood up and walked to the door. She opened it to find Knucklehead standing outside, smiling at her. She smiled back, but it faded when his smile turned into a frown of concern.

"Did you just get out of bed?" Knucklehead asked.

"Yes, what about it?" Twinbrush replied.

"It's noon."

Her eyes widened. It wasn't possible! She never slept that late! But, as her systems finished booting up, she realized that he spoke the truth; it was indeed noon.

"I...must have been tired," she replied, not at all sure of her words.

Knucklehead nodded slowly. "Alright, I guess that makes sense. What would you like to do today?"

Twinbrush smiled sheepishly. "Well, while you were recuperating, I kind of told the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix about your flute playing, and they'd like to hear it."

His eyes widened. "You told them about that?"

Seeing that he was nervous, she took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "You play excellently; you'll do fine."

Finally, he smiled and nodded. "Let's go get them."

As she closed the door and began walking, Twinbrush stumbled slightly. Knucklehead, catching her, looked at her with concern.

"It's nothing," she said. "I'm just feeling tired."

He did not look as if he believed her, but shrugged in acceptance. Still, he was careful to walk close to her in case she fell again. Noticing this, she was determined not to fall.


The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix had been just about to have lunch when the pair found them. After discussing briefly, they decided to take the lunch with them as a picnic so they could listen to Knucklehead play. Selecting a small clearing out in the forest, they spread out a blanket and began to eat as Knucklehead pulled out his flute, testing to make sure it was working.

The food was soon left forgotten on the blanket as the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix sat mesmerized by the song emanating from the flute. Knucklehead played with amazing skill, and his song was amazingly beautiful. It was as if the Maximal was pouring all his feelings of love, happiness, and friendship into the instrument along with his breath.

Listening to the wondrous music, Knuckles suddenly found his being gripped. Tearing his gaze from Knucklehead, he saw that Julie-Su had taken his hand. Smiling, he pulled her in close, the two of them leaning on each other as their feelings were stirred by the song. Similarly, Sonic and Sally sat next to each other, their hands entwined.

Finally, Knucklehead ended his song. His small audience clapped enthusiastically, and he smiled and bowed slightly. Lifting his head, his eyes widened as he noticed Twinbrush standing a short distance behind the others. She was horribly pale, and her eyes were half closed in exhaustion. As he watched, horrified, she slumped and fell to the ground.

"Twinbrush!"

Hearing his cry, the others turned and gasped at the sight of the female Transformer lying unconscious. Knuckles ran up to her, turning her over to lay her on her back. He quickly saw that she wasn't injured.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"We need to get her back to the lab. I can find out what's wrong there," Rotor replied.

Nodding, Knucklehead slid his arms under Twinbrush, gently lifting her and cradling her to him. Then, moving as rapidly as he dared with his precious burden, he headed back towards Knothole.


Tails' face was pained as he looked up at the expectant Knucklehead. The giant Echidna had not left for a second as Tails tried to find out what was wrong with Twinbrush. Now, looking up at his hopeful blue eyes, Tails felt even more horrible about the news he had.

"Well, I've found out what the problem is," he said finally.

"What is it, bud?" Sonic enquired.

"Her power supply is almost depleted."

Julie-Su looked confused. "You're saying that Transformers need a recharge?"

"Makes sense; they are machines, after all," Sally mused.

But a question came to Mighty's mind. "How come Knucklehead hasn't gotten like this? He's been online longer than her."

Espio, thinking, had the answer. "Knucklehead was brought online using Chaos Energy, which is self sustaining and replicating. As such, his energy doesn't need to be recharged."

Bunnie, catching on, interrupted. "But Twinbrush was recharged usin' the Legion's laser energy, which doesn't sustain itself and doesn't replicate."

"Meaning that Twinbrush does need a recharge, even if Knucklehead doesn't," Charmy finished.

Rotor nodded. He winced as Knucklehead voiced the question they were all probably thinking. "Can you recharge her?"

The walrus hung his head. "In all honesty...we don't know. Her interface systems are different from those on the pod. Also, just about every energy we've tried to recharge her with has been rejected."

Knucklehead slumped, the dismay evident on his face. Knuckles, dreading what he was about to ask, spoke. "What happens if she doesn't get recharged?"

Tails looked at the floor. "Her life support systems will shut down, and her Spark, or life force, will be extinguished."

Everyone gasped. Though Twinbrush had only been with them a short time, already they could not imagine being without her. Vector, having a rare brainstorm, spoke up. "Isn't there some way to power her up with Chaos Energy?"

Rotor thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Eureka! There's a large deposit of Chaos Emeralds north of here, on the edge of the Great Forest. If you can collect a few, I might be able to use them to restore her energy."

Knucklehead was an instant away from charging out the door. But suddenly Ray interrupted. "Shouldn't some of us stay here to keep an eye on her?"

The Maximal leader stopped short. The flying squirrel was right. And now, he found himself torn. Part of him was determined to go and collect the Chaos Emeralds, while the other was desperate to stay and protect the being who was not only his officer, but his love.

Seeing the expression on Knucklehead's face, Antoine intervened. "I will stay here with Tails, Rotor, and Sally to keep an eye on her. The rest of you go."

Sally was about to protest at being left behind, but Sonic stopped her. "Sal, this could be dangerous. The guys who are going are probably the only ones who have any way to harvest Emeralds. If you really want to help, stay here and keep an eye on her. Do it for Knucklehead." He paused, as if unsure of what he was about to say, then finished. "And for me."

Sally looked into the love filled eyes of her closest friend, and nodded. Sonic smiled and hugged her, then moved over to join the party that was moving towards the door. Bunnie blew Antoine a goodbye kiss, then they all exited. As they headed towards Knothole's northern exit door, none of them noticed a Dark Legion spy probe observing them from its hiding place.


Kommisar smiled in anticipation as she watched the footage. The spy probe had learned everything. Already a troop of Mechanauts was being loaded onto a dispatch ship, ready to attack the intrepid heroes. However, before she could give the order to launch, she heard a voice snarl in her ear. "You wouldn't be thinking of sending an attack after those Maximals and not letting me know about it, would you?"

Kommisar turned to look at Deathstreak, who towered over her. She fought the urge to shudder. The Predacon terrified her, what with his imposing size and amazing abilities. However, what scared her most were his eyes. Blood red, they were aglow with bloodlust and the same madness she had once seen in the eyes of Dimitri, when he had been the mighty Enerjak.

As he shoved her aside and bent to examine the data, she found her voice. "Lord Dimitri ordered me to assemble a squad in the event an attack was wise. We were planning to summon you as soon as we were ready."

Deathstreak lifted his head, an insane smile stretching from ear to ear. "So, the pathetic female is on the edge of death. How excellent. Once I get rid of her, poor Knucklehead will be driven mad with grief— the perfect opportunity to destroy him."

Turning, he strode towards the door, clearly about to join the mission. Before he left, he looked over his shoulder at Kommisar, and she shuddered as his eyes met hers. He smiled wickedly, then left.


After about an hour of traveling, the group arrived at the deposit. To their surprise, it was completely visible aboveground, though submerged into a bowl shaped ditch. With a shout of triumph, Knucklehead jumped down into the pit, looking around for suitable Emeralds. His eyes narrowed as he saw that he was not alone.

Deathstreak stood leaning against a large Chaos Emerald, smiling mockingly at his nemesis. Snapping his fingers, his smile widened as he watched his Mechanauts appear to engage the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix. He then returned his gaze to Knucklehead. "So, the avenging hero comes to save his girlfriend."

"Knucklehead, Maximize!"

"Deathstreak, Terrorize!"

The two instantly changed into their robot modes. Knucklehead armed his rockets as Deathstreak pointed his pistols. However, before they could attack, they both staggered as green energy surged across their bodies. Their internal computers soon spoke up. "Warning, unidentified Energon surge. Revert to Beast Mode or stasis lock will commence."

Unwilling to face deactivation, the two obeyed. Knucklehead spoke first. "So, the Chaos Emeralds are a mutant form of Energon."

"So it would seem," Deathstreak replied.

No further words were wasted as the combatants began circling like wolves. Then, roaring, they leaped at each other, grappling and rolling around on the ditch floor, smashing Chaos Emeralds under their weight.


On the ditch edge, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were locked in battle with the Mechanauts. Vector knocked down the metallic warriors with blasts from his walkman, but they always recovered and got back up. Espio hurled ninja stars, which stuck in the thick armor of the robots, incapable of penetrating further. Ray and Charmy flew up and dropped objects onto the robots, but it wasn't very effective.

On the flip side, Sonic, Knuckles, and Julie-Su were unstoppable. Moving too fast for the slow Mechanauts, Sonic tripped them, knocked them down, and used his Spin Dash to saw through them. Knuckles, meanwhile, used his amazing strength to overpower his enemies. Finally, Julie-Su subdued them with her impressive combat skills and her taser.

Seeing Knucklehead's predicament, Sonic called to Knuckles. "Hey Red, how about throwing Knucklehead a little Chaos lifeline?"

Knuckles looked briefly at the battling Cybertronians, and shook his head. "That area's too highly charged, Sonic. If I send my power in the whole place could blow."

Gritting his teeth, Sonic went back to fighting.


Deathstreak and Knucklehead had gotten back to their feet, and were now trading kicks and punches. Deathstreak was the swifter, but Knucklehead was stronger. Finally, the Predacon backed off. "Nice work, Knucklehead. But if you think fighting me to a standstill will make it so you win, think again. I'm going to make sure that you can't recharge your little female friend, and then you're going to have to watch her die because you couldn't save her."

Before Knucklehead could react, Deathstreak switched to robot mode, pointed his pistol, and fired, quickly changing back. Knucklehead dodged the energy projectile, only to realize too late what would happen. Sure enough, Deathstreak's attack struck the Chaos Emeralds, and they began to glow violently, their energy going unstable. Deathstreak raced away, his mocking laughter sounding as Knucklehead leaped out of the ditch.

With strength and speed born of desperation and rage, Knucklehead threw all the Mechanauts into the ditch. Then, he grabbed Espio, Vector, Charmy, and Ray and ran towards the forest, seeking cover. Coming up behind him, Bunnie activated her foot rockets while Sonic used his trademark speed. Only a step behind them, Knuckles had scooped up Julie-Su and was using his Chaos power to speed them after their friends.

They got behind a large boulder just as the Chaos Emeralds exploded. A shockwave of energy flew outward, not causing any damage. Finally, the effects subsided, and the group looked down in failure. Despite their best efforts, the Chaos Emeralds were gone, there were no other known deposits in the area, and Twinbrush now seemed doomed.

Tears coming to his eyes, Knucklehead turned and began to walk slowly, forlornly, deeper into the forest.


Knucklehead found himself wandering through Great Forest, no destination really in mind. He knew that he should be going back to Knothole, to be at Twinbrush's side as her life slipped away. But he couldn't bear it. She was his best friend, his sole companion of his own kind on this world so far from their own. More than that, they loved each other, but now that love seemed destined never to blossom.

Finally, Knucklehead stopped and found himself at the sight where he had dug up Twinbrush's stasis pod. A pained smile came to his face as he thought of the nervous female Maximal, timidly opening her stasis pod as she began life. His smile vanished as he began to weep, thinking how that had only been two weeks ago.

'She did not even get the chance to live life to it's fullest,' he thought. Seeking to fight the despair, he accessed his internal systems, running a diagnostic. It was then that he noticed something he hadn't before. Small energy interface units were located at various points on his body. And, now that he thought about it, Twinbrush had them at the exact same places.

His eyes widened as he remembered Espio's words. 'Chaos Energy is self sustaining and self replicating.' Suddenly filled with hope, he ran towards Knothole.


The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix stood around Twinbrush's bed. They had moved her there from the lab, seeking to make her comfortable as her energy faded. All of them wore expressions of sadness as they looked at her.

Suddenly, Knucklehead burst in. Turning, Julie-Su smiled sadly at him. "So, you came to be with her when she goes after all."

Knucklehead's face was full of determination. "Not if there's anything I can do to prevent it."

Mighty, confused, spoke up. "But what can you do?"

"I'm going to recharge her with my energy. I have the same interface configuration as she does, so it should work. And once she has Chaos Energy fueling her, she won't be in danger anymore."

The others looked at each other uncertainly. They then nodded, willing to try anything. Knucklehead walked to the side of the bed, looking down at Twinbrush. He looked at her peaceful face, and hoped that what he had planned would work.

Quickly, he ran a scan of her. As he feared, most of her energy ports were accessible only in robot mode, and he dared not force her to transform. He quickly saw that only one port was usable while she was in this form. So, without the slightest hesitation, he lifted her up, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her.

The others watched, confused. Their eyes then widened as they saw an aura of green energy appear around Knucklehead. They then watched as it spread to cover Twinbrush as well. Then, with even more shock, they witnessed a miracle.

Knucklehead's eyes, which he had closed when he began the kiss, opened as he felt two arms wrap around him. Then, his eyes widened as Twinbrush met his kiss with her own, her own eyes opening and smiling at him. Overjoyed, he returned his attention to kissing her, and she did the same.

The others watched uncomfortably. The green aura had vanished, but now the two Transformers were locked in a passionate embrace, kissing with all the love that they felt for each other. Finally they broke apart. They stared at each other uncertainly. Then, Knucklehead, stepped up to her, hugging her to him. She returned the embrace, and whimpered slightly as he stroked her fur. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.

Stepping back from him, she looked into his eyes. They were filled with tears of relief. Smiling, she wiped his eyes, hating to see him cry. She then returned to embracing him, replying simply, "I'm not that easy to get rid of."


Deathstreak howled with rage as the spy probe showed what was occurring. After all he had done, Knucklehead had still managed to save Twinbrush! Glowering, he muttered under his breath. "Enjoy victory while you can, Knucklehead, because it's not going to last."

Watching him, Kommisar felt a shiver in her spine. Knowing how violent the Transformer could get, she quietly exited. In fact, she felt she needed no excuse to get away from that mad Hedgehog.


Later that night, only two beings remained awake in Knothole. Lying on Twinbrush's bed, Knucklehead and Twinbrush were slowly drifting off to sleep. She slid up to him, sighing as he put his arm around her. The two were content in their closeness. After what Knucklehead had done to revive her, she had decided without hesitation that the two of them should live together. He agreed without complaint.

Now, as they slipped into slumber, the two dreamed of each other. Knucklehead dreamed of Twinbrush, smiling as her enchanting image floated through his mind. Twinbrush smiled likewise as her love's face filled her dreams. Both dreamed of each other, and of the life they would have together.

Click here for part 7