Nemesis Rewrite 

Part Two

By: Michael 





Chapter 2: Vengeance and Redemption



Depthcharge scoured the depths of the ocean floor. So far, there was 
no 
sign of any Predacons or the
Nemesis. The depths of the ocean were murky indeed.

Suddenly, the murkiness of the waters cleared as Depthcharge saw what 
it was 
that was so bright....
Energon!

There was much energon everywhere... and they were all raw in power. 
The 
near-destruction of Earth
by the aliens that the other Maximals told him about had supposedly 
stabilized most of the crystals on
the planet. It seemed that the so-called Planetbuster wasn't too keen 
on 
the small details.

Depthcharge let out a small breath. He knew that Tigerhawk was right. 
He 
thought back to a time when
it was his duty to defend and preserve lives... a time that Protoform X 
destroyed forever. Now, his
duty was the destruction of that monster. Still, what did Tigerhawk or 
any 
of the other Maximals
know? They didn't know what it was like to have all their friends and 
loved 
ones torn away from them
in one day. None of them understood the pain that he felt.

He thought back to a time when he was only a child by Cybertronian 
standards. Before he reached the
age of full sentiency and responsibility, he had attended the Church of 
Primus. Despite the fact that
there was still high tensions between the Maximals and the Predacons, 
the 
rules of the church stated
that such acts of violent, hatred, and revenge were not the ways of 
Primus. 
Justice was to be served by
Primus in the afterlife where those who did wicked deeds were to be 
punished 
accordingly. By the time
he had approached his "teen" years, according to human aging standards, 
he 
had started questioning
the existence of Primus. In truth, he did not really know whether 
Primus 
had created the Transformer
race or not. It took place too many Cybertronian stellar cycles ago to 
know 
for sure. Also, why would
a supposed god of peace allow all the anger, prejudice, and evil to 
exist 
among the bots that he created
and loved? Depthcharge suddenly realized that he hadn't read the 
Covenant 
of Primus for many
years. By the time Protoform X had massacred Omicron, Depthcharge 
stopped 
believing in Primus.

He realized that he couldn't allow justice to served by a deity that he 
didn't even know existed or
not. For one thing, X may never die. For another, X would never 
change. 
He'd just go on causing
senseless destruction wherever he went.

-------------------------

Flashback

Depthcharge surveyed the ruins of Colony Omicron. It had been two 
deca-cycles ago when he had
captured Protoform X and delivered him to the Maximal Elders. The 
senile 
old fools had decided on
banishment for the creature. Depthcharge protested but the Elders said 
that 
their decision was
final.

That evening, when the stasis pod containing X was loaded aboard the 
Axalon, 
Depthcharge secretly
planted a tracking device on the ship. He then confronted the leader 
of the 
crew, Optimus Primal.

"So.. you're Primal, eh?" asked Depthcharge, "The face is familiar but 
other 
than that, I thought you'd be
more impressive-looking."

Depthcharge towered over the smaller Maximal and his crew.

"Depthcharge, I know how you may feel about the situation, but my crew 
and I 
have our orders. Along
with dumping Protoform X on a barren planet, we are on an exploration 
mission as well."

Without warning, Depthcharge shoved Optimus Primal to the ground and 
leaned 
forward until he was
face to face with smaller Maximals.

"You listen here, you know NOTHING of what this Protoform is really 
capable 
of! All you can do is take
orders from those old buffoons but you really don't know anything. The 
real 
reason you were promoted
to the rank you are now is because your resemblance to the original 
Optimus 
Prime and for your stupid
naivety! The Maximal government knows they can rely on someone like 
you who 
can take orders from
above without question! Someone like you will allow a mass murderer to 
escape justice just because
a bunch of old fools who are of higher rank than you tell you that it's 
in 
the name of justice or safety for
Cybertron!" screamed Depthcharge at Optimus.

A large green bot from the crew came up and helped Optimus up.

Optimus looked at Depthcharge in the eye and did not back down.

"Depthcharge, I realize how much pain you must feel and I wasn't born 
24 
mega-cycles ago either. How I
look may have helped me through life in the past but that's not what I 
worry 
about. I don't go through
my life depending on my ancestor to make things easy for me. I've also 
worked my hardest and tried my
best as a Maximal to explore and defend. Unlike some others I've 
worked 
with, rank really doesn't mean
much to me. Exploration and the pursuit of peace comes before any 
positions 
for me. But as for you,
your thirst for vengeance may only do you harm and consume you until 
you 
have nothing left!"

"Then if that's the way it is, Primal, I really do have nothing left," 
replied Depthcharge. The giant blue Maximal
turned his back on the crew of the Axalon and walked off.

Back at the ruins of the Omicron, Depthcharge fell to his knees. He 
looked 
towards the night sky and felt
something moist near his optics... something that the humans on Earth 
called 
tears. However, grief
soon turned into uncontrollable rage as Depthcharge heard the mocking 
laughter of Protoform X in his
head....

---------------------

Present Day

"X..." said Depthcharge grimly.

"Hahahaha! The one and only!" cackled Rampage with bloodlust in his 
eyes.

Remembering what his real mission was, Depthcharge looked at X 
balefully but 
did not attack.

"Outta my way, X.. I got no time for you.."

"Oh... Like you had no time for Starbase Rugby? You had friends there, 
as I 
recall... tasty ones too!"
taunted the giant crab.(a/n: actual quote from Nemesis pt.1, I'm citing 
it 
now so Hasbro won't sue me
for plagiarism)

Without a word, Depthcharge transformed into robot mode and blasted the 
giant crab with his missile
launcher. The missiles slammed into X and threw him into the ground.

"BWWWAAAAHHHH!!!! Now that's the Depthcharge I know!" declared X 
happily.

Rampage transformed into robot mode as well and fired his own missile 
towards Depthcharge.

Depthcharge spin kicked the missile right back at Rampage which was in 
turn, 
beaten aside with one
backhand from the mutant transformer. Depthcharge launched himself at 
Rampage and tackled him to the
floor.

"It's time you paid for your crimes, monster!" cried Depthcharge as he 
clenched his hands around
Rampage's throat and squeezed with all his might.

Rampage wasn't content to sit there and be strangled to death however 
and 
used both feet to kick
the Maximal Manta off. The crab-bot then punched Depthcharge across 
the 
face and headbutted him,
followed up with several more punches to the abdomen and head. 
Depthcharge 
wasn't in a passive mood
to die either that day and fought back as he uppercutted Rampage and 
turned 
around with a sidekick to
Rampage's solarplexus that knocked the giant Predacon to the ground.

As Rampage slowly got up and coughed up a bit of mech fluid, 
Depthcharge 
leaped into and did two
somersaults before landing and punching Rampage as hard as he could 
across 
the face, knocking
the crab down again.

Rampage leaped up to his feet again and faced the hunter once more. 
They 
both charged each other
at the same time and fought with every last fiber in their bodies.

Depthcharge narrowly dodged a swing from Rampage and followed it up 
with 
roundhouse kick to
Protoform X's head. Rampage quickly recovered from the blow and 
smashed his 
fist into the hunter's face,
knocking Depthcharge down. Depthcharge got up but quickly leaped aside 
as 
Rampage smashed a rock
where his face had been a nano-klik ago to pieces. Depthcharge 
step-sided a 
charging Rampage and
grabbing the crab from the back and one arm, he swung around and threw 
the 
immortal into an even
bigger rock, smashing it to pieces.

Rampage roared angrily and blasted through all the rocks to get back to 
his 
feet. He raised his hands up
and brought it down intending to smash Depthcharge but the manta ray 
only 
step-sided it to do a
spinning wheel kick to Rampage's head, causing the crab to see stars. 
As 
Rampage was dazed,
Depthcharge leaped towards Rampage and knocked the giant Predacons 
several 
feet away with a running
side kick.

Depthcharge charged Rampage but the behemoth transformed back into 
beast 
mode and bashed DC
aside with a huge claw.

As Depthcharge got up, he noticed some energon shards near the ground 
he was 
knocked up against.

"It's time to finish this, X!" declared a determined Depthcharge who 
broke 
and very long and sharp
piece of energon and flew through the water aiming directly to 
Rampage's 
spark. Rampage transformed
into robot mode and avoided Depthcharge's first attack but he suddenly 
felt 
a pain near his chest. The
hunter had slashed open his chest, revealing his spark.

Rampage broke off another long and extremely sharp piece of energon and 
engaged Depthcharge in a
battle of both vengeance and sadism.

--------------------------------

The shuttle built by Tarantulas finally reached its destination. 
Stepping 
into the giant ship, Megatron
stared at the marvel of his ancestors before him.

"Yesss..... YEEEESSSS!!! I now have full control of the Nemesis. With 
it, I 
will destroy the Maximals and
the Autobots. History will undergo a change. A change of such power, 
magnificence, and glory that
the annals of time will forever remember me as the rightful ruler of 
Cybertron and the galaxy!!!"

"Master," stated the Transmetal 2, "There appears to be a disturbance 
on the 
ocean floor involving
Rampage and the Maximal known as Depthcharge."

"Hmm, such minor squabbles are beneath me at the moment," declared 
Megatron, 
"Now is the time for me
to go down as a legend in Transformer history! Dinobot, let us ascend 
to 
the control chamber. From
there, we shall activate all power and win the Beast Wars once and for 
all!"

-----------------------------

Optimus, Silverbolt, and Tigerhawk flew over the ocean. Optimus did 
not 
know what exactly was going
on beneath the waves but Tigerhawk sensed it.

"Optimus, I sense that a small but intense battle is being fought on 
the 
ocean floor. I cannot quite see
the outcome but I feel that one of the combatants is about to die!"

Silverbolt looked at Tigerhawk. "You don't think it's Depthcharge that 
will 
face oblivion... do you?"

"Perhaps.. perhaps not.. either way, I must not allow him to die!"

With that, Tigerhawk summoned his supernatural powers and parted the 
waters 
as he dived in.

"Tigerhawk!" cried Optimus, "It may be too dangerous!"

The com-link came on Optimus' wrist. "Perhaps.. but it is my destiny 
to 
try. Farewell, Optimus."

"Tigerhawk, NOOOOO!!!" screamed Optimus.

------------------------------

Meanwhile, on the ocean floor, the two water-based transformers were 
still 
fighting with grim purpose.

Depthcharge fought bravely but he soon realized that he was slowly 
being 
overpowered by the giant
crab. His left arm was cut open and mech fluid poured out from where 
the 
energon blade of the crab
slashed him.

"Hmmm, so this the hunter from Omicron? Despite your hatred for me, I 
still 
sense a glimmer of fear in
your spark. Yesss... You know that without your overwhelming hatred 
for 
me, you'd really be nothing
more than an insignificant insect to me. Your hate is what makes you 
strong.. what keeps you alive.. Had
you been the first to be destroyed by my hand, you would not have 
lasted! 
How does it feel knowing
that I am a true immortal and that you will die when I live on 
forever?!?!? 
But since you're not dead just
yet, why don't you ask the small children I tortured and ate alive? 
HAHAHAHAHA"

"Shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!" shrieked Depthcharge as he parried another 
energon slash by Rampage
and this time, knocked the energon blade out of Rampage's hand.

Depthcharge smashed Rampage across the face with the blunt end of the 
energon in his hand and
stabbed at Rampage's revealed spark with all his might. Rampage caught 
the 
energon with both hands
but all the power of the energon cut his hands causing mech fluid to 
pour 
out into the water. Still,
Rampage held on to the energon stab directed at his spark.

"No matter what happens to me, THIS ENDS RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW, X!" 
cried 
Depthcharge,
"Raw energon.. right through your twisted spark.. Take it.. TAKE IT TO 
THE 
PIT, YOU SICKENING
PIECE OF SLAG!!!"(a/n:another quote stolen)

Rampage held on grimly but suddenly, saw the face of Transmutate 
looking 
down at him from above.

"Hahahaha. If this is the way it has to end, then so be it... 
Transmutate.. 
I will be seeing you very soon.."

Rampage lets go of the energon shard and Depthcharge blinks with 
puzzlement 
in his eye for a split
nano-klik. He does not see the streak of light heading towards his and 
Rampage's direction, nor does he
feel his own body suddenly being covered with the power of the Vok. 
Depthcharge takes the energon
sword and stabs it right into Rampage's spark.

----------------------------------

Transmetal 2 Dinobot's spark chamber suddenly glowed with a purple 
light and 
soon, his entire body
was writhing with electricity. Falling down on his knees, he starts 
screaming a horrified and prolonged
scream of agony.

"Dinobot, what is the matter with you?" asked Megatron who suddenly 
sees 
from the window of the
control bridge a gigantic explosion headed their way.

----------------------------------

Optimus and Silverbolt screamed as the gigantic explosion knocked both 
of 
them back. Optimus managed
to raise his shields up to fend from the full force of the blast but 
Silverbolt was no so fortunate. The
winged wolf was blasted nearly to scrap. As he fell, a giant hand 
caught 
him.

"Silverbolt! Are you alright?" asked a concerned Optimus who, himself, 
was 
not left unscathed by the
blast.

"Optimus to base! Cheetor, come quickly, I need you to come bring 
Silverbolt back to base for repairs
as soon as possible!"

<Will do, Bigbot!> came the reply.

"Optimus, sir... if I die now, tell Blackarachnia that I love her..."

"Hang in there, Silverbolt! Your spark isn't going anywhere today. 
Help 
will be on the way!"

------------------------------------

Slowy and uncomfortably, Depthcharge opened his eyes.

He thought that he was dead for a minute. But then again, wouldn't he 
have 
gone to somewhere like
the Matrix or the Pit if he died? Perhaps the Church of Primus was a 
bunch 
of bunk after all. He saw that
he was still on planet Earth even thought his body had taken heavy 
damage. 
Then he suddenly came
to the revelation that he was still alive and that Rampage was dead...

"No... why am I still alive?" whimpered the manta ray who noted that 
Tigerhawk was right next to him on
a tiny island they were both on.

"Depthcharge, I managed to amass enough power to save you as well as 
shield 
myself from the blast,"
said Tigerhawk, "But a lot of my power won't be coming back to me for 
quite 
a while."

"But... I should have died..."said Depthcharge in a melancholy voice, 
"Now 
that X is gone, what reason
do I have for living on? He took away everything from me.. my friends 
and 
family. I dedicated my life
to hunting him and now that he's gone, what purpose do I have for 
living 
on?"

"Depthcharge, LISTEN!" reprimanded Tigerhawk in a stern and angry 
voice, 
"There is more to life than
revenge! You know that too! The reason I exist is to protect this 
natural 
world which I love! There will
always be a reason to live on! Even when you were alive and pursuing 
Rampage, you realized there
was more to life than simple revenge! If you were solely worrying 
about his 
destruction, you would not
have saved the lives of the Maximals in so many situations, especially 
the 
life of Cheetor. He told me
himself how you jumped in to save him several times! As Maximals, our 
goal 
should be to preserve life,
not take it.. which includes preserving our own lives and not taking it 
out 
of grief! If you are no longer
living for the sake of Rampage, then live for the sake of those around 
you, 
the ones who still care for
you!"

Depthcharge stared at Tigerhawk intently, awed by the winged tiger's 
strength and resolve. He then
looked towards the ground and mulled over the Vok-enhanced 
transformer's 
words.

-----------------------------

Back at the Ark, Rhinox, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia were awaiting a 
message 
from Optimus or anyone
else out there. Cheetor had left earlier to fetch the heavily damaged 
Silverbolt.

Rhinox looked around the room. He could tell Blackarachnia was 
concerned 
with Silverbolt even though
she did not openly express it. As for Rattrap, he was being his old 
pessimistic self as usual.

Before, Rhinox could say something to break the heavy silence, the 
sensors 
suddenly switched to full
alert.

"Oh great, a Pred attack at this time!" muttered Rhinox.

Outside, Inferno, Quickstrike, and Waspinator blasted at the doors, 
trying 
to force their way into the
heavily fortified base. Several sideguns had already been destroyed by 
them.

"For the Royalty!" screamed Inferno as he fired in the air wildly.

Quickstrike and Waspinator took part in the attack as well but 
something in 
their optics showed that they
were having second thoughts.

Slowly, the doors opened and out ran Rhinox, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia 
with 
all guns blazing. Rhinox
engaged Inferno while Blackarachnia took on Quickstrike and Rattrap 
fired in 
the air at Waspinator.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" shrieked Inferno as he stopped concentrating solely on 
Rhinox and flew into
the air to fire shots at all three Maximals. "The royalty decrees your 
executions on this day, Maximal
vermin!"

-------------------------------

Cheetor flew to the coordinates Optimus had told him to. From the 
reports, 
Silverbolt was definitely
injured and that something big had happened.

Soon, the transmetal 2 cheetah was in view of the area. Below, he saw 
Tigerhawk and Depthcharge on
a tiny island while Optimus was in the air holding Silverbolt.

"Cheetor, you have to take Silverbolt back to base as soon as 
possible!" 
urged Optimus.

"Will do, bigbot!" replied the younger Maximal who held still as 
Optimus 
placed Silverbolt on his back.

Cheetor looked down at Tigerhawk and Depthcharge. "Big cat, will you 
be 
alright?" voiced a concerned
Cheetor. "I will be, little cat. You need not worry about me," 
chucked 
Tigerhawk, "Our adventure is at
an end. The time for rejoicing will come soon for all of us."

"Alright then, big cat!" said Cheetor happily and flew off with 
Silverbolt.

Optimus breathed deeply and looked around the ocean. "If Depthcharge 
managed to stop Megatron down
there, then it looks like after all these years, we finally won the 
Beast 
Wars." Despite the world weariness
he had developed in the past three years, Optimus let out a small 
smile.

That smile soon disappeared because a rumbling in the water was heard. 
Optimus looked down as
the Nemesis, slowly but surely, arose like a sleeping giant.

Tigerhawk and Depthcharge looked at the Nemesis with fear in their 
optics as 
the ship came fully in view
out of the water.

Within the Nemesis, Megatron surveyed his surroundings intently. 
"Hahaha! 
Beware, Maximals, the day
of judgement has arrived! It is time that you and your ancestors paid 
for 
your crimes against my people!"

--------------------

As Cheetor flew back to base with Silverbolt on his back, he 
immediately 
felt disquiet. Something was
definitely wrong. He hoped that Optimus and the others were alright.

"Cheetor," asked Silverbolt, "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know.. I feel that something's gone horribly wrong. I hope 
Optimus, Tigerhawk, and Depthcharge
are safe."

"Fear not, my friend. All three of them are very capable of handling 
themselves. If I know Optimus, he
won't let anything happen to any of us."

"Thanks for the optimism, bird-dog," said Cheetor who was somewhat 
relieved 
by Silverbolt's
good-natured outlook but still nervous at what he sensed looming above 
the 
horizon.

-----------------------------

Inferno, Waspinator, and Quickstrike continued their attack on the 
three 
Maximals defending the base.

Inferno fired wildly at the three until a message came through his 
com-link.

<"Megatron to Inferno! At the moment, Dinobot is unable to perform the 
tasks that I needed him for! I'll
need you to assist me instead. Come to the Sigma Quadrant at 234556432 
immediately!">

Inferno's eyes gleamed as he replied, "At once, Royalty!" and 
immediately 
flew off, leaving Quickstrike
and Waspinator to fend for themselves.

"Where in tarnation is blender butt going?!?!?" screamed Quickstrike 
before 
a shot from Rattrap knocked
him down.

Quickstrike got back to his feet as quickly as he could and blasted his 
cybervenom wildly at the
Maximals. "There ain't no way you're gunna take me alive!" he yelled 
desperately.

Waspinator had to admit that their chances were not good.

"Wazzpinator believe it izz time to retreat!" cried Waspinator, "Or 
else 
Maximalzz slag Wazzpinator!"

"There ain't no way you're gunna bail out on me bugface!" shrieked 
Quickstrike who caught Waspinator
and threw him to the ground.

Quickstrike kicked Waspinator several times out of his desperation, 
built-up 
paranoia, and overall
insecurity. Waspinator managed to get back on his feet but was kicked 
down 
by Quickstrike again.

"Two-head stop it! Wazzpinator not do anything to Two-head!" cried the 
poor 
insect.

Quickstrike did not stop and kept beating the unfortunate flier.

That was the final straw.

"Wazzpinator.... said... STOP!!!"

Waspinator immediately leaped back to his feet and punched Quickstrike 
back 
as hard as he could. The
fuzor had clearly not expected the insect's sudden bravery and 
staggered 
back. He did not have much
time to recover from the blow as Waspinator continued punching him back 
and 
forth. His anger and
frustration after all the years of abuse he had to take from Megatron 
and 
the Predacons had finally
pushed him over the edge.

"WASPINATOR IS SICK AND TIRED OF MEGATRON, FIRE-BOT, AND TWO-HEAD 
BRINGING
WASPINATOR DOWN!!! WASPINATOR HAD IT!!! WASPINATOR IZZ NO LONGER PART 
OF
PREDACONS AND NO LONGER EVIL!!! WASPINATOR IS FREE!!!"

With one final punch, he smashed Quickstrike's chin with all his might, 
knocking the cobra/scorpion
hybrid back a few feet.

The Maximals watched in amazement, bewilderment, and admiration all at 
once 
at the Predacon they
used to think so little and so lowly of who was finally standing up for 
himself.

Still, Quickstrike wasn't through. He got back on his feet and seeing 
how 
he had just let Waspinator
land several blows on him, he let out a cry of anger and tackled 
Waspinator 
to the ground.

"You think yous gonna get away with that?!?!?" he screamed as he pinned 
Waspinator down, "I ain't
gonna let some six-legged insect get away with hurtin' mah' frame!"

He raised his cobra hand to strike down at Waspinator's heck with a 
high 
dose of cybervenom but
Waspinator had other ideas. Waspinator's eyes glowed purple as twin 
lasers 
shot out and blasted
Quickstrike's cobra hand, shattering the pistol within and damaging, as 
well 
as burning, the hand
very badly.

"AAAHHHHH!!!" screamed Quickstrike as he staggered back. Waspinator 
took 
the opportunity quickly
and pointed his stinger gun at Quickstrike's forehead. Without 
hesitating, 
he fired and blew a hole
straight through the fuzor's head.

Waspinator got back on his feet but he was still panting very hard. A 
strange new feeling overtook him
at that instance. It was a weary feeling but at the same time, it was 

feeling of new-found confidence,
courage, and relief. At that instant, he dropped his gun and fell down 
to 
the ground. Quickstrike had
poisoned him with a small amount of cybervenom during the battle which 
eventually overtook his
system.

Rhinox and the others immediately dropped their weapons and rushed 
towards 
Waspinator.

"Quickly! We need to get him inside our CR chamber!" declared Rhinox.

The Maximals helped gather Waspinator and took him inside.

--------------------------------

As Cheetor flew across the ocean with Silverbolt, he noticed a red 
streak 
heading their way.

Soon enough, it was Inferno.

Cheetor panicked. If Inferno attacked, there would be no way to defend 
himself since he had Silverbolt
but Inferno did not do any such thing. Instead, he flew past Cheetor 
towards the direction that Cheetor
had left.

"Whoa! What's ant-boy doing and where's he going?" asked a bewildered 
Cheetor.

----------------------------

At the Sigma Quadrant, Megatron looked at Optimus in the air and 
smiled.

Picking up the microphone, he spoke.

"Optimus Primal, what an unexpected surprise! Please, please.. I 
assure you 
that what you see before
you is quite real. As a demonstration, I will show you what the pride 
and 
glory of the Decepticons is
capable of," boomed the voice through the microphone.

The cannon aimed directly at Optimus.

<<Hahaha! This is it, Primal! The day when I finally restore what 
rightfully belongs to the Predacon
race!>>

His train of thought was interrupted as Inferno entered the room where 
he 
was waiting.

"Royalty! What is your command?"

"Redirect all the ship's power to the main cannon," replied Megatron, 
"We 
will set an example for all
those who turned my ancestors into second-class citizens!"

"As you command, Royalty!" cried Inferno who immediately switched on 
all the 
power.

Picking up the microphone again, Megatron looked at Optimus, who seemed 
to 
be frozen with fear.

"My, my.. where has all your courage gone, Maximal? For someone who's 

descendent of the great
Optimus Prime, I'd expect you to show more bravery in the face of 
danger!"

Tigerhawk flew up next to Optimus to help him engage the Nemesis.

"Optimus, together, we'll defeat Megatron! There has to be a way! No 
matter what, even in our darkest
hour, we must not give up hope!" urged Tigerhawk.

As the ship's main cannon finally charged to full power, it aimed 
directly 
at Optimus and the winged
former emissary of the Vok......

Suddenly, without warning, the gun aimed down and fired directly at 
Depthcharge!

Depthcharge looked up with despair in his eyes as the blast came down 
to 
annihilate him in a matter of
nano-kliks. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tigerhawk appeared directly in 
front 
of the blast.

"Depthcharge! Save yourself!" cried Tigerhawk who powered up to full 
and 
blasted back with is own
energy blast.

The beams clashed and a wave of energy swept throughout the air.

Tigerhawk glared at the Nemesis. Clenching his teeth, he growled, 
"Tyrant! 
You will not overcome us
in our darkest our. No matter what, even if is my destiny to die like 
this, 
I will do everything to defend
this world and its future!"

For a moment, Tigerhawk's beam seemed to be overcoming the Nemesis. 
Still, 
the power of the Nemesis
was enormous indeed as Tigerhawk was forced back. He thought back to 
the 
time he had been Tigatron
and Airrazor in captivity by the Vok.

--------------------------------

Flashback.

It seemed that now that the Vok was in full possession of their bodies, 
their sparks were seemingly free
to leave.

"Airrazor, it will be impossible for us to reach Earth. We know not 
even 
its location from the part of
this galaxy we're in."

"Don't worry, Tigatron. No matter what happens to us, my spark will 
always 
be yours. I.. I know we
both feel this way.. but I'm going to break the silence and say it now, 
Tigatron.. I love you."

"Airrazor.. I.... love you as well!"

"No matter what, we'll always be together and we'll find some way to 
get 
back to our friends!"

"Agreed, my lady, not even death will separate our bond.. that I 
promise 
you!"

------------------------------

The beam from Nemesis proved to too powerful. Tigerhawk screamed in 
pain as 
the heat tore the armor
from his body. He pressed bravely however. That proved ultimately 
futile 
however. Another powerful
surge from the cannon finally overtook his entire body. Crying in 
pain, 
Tigerhawk's frame was
completely and utterly destroyed by the blast.

"TIGERHAWK! NOOOOOOO!!!!!" screamed Optimus in grief and pain.

"And now, Primal," said Megatron gleefully, "I do believe it's your 
turn!" 
as the cannon pointed
directly towards Optimus.

To be continued.....