//------------------------------// // Exodus // Story: Transformers: Equestria's Darkest Hour // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// -CHAPTER III: EXODUS- "We took the extended tour. Saw the sights, blasted some bad guys, the usual." -Sideswipe INTEL: Sideswipe is an Autobot soldier and a good fighter, though he can be a bit cocky when he gets a few hits on an enemy. During the early war, Sideswipe wasn’t meant for much but just to deliver supplies for the Autobots. That all changed when his skills in battle proved otherwise. Sideswipe is brash and bold and never runs away from a fight. ____________________ Megatron and his forces broke through the tree lines with intense speeds. Trees crumbled and rocks shattered before their might. Megatron shot one purple ball of energy at the rock structure blocking their path. The entrance allowed the Decepticons to drive through it with ease. High in the skies was Blast Off with Vortex right on his tail, following them were each of the flyers struggling to keep up. Vortex grunted and shouted, “Ease off the throttle, Blast Off! I can’t keep up!” Blast Off slowed down just so everyone behind him could hear. “Either you keep up or I’ll leave ya behind!” “Silence, you fool!” Megatron yelled from below and dodged the scurrying deer in his path. The frightened animals cowered underneath the broken tree lines as the strange monsters drove past them. Megatron hit a rock and shouted above, “This isn’t a race! Have you all forgotten what is trailing behind us?!” Ramjet knocked straight into Vortex and screamed, “Trust ME, Megatron! I know for a fact that Trypticon is still on our-!” He never finished when a missile struck his engine causing him to fall to the ground with a trail of smoke following. “Idiot.” Megatron muttered. As Ramjet was slowly picking himself up, he looked back and saw the mighty Trypticon stomping his way through the forest. His shoulders were firing hundreds of miniature missiles at the flyers above. Of course he would be the only to get hit. Changing form and taking to the skies, Ramjet slowly rose above as Starscream past him with pure ease. Starscream also took the time to pass each of the flyers and lead them straight ahead. “Follow me to victory!” Starscream wailed and activated his thrusters, causing him to be pushed forward even farther. He barely heard what his master said. “Starscream, you have no idea where you’re going! Your tiny little mind is far too small to know where the Ark is!” The Sky Commander stopped in mid-air and looked down to see Megatron drive right through the trees and past him. Starscream yelled, “How do you know where the Ark is, what is there that we possibly need?!” Megatron didn’t turn back and drove faster. Starscream watched as each Decepticon flew right past him and paying him no heed. Right before Starscream could ask Thundercracker what was going on, the sound of transforming came from behind. Slowly turning around, Starscream gasped when the Nemesis soared right over him. ____________________ Ironhide sighed with relief and stepped alongside the dirt road. Sunlight quickly reached as Ironhide stared up into the cloud-filled skies. Such a peaceful world Earth was. It was definitely a good choice for the remaining Autobots to take refugee. The structure of the entire Ark was minimized in his hands. He looked down to observe the small hologram of the Ark pictured on the holo screen. Pressing his comms link, Ironhide announced while looking at the light in his hands. “Ironhide to Optimus Prime, the Ark’s power core is fully repaired. The entire ship is perfectly held together by the mountain causing minimal damage on the inside. All defense systems are functional and ready for action.” ____________________ Driving down the long dirt road was the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Ironhide’s explanation of the Ark had reached him no problem whatsoever. He soon came across a small hill. Optimus enjoyed this new world and used the hill as a ramp to fly above shortly. Transforming in mid-air and landing perfectly, Optimus heard Jetfire land peacefully right beside him. Earth was such a glorious planet, true in its name of containing very much of life. Although Optimus hadn’t had the courage to reveal himself and the Autobots to mankind, it was still a great experience to be living here from now on instead of…. Well….Prime didn’t want to think about it much. Turning to Jetfire, Optimus Prime nodded and pressed his comms link, “Nice work, Ironhide,” Optimus congratulated on a job well done. A sudden thought came to mind as he spoke clearly through the link, “Perceptor, how goes the Energon tanks?” ____________________ Perceptor floated above on his trusty little flyer and observed the Energon tanks being filled with life-giving liquid Energon. He along with every other Autobot scientist remained in the inner sanctums of the Ark, watching as precious life-blood entered the tubes. He smiled and pressed his comms link, “Energon was successfully routed from this planet’s energy supply to our tanks, Prime. We should be able to fill several quantities of Energon before the next mega-cycle.” ____________________ Optimus nodded and placed his hand down. “Good, that Energon will be just enough for our power supply to be filled to its limit. But first….we need to give Omega Supreme his rightly earned Energon.” Optimus Prime and Jetfire stood above the highest hill and watched patiently as the Ark was sitting there in the side of a mountain. Several Autobots were working on it from the outside to repair all the damage it had suffered. The morning sun felt nice as both Autobots stared ahead at their beloved ship. It has been millions of years of contant, never-ending warfare, and it was finally over. Sure, there were a few battles on Earth here and there between the two factions but mostly it was peaceful. It took a while for the Autobots to get used to this "peace-time adjustment", obviously eons of civil war does a lot to a bot. The peaceful moment of simply staring at the glorious wreckage of the Autobot's last hope was interrupted by Jetfire clearing his throat, speaking in a low tone. “You ever wonder,” Jetfire began while Optimus turned towards him, “…after several eons of fighting for our beliefs, and now that we are finally at peace. It feels wonderful, Prime.” Optimus sighed, “Then why don’t I feel wonderful?” Jetfire turned his way, obviously surprised as to why Optimus Prime would ask that. “What do you mean, Optimus?” Jetfire asked. Optimus Prime lowered his head to the ground, his optics hardening as did his fists. “I’ve been….worrying for the past few cycles. I sense…..a traitor among our ranks.” Optimus muttered. Jetfire gasped. “A traitor?! Optimus, are you sure?” Jetfire asked. Optimus turned his way and sighed. “I am, Jetfire. It feels awful to know that one of your own kind is betraying you. Which is why I must ask you truthfully…are you the…?” Jetfire swatted his hand and spoke in a high stern voice, “Optimus, I am NOT the traitor! I would never betray the Autobots!” Optimus sighed happily and placed his hand on Jetfire’s shoulder. He could always trust Jetfire. Just like back on Cybertron, when all seemed hopeless during the Autobot evacuation, Megatron had launched orbital strike cannons on the unsuspecting ships. Giving his full trust to Jetfire and his squadron, they were able to destroy the strike cannon and save the Autobots from extinction. “I knew I could always trust you, Jetfire. You’re a great warrior.” “Thank you, Optimus.” Jetfire smiled and faced the sun again. He suddenly turned towards Prime and asked, “So after this traitor is found, will we be at peace, Optimus?” Optimus shook his head and muttered, “We are not yet at peace, Jetfire. Megatron and his Decepticons are still on this word…hungry for power.” Speak of the Unicron. Optimus’ signal began to grow unstable. Sounds of gunfire and explosion came shortly after. He quickly pressed his comms link and shouted, “What is going on, Sideswipe?!” Sideswipe answered, his voice scared beyond belief. “Megatron and his troops broke through and-*static*!” Upon hearing Sideswipe’s shouts of fear, Jetfire lifted up his wrist and gasped, “Optimus, Decepticons have breached Omega Supreme’s inner sanctum!” Optimus clenched his fist and raised it. “That was Grimlock’s post!” He shouted with obvious anger present in his voice. This was the second time after all. Jetfire continued not taking his optics off his wrist, “They destroyed all the defenses! And…oh no…OH NO! The Nemesis is approaching the Ark!” Optimus began to grow nervous when Ratchet’s voice came through his comms link. “Optimus, Omega Supreme is under attack! Megatron and his Decepticons are using Dark Energon on him as we speak!” Optimus clenched his fist and nodded, “We’re on our way, Ratchet!” And with that said, both Jetfire and Optimus Prime transformed and took off towards the Ark. Optimus stopped in his tracks and sent out a distress signal. “All Autobots in our current sector, Megatron is attacking Omega Supreme! Return to base this instant and defend the Ark!” Even with Optimus blazing through the dirt road, his spark felt very uneasy. ‘Why, Grimlock? Why?’ ____________________ Jazz sat peacefully on the rock and held out his hand. A bird fluttered into view and landed in his palm and pecked his fist. Jazz let out a chuckle and let the bird fly away. His times on this new world were awesome. The peaceful planet itself was amazing from all these different types of species he had come to love. And even though he never got his disguise (neither did any of the other Autobots), mostly because the vehicles here just didn’t fit him, or he just liked his Cybertronian form. Jazz let out a sigh as he laid his head back, the gurgling of the creek and the cricket of the insects made him just plain enjoy himself. “JAZZ!” The sudden outburst caused the Autobot to fall into the water with a loud splash. Getting back up and looking around, Jazz caught the two horns sticking out from the shadows along with the glowing Autobot symbol. He chuckled and shouted, “Hey nice one, Cliffjumper! Now why the frack would ya interrupt me, man?” The shadowed figure came into view, causing Jazz to gasp in surprise. He nervously rubbed the back of his head as Bumblebee came out of the shadows. “Hehe…sorry about that, Bee, you and Cliffjumper look so much alike.” Jazz laughed which only caused the little Autobot to shake his head in ignorance. Bumblebee shook his head and explained quickly, “Come on, Jazz! Optimus needs us!” “Oh scrap.” ____________________ Optimus had reached the exact location. But something was off. The Ark was fine. No Decepticon had attacked it or was even in the general area. This wasn’t right. Megatron wouldn’t give up that easily. If he had already attacked Omega Supreme then there was no stopping him from attacking the Ark. So why didn’t he? When Optimus and Jetfire had reached the entrance of the Ark, they both transformed and watched as Ratchet was assisting Sideswipe. In fact, Wheeljack and Perceptor both stood worried over Sideswipe’s injured form. Hound approached Optimus and explained, “Sideswipe barely made it out, sir. Megatron had already attacked Omega.” “Why would Megatron attack Omega Supreme and not the Ark?” Optimus asked no one particularly as he approached Sideswipe with Hound and Jetfire by his side. Ratchet looked up to see Prime and the others. He quickly stood back up. “Optimus, Sideswipe has wanted to tell you something.” Ratchet explained looking at the injured Autobot. Optimus got to one knee and watched as Sideswipe slowly raised his head. Sideswipe frowned and held his injured leg before he could cough out an explanation. “Prime, I tried my best…but Megatron-!” Sideswipe couldn’t finish when Optimus interrupted him. Optimus narrowed his optics and asked, “Why didn’t Grimlock stay at his post?” Sideswipe’s frown disappeared and an expression of confusion was present. He quickly explained, “Grimlock didn’t leave his post.” Now the Autobots were interested as each of them scooted in to hear what Sideswipe had to say. Optimus was the first to ask the big question. “What happened, soldier?” ____________________ -13 MINUTES EARLIER- “Unbelievable! Why were we given this type of task from Optimus Prime?! This is grunt work!” Slug growled in boredom as he kicked a piece of rock aside. The rock; however, hit the stone wall and shattered at the mighty kick, causing Snarl to look up from where he was resting his head. Snarl chuckled and moved from his resting place to have a little fun with Slug. It was indeed a very boring job; the sun beat down on them with no remorse and the Lightning Strike Coalition Force, or the Dinobots as Swoop liked to call them, were just on the outside of the massive cave that held the strongest Autobot that ever lived. “Havin’ fun, Slug?” Snarl teasingly asked, “Because we’re gonna be out here all day!” Slug turned his way and uncrossed his arms. He slowly approached his fellow teammate and sighed, “Oh I’m having the time of my life, Snarl! What about you huh? Are you having fun just sitting here without anything to do?!” “Yep.” Snarl jokingly chuckled and sat down, his spines hitting the side of the mountain. Slug just groaned and laid his back on the side of the mountain with Snarl. He didn’t really care for this new world, it was okay. Just okay. But of course one of the team members was over-enjoying themselves. “WOOOOO!!!! I like flyin’!!!” Slug and Snarl both ducked when the flyer of the team flew right past their heads and landed on a little perch on the side of the mountain. His massive beak moved up and down as he spoke. “That was fun!” Swoop yelled and flapped his wings. Snarl chuckled while Slug just face palmed. The three of them just stood there until Swoop thought it would be a good idea to- “Hey who wants to race me, huh?” Swoop asked and hovered above the ground to meet Slug’s glare and Snarl's smile. “I’ve been dyin’ to race someone now that I have this new form! I bet I’m the fastest thing on this planet!” “SHUT UP, SWOOP!” The three of them froze in fear. Swoop changed form back into robot mode as each Dinobot turned around. On top of a small rocky platform was the leader of the Lightning Strike Coalition Force, his deadly red blade stuck in the rock and his head low. The mighty leader turned his head to view his teammates, each of them backed away when that glowing red visor met them with his deadly stare. Grimlock….was not in the mood. Swoop shuffled nervously before he finally got the guts to ask, “Uhhh…Grimlock? You okay, buddy?” The thing was that Grimlock was not okay. He was downright miserable! This world wasn’t meant to house them. He should’ve just stayed on Cybertron where he could actually do something. Fate has a strange way of showing itself. Grimlock slowly turned his head towards his fellow Autobots and sighed with grief. “It’s…it’s just that I-.” He never finished when a missile struck the rocky platform he was on. “Grimlock!” Swoop screamed as he, Snarl, and Slug got out of the way when the entire side of the mountain crumbled down. Large pieces of debris and rocks hit each Dinobot in the head causing them to fall and get crushed by the massive rocks. Starscream flew in and landed on top of the rock slide. He smirked with victory. Turning around, Starscream waved and watched as Megatron and the others came pouring out of the forest. Each of them transformed and watched as Megatron approached the cave with a wide smile. “Yes, this is it, my brethren!” Megatron shouted and raised his fists, “We will use Omega Supreme to take refugee out in space until we lose Trypticon. There’s nowhere on this planet that we can hide from Trypticon’s wrath…but space will prove to be most reliable.” Barricade grunted as he stepped over the rocks, “I don’t know about this, Megatron. From what I heard Omega Supreme is the strongest Autobot that ever lived. How are we gonna make him give us a ride out in space?” Megatron smiled as he and his loyalists approached the dark cave, his fist glowing with a raw purple energy. “Simple, Barricade. We’ll do it just like last time….with Dark Energon.” And with that said, each Decepticon made their way into the cave for Omega Supreme. ____________________ “You gotta understand, Optimus, I couldn’t stop them all! I had to retreat I had to!” Sideswipe screamed in pain as Optimus held him down. Ratchet and Wheeljack assisted the injured Sideswipe to his feet as Optimus turned away from him. “You did what you had to, Sideswipe. But it seems that Omega Supreme is in danger. Megatron will use him.” As Optimus entered the sunlight from the Ark’s shadow, the large group of Autobots followed him. Each of them was worried sick; Omega was their heavy artillery, without him they were nothing. Suddenly, a large trail of dust came rushing towards them which revealed to be Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, and Jazz. “Uhhh…did we miss somethin’?” Jazz asked as Optimus approached him. “We got this covered, Jazz, but you did indeed miss something.” Optimus muttered as he and Jazz walked side by side with each Autobot trailing behind. Bumblebee came up to Optimus’ side. “Optimus, what happened?” Bumblebee asked. Prime faced the sun and sighed, he turned towards his large team. There he saw some familiar faces. Jazz, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jetfire, Silverbolt, Air Raid, Fireflight, Skydive, Slingshot, Hound, Perceptor, Wheeljack, Blaster, Sideswipe (slightly limping), and Warpath all watched Optimus attentively. Optimus sighed and began, “Megatron has attacked Omega-“ He never finished. He didn’t have to. For the massive explosion caught all of their attentions from at least a mile away. It came from the exact same place they kept Omega Supreme. Suddenly, the explosion created a black cloud of dust to rise in the air along with the massive red space shuttle heading into the endless stars above. Optimus gaped in horror. “They’re stealing Omega Supreme.” ____________________ A black fist punched its way out of the rock slide. Grimlock rose up and dusted himself off before pulling out each of his teammates. Each of them were not as surprised to see the pillar of smoke rise from the cave. “Well,” Swoop shrugged, “there goes Omega.” He looked up to see the trail of smoke escaping from the bottom of the space ship entering the clouds. “We have failed.” Grimlock growled and pulled his sword out of the rocks. They were given one of the simplest of tasks, granted it was very boring but still….the Lightning Strike does NOT fail. As if on cue, Optimus’ voice came from his comms link. “All Autobots on the outside, Omega Supreme has been captured! Return to the Ark at once! We will use our escape ship to track Megatron down before he can get far!” Slug chuckled, “Sounds like a fight is coming.” Grimlock didn’t respond. Neither did Swoop nor Snarl. Even Slug stopped chuckling and gasped in utter terror when the dark shadow loomed over each of them. The Nemesis began to rise. ____________________ Each Autobot big and small piled into the Ark. Optimus Prime led the way as each Autobot had to sprint towards their escape ship. The escape ship was to be used only for emergencies and was constructed on the Ark several years ago. It was large enough to fit each Autobot and was designed for war. True it was smaller than Omega Supreme, but size did not matter, it only mattered on who was behind the wheel. The doors broke apart as Optimus Prime pointed at the massive escape ship. It was pointed upwards, specifically for flying into space. “Autobots,” Optimus yelled, “inside at once! We cannot lose their trail!” The escape ship opened up as Warpath led the group inside. Each Autobot made their way and soon only Optimus and Bumblebee were left. The little scout turned towards his old friend. “Optimus,” Bumblebee muttered with his voice low. Prime turned his way and saw Bee shifting nervously. He spoke, “We’re…gonna come back to Earth….right?” Optimus sighed and placed his mighty hand on Bumblebee’s shoulder. “I promise, Bumblebee.” The two of them made their way inside the escape ship. “WAIT!!!” Optimus and Bumblebee turned around to see Grimlock and his team emerge from the open door, each of them having to bend down from their massive heights. Grimlock got right up to Prime and shouted, “Optimus, the Nemesis is following Omega Supreme! We have to hurry!” Optimus’ optics grew a little wider than expected. “Let’s roll for it!” Optimus shouted and ran inside the escape ship. As each Dinobot past Bumblebee, Slug flashed a grin and chuckled to himself. “Didn’t think you’d leave without us now would you? You NEED us after all. Without us, you would be weak.” Slug chuckled. Bumblebee glared his way and followed from behind. With the Autobots inside, the Ark’s hull opened up to let the sunlight reach the newly-used escape shuttle the Autobots had prepared. Suddenly, the engines roared to life as the ship was thrusted off the ground and into the open air. It wasn’t long before Optimus Prime saw darkness and stars from where he was standing. ____________________ Megatron’s laughter echoed through Omega Supreme. His Dark Energon had worked just as planned! Omega Supreme was theirs to control and now not even Trypticon could follow them as they reached open space. The stars painted the dark skies as Omega blasted past the moon with the Decepticons inside of him. “Wow, I can’t believe Omega Supreme would actually listen to us!” Brawl shouted as the Combaticons looked out the window of this mighty Autobot. The moon past them as they paid close attention to each crevice and design this world’s moon had. Onslaught shook his head and growled, “He’s not listening to us, Brawl! We’re controlling him with Dark Energon; Omega Supreme doesn’t have any say in the matter.” Swindle lifted up a powerful-looking artifact from Omega’s storage. He chuckled and placed the artifact on his belt. He always took something to bargain with. “Well this wasn’t such a waste of time after all.” Swindle commented. Suddenly, Megatron’s laughter died down. Each Combaticon looked behind them to see Megatron terrified beyond belief. “What’s going on?” Vortex asked. Soundwave went straight past the Combaticons and looked up at his leader with intent. Megatron’s optics were wide with horror and his mouth hung agape. He was staring at something….above them. Soundwave looked up as the shadow loomed over them in a creepy darkness. The shadow covered the entire bridge of Omega structures when Soundwave finally saw the long jagged points reach the front of the ship. “Trypticon.” Soundwave muttered. ____________________ “Primus help us.” Cliffjumper began to quiver in fear when he witnessed the Nemesis itself launch tow cables onto Omega Supreme’s outer hull. Omega Supreme shook but kept its path as the Nemesis began to launch several hundred missiles connecting to the ship. Warpath pounded on the glass and screamed, “They’re killing Omega Supreme!” “Who is controlling the Nemesis?” Perceptor asked while struggling to hold the ship steady with his steering wheel, “From what I was told, the Decepticons are all inside Omega Supreme.” “I don’t know,” Optimus muttered and forced himself to watch more tow cables break through his friend’s body. “We must hurry if we are to save Omega!” “Follow me, Prime!” Warpath yelled and took off down the long corridor. He turned towards Ratchet and yelled, “Keep the ship steady and hover just above the Nemesis ya got that?!” Ratchet backed away from his steering wheel and gave a curt nod, “Alright, but you don’t have to yell! I’m two feet away from you after all.” Warpath nodded and motioned Optimus to follow him. Optimus nodded and looked at his fellow soldiers. “Are you all coming? Warpath is going to lead the assault!” “I’m with ya, O.P.!” Jazz screamed with Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Jetfire, Silverbolt, Air Raid, Hound, and Grimlock on their tails. Optimus turned towards Warpath and asked, “Warpath, you want the honors?” Warpath clenched his fists and shook with glee. He turned towards the nearest door and shouted, “Let’s do this!” Grimlock lunged forward and ripped the door free allowing all the Autobots to gaze downwards at the Nemesis’ outer hull. Perceptor and Ratchet turned around while Perceptor said, “This is as low as we can go!” “Good enough!” Warpath screamed and jumped out of the escape ship, the other Autobots following, including their leader. ____________________ “I can’t hold Omega steady!” Barricade screamed while struggling with the steering wheel. “You must hold it, Barricade! We need to activate Omega Supreme’s back thrusters!” Megatron yelled and turned towards the nearest door. He ripped it apart allowing him and the Combaticons to enter the engine deck. Another tremor erupted through Omega causing each Decepticon to fall to the ground. Megatron shook his head and turned towards the wall. Whipping out his cannon, Megatron fired one shot destroying the wall in seconds. The Nemesis was in view from space with several tow cables holding it and Omega Supreme together. Megatron turned towards Onslaught and screamed right in his face. “Onslaught, you and your team had better listen up because I will only say this once!" Onslaught nodded as did the rest of his team. “What’s the plan, sir?” Onslaught asked. Megatron turned towards the tow cables connecting to Omega’s armor and shouted, “You and your Combaticons have to form Bruticus while I deal with the back thrusters! Sever the tow cables before Trypticon can transform and destroy us!” Onslaught looked outside of the space warfare as did the rest of his team. The tow cables were scattered across the large open space while the Nemesis hovered slightly above them. The Nemesis was massive! It was only slightly bigger than Omega Supreme himself. The Combaticon leader backed away and clenched his fists. “You heard the boss, let’s finish this!” Megatron backed away in awe as Swindle and Brawl formed the legs. Onslaught hopped on top of them and created a massive body. Because of the lack of room, Vortex and Blast Off just jumped up and locked in place, thus forming the arms. “No mercy, Bruticus!” The combined Decepticon broke through Omega’s armor leaving a massive hole. Megatron watched in awe as Bruticus sailed through the open space and ripped apart each tow cable with his blades. He chuckled with delight and faced the entrance of the engine room. “Time to find some sanctuary….wherever we may go.” ____________________ Loud crashes ended up with the Autobots as they lazily shook their heads and looked around the dark purple corridors. They were inside the Nemesis. Warpath stood back up and cracked his back. “That was pretty fun,” Warpath chuckled, “who wants to do that again…..anyone?” Warpath looked back to see each Autobot giving him a dirty look. All except for Prime who stepped up and pointed at the first locked door. “We can’t stay, Warpath,” Optimus explained, “We need to get to the bridge and stop the Nemesis from attacking Omega Supreme. Then we can defeat Megatron once and for all.” Warpath nodded and activated his rocket launcher. The massive heavy weaponry replaced his entire right arm. “Yeah…I guess you’re right, Prime.” And with that, Warpath shot three missiles at the door destroying it instantly. The Autobots tumbled inside with Grimlock easily stepping over Warpath. Optimus looked around to see they were indeed inside the bridge. But no Decepticons were anywhere to be seen. Optimus made his way to the window and stood in confusion to see the Nemesis still firing missiles at Omega. “The Nemesis is controlling itself?” Bumblebee asked while looking at several computers. Jazz and Cliffjumper stood by Bee’s side while the Aerialbots hovered around the room. Hound and Warpath checked the main stationary controls with Warpath rubbing his head in confusion. He was never the one for fancy tech equipment. “Where’s that tech-head Perceptor when you need him?” Warpath joked while Hound just chuckled. Grimlock stood by Prime and put his sword away, “How can this be?” Both Optimus and Grimlock stared in horror as the battle was taking place before them. The several tow cables destroying Omega Supreme as they watched, the hundreds of missiles hitting Omega’s outer structure, and Bruticus heading straight for them. BRUTICUS HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THEM!?!? “Get down!” Grimlock screamed and pushed Optimus aside as the mighty combiner crashed against the window. Optimus looked back and was even more confused to see Bruticus trying to grab onto something. He was completely ignoring the Autobots that lay before him. “What is he-?” Jetfire muttered before the impossible happened. Omega Supreme disappeared in a quick flash. The tow cables severed themselves free as a massive growl echoed through the Nemesis. Bruticus looked around frantically. The Autobots did the same. Suddenly, the ship rocked back and forth as the same deep threatening voice was heard coming from all around them. “NEVER AGAIN! CALCULATING COORDINATES FOR OMEGA SUPREME. SUCCESSFUL. MEGATRON HAS ACTIVATED THE SLIPSTREAM HYPER-DRIVE ALLOWING HIM TO DISAPPEAR INTO LIGHT SPEED! I SHALL DO THE SAME! PREPARING NEMESIS ENGINES FOR LIGHT SPEED!!!!!” Optimus knew that horrid voice all too well. It brought back painful and horrid memories of the mighty Decepticon crash-landing in his home city of Iacon. The same Decepticon who nearly killed off each and every Autobot trying to escape the war for Cybertron. Optimus had only a split second to mutter that terrible, horrible, retched name. “Trypticon.” Suddenly, each Autobot and Bruticus were blasted back by a powerful force coming from the ship itself. Optimus stared ahead and watched as each of his fellow Autobots hit the back wall including the mighty Bruticus who couldn’t attack them in this state. The stars grew longer, the dark void of space was ripping in half, and the Nemesis drove straight into the heart of the void. ____________________ Perceptor raised his head in pain. He looked down to see the computer console destroyed from the crash they had endeared. Several sparks jumped across the dashboard as Perceptor looked around the dimly lit ship. Each Autobot that stayed on the escape ship was lying in pain all over the ground. The entire inside of the ship was demolished beyond repair. Looking forward at the glass window, Perceptor gasped when he saw it…. “Well, well, well….I think I am a loss for words at the moment.” Perceptor managed to say when he saw both Nemesis and Omega just a few hundred miles away. And past them…was a colorful little world. ____________________ Megatron forcefully opened the blast doors allowing himself to enter the bridge. The Decepticons were picking themselves up with several grunts of pain coming from all directions. When Megatron reached the front of the ship, he scowled, “Pathetic. None of you can even withstand a little slipstream jump?!” Starscream grunted and wiped his chest clean of debris. He approached Megatron with the worst frown he had ever given. “Greatest plan ever right, Megatron? Because it looks like we didn’t even lose Trypticon! He’s directly next to us!” “You forget, Starscream,” Megatron barked, “we were meant to find refugee out in space! And it looks like we have found a planet.” The Decepticon leader pointed to the colorful planet directly in front of them. The Decepticons piled around the front of the ship and gawked in awe. Dead End whistled lightly and said, “Would ya look at that.” Soundwave looked left and still saw the Nemesis right by them, not moving at all. He turned towards Megatron and asked, “Lord Megatron, should we land on this world to lose Trypticon on our trail?” Megatron nodded and said, “Yes, Soundwave.” He turned towards the rest of his legions and shouted, “Decepticons! Prepare Omega Supreme for landing! We take refugee on this plan-!” The ship began to rumble. The Decepticons held the wall of the ship as Megatron grabbed onto the nearest soldier. He looked behind him and saw that the planet was beginning to get closer. But how? They hadn’t initiated any type of launch sequence. So how was the ship able to-? The ship was no longer dark purple from the Dark Energon infection, it glowed a bright red. “OMEGA SUPREME INVADED. MEGATRON INFILTRATION COMPLETED. ELIMINATING DECEPTICON INFECTION AT ONCE.” Omega Supreme controlled himself. The worst possible situation for any Decepticon was happening right now. Being trapped inside the strongest Autobot that ever lived. Megatron held on to the wall as Omega shifted the controls and flew away from the planet. Instead his newest target just happened to be the Nemesis! Starscream nearly fell on his face as he looked up to see Megatron obviously frightened. He chuckled and shouted, “Your Dark Energon barely lasted ten cycles! Got anymore brilliant ideas, oh mighty Megatron?!” Megatron didn’t listen to a word he said. No one had any time to react when Omega Supreme dive-bombed the Nemesis head-on. ____________________ Optimus Prime’s vision came back along with every other Autobot. Each of them stood back up from the tattered remains of the Nemesis’ bridge. Optimus looked around and noticed the bright colorful planet in their view. Optimus knew this world. He had seen it before several mega-cycles ago. That same planet he swore never to return so they could all live in peace. The horrid memories came rushing back like a tidal wave. The entire galaxy had millions of planets and stars….and they so happened to arrive to the very planet they had entered to during the Great Exodus. “No,” Optimus muttered in horror, “please Primus anywhere but here.” Several moans of pain came from all corners of the ship. He quickly spun around and looked below him. The yellow Autobot lay on the ground covered by several broken down machinery, a deep gash across his chest. “Bumblebee!” Optimus screamed and picked up the unconscious Autobot in his arms. While Prime held onto the injured soldier, the others paid no heed when a threatening shadow appeared from behind them. Slowly turning around, Grimlock and the others only had a split-second to react. “Get outta the way!” “Look out!” “He’s heading straight for u-!” Omega Supreme crashed straight into the Nemesis. Optimus suddenly felt a gigantic pull. He and the other Autobots felt themselves being thrusted straight out of the Nemesis from the air lock. Omega Supreme fell outside of space as his entire body began entering the planet’s gravitational pull. Now there was nothing holding them back. Bruticus was the first to go as he tried to grab onto something. It was hopeless for the Decepticon now. Bruticus was pulled right off the Nemesis and followed Omega Supreme onto the planet. Optimus tried to run back with Bumblebee in his arms, but it was no use. Bumblebee flew from his grasp and exited the Nemesis with the Aerialbots and Jazz following. “Hold onto something!” Cliffjumper screamed and grabbed several wires hanging out of the wall. Hound flew backwards and grabbed onto Cliffjumper’s legs. From the intense gravitational pull and Hound’s extra weight, both Autobots flew back into space to enter the atmosphere of this new world. Grimlock stabbed his sword in the ground as if it was nothing compared to his strengths and held onto it. Even his strengths were outmatched by the pull of gravity itself. “NOOO!!!” Grimlock screamed as he was pulled out into space along with all the other Autobots. Warpath followed close behind him with his screams echoing through the ship. Optimus Prime held on for dear life, his hands clawing at the ground just trying to find some support or something! He looked back and saw the Nemesis getting very close to this planet now. His grip was broken and Optimus shared the same fate as all the others. The Nemesis was trapped, Trypticon screamed in fear when the gravity of this world began to pull him in. The Autobot escape ship followed close behind, captured by gravity as well. With Omega Supreme, the Nemesis, and the escape ship all plummeting towards the known planet only to Optimus Prime, each ship separated and spread across the atmosphere, fire quickly forming around their hulls. And so began the meteor shower that will change the world….forever.