On a world in the depths of space, circling a long dead sun they awoke...
A war that had been dormant for eons began anew...
Two forces, one good, one evil...
The Autobots and the Decepticons...
They are The Transformers!
“Can we release them?” the voice hissed.
“You can’t,” Starscream replied, “I can...”
“Really?” The hissing voice sounded curious, “Well then, you should forget this conversation...”
Starscream’s eyes lost focus as the subroutine kicked in, encrypting and securing the past five minutes worth of conversation. All that remained was a subcommand, an instruction to carry out at the appropriate time.
“Now go Starscream,” the voice hissed, “Return to your Megatron...”
That was three cycles ago.
Now...
Starscream cackled as he watched his Autobot prisoners being roughly shoved into cells scarcely large enough to fit them.
“How does it feel Autobots? How does it feel to be at the mercy of a superior force?”
“I dunno Starscream, why don’t you tell us when you find one?” Jazz retorted.
Starscream screamed in rage, raising one of his wing mounted plasma rifles and firing at Jazz’s leg, blowing it to smithereens.
Over Jazz’s cries of pain Starscream ordered his minions to throw them into the Energon cells and to stand guard.
Deep in the bowels of Decepticon headquarters there was a room, one that every Decepticon is forbidden to enter. None of them are sure why, some believe that not even Megatron knows why.
It was into this room that Starscream strode, his eyes dark, his ears ringing with the last commands he had been given before joining the Decepticon ranks.
“Penetrate the Clone Room, unleash havoc.”
In his trance state Starscream strode forward, towards an alien looking control board. It was labeled with a weird scrawling language. And a few in Decepticon script that read like names...
Whirlwind... Mindwipe... Maximal... Rage-mal... Sunstorm...
A faint smile touched Starscream’s lip components as his non-seeing eyes read the names. His fingers moved forward and danced across the control board as if they were the fingers that made it.
As compartments around the room started to open, leaking out some form of gas, a single final command flared in Starscream’s mind.
“Get out.”
Abandoning the control board Starscream transformed to his flight mode and blasted out of the room just as the door slammed shut.
“Hey ‘Screamer, where ya been?” Thundercracker called up to his comrade as he blasted through the Cybertonian night sky.
“Patrolling idiot, like you should be doing!” the plane called back, “Those Autobots can’t have been the only ones!”
Beneath Decepticon HQ the compartments were almost fully open, their contents exposed to anyone who might have been there to see.
In the first stood a tall, simple looking robot, on his chest was emblazoned the Decepticon symbol. The top of his compartment read, in Decepticon script, “Whirlwind.”
In the next a robot stood, this one, unlike the first, was definitely a Transformer, it’s coloring a brown and purple, on it’s shoulders were wings that looked rather leather like. It’s compartment read “Mindwipe.”
The third robot was a more animalistic one, it’s face was similar to a feline’s, it’s fingers were more like long claws, on it’s chest was emblazoned the Autobot symbol. It’s compartment read “Maximal.”
The next was a more organic creature, it appeared almost octopus like, yet parts of it appeared slightly mechanical, it’s compartment read “Rage-mal.”
The last compartment held another Transformer, it’s plating was a golden color, it’s face looked familiar, or at least it would to any other Transformer, it’s face was identical to that of Starscream. It’s compartment read “Sunstorm.”
Elsewhere on Cybertron: The Arena
“Megatron, please, we must end this, neither of us can die in this environment,” Prime pleaded with his opponent.
“Oh no Prime, you see, I designed the security systems in this cavern, it won’t allow me to die, but you...” Megatron paused, “You it’ll let die with not a single blip.”
Prime sighed, he had known that Megatron would not yield, yet he’d had to try.
“Maybe it’s time to test that,” Prime called as his rifle target centred on Megatron’s head.
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Megatron’s voice sounded right next to Prime’s head.
The Autobot leader spun to face the Decepticon, “How...?”
Before he had a chance to finish the question, Megatron’s fist struck out, smashing into Prime’s chest, cracking his chassis, deeply. Prime gasped as he felt the crack go in deep enough to touch the Matrix casing.
“Noooooooo!” he screamed.
“Yes!” Megatron laughed as his fist struck out again, hitting the same spot, causing the crack to widen and deepen.
Prime felt the crack go in further, into the Matrix casing.
The air around the two shimmered as if hit by immense heat, and suddenly they were standing atop a earthen cliff, overlooking a river of water. Below them, atop what looked like a dam there were two transformers, they looked similar to Optimus Prime and Megatron.
“You see Megatron, we have a destiny, a future...”
“No Prime, this is an illusion, none of this is real,” Megatron turned to face Prime, “And since this is an illusion, there’s nothing stopping me from destroying you, especially since you don’t have your rifle!”
As Megatron brought his plasma cannon round to target Prime, the air around them shimmered again, this time causing both Transformers to loose their footing.
All around them the air shimmered like water before clearing and resolving into two huge Transformers. One grey and blue with the Autobot symbol on him, the other green and purple with the Decepticon symbol.
“Another time Prime, yet still we fight, our two factions will fight forever!”
“No Megatron, there will be peace...” Prime broke off as Megatron’s cannon arm swing round, aiming right at his head.
Again the air round them shimmered. Soon it resolved itself into what looked like a ship’s bridge.
Standing in a corner they could both see the Optimus Prime from the dam.
“Autobots, it’s time for us to go to sleep,” Prime paused, “With both the Decepticons gone and the Quintessons defeated, we deserve a rest...”
“See Megatron, peace.” The Prime on the floor laughed, “Peace!”
“No Prime, it’ll never last!” again he leveled his plasma canon at Prime’s head.
“No, this has to happen, you see, you’ve cracked open the Matrix, what we are seeing is real, the Matrix isn’t just the past of our race, it’s the future as well,” Prime paused as he realized something, “A future we were never meant to see.”
“Really Prime? And how do you intend to make me not have seen it?” Megatron sneered.
“Simple,” Optimus Prime smiled as he triggered an internal plasma overload, causing a gigantic electromagnetic wave that erased the short term memory of both Transformers and leaving them both in stasis lock.
Beneath Decepticon HQ the compartments were completely open and three of the Transformers were flexing their limbs and looking at the others with doubt and distrust.
The fourth was standing impassively, his golden plating beginning to glow slightly, “Free at last!”
“Yeah? Says who?” demanded the Transformer from the compartment labeled ‘Mindwipe.’
“I am the right hand of Primus, I am the left hand of Unicron,” the Transformer took a breath, his plating glowed brightly before golden lightening leapt from his fingers to each of the others.
The other three beings writhed in pain as the energy ripped through their bodies, through each and every atom in their bodies before finally ripping them apart.
As he watched the dust that had been his prison comrades settle onto the floor he snarled, “I am Sunstorm!”
To Be Continued...
Next Time on Transformers Lifeforce...
Sunstorm begins to put his diabolical plan into action, beginning with his twin brother... Starscream! Meanwhile Grimlock and Alpha Trion breach the Arena just in time to save Optimus Prime...
