CHAPTER XII Garrus looked through the scope of his sniper rifle and scanned the horizon around him, his eye took in all the death and destruction that this new enemy had inflicted upon New Iacon. If he was an overly emotional man, this probably would have made him shed a tear for those that had already been taken from this world, but Garrus had already seen his fair share of war and had grown accustomed to keeping his mind in the here and now. For he was a Turian, and as a species they were always one of the most military-centric in the galaxy. So he kept looking through scope, though in fact he used to think that viewing war through a scope actually made everything he saw seem less real, and that he was really just an observer and not a part of it. Not a very healthy way to view the carnage that was playing out in front of him, and that was something Garrus had learned when he was but a soldier of the Turian Hierarchy. For if you truly disconnect yourself from what you are doing, then you lose a part of why you are doing it in the first place. And he had seen that happen to one that he had known back then, his name was Vrynnus and he was the single greatest sniper in the history of his species. Though his psyche was unstable and thus was promptly dishonourably discharged. Garrus had not seen or heard of Vrynnus since then, but as he saw a civilian family attempting to outrun a group of Predacon soldiers. He could not help but feel glad that he had not turned out the same way before pulling the trigger on his rifle and killing the first soldier with a shot to the head. The others suddenly looked up after their comrade had fell to the ground and the Turian quickly dispatched them too, leaving the family in the clear. He watched as they made their way to more cover before his com-link activated. "Garrus, how does it look out there?" Jack said, gaining the Turian's attention as he reloaded his rifle. "We are clear to move, Jack. No Predacons in this area. Though there is a family of civilians who need evacuating." "Then call in a shuttle and get back here, because we are heading for the Vaults." the Prime replied. "Roger that." Garrus said back before he got to his feet and reactivated his com-link, turning his back on the civilians as he headed back to the others. Jack meanwhile was waiting with both Smokescreen and Grunt, watching the battle taking place in the sky above the city. And he just had just witnessed one of the Aerialbot fighters being taken out by the green and silver dragon that currently stood atop one of the Autobot cruisers. "Scrap, exactly how are we going to beat those two beasts, let alone the army that controls them?" Smokescreen asked, earning a serious look from the Prime. "By defeating their leader, that is how." he said, earning a nod from the Autobot. Grunt smiled and looked at both of them. "Decapitate the Thresher Maw's head and it's body will die. I like that plan." "Thought you might, we will head off the moment Garrus gets back." Jack replied as the Krogan started to reload his shotgun, though Smokescreen joined the Prime's side as he went back to looking at the perimeter. "What's wrong, Smokescreen?" Jack asked as he looked turned to his friend, noticing the younger Bot's slightly worried yet hopeful expression. "I am sure Arcee's alright, Jack. We'll get her back." he said in his usual enthusiastic tone, earning an ever so slight smile from the Prime. For when Smokescreen was younger, that tone might have been mistaken for a naive-like overconfidence. But now that he was older, it could be seen for what it truly was. Maybe what it always had been... Potential. For over the past two decades, Jack had seen the Autobot grow from green as green rookie, into one of the best warriors in the entire Autobot ranks. And the Prime had to admit that Smokescreen had the same potential that both he and Orion Pax had within themselves, which was the potential of becoming a Prime. But unfortunately for the bot, it was not meant to be. For Jack already knew who the next Prime would be, though he could not explain how or why he knew. He just had to ensure that the future he knew of, came to pass. And so to witness the individual in question desperately trying to avoid such a fate was just very disappointing to the Autobot leader to see. "Jack?" Smokescreen asked again with a confused expression, snapping the Prime from his thoughts. "I'm okay, and I know we will get Arcee back." The Autobot smiled in return before Garrus appeared from over the ridge and rejoined the group. "What's it like between us and the vaults?" Jack asked. "Just took out another patrol, so if we are going to do this then we should move now." the Turian replied, earning a nod from the Prime. "Alright, Guys. We head straight for the vaults. No stopping for anything now, we have stop the Leader of this attack. So roll out." The team then left the area and moved with purpose towards the building just north of their current position while conflict continued to rage on around them. PRIME EFFECT 4 Meanwhile inside the Vaults, Galvatron and his Predacon troops walked through a large hallway that had a massive cybertronain painting upon it's ceiling. From the way it looked, you wouldn't think that it was a storage bunker as it looked more like a temple. But as the group continued through its interior, Blight looked over to the Predacon leader. "Lord Galvatron, while we are here, shall we raid the vault for whatever relics and objects that could be of use to our cause?" "There is no need, Blight. For everything we require is just beyond this very building. So Why don't we..." Galvatron began to say before he suddenly felt the need to look over to a corridor situated to the group's right, which earned confused looks from everyone there. What he felt was like a burning desire in his spark that was not there only moments earlier, and this confused the Predacon Leader. 'Why do I suddenly wish to explore the vaults? I had no plans to originally...but I feel that I must.' he thought as he placed his hand onto his chest plate which was directly over the area where his spark was contained, as it was pulsing faster and faster with a need to investigate that now mysterious corridor. "My Lord?" Blight asked in a confused tone as the Predacon Leader ignored him and continued to look away from them, the Terracons in the group began whispering to each other. Even the two guarding Arcee began conversing quietly as the Lieutenant tried again to gain their master's attention, but the Femme could hear what they were saying. "Here we go again..." the right one said, earning a look from the one on the left. "What? What have I missed this time?" "You have heard about our Lord's lapses in concentration, haven't you?" the right one replied. "Oh, you mean when he suddenly looks away from people and stares angrily toward an area where there is no one." the left one answered, earning a nod from his friend. "Yeah, and how others have heard our Lord talking to himself inside his own quarters, despite the fact that he is alone in there." "I have heard that, so this is another episode we are seeing here." the left one replied. "I wonder what he is going to do this time?" the right one said but unbeknownst to them, Arcee was eavesdropping on their conversation. 'So Galvatron is crazy, wonder if there is a way I can use that to my advantage.' she thought before Galvatron spoke again. "On second thoughts, Blight, take two of the Terracons with you and secure the building's exit. While I will take a look inside the vault for any trinkets that could be of use." he said while looking back at his men, earning a worried stare from Arcee as the Predacon Leader kept his attention on Blight. 'He can't be allowed to get any of the relics down there, if he so much as finds those like 'the spark extractor', 'the Apex Armour' or 'the Resonance blaster' , then he would get a significant advantage. Even more than what he has already with the Predacons.' she thought as the others continued to converse. "And take our Prisoner with you, I would not wish for her to be near any of the objects down there that she could use as a weapon against us." Galvatron added as he looked back at the Femme. "Yes, my Lord." Blight answered in return, before the Predacon leader and two Terracons turned to leave sown the right hand corridor. But suddenly Arcee started to struggle against her captors, earning surprised look from both of them as they kept a grip on her arms. "Quit your struggling, your not going to get away from us." the left one said, but the Femme carried on. "I said stop it!" he said again as he went to hit her with his free hand but the Autobot moved her head backwards, making the Terracon move forward with the momentum of the punch he threw at her, making he lean forward. While he was like this, Arcee took her chance and kneed him in the chest which caused the Con to let go of her arm while staggering back. "What are you doing, you stupid wretch?" the other asked right before the Femme then hit him in the face with her free hand, disorienting the Terracon before she followed through with a kick to the chest, sending him onto his back. Galvatron just turned around and aimed his rifle at Arcee's legs and opened fire, but the femme was quick enough to take cover behind the Terracon who was still clutching his chest. The Predacon Lord though, kept his finger on the trigger and fired again at her legs. Which ripped through the Terracon's own, causing him to fall to the ground as blood spilled out from the wounds. Arcee though just pushed herself harder, running down the corridor and out of Galvatron's range. "Damn it." he spat as she disappeared out of view, while Blight took a few steps in her direction only for the Predacon Leader to hold his hand up to him. "No, I will handle this. You already have your orders." he said before looking down at the Terracons that were still on the floor. "Kill these two." he barked without even looking them in the eyes, earning a confused look from his Lieutenant. "My Lord?" he asked with a puzzled tone, while the soldiers looked up at him. "They have failed me,..." Galvatron said with disdain in his voice, so the Lieutenant equipped his gun and shot both Terracons in the head without any further hesitation, their bodies then fell back onto the floor with a smoking hole in each of their heads. "...also contact Lazerback and request reinforcements." the Predacon Lord added as he began to walk down the corridor, leaving the Predacons who then walked in the opposite direction towards the exit. Arcee kept moving as the corridor began to slant somewhat, descending down into the vaults until she came to a T-junction at the corridors end. The Femme looked down both directions that were open to her and frowned. 'Scrap, which way were the weapons again?' she thought before hearing footsteps approaching from further up the way she had come from, building up the urgency of her situation. 'Come on...damn it, why can't I remember. Fuck it." she thought before running down the left corridor and into the more dimly lit area of the vaults, hoping that her guess would turn out to be right. Then a moment later Galvatron walked down to that same Junction and stopped in it's center, before taking a look down both corridors connected to it. 'Which way did you go, Autobot?' he thought before that feeling returned and he looked back down the corridor on his left, as he felt a tingling sensation all over his skin along with a sudden crystal clear sense of purpose. So the Predacon Leader began walking down the left hand corridor, not knowing that the Arcee had gone down that exact same corridor. The corridor then opened up into a massive dimly lit room, with the only sources of illumination coming from the small lights on the high ceiling and in the special display cases that were positioned in a grid like structure throughout the room. Arcee looked around her to see that she was alone, but the Femme still had no idea if she was in the correct room. So she looked at a number of the display cases an found numerous artifacts and relics from Members throughout the Federation, like the original statue of the Goddess Athame that belonged to the Asari. There were numerous relics similar to that in this room and that was when Arcee saw it, giving her a feeling of relief in her spark as she looked upon a large golden hammer that could only be the Forge of Solus Prime. It was a sign that she was in the right place, as she stood there and looked at it. 'At least I am not in the weapons area, I just wonder if...' she began to think, before a vile voice cut her off as it echoed throughout the room. "I know your in here, Autobot." Galvtron said aloud, his voice echoing through the vast room, but Arcee just kept quiet as he continued to speak. "Why don't you just surrender since you know you cannot defeat me." he added while walking further into the room, as Arcee hid behind one of the cases and looked back towards the entrance,. And there she saw Predacon Leader. Galvatron looked around the room, his eyes scanning every detail of his surroundings as he continued further into it. "You obviously did this because you think I would want the weapons that are so obviously stored in this vault... such a waste of energy and time. Because like I said before, I have no..." he continued to say before he was cut off by that feeling in his spark remerging, though now it was stronger than ever as it overrode his senses. "Arrgh!" Galvatron spluttered as he fell on to his knees, clenching at his spark as it pulsed even stronger. 'What's wrong with me?' he thought before looking up and noticing a large glass case just a few aisles ahead of him, to his eyes it was glowing a bright white light that one would think was blinding, but the Predacon Lord found himself fascinated by it, like a moth to a candle light. So he got back to his feet and walked even further into the maze of display cases, while Arcee watched from her hiding spot. 'What?' she thought before deciding to move closer and observe her enemy, because if he was distracted then she may have a chance to avenge her Sister and end this conflict. So the Femme kept to the shadows as she followed the Predacon as he continued to walk through the room in an almost trance-like state, but then he came to a stop in front of one display case and stared at it's contents. 'What's in the case that has his attention so badly?' Arcee thought, wondering why he was no longer searching for her. But unbeknownst to the Femme, Galvatron had pretty much forgotten about his quarry as he was now staring at the object in front of him, which to his eyes was shining brightly like a newly born star, so he could not make out what it looked like. But as the feeling in his spark gained strength, he suddenly heard a loud ringing in his ears. A sound that brought instant pain to the Predacon, making him clutch at his ears and cry out in agony. "Aaarrrggghhhh!" This even made Arcee nervous as she watched from just behind the display case behind him, for what was transpiring confused her even more. 'What in the Allspark?' she thought as Galvatron fell back onto his knees and breathed heavily, but before the Femme could guess what would happen next, the Predacon rose up onto his feet and raised his clenched fists into the air. And almost on cue, his fists began to glow with a purple energy before he brought them down on the glass display case. shattering the glass instantly, allowing him access to the artefact. Galvatron then reached in and picked up the object, looking down at it while the ringing and agonising pain in his spark stopped, even the bright light that had been enveloping the object faded away. His eyes then adjusted while he looked down at what was in his hands, when suddenly his memory kicked in as he recognised the object which looked like a metallic book, making his eyes widen in disbelief. "It can't be?" he said in surprise while opening it's cover, for it's pages were like glass panels which had Cybertronian letters scrolling down them like code, but the Predacon Lord could not read it as it read like gibberish. Arcee meanwhile was still watching and saw the book in Glavatron's hands, her eyes widening and jaw almost dropping to the floor in her surprise. 'The Covenant of Primus!' she thought as her mind then jettisoned any further ideas of stealth and patience, with only one thought taking their place. 'I have to get that book out of his hands. Screw it!' she thought before starting to move towards him slowly. Meanwhile Galvatron was still looking at the book, as something made his eyes widen once again as the random letters and symbols began to change and form whole words before him on the page. He was suddenly able to read it. But before he had the chance to, the Clone suddenly had a feeling and spun around with a punch that connected with Arcee's face as she leapt at him. The force of the hit sent the Femme back to the ground hard, while the Predacon Leader equipped his rifle and pointed it at her as she recovered. "Stay down, Autobot, unless you are that desperate to join your dead friend." he said, earning a look of pure hate from Arcee. "Chromia was my sister!" she spat back as blood trickled down her chin from her mouth, making Galvatron smile as he enjoyed the turmoil the Autobot was in. "You don't say, and here I thought you were just trying to get this from me." he replied as he held up the book for the Femme to see, her eyes focused on it for a moment before meeting his again. "That doesn't belong to you." Arcee said as Galvatron closed the book and connected it to his utility belt. "I think you will find that it does...now." he said while gesturing for her to stand up, which she did while wiping the blood from her mouth. "Now get moving." he added while keeping his weapon pointed directly at the Femme, before they then left the room and went back to meet up with Blight and the Terracons. Galvatron did not know why he was drawn to the Covenant or what he saw in its pages , but he would make sure that he found out. But for now that would have to wait until he and his Predacons had secured their secondary objective. PRIME EFFECT 4 Jack and his team arrived outside the New Iacon vault to find a massive hole in the building's wall, but no welcoming committee. The Prime, Smokescreen and Grunt kept their weapons ready while Garrus looked up to the giant hole and whistled. "Now that is a big hole." he said in amazement at the sheer size of the improvised entrance, Smokescreen stood turned his attention to what thr Turian was looking at and nodded. "It certainly is, bet it was one of those dragon-like beasts. I am just glad that those things aren't here now." This earned a look of disappointment from Grunt who sneered back. "What's the matter, Smokescreen? You afraid of fighting a little Beast?" he said, gaining a knowing stare from the Bot. "No, I'm just not crazy like you, Grunt." the Smokescreen replied, which made the Krogan narrow his eyes back in return. "When you've faced a Thresher Maw up close and killed it with just a shotgun and your bare hands, then you certainly won't fear Dragons or whatever you call those things." the he snarled with anger tinging his voice, earning an eye roll from both Jack and Garrus. "Here we go again." the Turian whispered, while the Prime left his side and walked over to the other pair. "That's enough. Grunt, save it for the enemy. And, Smokescreen, you know better than to piss off a Krogan." "You think he would, but how many times has he done it now?" Garrus casually replied with a smile, making the young Autobot look at him with a shocked expression. "That's not cool, Garrus." As they bickered, the Prime decided to ignore them and instead look out at the City around them, this did not go unnoticed by his friends who stopped and looked at their Leader who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "What is it, Jack?" Smokescreen asked as they stood around him. "We know the enemy Leader is in there, so it's plausible to assume that more of his troops will come this way." Jack replied, earning a nod from Garrus. "Yeah, I agree with that. So what's the plan?" "You three will stay here and take up defensive positions, ensure that no other enemies make it in there after me." All three of his friends gave him a concerned look in response, while ignoring the Aerialbot reinforcements flying over head. "But what are you doing during this?" Smokescreen asked, before either Garrus or Grunt could utter a word. "I am going in there to rescue my Spark-mate and kill their Leader. And I am doing this alone. There will be more of a chance that I can get the drop on them." the Prime said back, earning a worried look from the younger Bot. "But…." he started to say, though Jack simply cut him off. "That is an order, now get to it. We can't waste anymore time, we need end this conflict now." he said as placed his rifle on his back and equipped his pistol. The others nodded in return and as Jack turned away and headed into the building, both Garrus and Grunt started looking for good places to ambush anyone that would show up. But as they did so, Smokescreen just watched as his Leader and friend headed off into the darkness of the vaults. As Jackson Prime made his way through large halls of the Iacon Vaults, he could not help but notice the lack of any kind of rear guard for the enemy leader. 'Either he isn't expecting an attack, or is just very over confident.' Jack thought as he carried on further into the building, being sure not to make make any noise since it would be magnified and echo through out these large halls, alerting the enemy to his presense. But just as he was about to leave the current area, the Prime heard a foot step behind him so he spun around with his pistol and star saber holo-blade, ready to take down what had krept up on him in a heartbeat. "Woah, take it easy." Jack simply looked at Smokescreen who was standing right in front of him, his arms raised in a non threatening manner with a look of surprise on his face. "It's just me, Jack." the young Bot added, while Jack's eyes suddenly narrowed as a look or thunder appeared on the his face. "I told you to stay with the others and defend the entrance." he whispered back, though even the lower volume could not disguise the angry tone that came with them. But the Autobot simply returned Jack's angry expression with a frank look. "Sorry, Jack, but I could not leave you to face what could be an overwhelming force in here alone. I just could not do it." "And what about the others?" Jack replied. Meanwhile, Garrus and Wrex had taken up defensive positions near the entrance to the building, which gave them good cover and view of the area leading up to them. "Hey, is it me or has it gotten a lot quieter all of a sudden?" Grunt asked due to the lack of talk, so he and the Turian looked around to find that they were they only ones there. "Oh, for the love of..." Garrus suddenly said with an agitated tone as the Krogan chuckled to himself. "...Can't Smokescreen simply follow orders. I hate it when he runs off like that." the Turian added. "Well, I am just happy that he isn't talking my ear off, but I guess he followed Jack." Grunt replied. "Of course he did. Damn it Smokescreen." Garrus said back as Grunt noticed movement ahead of them. "Garrus, we have incoming." The Turian looked through the scope of his rifle and saw more enemy soldiers approaching their position by foot. "I see them. Okay, pick your targets and make sure they go down in one hit. We don't want them to get too close, or else they could swarm us. Lets keep them disorganised." "Whatever you say, let's just kill them already." Grunt replied as he readied his rifle and aimed it at one of the enemies. Garrus meanwhile had the head of one directly in his cross hairs and took a deep breath, and then pulled the trigger. Back inside the Vaults and Jack was still looking angry as he stared at Smokescreen. "Well? What about the others?" "You need the help more than they do, Jack. I mean Garrus is one of the best snipers in the galaxy. And Grunt is a walking roadblock, you and I both know they can handle it." Smokescreen replied in a completely honest tone, which was reflected in the expression on his face. Jack simply sighed in response, knowing full well that the younger Autobot was right. He just wished that Smokescreen would actually follow his orders to the letter from time to time. "Okay, you're with me then. Just stay quiet and follow my lead, alright?" "Of course, Jack. Lead the way." Smokescreen replied before both of then heard voices echoing from down the corridor before them. "They are just ahead of us, be ready." Jack said, earning a nod from his friend as they both equipped their weapons and made their way into the corridor. PRIME EFFECT 4 "The exit is secure sir." the Terracon standing to Blight's left said, making the Predacon turn to him and nod in acknowledgment. "Very well, then all that is left is to await Lord Galvatron's arrival." he replied as both soldiers saluted him. "You won't have to wait long." a familiar voice called out from the room's entrance as Galvatron appeared with Arcee at in front of him, pushing her forward with his free hand as he kept his rifle aimed at her. "Keep moving, Autobot, unless you want to join your Sister in the Allspark a little early?" The Femme gave him a piercing look of hate, though the Predacon Leader merely ignored this and pushed her again. "Lord Galvatron, the exit has been secured." Blight reported, earning a smile from his Master. "Excellent work, Blight. Now you two, keep this Femme under close guard or else you will suffer the same fate as the last two...understand?" Galvatron spat as he pushed Arcee toward the two Terracons, who grabbed her and restrained her arms. "...und...understood, Lord Galvatron." they stuttered in unison, the fear they for their leader showing in their faces, which made the Predacon Lord's smile grow a little bigger in response. Blight then noticed something on his Master's utility belt, something that had not been present earlier. "My Lord, what is that you have in your possession?" he asked, earning the attention of both Terracons while Arcee kept her eyes to the floor. "This?" Galvatron replied as he held the object in his free hand, giving his men a good look at it. "...this is the 'Covenant of Primus'. It is an Autobot relic which may hold some answers for us and will be studied once we have left this planet." Blight looked at the book with an intrigued expression, one that was shared with the Terracons. "I do not mean to intrude, my Lord, but how exactly will we be leaving?" one of the soldiers then said, earning looks of shock from Blight and the Terracon standing next to him before they looked back to see their master's reaction. Galvatron stared at the questioning soldier with a look of surprise and annoyance, one that pierced directly through into the Terracon's spark and made him uneasy. "Forgive me, my Lord. I am merely curious as we lost the use of the Icarus, when we plunged it into the city. And the rest of our cruisers have either been destroyed or under heavy fire." "Are you now, then why don't you take a look through the exit and tell me what you see." the Predacon Leader replied, making the soldier feel more nervous. But his master merely gestured to him to take a look, so the Terracon walked over to the doorway that exited the vault's building. Once there he could see the ruined city surrounding their location, but less than half a mile directly in front of the questioning soldier was a massive black ship that was in what looked like a dry dock. "What is that?" he asked. "That is the newest battleship to come off the Autobot assembly line and it is called the Nemesis, we will be requisitioning it for the Predacon cause." Galvatron replied as he walked over and stood by the Terracon, who merely looked back at the giant black ship. "It is a pity though that you will not be able to board it with us." the Predacon Leader then added, earning a bemused look from the soldier. "What?…" he began to say before suddenly being cut off as Galvatron punched his fist into the Terracon's chest and grabbed hold of his spark chamber, making the minion grimace and spit out blood as he fell to his knees. The Predacon Lord then looked down the Terracon, who's eyes had grown wider as the pain became unbearable. "Do you know what your mistake was?" Galvatron asked as he tightened his grip on the spark chamber, earning a nod from the soldier who could no longer speak due to the ever increasing agony he was currently feeling. "Good, take that lesson to the pit with you!" the Leader then growled as he tore the spark chamber from the Terracon's chest, scattering his blood around the immediate area. Galvatron then showed the others behind him the blood soaked spark of the dead Terracon, earning shocked looks from all three as the body of the fallen minion collapsed onto the floor. "Nobody questions Galvatron, understand?" the Predacon Lord spat as he dropped the blooded organ on the floor, earning panicked nods from both Blight and the one remaining Terracon who was holding Arcee. The Femme though simply looked at the enemy Leader with hate and contempt, earning a devious smile from him before looking at the two Predacons. "Let's go, the Nemesis awaits." "I don't think so." a voice called out from the other side of the room, making the Predacons turn around and see two men entering the room with their rifles aimed at them. Arcee immediately smiled as she recognised both men, older on especially. "Jack." she said with a relieved tone in her voice, earning a sneer from Galvatron as he took a step toward the new arrivals. "Jackson Prime, finally! I was wondering when you would make an appearance." the Predacon leader said with a familiarity that surprised the Prime. "Excuse me? but I don't believe we've ever met." Galvatron smiled darkly at the Autobot Leader, for he did know him. But only through his inherited memories from Megatron, and the information he had read on the extranet. "No, we have not met. And yet...I never forget a face, not even that of a Human." Jack's eyes widened as he recognised not only that sentence, but also the tone and way it was said. Reminding him of one that died a long time ago. "Megatron?" he replied with surprise and a questioning tone in his voice. Galvatron's expression suddenly changed as his red eyes narrowed at the Prime while gritting his teeth, the enemy leader was obviously aggravated by what Jack had just said. But what no one in that room knew was that at this very moment, Galvatron also heard an uncontrollable laughter coming from his right side, from someone that everyone else in that room could not see. "Ha ha ha ha...I knew it...ha ha ha ha, I knew he would think you were me." the hallucination of Megatron exclaimed happily, making the clone's blood boil in his veins as he tried desperately to ignore him. "My name is Galvatron! Leader of the Predacons, and you will surrender or else I will have your spark-mate terminated." the Predacon Lord replied as he gestured to the both the Terracon and the Femme in his grip, making Smokescreen look a little unnerved as he looked back at Jack. But the But the Prime was unfazed as he looked from Galvatron to his lover, who had her arms held behind her back by the Terracon. "Arcee, are you going to just take that kind of treatment from these guys?" he asked with a knowing smile on his face, one that was mirrored by the Femme who nodded back before activating her holo-armblades which sliced the Terracon's fore arms off. The soldier gave out a cry of pain as Arcee freed herself, holding it's stubs up in the air as it's blood flowed from the open wounds. The Femme then turned and sliced its chest open, letting the soldier fall to the floor and die as Galvatron looked dumbfounded. "Blight, kill her." he spat as the Predacon nodded and launched himself at the Femme, only for Smokescreen to come out of nowhere and tackle him to the ground. "What!" Galvatron said aloud, while Arcee and the younger Autobot stood beside each other, ready to fight the Predacon who was getting back to his feet. "Thanks for the help Smokescreen." Arcee said, earning a smile from the bot. "You're welcome, now lets take this guy out." Galvatron was fuming as he equipped his blade and began to move towards the Femme, only for him to find himself on the defensive as he brought his weapon up just in time to block Jack's star-saber. Galvatron then pushed the Prime back and then swung his blade at him, but Jack easily deflected it with his own. For the a long moment the two clashed their blades several times in a row as they appeared evenly matched, as neither seemed like losing. The Predacon leader though managed to create an opening by punching Jack in the face, disorienting him for a moment so Galvatron took advantage by thrusting forward with his blade aimed at the Prime's the Autobot leader managed to activate the skyboom shield just in time to block the attack before performing a front kick into Galvatron's chest, knocking him to the ground. But as the Prime stood over his opponent, the Predacon Lord chuckled while looking up at his enemy. "I'm impressed, you're quite devious for a Prime. Launching an attack while my attention was elsewhere, that's almost Decepticon behavior." he sneered, earning a knowing look from Jack. "Well, I guess it's no different to dropping a star-ship on a city, and then attacking while they recover from it. If anything, I would say that your like a certain Decepticon who died a long time ago." The Prime, earning daggers from Galvatron as he stared back in anger. The Predacon then lunged forward with his blade, making Jack deflect the attack with his star-saber. But it was only a feigning from the clone as he then threw a punch with his free hand, which connected with the Prime's jaw, sending him back a few steps until he fell to one knee. Galvatron was about to continue his attack before he was forced to stop as the hallucination of Megatron reappeared in front of him with his arms behind his back, and looked at his clone. "He does have point, doesn't he? You should face the fact that you are nothing more than a shadow of me." the hallucination said as Galvatron looked at him for a second, just as a purple hue appeared around the pupils in his red eyes. "Never!" he suddenly screamed as he lunged through Megatron and tackled Jack to the floor. As Jack and Galvatron fought, Arcee and Smokescreen were busy taking on Blight who had accessed his mode almost immediately, looking just like the Terracon that the femme had killed earlier with the help of her fallen sister. And so did not bat an eye at the change, the same couldn't be said of Smokescreen. "Holy shit! What the hell?" he said in shock at the transformation that the Predacon just went through. "Smokescreen, we can take him if we work together." Arcee replied, earning the younger bot's attention as Blight's transformation was just finishing. "Let me guess, it's now stronger and harder to kill." be said, getting a nod from the Femme as she raised her arm blades. "Right, so follow my lead. Now!" she cried before launching herself at Blight and slicing at his head, just as Smokescreen activated his holo-blade. But the Predacon blocked it and used her inertia to throw her to the ground. Before he could then finish the Femme as she lied there on the floor, the other Autobot attacked with his blade but Blight deflected it with his armoured forearms. And then punched Smokescreen in the face, sending him on to his ass. Arcee got back to her feet and then side-kicked Blight in the back, making him grimace as she then grabbed At his neck. But the Predacon managed to recover and slash at the Femme's armour, making her let go and he repaid the Autobot by throwing her back to the ground. "That's where you should stay, wretch... " he replied while staring down at her. "...at my feet." he added before suddenly crying out in pain, giving Arcee a chance to roll away and get back to her feet. Once recovered, the Femme saw that Smokescreen had stabbed his holo-blade into Blight's back. The Predacon tried to reach back at the bot, but Smokescreen was out of his reach. So Arcee smiled and dashed forward at Blight and slashed at both his legs, causing the enemy lieutenant to fall to his knees as the younger Autobot pulled the blade back out and the pair stood over the defeated Predacon. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." Smokescreen joked while breathing heavily, earning an eye roll from the Femme before their attention moved onto Jack as he was fighting Galvatron. "Come on, we have to help Ja..." she began to say before suddenly being grabbed by Blight and knocked to the ground for a third time, earning a shocked expression from Smokescreen, as he watched the previously thought to be defeated Predacon get back to his feet and narrow it's eyes at him. "That hurt." Blight said in annoyance as he made his way over to the Autobot. "...sorry." Smokescreen replied with a sarcastic tone just seconds before the beast-like Con roared and charged at him, making the Autobot dive out of the way. But he wasn't fast enough as he was caught on his side by Blight's sharp claws, which ripped through his armour and the skin beneath. Smokescreen grimaced as he fell to the ground, holding onto his wound that was bleeding through his finger tips. But before he could even acknowledge anything around him, Blight followed through with a kick to his chest. It was so hard and fast, the Autobot was instantly winded as he lay there. The Predacon then picked up the wounded Smokescreen by his throat and looked him in the eye and smiled, which earned him a gob full of saliva as the bot spat in his face. "You hit like a Sparkling." he said with a smile as Blight wiped the spit off himself, and then repaid the act by punching Smokescreen three times in his stomach. Meanwhile Arcee came too and recovered enough to see Blight hurl the younger Autobot through the nearby wall, his body disappearing from sight. "Smokescreen!" the Femme shouted as a large hole was all that was left where her friend had crashed through the wall, making her look back at Blight with utter hate in her eyes. The Predacon looked from the hole back to the blue Autobot and smiled. "Another one dead, it's really not your day, is it?" As Arcee remembered those that she had lost already on this day, Chromia, Ironhide and now Smokescreen. The anger in her spark escalated and without a clear train of thought, she launched herself at Blight in a rage. But before she got within a meter of her enemy, a red armoured hand grabbed her arm and another punched her in the stomach and put the Femme back on her knees as she strained to breath. Blight smiled at the one who stopped her as the new arrival, clad in red and yellow armour looked down at the defeated Autobot. "I got here as soon as I got your message, just had to take out two Autobots who were guarding the entrance to this building." he said as he looked back to his friend. "Lazerback, thanks for the assist. Though I did have everything under control." Blight replied with a lopsided grin, earning a knowing look from the other Predacon who had noticed Blight's injuries. "Yeah, you sure look like you had control of the situation." "These are just scratches, so where are the rest of your Terracons?" the blue and white Predacon replied, making his friend point behind him. "I sent them to help our master." Arcee's eyes widened at that comment and turned her head to see the Terracons advancing on Jack and Galvatron, who both were too preoccupied with their own battle to have noticed. 'Jack!' she thought instinctively before feeling the eyes of the two Predacons over her, so she looked up to see them looking down at her. "You're going to watch this." Blight said with a satisfied expression on his face, one mirrored by Lazerback as he pulled her back to her feet and properly restrained her, forcing her to watch the fight unfolding just aways from them. This was certainly a tougher fight than Jack had experienced in a long time, as he once again blocked another attack from Galvatron. Who's blade clashed with the Prime's star-saber, leaving the Predacon leader open to a counter. So Jack kicked his enemy in the chest, knocking the silver and black/purple armoured man back and giving the Prime the chance to attack again. But before he could do so, Galvatron looked behind him and began to laugh. "I didn't know you found losing a fight to a Human so funny?" Jack replied sarcastically, making the Predacon shake his head and smile back in a confident manner. "Actually it is you, Prime, who has lost. If you would only look around you." The Autobot leader kept his blade pointed at Galvatron and glanced around him to see not only had Smokescreen disappeared, but also Arcee had been captured again and there were five Terracons advancing on his position. "Surrender now, Prime, and I may at least allow your Spark-mate to live." Galvatron said, but Jack merely grinned slightly as the star-saber in his hand began to glow. "That is a very generous offer, but I'll pass. No one else is dying today" he said back before swinging his blade at the Predacon, making him jump back with an enraged expression on his face. "Destroy him!" The Terracons suddenly launched themselves at Jack who raised the Skyboom shield to block two of them before swiping the star-saber, which sliced one of the soldiers in half as the other just managed to dodge it. Another tried to attack the Prime from behind, but Jack dodged it and with a slice of his glowing blade, cut the soldier in half. The others looked at their dead comrade with wide eyes as the two halves of his body fell to the floor, before looking back at the Prime who grinned at them. "He had to split." he joked, making the remaining four stare daggers at him before rushing him together. But the Autobot leader was ready as he roundhouse kicked one, then smacked the face of the another with the hilt of the star-saber before elbowing him in the back. Then he charged into the next with the skyboom shield, knocking him to the ground and finally deactivated the shield to upper cut the forth right under his chin, sending him flying onto his back. Once this was over all four Terracons were standing all around Jack closely, which was what he wanted as his holo star-saber glowed bright blue. Galvatron who had watched the whole thing unfold, suddenly knew what the Prime was up to and shouted at them. "Get out of the way, you Fools!" But before any of the Terracons could reply or move, Jack swung the blade around him in a three hundred and sixty degree slice, decapitating all four Predacon soldiers in one move. First to hit the ground were their heads, which were quickly followed by their bodies as Glavatron stood opened mouthed at the sight before him. "You were saying?" Jack asked as he gave the Predacon leader a lopsided grin, which made the Lord enraged as he charged at the Prime with his blade ready. "You will die!" But Jack charged the star-saber and spun on the spot before unleashing an energy wave which hit Galvatron head on and sent him flying into the nearby wall, knocking the Predacon leader out. Both Lazerback and Blight stood their speechless as they held Arcee captive, the Femme though was smiling at Jack with an 'I want to jump you' expression. The Prime's cheeks reddened slightly at this but he managed to keep his composure, looking at the two Predacons with a cold and serious expression. "If you don't want to end up like your leader, you will release her now." the Prime said in a firm tone, making them look at each other nervously while considering their options. But suddenly a maddening cry of anger caught everyone's attention, making them look over to see Galvatron quickly get to his feet next to the damaged wall. His face was that of complete thunder and rage as his eyes fell on the Prime and narrowed, his teeth were gritted and bare. "You thought I was defeated, Prime, but you are sadly mistaken. And now you will pay for your arrogance with your life." Both Jack and Arcee watched in wide eyed shock as the Predacon leader began to change before their eyes as his beast mode took a hold of him, making him look more muscular and feral. This was also reflected in his armour, which looked more demonic than previously. Galvatron then launched himself at the Prime, his speed and strength had also been increased due to the change as he caught Jack on his chest, scratching through the chest-plate of the Prime Armour with his razor sharp claws. Jack grimaced as the force of this blow knocked him onto his arse, he didn't even get a chance to recover as Galvatron attacked again. This time he backhanded the Autobot leader in the face, spilling blood from his mouth as the inertia from the strike sent him rolling across the ground until he came to a stop on his front, making his star-saber deactivate. "You don't seem to be doing as well as you were earlier, Prime. Perhaps they don't make Primes like they used to." Galvatron said with a sarcastic tone as he walked over to Jack, who got onto his hands and knees while fighting the dazed feeling that last hit had given him. Arcee was watching with a lump in her throat as Galvatron who now stood over her spark-mate then kicked him in the chest, gaining a painful moan from the Prime as he tried to get back to his feet. But the Predacon leader didn't give him the chance as he swiped the back of Jack's armour, slicing through the armour again and cutting through the flesh. Jack grunted as he collapsed to the ground again while Galvatron stood over him and looked down at his claws, which had red blood dripping off them. "Jack!" the Femme screamed as she knew she had to do something so she tried to break free from Blight's grip, but both Predacons were already on top of that. "That's enough wretch!" Blight said in return as his grip around her arms tightened, and Lazerback gave his thoughts on her escape attempt by punching the Femme in the stomach and face, making her grimace as she spat out some blood onto the floor while both enemies laughed. Meanwhile, Galvatron had turned his attention away from Jack for a moment to admire his men's treatment of the Femme, taking pleasure seeing the pain she was going through from being unable to help her spark-mate. Jack though was still lying on the ground and reeling from the wounds that the Predacon Lord had inflicted on him, he managed to turn his head enough to see his lover being hit by one of other Predacons, all the while another one was keeping Arcee from defending herself by holding her arms behind her back. 'I have to help her!' he thought as he tried to roll back onto his front so he could get back to his feet, but Galvatron turned back and looked down at him. "Oh no you don't." he said before stamping on the Autobot Leader's back, earning a cry of pain from Jack. The Predacon Lord then knelt down and picked him up by his neck and looked him in the eyes. "Face it, Jackson Prime. You are beaten and it is pointless for you to keep fighting." he said while looking the Human Prime up and down with content and disgust. "It sickens me to see that the Cybertronian species has fallen so far, to become weak and pitiful as the Human race is a fate worse than extinction in my eyes." "Then….I guess we have a difference in opinion, Galvatron." Jack replied as he reactivated his star-saber and used all his strength to swing it up which caught the Predacon on his face, earning a wince from Galvatron who dropped the Prime and covered his face with his hands as he stumbled back. Jack upon landing on his feet, quickly activated his skyboom shield and held his blade before him as he readied himself for the enemy leader's response. But as he looked at Galvatron, the clone then pulled his hands back to reveal a bloody cut that started at the right side of his forehead, ran down over his nose and stopped just halfway over his left cheek. The Predacon Lord wiped the blood from his face until his red eyes locked on to the Prime and narrowed as he scowled at his enemy. "You fool! I will make you suffer for this." Galvatron roared as his hands tightened up into fists and began to glow with purple energy as he suddenly charged at the Prime, who lifted the skyboom shield to protect himself. But when the Predacon's punch hit the 'shield of the Primes', the force and power of the purple energy that surrounded the fist caused the shield to shatter, sending shards of the golden energy in all directions. Arcee's eyes widened in horror as her lover stumbled back from the hit, but as he tried to raise the star-saber up to defend himself. Galvatron activated his own blade and sliced off Jack's right arm before he could do anything about it. Jack screamed in pain as his arm fell to the ground and the holo star-saber faded to nothing, leaving the Prime completely defenceless as he instinctively raised his other arm to the bloody stump that was now his right arm. "JACK!" Arcee shouted before Galvatron followed through with another purple glowing punch that hit the Autobot leader squarely in the chest, cracking his armour even more as it sent him crashing into the wall again and falling to the ground in a heap, leaving a crater in the wall behind him. The Predacon Lord then stood over the disabled and defeated Prime and readied his blade to strike, poised to end Jackson Prime's life there and then. "And now, Jackson Prime, I will end your life and the line of Primes will finally come to the end it deserves." Jack turned his head and looked over to Arcee, as the captive Femme eyes met his. And as time seemed to slow down between the two lovers, no words were said as there was no need as both already knew what the other was thinking at that very moment. Jack did not want to leave his spark-mate, but fate seemed to deem it so. And Arcee was about to lose not only another partner, but the only man she ever 'truly' loved with all her spark. The Prime then looked back up to Galvatron who raised his blade above his head, preparing to strike. "Time to die, Jackson Prime."

Today's Prime shot takes a look at the BotCon Japan 2000 official Takara exclusive set specially made Choro-Q toys. The toys were special remakes from the Takara non-transforming line of super-deformed model cars with self-propelled action when pulled-back and let go. The set includes left to right, a G1 version of the Convoy (Optimus Prime) cab and trailer, a clear version of G1 Mirage race car, and a G2 camo-colors version of Megatron tank. Click Image to Read the Full News Story Now

Simon Smith has yet another Transformers custom up his sleeve with the most recent one crossing over with Star Wars with Transformers to make Boba Fett Optimus Prime. What seems like an unlikely pair, is looking better than I thought it would in green and gray colors, though I would have liked to see an antenna on the head, missile on back, and battle damage too, but there it is. Click Image to Read the Full News Story Now

Hello and welcome to a Bert the Stormtrooper Reviews: Unboxing and 1st Impressions video! Today we're checking out the Transformers: War for Cybertron, Earthrise Commander Class SKYLINX!    

The Takara social channel has posted a couple new images of their Takara Transformers Earthrise EX-14 Runamuck deluxe class figure. The figure is up for preorder now on Takara Tomy Mall. Check out the translated details and images for more information. Click Image to Read the Full News Story Now