The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 39

“Kickback, how are things looking over there?”

The current leader of the Insecticons kneeled at my words.

“We are ready, Lord Maximus. My brothers have already cleared out the old tunnels leading to Iacon. We have also reactivated an old Energon Transporter. It should be good enough to transport the Energon to Autobot City.”

“…..You do know that I no longer hold any rank over any of you, right?”

The savage grin on his face would have unnerved a lesser bot. But I knew him and his brothers for far too long to be bothered with something so trivial as appearances.

“My lord. Even in death, for us Insecticons, there is no other command but yours. The only reason we even followed Megatron was because he was your sparkling in all but name. But, now that you have returned, we only answer to you and no one else.”

I could not help but chuckle and place my palm on his shoulder.

These guys have always been like this.

Back in the day, long before Megatronus ever came into my life, long before I was exiled from my position as the head of the Programming Cast, I had run into the Insecticons who lived within the underworld of Cybertron, feeding on the scraps of Energon that flows through this place and living like the common vermin despite being sapient beings.

All of this, because the Primes and their councils looked at their appearance and simply dismissed them as lesser beings.

Ever since I beat Harshell all those eons ago and became their leader according to their customs, I had tried my best to try and better their lives as much as I could, going so far as to smuggle Energon, to the underworld along with giving them access to the Teletraan-1 through a hidden node that only a few knew the existence of.

I don’t know if it is because of my efforts for their kind, or if it is because they genuinely see me as their friend, like I do them, the Insecticons have always been my most loyal of allies.

“Come. We have much work to do. But, before that, Ser-Ket!”

“I am here, my lord!”

The femme who fell to her knees at my call, along with her brethren, still unnerved me greatly due to their very existence.

A result of Shockwave’s splicing of Predacon C.N.A. with willing Decepticons.

Beings that were an affront to everything we ever stood for as Ascenticons.

If they had been mindless drones like the Vindicators, I would have long since had them eradicated wholesale.

However, due to their Sapience, I had no choice but to let them be and give them the choice to do what they want from now on.

Needless to say, as their presence by my side would indicate, they chose to stay under our command.

With a deep breath, I pushed down my mixed feelings about their existence, knowing that they did not deserve to be blamed for the lapse in judgment of my old friend.

“Take your brothers with you and scout ahead. If you find any of the Combaticons, or even our main target, I want you to head back and report to me.”

“Yes! My lord. Backbite! Blackout! With me!”

The three took off flying, changing into their Predacon alt-modes and blasting off into the old tunnels leading to Autobot City, or Iacon City, as it was once called.

Ser-Ket took the form of a Wyvern from the old human myths, with two wings, two legs, and a reptilian face and body structure.

Backbite, the bot that rarely spoke but was always present by the side of his kin, transformed into something resembling a Pterodactyl.

Finally, Blackout, the bot that was once a gladiator from the pits of Kaon, now reformatted into a hybrid, transformed into a form similar to his brother.

Together, the three bots were known as ‘The Forged’. A team of Decepticons that volunteered to have Shockwave splice them with C.N.A.

Again, while I am disturbed by their existence, just like with the Vindicators and the damned Predacon revival project that Shockwave was working on, I cannot blame them for simply exiting. So, I would let them be and try to befriend them.

“I see that  you haven’t changed your habit of losing yourself in your thoughts, my lord.”

“And I see that you haven’t lost your sass, Kickback.”

“Never!”

I laughed at the familiar banter, once again losing myself in memories long past.

“Let’s go. There are comrades that await us in Autobot City. And a Titan that needs to be revived.”

With those words, I started walking through the tunnels that the Insecticons cleared out. The same ones that the Ascenticon movement often used to smuggle the oppressed people of the Cybertronian cities to safety and Supplies from our contacts to our base.

Hopefully, Shockwave’s detection equipment is not faulty, and the idiots that form the team known as the Combaticons are truly alive somewhere in that blasted city.

I don’t want to bury more of my friends, especially the hopeful younglings who joined our cause all those millennia ago in hopes of a brighter future.

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Underneath the old council chambers, in a hidden bunker that no one but a select few knew about, four bots, three of which sported a Decepticon insignia while the fourth one held an Autobot one, held down Fortress using powerful harnesses made to contain Combiners as the clone tried his best to escape his current predicament.

“This is not what you promised me! You said I will have my revenge! That I can finally become my own bot!”

“And that is exactly what I am giving you. Sparkling. Now, hold still, or it will hurt a lot.”

“No! NO! LET ME GO! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

The pain-filled screams of the clone resounded in the room, yet he found no help as the machine above him, a Spark Extractor, came to life and started extracting his spark from his body.

The channels of the device shone with light as it allowed the artificial being’s spark to flow through it and into the Photonic Crystal placed on another table.

Soon, the screams died down as Fortress’s body lay still, showing that the clone’s spark had been successfully extracted.

However, the body did not stay dead for long as the four other occupants began the next phase of the project as one, as if they all shared a single mind.

The Decepticons worked on realigning the Spark Extractor and reversing its configuration.

However, instead of using a Photonic Crystal as the source, the four bots used their own spark chambers as the source for the Spark Extractor and activated the machine.

The Decepticons that were once known as Sixshot, Scorponok, Thunderblast, and the Autobot that was once known as Prowl, did not even let out a peep as the Spark Extractor came to life again, this time running in reverse and pulling the sparks from the bots into the dead body of Fortress.

Once again, their bodies hit the ground dead as the Spark Extractor ceased its function, making Fortress’s body twitch before it slowly rose and got on its feet.

“….heheheHAHAHAHAHA!! FINALLY! I AM FREE! HAHAHAHA!”

The maniacal laughter of the bot that was once Fortress, the clone of Maximus, rang out in the room.

With a grin that would send a lesser bot screaming, the bot that was no longer Fortress grinned and looked at his body and the inherent memories of its brain module.

“Soon. Very soon. I will have my revenge on those younglings who dared do this to me. But first, I need to prepare.”

“Enjoy this short time of peace, Armorbite. Because I am coming for you. And this time, I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you or your sparkling.”

With those words, the imposter within the body of another imposter walked out of the hidden chamber, heading straight towards the exit that would deposit him out of the city, facing the exact direction he needed to go in.

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Ser-Ket:

Backbite:

Kickback: