Gaea had finished showing Rung the darkness that threatened to devour her people. She removed her hands from the orange Autobot's head as she stood back up, watching alongside everyone else to the reaction Rung had from the visions.

The psychiatrist stumbled back a bit from the revelation he had been shown. His face was one of a disturbed individual masking the horror and disgust he had felt within his Spark.

"Such corruption..." Rung muttered, his eyes gone wide, glancing down as he shook his head. "Such suffering..."

"Do you now understand what is at stake here?" Gaea asked the counterpart of her brother.

"I do." Rung nodded, furrowing his eyes as he tried to push back his current thoughts, which were clouded by the events Gaea had shown him.

"And now that you know, what shall you do?" Gaea then asked Rung. "Shall you continue on in peace within the AllSpark, or are you willing to walk into another terrible war?"

After a few moments of further thought, Rung dawned a look of determined resolution. He straightened himself up before walking forward to meet Gaea's eyes with his own. "Knowing what I do now of the situation, I cannot, in good conscience, stand by and run the risk of your people's downfall. You came to each Cybertronian in this room because their intelligence and capabilities had the chance to bring about a better future for your world. If I am truly needed for your cause, then I accept your invitation."

Gaea warmly smiled at Rung's answer, giving a small bow of her head to him in thanks. "You have my gratitude."

Soundwave then walked up beside Gaea, glancing between her and Rung. "Now that we have acquired Rung to our fight, what is the next course of action?"

Gaea looked over to Soundwave, a small smirk gracing her expression as she then glanced over to the others behind her. "Now I forge your group some new bodies."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Garan, hidden caverns_

By now, Olga and her accompanying party were well deep into the caverns. Through the majority of their journey, there was nothing but the repeating ceiling lights and metal walls of the tunnel. The only sound anyone made was the clicking of heels on the metal floor, the clanking of minotaur hooves, and the hushed conversation the orcs had up ahead.

Staying close to Olga's side, Chloe's eyes wandered around the tunnel, a twinge of curiosity building up within herself.

"Who could have created tunnels such as these?" She muttered.

Being able to pick up her ward's quieted words with her elven ears, Olga glanced around the continuing tunnel before speaking to Chloe. "Perhaps great metal workers and architects, lost to the ages. Those who's skill, while ancient, seems to have been ahead of our own craftsmanship."

"And what craftsmanship indeed." Misery joined in on the conversation. "I have to wonder what magic was used to light this cavern. There isn't a single torch in sight. It's as if they were able to capture fire that can deluminate and become alit again at will."

"The knowledge these ancient's had could advance us by centuries." Olga said. "That is if it's knowledge that awaits us at the cavern's end."

The moment Olga finished speaking, the group came upon a divergence in the metal cavern. I'm front of them were now two new pathways. One angling left, and the other angling right.

"My, my, my." Misery commented with a small giggle. "Which tunnel should we go down first? Choices, choices."

Olga eyed the two paths with an analytical gaze, pondering Misery's question herself. She then looked over to the three orcs, making her voice stern and clear. "I want you orcs to take the tunnel on the right. Report back to us the moment you find something of value. Myself and the others shall investigate the left tunnel."

"Yes, Dark Queen." The largest of the orcs grunted to Olga, slammed his fist against his chest. He then looked over to the other two orcs, motioning to the right tunnel with a nod of his head. "Come on, boys. Get a move on."

The orc's brethren grunted and huffed in compliance before they started to venture down the right tunnel, leaving the rest of the group with the one on the left.

"Let us be off then." Olga firmly stated to the others as she took the lead down the left tunnel.

Back with the three orcs, the brutish green and grey barbarians trudged down the right tunnel; their heavy dispositions causing their feet to fall to the metal floors with a soft thud.

"Grahh... how long do this stinking cave go on for?" One of the orcs grunted to his kin in a nasally voice. "The metal floor's making my feet cold."

"Quit your whining." Grunted back the largest of the three orcs, his skin a stone grey. "We do as the Dark Queen demands. Less we suffer her wrath."

"What wrath is left in her ain't nothing but harsh words and a few spells." Argued back the nasally orc. "We're all sensing it. She's getting weaker by the day."

"I heard some of the lads talking 'bout what they'll do if she loses all her powers." The third orc pitched in, his mouth having an underbite with two large fangs protruding out. "Been talking about leaving her or taking over Garan."

"I would love a dark elf to fuck." The nasally orc added with a ragged giggle. "Plump and juicy."

"I dare ya to say that around the Dark Queen." The grey orc sternly stated to the nasally orc. "Just because she's losing power ain't mean a rat's arse when she's still got a bunch of assassins and those of us loyal to her. Especially mistress Misery. She'll turn your innards outwards if there's any funny business against the Dark Queen. Or she'll do it just for fun."

"Biggest tits in all of Eostia and they're attached to a she-devil." The nasally orc bitterly muttered.

The orcs continued down the metal tunnel for a few more minutes. Just as they did though, they started to hear a sound coming up ahead, approaching them with each passing second.

"Hear that?" The orc with the underbite asked as he and his brethren froze.

"Yeah." The grey orc said, narrowing his eyes further down the tunnel. "Something's coming."

"What is it?" The nasally orc asked, turning his head to the side so as to sim his ear towards the sound. "Sounds like metal clanking."

The orcs watched as a larger figure approached from the end of the tunnel. The closer the figure got, the more they could make out its appearance. It was hulking, with razor sharp claws on its hands and feet. But more than that, it was covered in paneled, sharp metal parts with large jagged pauldrons. Atop its head was a cap with two small, razor sharp horns. It's face was triangular and insectoid with sharp teeth and two large fangs on its upper jaw, accompanied with even larger mandibles. The final thing they noticed was that the creature had no eyes, rather that it had a thin, visor-like piece that glowed a bright red.

"What is that? What is that?" The nasally orc asked as he started to back away in wariness.

Soon enough, the metal creature stood in close proximity to the orcs as the monsters of Garan looked to it with apprehension.

The metal creature stared back at the orcs, analyzing their outward characteristics before speaking to them in a deep, gravelly voice. "Identify yourselves."

The orcs looked between each other before the orc with the underbite spoke with a befuddled expression. "It talks?"

"Of course I talk." The metal creature replied, his tone becoming more stern. "Now identify yourselves! None but the Hive Queen can open the door to these caverns. So you three orcs are either the Queen's servants, or intruders."

"Easy there fellow." The grey orc raised his hands up to the metal creature. "We're here under orders of the Dark Queen, Olga Discordia."

"I have never heard of anyone bearing the title of Dark Queen." The metal creature swiftly retorted.

"Discordia's the queen of the dark elves, she is." The nasally orc replied, making sure to keep his distance from the creature.

"So you claim to be in servitude to the dark elves." The metal creature spoke, crossing his arms. "But that does not answer how you entered the caverns. Only a high elf befitting the criteria of the Hive Queen may open the door."

"Oh, yes. Yes. We know who you're talking about." The nasally orc nervously told him. "She's with the Dark Queen right now. In the other tunnel."

"The Hive Queen is with you?" The metal creature questioned.

"If that's what you call her." The orc with the underbite said.

"Then take me to her at once!" The metal creature immediately demanded. "As an Insecticon warrior, I must meet the queen!"

The grey orc shared a look between the orc with the underbite before muttering in a low tone. "I guess this... Insecticon-thing is something the Dark Queen would want to see."

The grey orc then looked back to the newly named Insecticon. "Ok then. We'll take ya to your Queen. Follow us."

"Very well. But know this." The Insecticon stated as he pointed his clawed finger at the grey orc. "Should you be deceiving me, then I shall eviscerate each of you until there's nothing left but a smoking pile of bones. It would be something I would find most enjoyable."

"I'll take that as a promise." The grey orc replied, not showing an ounce of fear to the Insecticon. Though the same was the opposite for the other two orcs.

Back with Olga and the rest of the party, they had soon come upon a large cave. It had a metal flooring much like the rest of the cavern, but the walls and ceilings were all rock and stone.

Misery looked around the room as she spoke. "Might this be an unfinished part of the tunnel? A section the architects of this cavern were unable to complete before their demise?"

"Or it's a cave mine." Chloe said as she walked closer to the rocky walls, brushing her hand against it. "Look. There's some form of crystal embedded in the stone."

True to Chloe's word there were crystals in the cavern walls, some larger than others. Walking up to one of the crystals, Olga placed her hand upon it. The crystals were muted in color, but Olga could feel something radiating from them. An aura of some kind.

"There's... a life force in them." Olga said, her eyes closed as she moved her hand along the crystal, sensing the presence from within it. "It's faint, but these crystals have a significance to them. As to what that may be would require study."

"First we would have to learn of the power within the crystals." Misery said as she looked over the crystals as well. "It feels more like these crystals were drained of their energy. If we could find a way to reconstitute that energy, we may just get that advantage we need for the war."

"An advantage that's far more theoretical than realistic." Olga sighed, shaking her head as she furrowed her eyes. "We need something more guaranteed."

Just then the orcs started to enter into the mine, passing by the two minotaurs that stood watch at its entrance.

Olga, being able to hear their approaching steps, spoke to them as she continued analyzing the crystals. "Well, did you find anything?"

Right after the Dark Queen asked her question, the sound of metal clanking started to fill the ears of all in the mine, prompting them to look towards the entrance.

"A local." The grey orc answered Olga as he and his fellows stepped to the side.

Everyone watched as the Insecticon warrior came into view. The dark elves widened their eyes at the sight of it as the minotaurs held their axes at the ready.

"What the hell is that?" Chloe asked as she stepped back towards Olga, getting ready to pull out her daggers at a moment's notice.

The Insecticon scanned over the mine until his visor landed on Misery. He stared at the buxom elf for a moment before pointing to her. "You. You are the one who opened the gate. I sense it."

Misery stared back at the Insecticon in a mix of curiosity and apprehension. "Yes... that would be me."

The Insecticon walked up to her, his size far greater and more imposing than that of the minotaurs. Olga and Chloe watched the metallic creature walk up to Misery with wary expressions, with the former motioning for her ward to be ready to strike should something go awry.

But then, to the elves' surprise, the Insecticon kneeled down before Misery, bowing his head to her.

"My Queen." The Insecticon proclaimed. "I live to serve you. The Insecticon hive awaits your command."

Misery blinked, taken aback by this sudden action before quickly composing herself. "Queen, you say?"

"It was with your blood that the door was open. That we were reawakened with." The Insecticon answered her, still bowing. "It is our primary function to serve the Hive Queen's every command."

"My every command, you say?" Misery questioned, a mischievous smile dawning her expression. She glanced over to Olga and Chloe, winking to them before looking back at the Insecticon. "You may rise."

Insecticon nodded to Misery, standing up before her. The dark high elf then started to circle around the Insecticon, inspecting every ounce of his outward appearance.

"Tell me my... Insecticon. Do you have a name?" Misery asked as she trailed her finger along the Insecticon's arm, feeling the metal that comprised it.

Placing his right hand to his chest, the Insecticon answered her. "I am Ransack. A decorated combatant among my brethren."

"Decorated?" Misery questioned, her smile growing ever more.

She gave an amused hum as she walked over Olga and Chloe. Misery pointedly looked at Olga as she spoke aloud. "Would you mind displaying your skills for me, Ransack?"

"It would be my honor." Ransack eagerly answered Misery.

Misery then gave a knowing smirk to Olga, who was quick to pick up on her daughter's line of thought. Olga then looked over to one of the minotaurs, motioning the bovine beast towards Ransack.

"If you're as decorated a warrior as you say, then I want you to go against one of the strongest monsters in Garan." Misery said as Ransack turned to his soon-to-be-opponent. "Minotaurs are quite strong, and quite ferocious. Perfect for testing your abilities for me."

Ransack started to back away from the minotaur, spreading his arms out and flexing his sharp claws. His jaw became slightly agape as he stared at the minotaur, a low, inhuman growl escaping from his mouth.

"Then by all means, my Queen. Let me show you the strength of an Insecticon." Ransack said, his tone both proud and happy.

The next thing that happened was Ransack lowering his head for a single moment before raising it up to let loose a ghoulish screech.

"RRRIIIAAAEEEHHH!"

The volume and sharpness of the screech caused everyone to reel back from its unearthly sound.

It was at that moment that Ransack lunged towards the minotaur, knocking the monster to the floor. The two began to tussle for a moment before the minotaur was able to throw Ransack off of himself, and towards the mining cave wall. But the moment Ransack crashed into the wall, he just as swiftly got back and started to climb along it just like an insect. Ransack quickly crawled from the wall and onto the ceiling before going to gun for the minotaur again.

"I think I understand where the name "Insecticon" comes from." Chloe said as she looked to Ransack with a perturbed face.

"He's certainly versatile and adaptable." Olga commented on Ransack as she focused entirely on the fight.

The minotaur pulled out its axe just as Ransack left from the ceiling. The minotaur got out of the way of the Insecticon warrior, forcing Ransack to reposition himself upon landing. The minotaur took that time to swing it's axe down on Ransack, but it only resulted in the weapon clanging off of his metallic shell.

"That's cute." Ransack remarked with a chuckle.

He then slashed his claws at the minotaur, slicing open wounds on the beast's chest. The minotaur mooed in pain, but was given no quarter for recovery as Ransack charged once more. Ransack dealt a blow to the minotaur's head before delivering an uppercut to the beast's chest. The blow was so hard that the minotaur actually lost its breath for a moment. Ransack then closed his fists together and brought them down on the minotaur's head, further disorienting it. Afterwards, Ransack brought the minotaur back up to face him, only to immediately give it a head-butt so heavy, that the impact caused several of the minotaur's teeth to fly out along with blood and saliva.

The sight had caused the orcs and the other minotaur to flinch, whilst Misery couldn't help but stare on in continued intrigue.

"What is this guy? A berserker?" The nasally orc asked in fear.

"I ain't seen no other monster move that fast and hit that hard." The grey orc crossed his arms as he shook his head.

By now the minotaur was downed, blood dripping from its mouth. But Ransack wasn't finished. He grabbed the minotaur by its shoulders as he then began to drag the beast along the floor in a circular motion. Soon enough, the minotaur started to rise up from the ground and spiral into the air as Ransack spun around with the monster in his grasp. After another moment of spinning the minotaur around, Ransack then released his grip on the beast, sending it flying into the direction of the other monsters.

The orcs and the second minotaur quickly dove out of the way as the bruised and beaten minotaur slammed into the stone wall with such force that it started to crack and send pieces of rock tumbling down.

It was there at the height of the moment that Ransack leapt into the air as a whirring sound emitted from his body. Every part of Ransack shifted and morphed until he was no longer in a monstrous, humanoid form. Now, Ransack was that of a giant, rhinoceros beetle-like beast that seemed almost demonic in its shaping. The wings of Ransack's insect mode beat rapidly as the Insecticon hovered in the air, letting out another screech.

"RRRIIIAAAEEEHHH!"

"My, my, my!" Misery exclaimed in surprise and excitement.

Chloe looked to the sight with horror as she muttered to herself. "By the Gods..."

Meanwhile, Olga's expression was one of shock and awe towards Ransack's transformation. Her mind raced with every possible thought of the Insecticon warrior, to his speed, his agility, his strength, and now this. As she stared at Ransack, there was only one thing lingering in her head. "This... this is it."

Everyone then watched as a red glow started to emit from the tip of Ransack's beetle horn. The glow became brighter within a second before several powerful beams of red energy shot from the horn, all aimed at the downed minotaur. Each shot connected with its intended target, resulting in several small explosions as dust and smoke built up. Once the dust settled, all that remained of the minotaur was a smoking, charcoaled corpse filled with large holes.

"That thing's a demon." The orc with the underbite said as he looked at Ransack in terror.

"Sadly I don't like my steak over cooked." The grey orc remarked as he looked at the smoking corpse with apprehension.

The other minotaur stared at its annihilated comrade in shock before shifting away from the sight.

After another moment, Ransack reverted to his more humanoid mode as he stared at the smoking corpse.

"My apologies, my Queen." Ransack said to Misery. "I was... caught up in the heat of the battle. It has been so long since I've had a fight."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Misery said with an impressed chuckle. "You've more than proven just how marvelous of a fighter you are."

"And to think there's a whole hive of others like him." Chloe spoke in dread at the thought.

"They're just what we need." Olga muttered.

Chloe looked at Olga with a hint of surprise on her face. "My Queen?"

Olga then made her way over to Ransack, with Misery following close behind her.

"You said there were others of your kind, yes?" Olga questioned Ransack.

"That is correct." Ransack nodded to her.

Olga and Misery shared a glance before the latter spoke to Ransack. "We would very much appreciate an introduction with your brethren."

"Right away, my Queen." Ransack stated as he bowed to Misery once again.

—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—

Kuroinu———Transformers

—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—

Earth, Africa_

Sixshot stood in silence as he stared at the horizon. The day was growing late. The Sun now glowed with an orange hue. Buzzsaw sat idly on the branch of a tree as he kept an eye on the elephant herd. There was a cool breeze in the air as the wind lightly blew about.

It was at that moment that Sixshot felt his Spark lighten towards a familiar presence. He turned to see the ethereal form of Gaea walking through the dry grass as she made her way over to the elephants. With her arrival, Sixshot moved to follow the goddess.

"Remarkable creatures, elephants." Gaea spoke, her voice clear to all in the area. "Creatures of great compassion and rage. Duty and family. Majestic goliaths that roam the land in either tranquility or thunderous force. I can see why Soundwave held them in such high regard compared to the rest of Earth's species."

Upon hearing her voice, Buzzsaw looked to see Gaea's ethereal form brushing her hand along an elephant's side as she moved up to its ear. Bewildered by her sudden appearance, Buzzsaw blinked his eyes several times to assure whether she was a mirage conjured up by the Sun's heat potentially frying some of his circuitry. When Gaea did not disappear, the airborne mini-con hopped from his branch and flew over to land on Sixshot's shoulder.

"I told you Gaea was real." Sixshot quietly regarded Buzzsaw.

"Or you were infected with some kind of bug that's transferred over to me as well, and now we're in a heavily hallucinated state." Buzzsaw shot back at him.

Once Sixshot was beside Gaea, he began to speak to her. "So how did things go?"

"My trip went well, all things considered." Gaea replied to Sixshot before looking over to Buzzsaw. "And of our avian friend?"

Sixshot shot a glance at Buzzsaw, who sat on his shoulder in silence to the current situation. The former phase-sixer shrugged to her as he spoke. "I couldn't convince him."

"Ah. Then maybe I should have a go at it." Gaea said with a small smile.

Buzzsaw raised his brow in curiosity and confusion as to what Gaea was about to do. Just then, a large ball of blue light formed in her open hand. Holding it out to the air, six smaller spheres of the light flew forth. But on closer inspection, Buzzsaw and Sixshot saw that they were not balls of light, but rather Sparks.

The six Sparks flew around the area before hovering closer to the ground. After that, the Sparks started to take shape into Transformers.

The first three formed into Tarantulas, Rung, and Ravage. They found that their bodies were unchanged from how they last were. The second three formed into Soundwave, Laserbeak, and Cosmos. But these three Cybertronians bore different appearances as opposed to how they once were.

For Soundwave, his blue parts were now both more vibrant and darker. His pauldrons ended with two spikes at the top of them, while the pauldrons themselves encompassed not just Soundwave's shoulders but also red and black wheels. His elbows were spiked as well as his hands were now akin to claws. His legs had sharpened poleyns while the tip of his feet were also sharp, with wheels on the back. Overall, his body was far more stylized, compact, and sharpened with instances of purple light decals glowing on his body. The last noticeable change was with his head as it was now more triangular-esq and rounded at the top. His faceplate was smaller, allowing for a larger red visor. And lastly, a tall, four-pronged crown rested above his visor, giving Soundwave's head the appearance of the Decepticon insignia.

As for Laserbeak, his body build was similar, but his talons were more sharp with his engines now having two fins on each side. His head was less elongated and his wings were more bladed as their tips now ended with small, hook-like designs.

Finally, for Cosmos, while he was still broad, most of his parts were more smooth and rounded. He had an almost hood-like section behind his head, making Cosmos almost seem like he was hunchbacked. On his waist, he had two large side-skirt-like pieces in a triangular shape. Above the lower section of his arms were protrusions where three gun barrels pointed out from, reaching past his hands. The last detail about him was that he no longer had a blue visor above his faceplate as he now had regular blue eyes.

The six newcomers quickly began to inspect their surroundings and their reinstated bodies, flexing some of their joints and feeling the ground beneath them.

"I didn't think this is how she'd bring us back." Ravage said as he looked over his legs and back.

"Bodily reconstitution from the energy of our sparks alone." Tarantulas concluded in awe as he flexed the spider legs on his back. "I never dreamed such a process was feasible."

Cosmos scanned most of his new body before looking over to Soundwave to see his new appearance.

"We look sleek." Cosmos commented to the blue Decepticon, who was looking over himself. "We're completely brand new. Like we were taken right off the assembly line."

"It is... a different experience." Soundwave spoke as he examined his now clawed fingers.

Soundwave started to peer at his surroundings before his visor came upon Sixshot, but his sight didn't linger on the one-bot-army for long. His sight was immediately transfixed to the mini-con sitting on Sixshot's shoulder, Buzzsaw. Soundwave and his old mini-con comrade stared at each other for a spell. Buzzsaw's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief. He was stiff. Frozen. Unable to comprehend what laid before his optics, whilst an overwhelming sense of excitement and joy bubbled deep inside his Spark.

Eventually, Buzzsaw lifted off from Sixshot's shoulder, flying over to Soundwave, who held his arm out for him. Upon landing on Soundwave's arm, Buzzsaw tapped it, feeling it to be real. The yellow and black mini-con then looked to Soundwave's face with exhilaration that threatened to burst.

"Soundwave... is it... is it really you?" Buzzsaw asked, his voice quieted from hope and amazement.

In response, Soundwave nodded to Buzzsaw, petting his head with his other hand. "It is, old friend."

"Don't forget about us." Laserbeak called out to Buzzsaw, flying up to land on Soundwave's right shoulder with Ravage walking over as well.

"Laserbeak. Ravage." Buzzsaw turned to his mini-con brethren in continued surprise. "You're all here. You're all alive. How... how... How is this possible? I don't understand."

Without giving a verbal explanation, Soundwave simply nodded his head over to Gaea, causing Buzzsaw to look over to the now approaching Goddess, who was flanked by Sixshot.

"You're... not an illusion, are you?" Buzzsaw asked Gaea.

"Not unless astral projection counts as such." Gaea replied with a warm smile.

"So Sixshot wasn't crazy." Buzzsaw remarked. "And if everything he's told me is true, you brought everyone back because they're willing to help you."

"I hope you will do the same." Gaea responded, extending her hand in gesture. "It would be a shame to not have you along with your old comrades."

Buzzsaw looked to Gaea's hand before looking to Soundwave, who gave him a silent nod. The mini-con then reverted his gaze back to Gaea as he gave his answer. "If Soundwave's in. I'm in."

Gaea smiled back at Buzzsaw as she gave him a small bow in thanks.

Rung and Tarantulas then walked over to join with the others. Tarantulas in particular made his way to Sixshot with a look of intrigue.

"My, my, my. The infamous and legendary Sixshot." Tarantulas proclaimed, getting the attention of the aforementioned Decepticon. "It's not every day that one gets to work with the mightiest of the Decepticon phase-sixers."

"And what are you?" Sixshot asked Tarantulas with a raised brow.

"Tarantulas. At your service." The Chimeracon introduced himself with an exaggerated bow. "I do hope you will be far more manageable to work with as opposed to my previous relations with your former comrade, Overlord."

"Well I don't have a superiority complex to prove, so it shouldn't be too hard." Sixshot stated. The former phase-sixer then looked around at the rest of his soon to be allies, sizing each of them up. He then looked over to Gaea.

"So we have a group. Now, my question is who's in charge of it." Sixshot said as he turned to her. "From what I'm seeing, the choices are very narrow."

"That's only mildly insulting." Cosmos muttered off from the side.

"Well, if no one has any objections, I am certain Soundwave will fill in the leadership role quite nicely." Gaea replied to Sixshot, motioning to the blue Decepticon.

Sixshot then looked over to Soundwave, analyzing his overall appearance. "Soundwave, huh? Megatron's right hand, and one of the best strategists in the Decepticon empire. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"Correct." Soundwave said as Buzzsaw flew up to land on Soundwave's left shoulder. "Though last I heard, you were assumed dead."

"A premature, yet understandable assumption." Sixshot stated in an offering tone.

"Um, not that I don't appreciate the chance for old and new acquaintances to converse with each other, I have to ask how we will get to your planet." Rung spoke up, directing his thoughts to Gaea. "More specifically, how will we get to your universe? I've travelled to an alternate dimension before. It's not a simple task."

"There is an individual I know. An old ally who once helped my people long ago." Gaea answered Rung. "He will provide all of you transport to my universe, and Selenus. He is also the final component to your group. I am most confident you all will find him to be valuable to our cause."

Gaea then closed her eyes, her ethereal form flickering. She then opened her eyes to look at the group of Cybertronians before her. "I must not linger for any longer. There is still much work to be done. Until next we meet, I leave things in your hands. Good luck, my Cybertronian Sanctuary Division."

At that moment, Gaea's ethereal form vanished from all sight, leaving the Cybertronians to their own devices.

"So what do we do now?" Cosmos asked, as all eyes fell upon Soundwave.

Soundwave met the looks of all who stared at him. He then looked to his right hand, flexing his clawed fingers before giving his answer.

"Now, we prepare."

—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—

Transformers———Kuroinu

—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—\\\—

Garan, hidden caverns_

"So, Ransack, could you tell me more about you and your Insecticon brethren?" Misery asked as she walked alongside Ransack. "How long have you existed in the mountains?"

As of right now, Olga's party were being led to the Insecticon hive by Ransack. As usual, Chloe was at Olga's side with the monsters at the back. While the grey orc held an indifferent and stern expression, the other orcs, including the remaining minotaur, wanted to make sure to keep their distance from the Insecticon warrior. Misery had chosen to walk beside Ransack as a means to not just to assert herself as the Queen Ransack perceived her to be, but so Misery could learn more about the powerful and destructive creatures soon to be in her command. An aspect she was very excited about.

"We Insecticons were some of the first species to have been created by Gaea, as is with all Transformer species on Selenus." Ransack answered Misery.

"Transformer?" Olga questioned from behind. "Am I to assume that relates to how you changed into that insectoid form?"

"Correct." Ransack nodded. "Transformers are autonomous robotic organisms with the abilities to change from one form to another. Most of the Transformers on Selenus have beast modes, separate from what we Insecticons usually transform into."

"And what other species of Transformers exist on Selenus?" Olga then asked.

Ransack was quiet for a moment as he delved on the question. "It is hard to say. Many were lost during the Great Cataclysm. From what I know, only the guardian Transformers remain. Those like the Insecticons whose functions is to serve under the command of Selenus's organic species."

"So while there are those that do not look like you, they share similar purposes." Misery summarized from Ransack's statement.

The Insecticon nodded before continuing. "There are two other species of guardian Transformers on Selenus. The Allicons, who serve the dark elves, and the Sharkticons, who serve the humans."

At first, Olga was inwardly delighted that there was another species of these Transformers that could fall under her command, but when Ransack said that one of them served the human, it caused Olga's eyes to furrow in displeasure. Something shared by Chloe.

"There was meant to be a fourth guardian species to be forged, they never came to be when Gaea was forced into her slumber." Ransack continued as his head started to lower. "Though if none of you knew of our existence beforehand, that regrettably insinuates that we have been in stasis for longer than any of us expected."

"It is true." Misery told him. "While there are legends and myths about Gaea, albeit loose ones, we've never heard tales of any of your kin, or these other Transformers you speak of."

Ransack gave out a low hum, one that indicated disappointment. He did not continue to speak after that. But it was a mere moment before Ransack looked to find that they had reached the intended destination.

Ransack halted in his tracks before turning to everyone behind him. "We have arrived."

Ransack then stepped out of the way, bowing before Misery as he motioned to the end of the hall. Now taking the lead, Misery found herself as the first of the group to step into a large cavern.

"Well this is certainly extraordinary." Misery commented as she looked along the cavern floor, walls, and ceiling, spotting nothing but large pods everywhere she looked, each one with an Insecticon resting inside, their visors glowing red from within.

Everyone else soon walked into the cave, all of them staring at the Insecticon filled pods that littered the place.

"They just had to be bugs." Chloe muttered in disdain as she eyed the pods in wary.

"Such a powerful force, with such a large number more of his own kind..." Olga quietly spoke as she stared at the pods with tactical intrigue. "They couldn't just give us an advantage... they could win us the war."

After everyone had gotten into the cavern, Ransack followed from behind, passing by all before halting at a small distance in front of Misery.

With a flexing of his claws and arms, Ransack leaned back as he let out a screech that echoed throughout the cavern.

"RRRIIIAAAEEEHHH!"

The screech had caused the elves to all wince in pain as their ears drooped, the volume of screech having been increased from bouncing all over the cavern walls.

All was quiet for a moment before all of the Insecticon pods started to shake, giving off a sound not dissimilar to the beating of insect wings. Within their pods, the Insecticon's' visors glowed more vibrant as their bodies started to twitch in movement. The next thing to occur were all of the pods opening up as the casing that covered the Insecticons all started to shift down into the rock the pods all rested upon. Now free from their containers, the Insecticons started to growl and click their mandibles as they moved.

Some rose up to walk straight towards Misery and Ransack. Others crawled down from the walls and ceilings, with others choosing to jump down instead.

Olga's party was now swarmed in a circle by Insecticon warriors. The monsters felt nervous being surrounded by such an overwhelming force. Chloe did her best to keep down her anxiousness as she eyed the Insecticons, her hand resting over the hilt of one of her daggers. Olga had chosen to keep her stoicism, carefully analyzing the situation before her in her mind. But with Misery, it just seemed that her excitement continued to grow and grow as an eager smile formed on her face.

At that moment, all of the Insecticons kneeled and bowed before Misery, with Ransack turning back to her and motioning to his brethren.

"Behold your warriors, our hive." Ransack proclaimed. "The greatest aerial combatants of Selenus."

Misery stepped forward, her smile never wavering as he looked at every Insecticon she could peer at.

"You all may rise." She then stated to the Insecticons.

As the Insecticons followed Misery's instruction, Olga then walked up beside her adopted daughter, whispering something into her ear.

Misery glanced over to Olga, nodding to her words before speaking to the Insecticons. "This is my mother, Olga Discordia. Queen of the dark elves. Together, she and I have need of your talents. I serve under her command, and would like for you all to do the same."

"We serve at the Hive Queen's commands." Spoke one of the Insecticons from further back in the large group. "Though if you wish for us to also serve under your mother, the commands must be confirmed by you, my Queen."

"We can accept that." Misery replied.

Olga looked over the Insecticons, observing their overall appearances. She noted that most were similar in color, while others were more varied, ranging in tones of green, orange, red, and black. She also noticed that they all shared a similar posture with one another, with none of them moving; as if they were golems waiting for commands.

"Tell me." Olga spoke, ensuring her voice could be heard by all of the Insecticons. "Who among you is the strongest? The fastest? Or perhaps the smartest? Who among you is the most distinguished from your lot?"

"All Insecticon are similar in strength and speed." The same Insecticon voice from before spoke. "But should it be skill and experience you desire instead..."

The voice had gotten closer as one Insecticon moved past the rest of his kin, making his way to the front. Once he stood before Olga's party, they all could see that this particular Insecticon was covered in scars on nearly every area on his body.

"I am Hardshell." The scarred Insecticon introduced himself. "Chosen second-in-command to the Hive by the previous Hive Queen. I am among the oldest of the Insecticons before you."

"Hardshell, you say?" Misery repeated with a smirk. "Then perhaps you shall continue with your station as second-in-command to me."

"By your will, my Queen." Hardshell stated, placing his hand over his chest as he bowed. "What is it that you and your mother desire?"

Misery and Olga shared a look with each other before they both looked back at Hardshell.

"To aid us in the victory of our war." Olga firmly stated.

Hardshell looked over to Olga, his face indicating an ounce of surprise towards her words. He looked over to Misery, who nodded to Hardshell in confirmation.

The scarred Insecticon held a contemplative look on his face before coming to a resolve. "What shall you have us do?"

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Kuroinu———Transformers

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Moon of Selenus_

As dusk started to cover the land of Eostia like a blanket over a bed, the moon rose over the kingdom.

Many on Selenus would never pay the moon much mind, save for scholars who wished to learn about the stars. Most merely saw the moon as a reminder of when sleep was to be had. Some saw it's ever changing forms as a beautiful sight to behold, especially when the moon was bright and full. But others saw it as a warning for when the dangers of the dark would come out to lurk in the night.

What many people on Selenus do not realize about the moon, is that it once had a name. Given by an empire long forgotten. The moon was once known as Titan-1. But that was not the only secret the moon of Selenus had, for on its surface lived but a single soul that lay in slumber.

On the dark side of the moon stood a towering, black citadel. But this was no ordinary citadel, the kind people usually came across on Selenus. This citadel was adorned in black and purple metal with sharp spikes. The base of the citadel had a long ramp with golden glass that faintly glowed. Lastly, it had a curved tower at its end with two balconies jutting out from its right and left sides.

It was before this citadel that Gaea's ethereal form stood, staring at the imposing sight. Then, with a voice that echoed and boomed, she spoke out to it.

"Heed me... Trypticon!"

It was then that the lights on the citadel hummed and glowed as a low whirring sound rumbled from the citadel. Then, a deep and trembling voice spoke back to the Goddess.

"Gaea..." The voice spoke. "You have returned..."

"Yes. And I require your assistance, old friend." Gaea replied to him. "I need you to go to the Voxian Quadrant. Travel through the dimension bridge to universe nine-four-two-three. Follow my energy signature to the planet Earth. There you will find my newest herald and his allies. Selenus is in need of their aid."

The voice from the citadel was quiet for a moment before answering to Gaea. "By your decree, Gaea, sister of Primus and Unicron, your will shall be carried out..."

The citadel then started to rumble and whir as its parts shifted around. It's tower split into two, and it's ramp recessed into its center. Soon the transforming building started to rise from the moon's surface, flying high above it. No longer was this entity a citadel, but now a great starship with a long and sharp nose cone at its bow, and two large, jagged tusks on its starboard and port sides.

Gaea watched as the engines of the starship roared to life as it turned toward the stars. Then, with a powerful burst, the starship jumped into hyperspace, completely disappearing from Gaea's basic sight.

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Transformers———Kuroinu

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Earth, Africa_

Soundwave charged over to Sixshot, swinging his fist out to the ex-phase sixer. Sixshot parried the blow by blocking it with the back of his arm before swiftly pushing Soundwave onto the ground with his other hand. Trying to adapt to his new position, Soundwave tried sweeping his legs under Sixshot in an attempt to knock him down, only for Sixshot to jump high above the attack.

But the moment Sixshot jumped into the air to evade the attack, Soundwave quickly pushed himself up in order to lunge at Sixshot, who was just about to land from his jump. Soundwave was able to connect his strike this time, knocking Sixshot backwards and causing him to skid back against the ground.

Once Sixshot had stopped skidding, he looked back up to Soundwave as he gave a small chuckle. "You're getting better."

"It would seem Gaea had upgraded my neural processor when she resurrected us." Soundwave said as he and Sixshot started to circle each other. "I am now able to scan an opponent's skill set in order to better adapt to them."

"Sounds very useful." Sixshot remarked.

It had been a day and a half since Gaea had left the newly formed C.S.D in Africa. For most of their time, some of them chose to test out their old skills to make sure they weren't rusty. Soundwave would either train against Sixshot, watch over the elephant herd with his mini-cons, or use his external sensors to scan for any and all useful radio waves.

Cosmos worked mostly on his marksmanship, putting his new wrist-mounted guns to the test against makeshift targets and any would-be-animal poachers. Though it was only ever warning shots.

Whenever Rung had the chance, he would make logs for the group's psychic evaluations. So far, he was able to communicate the most with Cosmos, Buzzsaw, and sometimes Sixshot, but that was it for the moment. When he wasn't fulfilling his role as psychiatrist, he strolled alongside the elephants or any other animals he could find, taking notes of their behavioral habits.

As for Tarantulas, he spent most of his time to himself, plotting and preparing on his own. He would watch when Soundwave trained against Sixshot, studying the blue Decepticon's skills. Tarantulas also did the same when Cosmos practiced with his guns. Though other than that, the only time anyone saw the Chimeracon out and about was when he studied animals, insects, and arachnids. But unlike Rung, Tarantulas had other ideas with the African wildlife.

Back with Soundwave and Sixshot sparring, the two Decepticons jolted for each other. Sixshot, being faster than Soundwave, was able to get the first punches and throws in on the communications officer. But despite the initial stumble brought upon by Sixshot's fists, Soundwave powered through and began to counteract them. Soon enough, Soundwave was parrying Sixshot's attacks with his arms and hands. It was rough at first, given Sixshot's speed, but Soundwave adapted to it to near perfection before starting to get his own hits in on Sixshot.

"They're really going at it this time." Rung commented as he watched the spar alongside Ravage, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw.

"I've never seen Soundwave with this level of combative prowess before." Laserbeak stated. "That upgrade he got to his brain module must be something handy."

It was then that Sixshot abruptly switched tactics and twirled around to give Soundwave a swift roundhouse kick. Luckily for Soundwave, he was able to predict this move just fast enough for him to jump back, narrowly dodging the attack. With that attack having failed, Sixshot opted to jump at Soundwave, flipping in the air to deliver a high kick. Instead, Soundwave just as swiftly rolled under this right as Sixshot ended up slamming his foot into the ground. Afterwards, Soundwave got on his hand, right behind Sixshot as he began to spin himself, jutting his legs out in the process. The moment Sixshot turned back to Soundwave, he was met with a barrage of twirling kicks to his head from Soundwave's break dance-like fighting move. The force of the blows pushed Sixshot back once again, prompting Soundwave to lift himself into the air with his hands, spinning around before landing on his feet to face Sixshot.

Sixshot placed his hand to his faceplate, shifting it around slightly. "Nice moves. You really are improving if you can get the drop on me that quickly."

"You've certinaly been an apt model for training." Soundwave told Sixshot.

"Well then, shall we try upping the ante?" Sixshot asked as he got back into a fighting stance.

Before Soundwave gave a reply, he heard a soft whirring sound coming from the distance. Turning his head, he saw Cosmos flying down into the area in his flying saucer mode.

"Another time." Soundwave then answered Sixshot as he watched Cosmos land.

As the Autobot landed, a door on the back of his alt-mode opened up to let a ramp slide out. From out of Cosmos walked Tarantulas, who was observing something he held in his hand. Once Tarantulas walked away, Cosmos reverted back into robot mode before walking over to the rest of the group.

"Where did you two go last night?" Buzzsaw asked, tilting his head at Cosmos.

"Tarantulas wanted me to take him up north to the Paleartic for a bug expedition." Cosmos replied. "Said he wanted to get some scorpion for his research."

"Not just any scorpion, my space-faring comrade." Tarantulas interjected as he walked over, holding the small scorpion by its tail. "This is Leiurus quinquestriatus. The Deathstalker. A nocturnal species that just so happens to be the deadliest breed of scorpion on this planet!"

Ravage looked up from the dangling scorpion as it flailed around in Tarantulas's claws, snapping its small pincers. "Just what exactly are you going to do with that thing?"

"Analyze it for study, obviously." Tarantulas stated as he flipped the scorpion into the palm of his hand before closing it.

"I meant where are you going to put it." Ravage reiterated. "That's a small bug and you're a giant robot. How are you going to keep track of it?"

"I'll just simply web it up with the others." Tarantulas replied before walking away towards the nearby trees.

"He has more?" Laserbeak with a bewildered expression.

Soundwave was quiet throughout the conversation, choosing to watch on in silence. But as he watched Tarantulas walk off, he started to hear another whirring sound off in the distance. He turned to look towards the sky. While Soundwave couldn't see anything, he could hear the whirring sound getting closer, and louder. And soon enough, he wasn't the only one.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Cosmos asked as he looked around.

Rung looked for the origin of the noise as well as he spoke. "It... sounds like starship engines. Big ones at that."

Sixshot then noticed that the grass started to wave around, only that there was no wind blowing about at the moment. Sixshot then walked up beside Soundwave, who's line of sight was locked onto the area where the grass blew about.

"You see it too?" Sixshot asked him.

"Yes." Soundwave answered.

It was then that the whirring sound slowed to crawl, and the grass moved less. Afterwards, something started to decloak in the air above the C.S.D, revealing the large starship that was Trypticon.

"Woah!" Cosmos exclaimed at the sight of the imposing starship.

Everyone stared up at the tusked starship in silence, with even Tarantulas peeking out from the trees. After a moment, a booming voice spoke fourth to them.

"Which among you is Gaea's herald...?" Trypticon asked them.

Soundwave continued to stare up at the starship before stepping forth, calling out to it. "That would be me! I am Soundwave, leader of Gaea's Cybertronian Sanctuary Division!"

"Soundwave..." Trypticon replied. "I am Trypticon... I have been sent to deliver you to Selenus in my universe... By the will of Gaea..."

"Gaea has her own Trypticon?" Buzzsaw whispered amongst his mini-con brethren.

"She does come from another universe." Ravage said. "Trypticon must still be alive in her's."

Trypticon then started to lower down towards the group, blowing about the grass as he landed. "You all are to board my starship mode at once... we must return to Selenus with haste..."

"Acknowledged." Soundwave replied to Trypticon. Soundwave then turned to his comrades, nodding for them to go over to the Titan.

As they complied with Soundwave, Buzzsaw flew over, landing on his leader's shoulder.

"Soundwave. What about the herd?" Buzzsaw asked as he motioned to the elephants. "I know this mission is important, but the poachers tried to hunt the elephants down before when you weren't here. They'll do it again if we leave. What do we do about them?"

Soundwave looked over to the elephant herd, silently contemplating the course of action he should take with them. During his thought process, he watched as a bull and cow looked after their calf, who played around at the bank of the watering hole.

After a minute, Soundwave found his answer as he looked back to Trypticon, calling out to him again. "Trypticon! What is the maximum capacity of your cargo hold?"

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Transformers———Transformers

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By now, Trypticon was well past exiting Earth's atmosphere with his cloaking shield reactivated. All of the C.S.D were aboard his alternate mode.

Soundwave was with his mini-cons as he made sure the elephant herd was perfectly situated in the cargo hold, having had Sixshot cut down three trees along with several large patches of grass as a means for food for the herd.

"I hope you don't expect any of us to pick up elephant fecal matter during the voyage." Ravage said to Soundwave with a small grimace.

With Tarantulas, he was currently wandering through the halls of Trypticon's starship form until he came upon a large medical room. Walking into it, he found an operation table along with cabinets and two large containers of excess Energon.

"This shall do nicely." Tarantulas spoke with a quiet cackle.

Tarantulas then removed a large piece of webbing he had hung upon his back earlier, having folded it up into a sack. Setting the webbing onto the operation table, he unfolded it to reveal several forms of insects and arachnids he had collected from Africa.

"Now I just need to find containers to place you all in." Tarantulas muttered, tapping his finger against his chin as he began to search through the cabinets.

As for Sixshot, Rung, and Cosmos, the three of them were taking inventory of the command center, where the walls were lined with computer screens and terminals. At the center of the room was the main computer terminal where undoubtedly the captain or an experienced pilot would help to man Trypticon's starship mode.

It wasn't long until Soundwave reached the command center with his mini-cons, walking up to the main computer terminal.

"So how exactly shall we get to Gaea's universe?" Rung questioned. "Having been aboard the Lost Light, it took a tear in the Warren to have us sent to another universe."

"There is an advanced space bridge out deep in the stars..." Trypticon spoke. "One designed as a gateway between all cataloged dimensions... We call it the dimension bridge."

"Hmm. I've never heard of such a space bridge before." Rung said. "Though if you're in our universe, it must exist."

Soundwave stood in front of the main computer terminal, staring at it with a strange... magnetism he could not explain. Just then, from the sides of Soundwave's abdomen, two small panels opened up from which two long and pronged cables sprung forth. Soundwave moved his sight over to his new appendages, moving the pronged ends up to his face as he analyzed them.

"What are those for?" Cosmos pointed to Soundwave's cables.

Soundwave glanced over at Cosmos before looking back at the main computer terminal. He then moved his cables to the terminal's keyboards, after which several small wires wiggled out from the ends of Soundwave's cables and latched down onto the terminal.

Soundwave felt a small jolting sensation as his visor flicked for a short moment. After steadying himself, Soundwave began to speak. "I am now connected to Trypticon's internal networking. I believe I can now act as a co-pilot for him."

"Huh. I guess you're now a walking USB." Cosmos remarked to Soundwave.

"You all should ready yourselves." Soundwave then said. "Trypticon is about to jump to hyperspace in five. Four. Three..."

"Wait, hyperspace?" Cosmos asked.

"Two. One." Soundwave continued.

Trypticon's thrusters gave a roar before he shot himself into hyperspace, causing a small shake throughout his interior.

In the command center, everyone stumbled a bit from the jolt of Trypticon jumping into hyperspace, with Cosmos falling against one of the side terminals.

"He did say to prepare ourselves." Rung reminded Cosmos. While Cosmos had stumbled against one of the terminals, Rung held onto one of them for leverage.

"Laserbeak, check on the elephants." Soundwave commanded the red and black mini-con. "The jump might have spooked them."

Laserbeak gave a short caw in acknowledgment before flying off.

"We will reach the dimension bridge within thirteen-point-eight cycles..." Trypticon's stated. "From there, it will be one day until we reach Selenus..."

"Will the elephants last that long in the cargo hold before they go haywire?" Ravage looked up to Soundwave. "The floor wouldn't exactly be optimal for organics to sleep on. Not to mention we don't have any water for them to drink."

Soundwave nodded in agreement to Ravage's concerns. "We will have to take shifts in watching them through the course of the voyage. The last thing we need is for the elephants to try and start a rampage."

Upon saying this, Soundwave began thinking back to when he first agreed to help Gaea. How she had shown him her vision of what would befall her world. Remembering the images Soundwave had seen prompted him to tighten his fist as he stared at the main computer terminal, inwardly speaking to his own self. "And so it begins..."

And thus, the C.S.D's mission had begun as they travelled to the universally separate Selenus.

As per his words Soundwave had his crew take turns in watching over the elephants. He and his mini-cons had taken the first shift before switching out with Cosmos and Sixshot. Soundwave had left Tarantulas and Rung to their own devices. The former had gotten right to work on setting things up in his lab, while Rung had secluded himself in another section of the starship, going over and organizing his data logs.

The time had now reached twelve hours. It was Cosmos and Sixshot's shift to watch the elephants once again as Soundwave stood in the command center with his mini-cons.

He was in the process of going over diagnostics of Trypticon's systems from the main terminal just as the Titan exited hyperspace, slowing down his speeds.

"Soundwave..." Trypticon spoke. "We have arrived at the bridge..."

Soundwave looked up from the computer terminal before speaking back to Trypticon. "Show me."

The hexagonal screens that covered the rounded front wall of the command center all lit up to reveal Trypticon's visual of the dimension bridge as it floated still in space. The bridge itself was a gigantic space bridge ring built into large, metallic rock with Energon veins glowing from it. As Trypticon flew closer towards the gateway, the dimension bridge activated, opening up a spiraling, blue and green vortex at its center.

Upon seeing this, Soundwave activated the communications system aboard Trypticon, speaking to his crew. "All personal, we are about to enter through the dimension bridge. Prepare for interdimensional departure."

Soon enough, Trypticon began to enter into the dimension bridge. The vortex portal of the bridge had sent a low rumble throughout the ship, startling the elephant herd in the cargo bay.

"Woah! Easy there, big guys." Cosmos raised his hand up to try and calm the elephants down as they started to trumpet and roar in anxiousness.

It wasn't much longer until Trypticon's entire hull had plunged through the dimension bridge, flying through its portal back to his home dimension.

Back at the command center, the screens showed nothing but the spiraling, blue, green, and white lights of the dimension bridge portal.

"Talk about bright." Laserbeak said as he attempted to avert his gaze from the screens, shielding his eyes with his left wing.

"You don't say." Ravage remarked to Laserbeak as he squinted his own eyes. "Is it just me, or is it getting brighter?"

It was at that moment that the bright particles of the portal started to pass through inside of Trypticon's starship mode, soon flooding everything within.

"Agh!!" Soundwave exclaimed as he held his arms up, trying to shield himself from the particles as he and his mini-cons began to feel a form of discomfort. "What... what is this?"

They weren't the only ones. All of the Cybertronian's aboard Trypticon felt the same discomforting effect of the particle rays hitting them. They all either groaned or shouted from the whole process, with some of them falling over onto the floor and passing out from the pressure.

The bridge particles continued to flood through Trypticon before he eventually exited the portal back into the depths of space.

"We have passed into my universe..." Trypticon informed Soundwave, who was crouched in slight pain against the main computer terminal.

"Ow..." Buzzsaw groaned from the floor, sorely flapping his wings as he started to get up.

"Who knew traveling through dimensions could feel painful." Ravage said, wincing as he tried to stand up.

Soundwave shook his head as he stood back up, stumbling a bit before steadying himself. Laserbeak had gotten up by this point, weakly flapping his wings to try and land on Soundwave's shoulder.

"Can we maybe... not do that again?" Laserbeak asked in exasperation.

Having still been a bit disoriented from the ordeal, Soundwave activated the comms again, speaking into it with a groan. "Urgh... What is everyone's status?"

Back in the cargo hold, Cosmos grunted in pain as he came to, getting back up to his feet while rubbing his head.

"Did anyone get the serial number on the thing that hit us?" Cosmos wearily asked.

He looked around the room, his vision trying to focus before he noticed the blurry image of Sixshot.

"Hey, Sixshot." Cosmos called out to his comrade as he tried walking over to him. "Got any idea what happened?"

Sixshot, who had done his best to withstand the pain from the dimension bridge particles, glanced over to the approaching Cosmos before replying to him. "Can't say... but whatever it was, it affected the elephants."

"How so?" Cosmos asked as his vision started to fully clear. Looking into the direction of the elephant herd, he then widened his eyes at what he saw. "Oh..."

"Hello? Is anyone reading me?" Soundwave asked as he tried to get an answer back from the comms.

There was a small radio whirring coming from the comms system before Cosmos eventually answered back to him.

"//Uh... yeah. We-we read you.//"

"Cosmos. What is your status?" Soundwave asked him. "Have you or Sixshot sustained any form of damage?"

"//No. No. We're both functioning normally, but... well you should probably come down to the cargo hold. Everyone should. Better to see this than believe it.//"

A look of inquiry crossed Soundwave's face before he replied. "Very well."

Afterwards, Soundwave changed the comms signal to contact the rest of his crew. "Rung. Tarantulas. Is everything functioning on your ends?"

"//Everything seems fine.//" Rung answered.

"//I still live.//" Tarantulas stated, though his tone of voice suggested he was focused on something else. This became even more evident when Soundwave heard the Chimeracon muttering. "//Hmm... fascinating...//"

"Good. I want the both of you to meet me in the cargo bay." Soundwave ordered. "It seems Cosmos and Sixshot have run into an anomaly of sorts."

"//I'll get down as quickly as possible.//" Rung stated.

"//Yes, yes.//" Tarantulas replied, his voice still indicating something was preoccupying his attention.

With a nod, Soundwave spoke one more time over the comms channel before shutting it off. "Soundwave, out."

Later, Soundwave was approaching the cargo hold entrance with his mini-cons. Just as he reached the door, he found Rung running up from behind to meet him.

"Where is Tarantulas?" Soundwave asked Rung.

"I didn't see him on my way over." Rung answered truthfully. "He must still be in the medical bay."

"He better get here soon. I suspect we may need his scientific expertise if something has gone awry." Soundwave said as he opened the door.

Upon entering the cargo hold, the first thing they noticed was Cosmos and Sixshot staring off at something.

"Cosmos. Sixshot. What appears to be the—?" Soundwave began to address his men, but the moment he and the others walked up to the two, they immediately saw just what the issue was.

"By the Allspark." Rung exclaimed in shock.

They had found that the elephants had grown nearly twice the size of the resident Cybertronians. No longer were they smaller compared to the likes of Soundwave or Sixshot.

"How did this happen?" Buzzsaw asked in confusion.

"Whatever those particles were that hit us apparently affected the entire herd." Sixshot concluded. "It made them bigger than we are."

"Or it may be the other way around." Tarantulas spoke up, having now made his way into the cargo hold.

Everyone turned back to look at Tarantulas as Soundwave spoke to him. "What do you mean?"

"The mass shift we think we are seeing in the elephants is the exact same as what I found with my specimens, which are now the size of how they would appear to other Earth species." Tarantulas began to explain. "Like all of you, I too first hypothesized that they had grown larger. But after testing their weight, I found that their mass was the same as it was on Earth. Which could only lead to one explanation."

Soundwave looked down in thought as he quickly connected the dots as Tarantulas spoke, coming to the same conclusion he did. "It was ourselves that had changes in mass."

"Definitively." Tarantulas pointed to Soundwave.

"That would explain why we all felt discomfort from the dimension bridge's particles." Rung concurred as he rested his hand under his chin. "But why did we go through such a process?"

"Because it is the size ratio of all Transformers in my universe." The voice of Gaea spoke as her ethereal form materialized right beside Cosmos.

Her sudden presence caused Cosmos to jump a bit in surprise. "Sweet Micronus! Can you warn a bot before popping out of nowhere like that?"

Gaea gave Cosmos a soft and humored giggle before apologizing. "Hmhmhmhm. Forgive me for dropping in, unannounced. But I decided that it would be best to make contact immediately when you all crossed over."

"Greetings, my Lady." Soundwave nodded to Gaea.

"Greetings to you all." Gaea responded with a smile. She then looked behind herself at the herd of elephants, prompting her to grin at the sight. "And greetings to your new company."

"We decided it was necessary to bring the herd with us." Buzzsaw stated to her.

"Who is this "we" you speak of?" Tarantulas asked Buzzsaw. "I for one had no involvement in desiring to bring pachyderms with us."

Soundwave glanced back at Tarantulas for a moment. While his face appeared blank, there was subtle peeveness he gave to the Chimeracon before looking back at Gaea. "Back to what you said in regards to our size."

"Yes. Compared to your universe, the average Transformer is only a few feet taller than humans in mine." Gaea elaborated. "Though obviously, combiner groups and Titans are still vastly larger than regular species."

"But why is it that Transformers are at such small sizes here?" Soundwave continued his questioning.

"In truth, they used to be similar to your normal sizes." Gaea admitted before a small frown befall her expression. "But their initial size inflated their hubris, and made them think far less of other species. As punishment, Primus and I rewrote their CNA to where the Transformers were forced to walk among their so-called "inferiors" on a more leveled field."

"Hmph. Ok suddenly glad our Primus wasn't an actual god." Laserbeak muttered to Buzzsaw.

"But why does their punishment have to reflect on us?" Ravage asked in annoyance. "Would it not give us the advantage to be in our original sizes?"

"It would." Gaea said with an even face. "But it would break the pact I made with my brother. Not to mention your older sizes would end up doing far more damage than good, given that my planet's technology has... devolved from what it once was. Besides, think of this as a test to not only see how you fare when you're the size of regular organics, but how better you can interact with them."

Ravage gave a huffing growl as he turned his head away from Gaea.

Sixshot, who was leaning against a wall through most of the conversation, then spoke up to the Goddess. "Is there anything else we need to know about the changes we went through?"

"Well..." Gaea trailed off, glancing to the side as she nervously scratched her cheek. "There is the mating function."

It was at those words that every Cybertronian in the cargo hood froze up, staring at Gaea with either surprised or deadpanned expressions.

"Can you run that by us again?" Cosmos asked, easing his finger as his eyes were wide and furrowed at the revelation.

"Before any of you overreact, it's not like how organics copulate." Gaea immediately stated with her hands raised in a halting manner. "It's an act called Spark-splitting. You share the energy from your Sparks with a female of any other sentient race in order to form a new Spark."

"Okay..." Cosmos said with a sigh of relief. "That's immensely less disturbing."

"There flies away the prospect of that test." Tarantulas muttered before putting a claw to his chin as he looked up in thought. "But this new information could be useful in its own ways."

"Am I to assume this Spark-splitting was also a result of the punishment you gave to your early Transformers?" Soundwave asked Gaea.

"Spark-splitting always existed amongst the Transformers of my universe. Being able to do so with organic species was a part of the punishment." Gaea clarified. "But pushing that aside, you all must be ready for a potential fight when you arrive at Selenus. Things are moving faster than I first anticipated. Already the course of my visions change, but we must ensure the best path is chosen."

"There shouldn't be much need for concern." Sixshot stated in a cocky manner as he pointed to himself. "I'm the best Cybertronian you can ask for in a fight."

"Of that we are all certain of." Gaea replied to him. "But please do refrain from using your full strength in some situations. Diplomacy tends to be more preferable most of the time."

"If I find an opponent worthy enough, I make no promises." Sixshot shrugged as he waved his arm out in emphasis.

"I will ensure he knows when to be less forceful." Soundwave reassured Gaea as he motioned to Sixshot.

Gaea smiled and nodded to Soundwave before speaking towards everyone. "Good luck to you all. I await your arrival on Selenus."

And with that, Gaea's ethereal form vanished once more.

After a moment of everyone sharing glances with one another, Cosmos turned back to the elephants, scratching his head with his right hand while his left hand was on his hip. "I guess we're gonna be working double time on watching over the herd."

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Transformers———Kuroinu

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Eostia, Rad_

It was night throughout Eostia. While most people would be sleeping during this time, the denizens of the fortress-city of Rad were the opposite. Most were still rowdy and awake, laughing and conversing in taverns, cheering on drunken street brawls, or enjoying themselves in a brothel. As it was in the hardened city of Rad.

Standing outside of one the taverns was the Shield Princess of Rad, Maia the Mercenary Queen. The second-most free-spirited of the Seven Shields. The red-haired woman was currently watching on at the light of the full moon, though she chuckled when a tavern patron drunkenly stumbled out from the building in a babbling mess.

Though glancing to the left, Maia noticed an old friend walking over to her with his ever cocky smirk. The man was of a lean, yet athletic build while wearing pants with an open green vest that gave an all too clear view of his abs. His skin was lightly tanned, his hair was brown, as were his eyes. On his pants was a waist scabbard that held two sheathed swords, one on each side.

"Evening, Hicks." Maia nodded to the man with a friendly smile.

"And a fine one at that." Hicks said in turn as he stood before Maia, crossing his arms. "Though not as fine as the sight before me."

"Oh, sod off with that horrendous flirting." Maia playfully rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "That may work on any ol' tavern wench, but I have only slightly higher standards."

"Come on, what's one night of fun gonna do?" Hicks replied. "Can't two old friends just hit the town and chat?"

"I know you, Hicks." Maia retorted, her brow raised with a smirk. "You'd want more than just a chat. Why don't you try a brothel?"

"In Rad? Hah! I'd have to get on a waiting list for that." Hicks waved off Maia's suggestion. "I'd have better luck getting into a brothel in Feoh."

"I'll have to remember to use that one on Alicia, next time I see her." Maia gave a laugh. After her laughter subsided, she took on a calmer look to hide her eagerness. "So... is Vult here with you?"

"Nah. The boss let me and some boys go on leave for a few days. Thought Rad was perfect for a little vacation." Hicks admitted.

"Ah." Maia said, a small twinge of dejection hidden behind her face. "Well, it's good to see you again, Hicks. It's refreshing to be reminded of the glory of days every time I run into the Black Dogs."

"What's with that talk?" Hicks gave a short chuckle in confusion. "You're now a Seven Shield Princess and have your own mercenary group. But frankly, I'm still not sure of the name. Rose Company? That sounds more military."

Before Maia could reply to Hicks, a member of her Rose Company came running up to her. A young, brown-haired woman named Sarah.

"Maia!" Sarah called out to her leader, grabbing her and Hicks's attention. They were quick to notice the look of urgency on Sarah's face.

"Sarah, what's the problem?" Maia asked her.

"You need to come, quick." Sarah promptly stated. "An injured rider came into the city. A man from a village up north. He says he came to warn you of something."

Maia and Hicks looked at each other before the former looked back at Sarah, dawning a more serious expression. "Take me to him."

Sarah nodded to Maia before running back to the direction she came. Maia quickly began to follow her, nodding for Hicks to come with.

After passing through the outer streets of Rad, Sarah had led Maia and Hicks to the outer defense walls by the gates to the city. There, several city guards and a few others of the Rose Company stood or crouched around a wounded man and his horse. The man in question was severely injured with blood dripping from his forehead and mouth; his clothes stained with spots of red.

The three ran up to the group to see a healer doing her best to keep the man alive.

"I'm doing the best I can, my Lady." The healer said, grimly frowning she held her hand over the wounded man's chest, a glow emitting from it. "His wounds are too severe."

"Lady Maia..." The man spoke in a raspy and dry tone, grunting in immense pain as he tried to sit up for the Shield Princess.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy." Maia hurriedly said to the man as she crouched down to his level. "What happened to you?"

"My village... attacked..." The man said, wincing as he tried to make his words clear. "We never saw it coming..."

"Where's your village?" Maia asked him.

"Falcorn village." The man answered her. "But it now lies in ruin..."

"Falcorn?" Hicks asked. "There were Black Dogs stationed there. Not to mention some decently skilled archers. Were you attacked by a battalion?"

The wounded man shook his head. "At first we thought it was a raiding party... Gah! But... then we heard buzzing... our defenders were slaughtered in a matter of seconds."

"A simple raiding party couldn't do something like that." Hicks stated with furrowed eyes.

"Let the man speak." Maia hushed Hicks with a stern look.

"They had some... new breed of monster with them. Jagged, metal golems... that could turn into bug-like beasts." The man continued. "They weren't like other monsters... they either killed or flew away with prisoners and supplies."

The man then shakenly raised his right up to Maia, revealing to her that nothing remained of his hand save for a cinged stump. The grizzly sight caused Maia and Hicks to widen their eyes.

"They did this to me... when I tried to escape. I heard their plans... they're coming to Rad next." The man stated before letting his arm fall back down. "They won't be long to get here. Don't underestimate them... please. You-y-you must... prepare your—selves..."

The man started to cough and gag on his breath and blood, breathing rapidly and heavily. But after a moment, all motion in his body stopped, the last of his air escaping from his mouth as his eyes became lifeless.

The healer closed her eyes in sadness before closing the dead man's eyelids.

Maia had stared into the dead man's eyes before they had been closed, his final words echoing in her head. A look of determination grew on her face as Maia arose back up.

"Sound the alarm. Get every guard, Rose, and knight to the outer city for defense. Make sure everyone gets into shelter." Maia ordered one of the guardsmen, who nodded as he ran off. She then looked over to Hicks. "How many Black Dogs are with you?"

"A full company." Hicks answered her.

"Well tell them relaxing is over." Maia told him as she looked towards Rad's defensive walls. "We're gonna have a fight on our hands."

Far off north of Rad, many miles away, was a raiding party from Garan, consisting of orcs and imps. They were all armed with clubs, cleavers, or axes as they ran on foot. But they were not alone. Flying above them were twenty-five Insecticon warriors in their insectoid modes. And at their head was Hardshell.

The Insecticon general narrowed his insect-mode eyes as he stared off into the distance of night before letting out an Insecticon screech.

"RRRIIIAAAEEEHHH!"

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Far off in the city of Ken, capital of Seven Shield Alliance, Celestine Lucross was sound asleep in her chambers. But suddenly she started to twist and turn under her sheets, as the faint sound of fighting, screaming, and unholy roars filled her thoughts.

"Aah!" Celestine then shouted as she shot up, her eyes wide and her head covered in cold sweat.

She panted heavily from a terrible vision she had seen in her dreams. After calming herself a bit, the Goddess reborn stepped out from her bed and walked over to a window in her room, staring up at the moon in the sky.

"Maia... may Gaea watch over you." Celestine prayed as her face was drenched in worry.

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Kuroinu———Transformers

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By now, a day was well almost past as the C.S.D made their voyage to Selenus. Though the latter part of their journey was tricky once they had been reduced to smaller sizes.

The need to watch over the elephant herd became greater as the Cybertronians' new statures made it more difficult to better calm the elephants should they become antsy. Once half of the day had gone by, two of the males started to get into disagreement of sorts, and were getting ready to fight each other. It took the combined might of Cosmos, Soundwave, and Sixshot to get both elephant bulls to relax. After that, Soundwave had decided to stay with Cosmos and Sixshot to watch over the herd for the rest of the voyage, having his mini-cons join with Rung at the command center.

Soundwave was in the middle of trying to soothe one of the adolescent elephants by running his hand along its trunk when the comms channel was activated.

"//Everyone, you should all come up to the command center to see this. We are nearing the planet Selenus.//" Rung's voice spoke from the comms, grabbing the attention of all the Cybertronian crew.

Later at the command center, Soundwave, Cosmos, Sixshot, and Tarantulas entered to see the viewing screens activated, showing everyone the image of Selenus as they neared closer and closer to it.

"So that's Selenus? The continents are in different shapes, but it looks a lot like Earth." Cosmos remarked on the image.

"From the visions Gaea had shown me, there is far more variety in sentient life forms on Selenus." Rung said. "Though from what I could discern, their weapons and architecture is more reminiscent of Earth's medieval era. No guns, no vehicles, no skyscrapers, no electricity. They use swords and shields, they live in brick or wooden homes, and they travel on horseback."

"So it's even more backwater than Earth." Laserbeak snidely commented. "At the very least, it should be easier dealing with whatever problems come up here."

Soundwave remained silent as he stared at the encroaching sight of Selenus, baring a contemplative look with his hands behind his back. But that soon changed as his vision became blurry and twisted with voices and screams filled his head. Soundwave's body started to shake and convulse as a vision flooded his mind. It was a vision of a large city in smoke, flame, and ruin. Soldiers were fighting back against monsters while the common folk fled. But then a terrible screech filled the air as large, metallic insects flew in, firing down upon the soldiers. Some of the metal beasts then transformed into robot modes as they started to tear through the militia with ease.

When the vision ceased, Soundwave gave a gasp before bending over and clutching his head. The last thing he heard before his sight returned to normal was the voice of Gaea whispering to him.

"Go to the city of Rad. Defend it in my name."

As Soundwave's sight and hearing reverted to normal, he saw everyone looking to him in either concern or curiosity.

"Soundwave!" Ravage called out as he looked up at his old friend. "What's wrong?"

Soundwave raised himself back up to say only one word. "Trouble."

Soundwave then ran over to the main terminal, getting to work on inputting commands to Trypticon. "Trypticon, activate your cloaking shields and travel to these coordinates immediately."

"As you command..." Trypticon said as he steered himself upon passing through Selenus's atmosphere.

"Wait, wait, what do you mean by trouble?" Cosmos asked Soundwave. "We haven't even landed yet."

"Gaea sent me a vision. A city under siege." Soundwave answered back. "It was being attacked by some variant of Insecticons, a small platoon at most. But the city is losing."

"Insecticons, eh?" Sixshot asked as he cracked the servos in his knuckles. "Sounds like it's going to be a good fight."

Soundwave then turned to his mini-cons, his chest opening up for them. "Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw. Return."

One by one, each mini-con ran or flew over to Soundwave, transforming into tape-like forms as they compiled into his chest. Once the mini-cons were all stored in himself, Soundwave closed his chest before making his way out of the command center.

"Sixshot, you are with me." Soundwave said to his fellow Decepticon. "Cosmos, you shall act as commander in my stead. Keep the comms channel open in the chance we require assistance."

"You can count on me." Cosmos gave Soundwave a small salute.

Trypticon was now leveling himself with Selenus's gravity, hovering parallel to the ground. Up on the landing deck atop Trypticon's starship mode were Soundwave and Sixshot. Off in the distance, they could see the city of Rad as smoke flew from its walls.

"So, do you have a strategy, or will that be made up along the way?" Sixshot asked as he looked at Soundwave.

"You shall take on the Insecticons while I help to deal with the monsters. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw will help to provide air support." Soundwave informed Sixshot. "The citizens will undoubtedly have questions about us afterwards. When that time arises, leave communication to me."

"Simple, but effective. Especially with me around." Sixshot stated before he and Soundwave started to back up. "Time to put that training to use."

"Let us be off." Soundwave said.

The two Decepticons then ran forward, jumping off the landing deck of Trypticon as they fell to the ground below. Just before landing, the two transformed with Sixshot turning into his large wolf mode while Soundwave had transformed into a Cybertronian mobile assault van, heavily armored, compact, and armed with his shoulder cannon on the right side of the vehicle.

They rushed their way over to the smoking city, Sixshot galloping on his legs while Soundwave's engines roared.

Both were ready for the fight ahead.

To be continued_

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