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Australia - Uluru - Decepticon Ranks

Runabout swiveled to the sound of the emulated gunshot, only to chuckle and smile broadly under his helmet at Runamuck's antics. They'd been 'killing' each other like this for vorns, and it was often a welcome distraction from boredom, their constant enemy.

He looked over where Runamuck was pointing, hefting the large cannon he'd liberated from the armory as he turned. He gave a thumbs up to his cohort as he brainstormed on what exactly they should do with this golden opportunity.

"hah hah hah!...All good ideas, chum! But...we should wait until after the battle. Chances are we may need some of the AutoDorks to take a few shots meant for us...and after a hard fight..." Runabout pulled out two small cans of compressed, bright purple paint from a hip compartments and tossed one to his fellow Battlecharger, "...they will be way too tired to notice us turning their shuttles into canvasses, won't they?...hah hah hah...!"

---

Wipe-Out spoke on the private channel that Flamewar had pinged him on, doing his best to keep his face neutral, so no onlooker could tell what exactly was going on.

I found little to nothing...which could be better news than it sounds like...Sorry, what I mean is-

Wipe-Out blanched some when the person he was reporting to was pulled away, and decided to take the eventual yelling from Motormaster as an order to him as well, and he fell in with the group behind the Vehicons. He could finish his report later; apparently, he'd just wandered his way into a massive offensive front...

---

Krunix blinked under his thick visor, looking from Flamewar to Motormaster and back again. Aside from the pretty typical Decepticon philosophy of 'Appear in Control', the large Stunticon was surprisingly...rational about the whole thing, despite not having an answer really for his question. Picking momentarily at where Motormaster's grip on him and chipped away paint, the well-armed groundpounder fell into formation next to the dark black femme.

"By Malinga, is he always that pleasant, or does war bring out the best in him?" The joke was more a mutter to himself than directed towards Flamewar, but he did turn to her to address her as they moved, "Past the all important opening move of 'Send in the Vehicons First'-" which honestly? Made up about a third of all Decepticon Tactical teachings, "-I have a feeling this isn't going to go anywhere near as smooth as everyone seems to think. Any other thoughts?"

---

"Doesn't seem natural, does it?"

The soft voice came from behind Getaway as Chameleon deactivated his Visual Blending circuitry and seemed to come into existence behind the other Autobot. He'd caught a ride on the shuttle and hadn't turned off his cloaking since the ramp had dropped on landing. He'd listened to some of the other Autobots talking, figuring out the general feelings of the Bots standing at the foot of a pretty massive battle. This was just another fight, sure...yeah, right. But everyone seemed in decent spirits, but the enigmatic Getaway was hard to read, and talking to him may do something to alleviate Chameleon's on nervousness. Win-Win.

Cham grinned and jerked his head towards the organized Cons, indicating what he was talking about, "Working next to the Cons I mean. What's next, bathing in Scraplets...?"

Australia - Uluru

Nova Strike spared only a brief glance down to the archivist before returning his attention to the grand mechanisms as they finally broke to their respective parties. "Its not the first time a temporary truce has been forged," he spoke with a solemness that pervaded his tenor voice. His slow methodical tone spoke of experiences sworn to the pages of history and of memories he wished to forget. A twinge of regret tugged at the edge of his mouth as he maintained a battle ready confidence.

He said nothing more to hint at his past adventures, indeed there was nothing he could say that did not revive the ghosts of long forgotten friends. His interest with the parley faded as he tamped down the last tendril of pain that threatened to reveal its self to an uncaring universe. His fingers flexed just above the exposed holster in his thigh, each digit demanding the abandonment of control and an immersion into the quenching chaos that was open combat. Nova forced the reflex from his mind and pulled his hand closed into a devastating fist.

The ranger barely took notice of the approach of Scoop as the officers began their small finalization of details to their respective unit commanders. "Looks like the time is almost upon us." The infantryman said as he pulled back the safety off his own weapons. "Soon Prowl will give the signal and we're off to battle... in the name of Primus."

Nova looked to his right as his confident trademark smile made a resurgence. He gave a curt nod before returning his focus to the unit officers as they too began to disperse. "Yeah," His voice becoming a stern contrast to the momentary breach of his facade. The turmoil in his memory began to subside. "Not as though Primus wants to fight his own damn battles. Leaves it for us to clean up his mess."

Scoop to his credit did not frown or scowl. Instead he placed a reassuring hand on the blue ranger's shoulder and gave a firm squeeze. "Primus leaves these tasks to us because he knows we are capable of growing through these trials. It is not the will of Primus that shapes our future, but it is the grace of Primus that grants us hope for that future."

Nova smirked again. "An interesting theory. Still doesn't explain why this creator decided to leave that bastard standing..." He stopped and allowed himself to exhale. "No, now is not the time for theological debate."

"Quite right," Scoop pulled back the final loading action to his Steel Shattering Compression Cannon. "Now is the time for action. The debate of divine guidance shall be had at the end of this battle. Once the corrupted is purged from this plain once more."

Strike nodded with appreciation. "Now that is a sentiment I can agree with." He released his fists and caught sight of Bluestreak, Getaway, and the others assigned to the primary anvil assault force. "We leave it all on the table. No regrets and no holds barred." Nova's right holster depressed a canister of compressed carbon dioxide, the pressure release resulted in launching the blaster into the air. Without sparing a glance Nova plucked the weapon from the air and slapped the hammer back into place.

He spun the weapon around its finger guard before allowing the hilt to settle into his hand. He then looked over to Railway, Chameleon, Prowl and the others. "We've got our work cut out for us. But this isn't anything we haven't faced before," he spoke up with a grim confidence. "Overpowered, over matched, attacking a well fortified position, its old hat. Lets kick these omnipresent ghosts of a forgotten era back to their storybooks." With that the ranger transformed.

As his wheels touched the hot compacted soil of the Australian Outback, the passenger cabin of his vehicle form separated into several smaller panels. The reinforced glass was covered by metal armor plates that secured themselves at the zenith of the sleek stealth like turret. At the forefront of the turret the central panel that had once been the windshield drew back down into the main body of the vehicle. Through the opening the large cannon that he sported on his shoulder emerged and locked into place. The cab elevated itself a few centimeters onto a hidden magnetic track to complete the combat mode transformation. Large protrusions along the side of the gun began to appear, the arc torches locked into place, adding their unique decide and focusing energies to the devastating weapon matrix. To either side of the primary gun assembly, two smaller anti personnel weapons emerged, modified forms of the blasters he carried. Nova Strike was ready for battle.

"That's the spirit," Scoop nodded with agreement as he transformed into his vehicular form. His two weapons flipped into the air as he pulled the shovel off his back and held it in place before him. His wheels emerged from the side brackets that held them in place and touched the ground with a muted thud. His arms reinforced their grip on the shovel as his body completed the transformation into the construction earth mover. The two weapons, the Steel Shattering Compression Cannon and the Twin Laser Ion Blaster both locked into their respective gun ports turning the simple earth mover into a powerful gun platform.

((OOC: Went down to the shore yesterday. Otherwise, I would've had this up sooner.))

Australia - Uluru

Prowl gave Ultra Magnus a curt nod as the Autobot leader agreed with him on Sixshot’s quick arrival. Clearly the sixchanger had been summoned here for a reason other than fighting the Fallen. What that reason was exactly would hopefully become clear soon enough. Just one more thing to worry about as far as the black and white was concerned. Magnus then called his projections a bit conservative and that was true. On a normal battlefront, the enemy was easier to understand and judge. Here, you had a demigod of untold power, some of which had only yet been glimpsed.

“Yes, I agree that my percentages are on the conservative side, Commander Magnus,” Prowl responded plainly. “Unfortunately, it’s the best I can do under these strange and seemingly supernatural circumstances. I must admit, my logic center has been having difficulty ever since the revelation that it was the Fallen we were dealing with. I have made compensations were needed, of course, but there is still only so much I can glean from this situation.” The military strategist hated to admit that his abilities were less than perfect here, but then again there was really no shame in admitting such a thing considering the supernatural element that was in play.

Ultra Magnus then pulled out and handed Prowl two clips of acid pellets for his rifle along with a registry disc to update his internal computer. It was a gift from the Research and Development Division. “Thank you, sir,” Prowl replied stoically as he placed one of the ammo clips into his weapon while stowing away the other into his hip compartment. The tactician then loaded the disc into a slot in his right forearm and within moments his systems were brought up to speed on the new, more potent acid pellets. A nice gift, indeed.

Prowl’s attention was then brought back to Ultra Magnus as the Sector Commander began to relay orders to all those present. Everything was coming into place now and the battle would begin shortly. The black and white’s orders were heard and his processor immediately began sorting through those most suited for the anvil attack. Of course, there was Motormaster’s own anvil squad to coordinate with, but Prowl would do what was necessary to win this fight regardless of whether or not the Stunticon Commander agreed with him.

The military strategist nodded to Magnus that he understood his orders before turning to the mass of Autobots that surrounded the two shuttles. They all appeared ready and willing to fight, if not a bit scared at the same time. That was fine. To be scared of a dire situation like this was to be expected. If they didn’t look afraid then Prowl would surely have something to worry about. Still, it was time to get going and put the first part of the anvil and hammer strategy into motion.

“All right, ‘Bots, listen up!” Prowl began as his raised his vocalizer so that Motormaster and his anvil team could hear him, as well. “It’s time to make our move. Nova Strike, Getaway, Skids, Ground Striker, Chameleon, Jazz, Scoop and Bluestreak, you will all partake in the anvil assault under my command. Hot Spot, as Magnus has already ordered, you and your team will assist in the ground operation. If you wish for Groove to stay behind and help with the injured then by all means you have my authority to do so. Tracks, provide air support. Nitron, I want you to scout just ahead of our advance and made sure there are no surprises waiting for us as we move in. Do NOT engage the Fallen or his heralds. Just make sure the way is clear for us. Railway, join the hammer assault. You too, Hound. Use your holograms to hide the hammer force as they make their way around to the other side of Ayers Rock. Given the lack of places to hide, your abilities will be crucial so that the Fallen will not see what's coming. Understood?”

“Ah, yes Commander Prowl, sir! Crystal clear!” Hound replied, giving the black and white a proper staunch salute.

“Good,” Prowl nodded in appreciation. At least some ‘bots still listened to him when he spoke and gave the appropriate respect that the strategist deserved. “Now, Anvil squad, we will join with Motormaster and his forces and march across the desert, stopping about a quarter earth mile from Ayers Rock. That is where we will spread out, dig in and unleash hell upon the Fallen. From what I understand there will be squads of vehicons sent in ahead of us. Use them as shields since there will be few places to seek cover. They will be the first to feel the Fallen’s power which will give the rest of us a sense of what we are truly up against. Regardless of what we see, we must hold the line until the hammer side in brought down upon the demigod and his minions. Understood?”

Prowl paused for an astrosecond to allow what he had just said to sink in to everyone present, both Autobot and Decepticon. It was still hard to believe that he would be working with the very enemy that he had fought against for so many vorns, but this was no ordinary situation. The black and white’s war, both secret and openly fought, would have to wait until the Fallen and his heralds were defeated.

“Now, diversion teams, you will move in and flank Ayers Rock on both sides, two teams each, as the anvil forces move up the middle of the battlefield. Do what you can to draw out the heralds and subdue them. That will hopefully weaken the Fallen’s position for the rest of us to bring him down. Do whatever is necessary to bring our comrades back under our control. Understood?” Prowl’s attention was directed mainly at Smokescreen, who was had just finished handing out the sedatives to the various diversion squads and was now making his way back to his own unit that was assigned to handle Drag Strip.

The red and blue mech looked over at the military strategist and nodded, throwing up a cursory salute in the process. “Completely, sir. The diversionary teams are ready to go.”

“Excellent.” While the rallybot’s salute wasn’t as formal as Hound’s, it would suffice. Smokescreen’s teams were their best bet in saving their comrades. Of course, if things didn’t go according to plan then strategies would have to change and dramatically so if they were going to avoid extermination. If that meant their comrades would need to be sacrificed for the greater good of the Cybertronian race then so be it. Prowl was known for making the tough decisions and he would do so again here if necessary.

“Anvil and diversionary forces ready for deployment, Commander Magnus,” Prowl said as he turned his attention back to the new Autobot leader. “Awaiting your orders to proceed.”

Australia: Uluru - Point K

Ultra Magnus gave a brief nod to Prowl as the executive officer went about the task of fine tuning the broad spectrum of his initial expansion of the first strokes of the combat assault plan. He approved of the over all assignments and additions, knowing Prowl well enough to trust his instincts. "I understand my friend. It is a difficult concept to wrap the processor around. But I trust you and your abilities to overcome these difficulties. Like Optimus Prime before, I know you well enough to know that you will find a way in... a weak link in the Fallen's defenses or some tactical flaw that can be exploited." He offered a characteristic reassuring smile as he rested a confident hand on the black and white's shoulder. "We will bring our friends home. That is all that matters in the long run, defeating the entity that overrode their personality circuits will follow soon after they are freed."

The commanding sector officer released his firm hold and pivoted away towards the primary battle line. His communications array flickered briefly inside his digital optical heads up display as he narrowed his range finders on the Uluru rock formation. Swiftly he opened the command frequency and absorbed the news delivered from the Ark-22, more specifically Wheeljack. His smile faded into a stern command placid expression. He knew that the engineers on both ships would soon have their respective ships underway, though the news was bitter sweet. It also meant that his contingency was now in play. Magnus sent a brief reply over the secured line, through Blaster's encryptions in order to avoid interception by those on the Decepticon rank and file. The last thing he needed right now was a blusterous 'con trying to initiate the operation if said event was avoidable. He closed the communique frequency and established a connection with Blaster himself. "Blaster, recall the tapes you require and link up with Silverbolt's operation. Hunt for a possible command frequency that might be controlling the heralds. Find it and neutralize it."

With that last moment assignment, Magnus moved to the front of the column... a pair of paces ahead of the Decepticon Motormaster. He turned briefly and looked back towards the allied troops as they prepared for their final operation to take down a stain from their collective racial past. He was not good offering insperational speeches, that was just not his style. He was a soldier who lead by example.

"Failure is not an option this day, our fates are in our own actuators, not in the demented goals of an anachronism of a bygone era. Today we march, not to war for political ideologies or for personal vendetta. No, nothing so petty in comparison. Today we fight to war for our very existence. And today we fight as an allied people once again determined to stand up and prove that our very existence is worthy of continuance. In this declaration of defiance, I issue these orders. AUTOBOTS!!! DECEPTICONS!!! TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!!!"

With those words Ultra Magnus instantly shed his armor ever so briefly as it began its own metamorphosis into the blue vehicular trailer that best represented the human car carrier. The combat armor immediately drew its massive missile pods and rocket packets to their respective hard points located along its flanks. Ultra Magnus himself folded his arms towards his sides and spun down into the flat nosed truck cab of pale white. The cab and trailer synced up their systems and locked through their hard point connections.

His powerful engine roared as he lowered his ramps for those who were assigned to ride for fuel preservation and of course further concealment of numbers. As soon as they were loaded, Ultra Magnus revved his engine that reverberated between the two shuttles. His tires sank ever so slightly in the hard packed earth under the immense weight of his vehicular form and those who had hitched a ride. No horn sounded, no herald of advance was given... Magnus simply advanced towards the sand stone formation... towards battle, towards salvation.

---------------------

Slingshot watched quietly as Silverbolt finished his conference. There was nothing for the sharp shooter to add, no more burden to place upon the squadron commander that was not already overwhelming. The battle plans were finalized, he could tell that just by the scowl of the squadron commander.

"Sounds like a general waste of my talents." Slingshot muttered to himself as Silverbolt spelled out the general assignment they had been given. Inwardly, however, he was grateful that their assignment was not staged as a showcase to display how truly worthless he was. Frankly given all of the fliers available, Slingshot was feeling even more inferior than normal.

He looked over to Air Raid, Skydive, Fireflight then to Silverbolt. Before him Ultra Magnus was transforming to his vehicular form. "Species huh, well its going to be one scrap of a dance then. Now's a good a time as any to hope those cons get hammered a notch or two before the fighting's done... Don't need them going all Grimlock on us once that bastard scrap whore is thrown back into the pit from whence it came." His optics locked on Silverbolt for a few seconds longer than normal. "Lets get this party started Fearless Leader!"

He transformed into his F-35 Lightning II form as soon as Silverbolt finished his own transformation. Slingshot kicked on the afterburners and gave a low sweep over the collected allied forces of Vehicons, Decepticons and Autobot warriors. His radar absorbed the friend or foe transponder codes, turning the Decepticon identifiers into temporary friendlies. He forced an option into the code to immediately switch them all back to hostile targets the nano second one of their number painted him with a targeting solution.

Beneath his left wing, as he finished his last bank, his sensors recorded the blue ranger... or at least who he thought was the ranger. He had never seen Nova Strike in his combat form, in fact he never knew that the Autobot had that mode. Few Autobots carried those modifications, and those that did tended to be fliers like Tracks or Override. But this ground bound Autobot had first assumed the form of a high performance human sports car... a limiting form that did not grant any the freedom of flight. Slingshot was rather impressed as the sports car began to morph before his very sensors. Its passenger cabin literally became an armored angular turret, and the gun the ranger toted emerged from the central formation of the newly armored plates only to be supported by parabolic plasma torch emitters to help narrow the concentration of the cannon's beam. "Hey Fearless Leader..." he called over to Silverbolt. "Remind me to thank you for holding my big yap back. That guy doesn't look too friendly right bout now."

Australia: Uluru - Point K

When Ultra Magnus finished his inspirational speech, Trailbreaker let out a loud "Yah!" along with some other bots, who were too aroused by Ultra Magnus' rather great speech. For Trailbreaker, this was a good day, Autobots and Decipticons have put their differences aside for once, he wondered if this alliance could last beyond the battle again The Fallen. Knowing all that happened in the past, it will probably not, but Trailbreaker had hope, it was always him who tried lighten up things.

Now Ultra Magnus charged towards the Ayres Rock. The battle has begun. Trailbreaker was not sure of converting into his fuel-consuming alternate form, it worried him. He refueled himself before landing on Earth, but he does not hope to use his alternate mode at all in this mission. The distance between the Autobots and The Fallen wasn't exactly short, and if he wants to get to fight faster, he must turn into the black Toyota cruiser. He certainly did not want to walk all the way.

He remembered Ultra Magnus' final command, "TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!!!". Trailbreaker was simply spending way too much time thinking about something not worth tiring his brain circuits about. He transformed into the Toyota Land Cruiser. His alternate form was well suited to barren land, riding with ease above the sand and rock, charging alongside fellow Autobots...and Decipticons.

----------

"That's some party going down there..." Air Raid said, looking at the allied troops below. He flew near Silverbot and Slingshot, who was doing a good job being his braggart self. Sometimes he felt sorry for him, it sometimes seemed like Slingshot thought of himself as extra baggage the Aerialbots have to carry around. But he was not, he was an excellent sharpshooter and a good cover.

Air Raid's thoughts were not centered on Slingshot at the moment, but on the battle ahead. The red-and-white bot's goal while functioning was always to have fun. There was a massive overload of fun coming right ahead. He will have a good view of the action below, and will also get the chance to participate in some. Who knows, he might even get a good look at the duel that could happen between Ultra Magnus and The Fallen, but that was just mere speculation of what could happen.

The Aerialbot went through the same process as Silverbot, and assumed that the other Autobots went through it too. The Decipticons were now friendlies in his radar, it was a rather strange sight...Decipticons and Autobots fighting together.

Air Raid hoped that he will not have to destroy any of his former fellow Autobots who were now under The Fallen's control. He knew that he must shoot them, and he will, but he did not want to put them on Statis Lock, at least the lock is temporary. However, he did NOT want to take any Autobot's spaark if anything happened. Even The Fallen...he knew that somewhere in there Hot Rod's circuits are still connected to his brain module.

Australia--Uluru

"Got it boss. I just hope it sooner rather than later!"

Onslaught was just as ready as Brawl. It had been too long since the Combaticons had faced a foe that they could truly unleash anything and everything they had at their disposal and to do so with their very survival at stake. Now was such an opportunity and he knew that noone on his unit would waste it. Even Swindle, wherever he was, would be capitalizing in his own unique way on what would transpire here.

"Failure is not an option this day, our fates are in our own actuators, not in the demented goals of an anachronism of a bygone era. Today we march, not to war for political ideologies or for personal vendetta. No, nothing so petty in comparison. Today we fight to war for our very existence. And today we fight as an allied people once again determined to stand up and prove that our very existence is worthy of continuance. In this declaration of defiance, I issue these orders. AUTOBOTS!!! DECEPTICONS!!! TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!!!"

Were he in his other mode and his face not covered by a plate, Onslaught would have smirked. He recognized this kind of speech only too well. Planning and organizing were done. Now it was time to put all of those plans into action and let their efforts speak for themselves. Ultra Magnus. Razorclaw. It mattered little who called the shots now. The Fallen was what mattered.

"We roll," Onslaught said, letting some of the others with vehicle modes get a start before applying his own pressure to his acceleration systems. He was as eager for battle as anyone, but the Combaticon Commander was no fool and he was certainly not cannon fodder.
___

Tracks received his orders from Prowl loud and clear. Air support. Fair enough. Maybe not exactly the role that he envisioned himself playing, but he could certainly accommodate said orders.

When Magnus' orders to transform and roll out came through, Tracks did just that, his gears, pistons and metal frames shifting quickly into place and the sleek, blue corvette now idling where the robot had stood only an instant before. In the next instant though, a pair of jet-powered wing units emerged from the underside of his vehicle mode and proceeded to fire up.

They were atrocious, honestly. He would never dare show them outside of a battle situation with lives at stake. Why hadn't he just been forged as an Aerialbot? A question for another day, he supposed.

Revving up, Tracks launched himself forward and in the next astrosecond quickly found himself airborne.

Australia – Uluru

Soundwave merely nodded in reply to Razorclaw’s orders, ignoring the possible impatience or sarcasm in his tone. Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and Ravage were quickly dispatched to join in the scouting of the area while Soundwave kept in constant contact with them. He had no desire for them to be the first combatants against the Fallen and his minions so a safe distance from their location was to be maintained.

The Decepticon silently observed the arrival of the Autobots. He quickly took steps to further secure Decepticon communication traffic. While they did have some sort of truce in place he wasn’t going to let the Autobots listen in on sensitive signals between Decepticons. If there was to be cross faction communication the Autobots would have to use an open frequency. He assumed that his foolish opposite among the Autobots was doing likewise, assuming he had any sense about him.

The communication’s officer monitored his cassettes as Razorclaw and Magnus formally agreed on a truce. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw both reported spotting the Fallen and the others and promptly backed off, widening their patrol circles in the area so as not to get to close to them. Neither of the birds was known for their bravery and Soundwave made no mention of their adjustment. Ravage wasn’t in visual range yet and was mostly complaining about the lack of cover and the general brightness of the desert. His effectiveness as a scout in these particular conditions would be lessened.

At this particular range his telepathy wouldn’t be of much use against the Fallen, particularly with more and more Cybertronians arriving every minute. Even if range and the clutter of other minds nearby wasn’t a problem he couldn’t guarantee he would be able to read the Fallen. If this being was capable of the feats they had seen already he would assume he had some sort of shielding to his abilities. Lesser beings then he had made such efforts in the past with some success. Still he knew that to claim victory in this battle they would need every advantage they could get and he would make an attempt when he could. For now he continued to taste the general nervousness and mistrust that permeated the air between the two factions now forced to work together.

Soundwave listened as he now received his combat orders from Razorclaw. He was not particularly happy about throwing his cassettes into the ‘anvil’ portion of the strategy. An anvil was simply a solid object that was beat upon, and the majority of his cassettes were designed for more delicate and sophisticated operations. Still, he would so his best to cooperate with Razorclaw’s orders, while making sure his friends were not thrown into the fire as cannon fodder.

Of course there was one of his cassettes that he would never consider to be a ‘friend.’ “Ratbat: Eject. Operation: Air Support.” The purple cassette shot out from his chest, transforming into a bat in mid air. Almost immediately he began chattering. “Lovely! I see my intellect and skills will be wasted once again taking to the skies with our army of genericons! Truly I am fortunate to have been included in this battle!” Once done with his snide remarks he lifted up into the skies to join the other fliers.

Once he was in the skies Soundwave sent a message to all three of the fliers. >>”Coordinate with Divebomb for air support. You will be assisting with initial assault. Any orders from me will supersede those from any others.”<< He knew other Decetpicons would see the cassettes as expendable and he wasn’t going to let them get flung to their deaths simply because of their beast modes or small sizes.

With those orders given Buzzsaw and Laserbeak fell into formation alongside Divebomb while Ratbat took up position behind the Predacon. “Ah yes, stuck with the birds once again, doomed to be stuck with the same combatants time and time again.” Laserbeak and Buzzsaw exchanged annoyed glances but said nothing in reply.

“Slugfest, Overkill: Eject. Operation: Frontal Assault.” The cassettes flew from Soundwave’s chest, transforming and landing on the ground with impressive thuds. Of all of his cassettes these two would be most suited for Razorclaw’s plan of attack. Unfortunately they happened to be two of his dumbest and slowest cassettes, which was liable to hamper their effectiveness here.

Slugfest glanced around for a minute before letting out a grunt and start to slowly plod toward where the battlefield would be. Overkill, however, was not quite so silent. “Alright, finally! I’ve been working on all sorts of speeches for this battle! I think once we kill the Fallen I’ll hollow out his head and use it as a crown! Yeah, all the other Cons will be jealous of my Fallen Crown! Everyone will want one but I will have the only authentic one!”

Soundwave addressed the two newly launched cassettes along with Rumble and Frenzy. “You are part of the initial attack under Motormaster. Vehicons will be there to take damage, use them as shields. Take shots when possible, use size and abilities to advantage.”

“Alright, with Motormaster again! That guy always knows how to have a good scrap!” Rumble yelled out, with Frenzy piping in with a “Yeah!”

Soundwave relayed similar orders to Ravage. He would simply hold his current forward position and meet up with Motormaster’s group once they got to him. For now he would hold Squawktalk and Beastbox in reserve. Their individual forms would likely be of little use in the anvil portion, but Squawkbox might prove useful in the hammer portion or reinforcing the teams distracting the heralds. With all of the cassettes taken care of Soundwave hefted his concussion blaster and moved next to Razorclaw, awaiting his command to move out.

*

Oil Slick was more then happy to leave the planning and organizing of what was shaping up to being a major battle to those higher ranking and more capable Decepticons. He occupied his time organizing and mixing the chemicals in his arsenal. He was uncertain how effective his weapons would be against these reportedly powerful and possibly mystical opponents they were going up against. Either way he was sure the results would be fascinating and he could only hope he would survive the encounter so he could study them.

The chemist was brought out of his internal thoughts by mention of his name. Apparently he was to face off with the possessed Darkride. Apparently Razorclaw thought he could bring some particular insight or advantage when fighting his former comrade. Oil Slick wasn’t certain if he could bring any particular advantage to the fight. He might have known the interrogator better then most but they had never sparred or fought each other, and he doubted that there were any bonds of friendship between them that could be exploited. Still, he would follow his orders as best he could.

Skywarp walked over to him to commence some dialogue and planning for their fight. Oil Slick nodded in agreement with some of what Skywarp was saying. “Friendship is not a term in Darkride’s vocabulary normally, let alone under whatever mind control he is in now. I don’t expect him to hesitate in the slightest in any attempts to eliminate me.”

Before he could reply to the rest of what Skywarp had to say they were interrupted by Smokescreen. Oil Slick gazed at the Autobot, recognizing the paint scheme on him. From the looks of it his acid attack on him had been more successful then he had hoped. He could tell that the Autobot had taken on an entirely new body. He was almost disappointed, as he would have hoped to at least examine what lingering damage his chemicals had done to him. The fact that he had exchanged that body for a new one was some comfort though, indicating the potency of his chemical attack upon him.

The Decepticon’s attention was quickly drawn to the syringe once Smokescreen produced it. It was rare for the Autobots to use any sort of chemical concoction in battle so he was intrigued. He would have loved to study it but it appeared there was not time now. Perhaps if they could avoid using it in the battle he would be able to examine it in his lab in detail later on.

Oil Slick nodded at Skywarp’s latest comment. “We are forced into an awkward alliance to fight these beings. I am sure we all look forward to defeating them and returning to the status quo.” He paused before addressing the seeker’s earlier plan. “Isolating him from the Fallen is ideal. My combat expertise lay in close quarters combat. Perhaps you could teleport him to a pre designated area where I can engage him without interference. There we can both bring down our full capabilities without fear of friendly fire or of him getting assistance from his comrades.”

Message from Starscream to Razorclaw

>>”Commander Razorclaw. I will be sending Sixshot however I believe it would be best if I remained on the Thanatos. After all if things should go awry and if Sixshot is unable to turn the tide in your favor, then our final option would be to destroy the planet….with the Fallen on it.”<<

Australia - Uluru

Razorclaw was pleased that he had not heard back from Roadblock yet again. Perhaps he had learned his lesson or maybe he had just given up and was waiting to challenge the lion-former once the battle was over. The Predacon lord looked forward to showing the field commander the error of his ways, but that would have to wait as there were far more important matters to attend to. As it were, the Autobots were finally ready to begin the attack with Prowl dishing out more orders and Ultra Magnus giving an “inspirational” speech along with the order for everyone to transform and roll out.

That will be the first and last time you order any of my Decepticons to do anything, Autobot, Razorclaw thought with a scowl etched underneath his face shield. If the situation had been any different, the lion-former would have torn into the City Commander in a titanic brawl between the newly-appointed leaders of both factions. However, the enemy here was the Fallen and his heralds. The Autobots and Decepticons were fighting side by side against a common foe. That would not always be the case, of course.

Hound then jogged up to Razorclaw, stopping a few feet away from the imposing Predacon Commander. “Razorclaw, I was ordered to provide cover for the hammer assault.”

“Then I suggest you get on with it,” Razorclaw responded, glancing down at the smaller scout.

“Yes, sir,” the hologram specialist replied as he moved away and transformed into his Jeep Wrangler alt mode, following the hammer forces as they began to move out.

Razorclaw, meanwhile, returned his attention to his own troops as Soundwave approached and stood at his side. “Decepticons! The time is now! With the aid of our Autobot comrades, we will crush the Fallen and prove once and for all why the Cybertronian race will always endure no matter what! Now, transform and rise up!”

With his orders given, Razorclaw assumed his lion alt mode and turned towards the other ground-based Predacons. “Rampage, Headstrong, Tantrum, you three are with me. Now, let’s get going!”

The Decepticon Supreme Commander then sprinted to the head of the hammer assault before giving a nod in Hound’s direction to begin whatever hologram he had planned. The Autobot scout had just finished scanning the surrounding regions and quickly processed the images within his hologram gun’s databanks. He would keep things simply and create an illusion of an empty desert as the hammer forces flanked Ayers Rock.

Moving to the front of the hammer, Hound initiated the large hologram, one that would be big enough to hide dozens of mechs behind. ”Razorclaw, I’ve created the hologram. It’s now safe for us to move around the rock formation. It will appear as though there is nothing but desert terrain. However, I won’t have the energon to keep this illusion up forever so we must move quickly if we are going to make this work.”

”Understood,” Razorclaw growled as he opened a comm line to the rest of those involved in the hammer assault, both Decepticon and Autobot. >>“Hammer forces, the hologram is generated! Use it to hide behind! Move out now!!”>”Razorclaw, this is Sixshot. I have arrived. Is there somewhere you would like me to be exactly or should I just walk on over there and drag the Fallen’s fiery aft plates down off that rock for you?”>”No, Sixshot, that will not be necessary. I fear it will take more than that to defeat the Fallen. Join me at the front of the hammer force. Your talents will be needed here.”<<

The STAG gave no response back. The Predacon lord was probably right in his assessment of the situation. It would likely take more than just Sixshot’s abilities to bring the demigod to his knees. After all, they were talking about a supernatural entity here and not some regular mech. Regardless, Sixshot would have fun trying and perhaps face a worthy adversary for once.

Transforming into his wolf creature alt mode, Sixshot charged forward towards the head of the hammer assault unit, paying no mind to the numerous mechs in his way as he knew they would move or get trampled in the process.

((OOC: Will post for my Autobot characters soon.))

Australia - Uluru - Decepticon Ranks

Battletrap went up to Motormaster in both forms.

"I am ready for battle. Direct both parts of me where you want them. I am ready to tear apart our enemies."

The voice came from the helicopter form while the Land Rover remained silent. What he didn't mention was he was quite willing to start on the Autobots once their primary objective was done. This is also assuming he was in any sort of fighting order. This gathering reminded Battletrap that he and Flywheels has one thing over the stupid Triplechangers, the Autobots have yet to duplicate their technology making themselves fairly unique in the Cybertronian species.
-------------------------
Much farther back, Octane observed the commotion and still felt sick to his systems. It is still taking all of his efforts not to shoot one of the Autobots especially since the idiot Combaticon commander decided to have him stay back in case someone was needing to refuel. This amused Octane because he doubted anyone would be coming back to him functional enough to use the fuel he had. In case he had to, he started converting what he could of the stored carbon based fuel into usable Energon.

"Hey Onslaught, don't forget to come begging for fuel once and IF you get a chance to retreat. We wouldn't want you to be picked off because you were stranded in the middle of the desert thanks to lack of fuel."

----------------------------

Australia: Uluru - Point K

Skydive watched as his Aerialbot brethren transformed and was ready to do escort duty. He understood the need of such a job with the divide and conquer strategy but still wondered why the bombardment was left out. If they wanted to split them up, give the Fallen a reason to split his group up. At least there was a possibility of the Aerialbots doing some strafing runs after their escort duty was done. It did please him the Triplechangers were assigned to assist as well.

>>Commander Silverbolt, I hope the two on one idea for the heralds work but if what we were told holds true, we might be needed very quickly to assist whoever is closest to us. Too bad we don't have any of the Seekers helping out with escort duty because the more the merrier.<<

----------------------------

Hot Spot was uplifted from Ultra Magnus' speech. He may not be Optimus Prime but does share many of the same qualities. The speech making and others is why Magnus was chosen to replace Prime. It did please Hot Spot when Prowl allowed Groove to stay behind and help out with the mech recovery process. He had a feeling First Aid, Ratchet and the rest of the medical staff was going to have their actuators quite busy once the fighting started. He then looked around at his troops and raised his voice a little.

"Alright, you heard Ultra Magnus. It is time to engage the enemy but remember we want them alive if at all possible. Stasis Lock is absolute worst case scenario but even that needs to be avoided at all cost."

Hot Spot and Streetwise transformed and started to follow Ultra Magnus.

-------------------------------

Ground Striker being quiet for most of the time listened to what he could. Once he heard his name called by Prowl, he perked up a little and after understanding the orders, he transformed and moved toward Prowl.

I may enjoy talking about the Guiding Light but this Fallen has to be dealt with like Mortilus was back in the beginning. The main concern is do we truly have the firepower to take this being down? Will it cost us everything like it did Primus, Solomus, Epistemus, and Adaptus? Their fight left each one a shell of his former self in one way or another. Will the medics have to make gestalts out of the remaining parts in order to have some troops left to fight this battle and the war?

Australia--Uluru

"Rampage, Headstrong, Tantrum, you three are with me. Now, let’s get going!"

Rampage had sprinted from his position into an auxiliary post behind his commander, keeping his pace. He wanted to see what the first attack was that their prey decided to throw at them before deciding whether to remain in his bot mode or switching to the predatory feline. Either could have their uses and Rampage had no doubt he would get to play with both. This would be better than The Real World: Ex-plosion. Which he reminded himself that he needed to finish watching when this battle was over.

From Razorclaw's rear and to his left, Tantrum was steadily picking up speed. He had already transformed into his bull mode and was charging steadily forward. There was clearly no debate in his mind about which of his two modes he was more eager to use in the upcoming melee.

He was as ready as any of them to hammer away until the Fallen and his grunts were little more than stains on this rock, Decepticon, Autobot or whatever they were now.

And the traitor.

Couldn't forget about the traitor. And nor would he.

Australia – Uluru

After his proclamation the Prime of old grew silent. His optics were focused on the gathering dead but his mind had traveled within. The mind with which he shared this body had grown quiet. Was he planning something? He needed to know.

“You surprise me. Your friends come here to face death and yet you do not speak.”

Silence.

“Have some kind of delusional plan do you?”

“I’ve come to terms that you’ll be the one who doesn’t survive this battle.”

The Fallen entity chuckled. Such folly.

“I cannot be destroyed. If your kind finds a way to eliminate me from the greater plan there will be another to take my place.”

From within his own mind Hot Rot gripped the bars that held him back and screamed.

A low deep laugh caught Hex’s attention making the young herald look up at his master. The Fallen’s optics finally saw the Autobot and Decepticon forces but the sight only caused his laughter to grow in volume.

“Master?” Hex stepped in a bit closer while Darkride smirked and watched closely.

His laughter settled to a slight chuckle and The Fallen looked down at the smaller mech. “It is of no concern child.” Satiated by the explanation Hex relaxed sending his optics skyward.

“Ahh, you and Drag Strip have noticed their aerial recon team. A worthy effort but it will not help them.” The former Prime looked up at the circling mass of Cybertronians above them. Such a waste sending a majority of your airborne troops into the sky where they can be easily detected.

While he zeroed in on one of the mechs above, The Fallen produced the ancient Void Scepter. And with a grand sweeping motion The Fallen raised the staff pointed its end at one of the circling Cybertronians and declared, “My Heralds! Let the slaughter begin!”

From the end of the staff a blinding ball of energy shot out striking the Decepticon Waspinator. But he was not torn apart nor was he incinerated. No. Instead his momentum was stopped in that instant. The energy that surrounded Waspinator propelled him physically back toward the incoming horde of Cybertronians at breakneck speed.

----

A wide deranged grin formed on Darkride’s face as the battle cry flowed from his Master's mouth. The lines had been drawn and the battle was now underway. His mission would now begin.

Silently Darkride slipped past his master and started down the rock formation. However before the interrogator could make it to the very bottom The Fallen raised one hand focused his energies on his Angel of Death and teleported the purple Herald to his intended destination.

Shuttle Longevity – Hold One – Combat Casualty Care

A low sigh escaped Veneer’s vocalizer as he lifted his head up toward the ceiling. His optics shut as he tried to clear his mind of Blindside and what could possibly happen to him.

“Something wrong?” a familiar voice intoned.

Without even looking the nurse knew who this visitor was. “Hey, Aid,” he said as he lowered his head and his optics brightened. A smile formed on his face as he took in his friend. True they hadn’t been separated for long, but to Veneer it felt like an eternity.
“When did you get here?” Veneer picked up a box and placed it in a nearby cubby. In the meantime First Aid picked up a small collection of data pads and began thumbing through them. “A bit ago. These the inventory lists?”

The answer made Veneer nervous. Where the Autobots still here? Did they leave? Where was Blindside? Was he alright? Veneer shook his head hoping the doctor didn’t notice.

“They were still out there when I came in here.” He looked up at the slightly embarrassed nurse and smiled under his face-shield. “They’re all still out there.” Veneer responded with a stiff nod. He then cleared his throat and added, “Yes. Those are the inventory lists. I’ve separated them into sections relating to the staging areas in the unit.”

“It’s nice to know someone’s got the good sense to think ahead!” Ratchet’s voice boomed throughout the hanger. Veneer literally jumped and turned to face the CMO. First Aid had to hold the data pads tightly against his chest for fear of tossing them about the room.

“Sir.” Veneer quickly straightened at attention. Ratchet simply waved off the gesture. “Save it, Veneer. I’m not Magnus so don’t you go tossing that military etiquette slag at me.” Ratchet shook his head when he caught sight of the still tense First Aid.

“Right. Sorry. Umm, is this all of us?” Veneer quickly grabbed several small tools and placed them in their proper locations. Ratchet made his way to First Aid and gently coaxed the smaller doctor into handing over the pads. With a gentle pat to his shoulder the Protectobot stepped aside and made his way over to help the nurse.

“Yes this is all of us.” The gruffness in the CMO’s voice returned. But before Veneer could open his mouth Aid chimed in. “Axle’s going after Hex. He’s been partnered with Chromedome.” Veneer nodded. “The slaghead.” Ratchet grumbled.

Australia - Uluru

The speech had been spoken, the order had been given and Ultra Magnus was on his way towards Ayers Rock. Prowl stood for a moment and watched as the new Autobot leader headed into battle with a seemingly supernatural force that had come to eradicate them all. The vehicons had begun to advance, as well, and would provide the rest with both the cover they required along with a good idea of the extent of the Fallen’s power. Those drones would bare the initial brunt of the fiery demigod’s counter response to their attack, and the military strategist was unsure what to expect. The strategies that were in play may need to fluctuate, or even be scrapped all together, depending on what transpired within the next cycle or two. Regardless, the battle was about to begin.

“All right, anvil squad, you heard Magnus! Let’s move in!” Prowl bellowed as he transformed into his Nissan GT-R police car alt mode and sped towards Ayers Rock in the distance. The sandy terrain made traversing the desert difficult, but the black and white managed just he had always done. His alternate form was not exactly made for this geography, but it would suffice. Thankfully, once they had reached the quarter mile mark they would stop and dig in for the long haul. Vehicle modes be damned. Hopefully, they would be able to endure whatever bombardment the Fallen had in store for them until the hammer side of the equation fell. The vehicons would not last forever and once they were down there would be little cover available to them.

Or perhaps there is a better way, Prowl mused internally as he noticed the familiar alt mode of Trailbreaker driving nearby. The defensive strategist was known for using up great amounts of fuel, but he had an ability unlike any other present on the battlefield. “Trailbreaker, good to see you here,” the black and white stated as he drove up beside the Toyota Land Cruiser. “The anvil forces will require your unique talents. Once we have stopped and dug in at a quarter Earth mile from the rock formation you will use your force field to protect us from the Fallen’s wrath. However, first allow the vehicons to take the initial brunt of the demigod’s counterstrike before doing so. Is that understood?”

There had been no time for a response from the defensive strategist as Prowl immediately took notice of a bolt of energy striking out from the mountain top. It's target was the insecticon, Waspinator, who moments later was being propelled back towards the oncoming anvil forces. "Trailbreaker, delay that last order! Use your force field now!"
_________

Smokescreen returned to his team that was delegated to bring down Drag Strip. Unlike the other diversion squads, the rallybot’s benefited from having three members instead of just two. Of course, one of them was Breakdown but that mattered little at this point. They were all on the same side now regardless of the emblems on their chest plates. Of course, it was only temporary but at least it was something.

“Well, the sedatives have been handed out to the other groups,” Smokescreen informed both of his teammates. “So, we’re all set. Once the go order is given, we’ll take the right flank on approach to Ayers Rock. Breakdown, Blurr, I’m thinking that you two could each hide behind a different sand dune that the vehicons built while I alone move in close to the mountain. Once I'm in range I’ll goad Drag Strip into chasing me by challenging him to a race. Him and I have a history there so I think he’ll take the bait. I will then draw him out and towards your position, Breakdown. Once he’s close enough I need you to attack him. I’m sure you won’t have a problem with that, right? Now, after Drag’s back in robot mode and his attention is focused on fighting Breakdown and I, you need to then make your move, Blurr, and stick him with the syringe. Okay?”

Smokescreen paused for a moment to let his plan sink in to his two teammates. “Questions, additions, counter ideas?” Before either Blurr or Breakdown could answer, Ultra Magnus gave the order to transform and roll out. It was time. “I guess that’s our cue. We should get going. We can brainstorm more on the way if you guys like.”

Casting a quick smile at his two comrades, the diversion expert transformed into his Subaru BRZ rally car mode and revved his engines. Smokescreen then took off along the right flank as the anvil forces moved up the middle of the battlefield. He passed by a couple of sand dunes that looked like promising places for Blurr and Breakdown to hide. With any luck, Smokey’s idea to draw out Drag Strip would work. Of course, even if it did, there was no guarantee that the sedative would have any affect on him. Nevertheless, it was worth a shot.

Smokescreen's sensors then lit up as a powerful light emanated from Ayers Rock, transforming Waspinator into a make-shift missile. It was not directly aimed at the rallybot, but he opened a comm line to the rest of his team in order to warn them. >>"Blurr, Breakdown, heads up! Waspinator's been turned into some kind of energy ball. We should be okay along the right flank, but the Fallen has clearly made his move!">"Blindside, incoming! Flaming insecticon dead ahead!"<<
_________

Bluestreak had uncharacteristically remained silent while the higher-ups made their plans. He did not want to interrupt the proceedings as the plans being made would determine whether they all lived or died at the hands of the Fallen. This could end very badly for all of them just as it had ended badly for his home city of Praxus so long ago. The gunner remembered as if it were only yesterday. The screams, the terrified looks on innocent civilians faceplates as the Decepticons bombed the city into scrap. Only the black and silver mech had survived that horrible day and now he found himself fighting alongside many of the same ‘Cons who had been responsible for his home’s destruction and the deaths of thousands of its citizens. It was hard for him to accept and even harder for him to follow through with. Still, they had a mutual enemy in the fiery demigod, one that could eradicate them all.

Then the call to transform and roll out came from Ultra Magnus followed by the appearance of Sixshot, who quickly moved towards the hammer unit. Bluestreak was assigned to the anvil portion of the attack which suited him just fine. Moving away from the shuttles, the gunner transformed into his Nissan 370Z NISMO alt mode and began to drive towards Ayers Rock. It was then he noticed something hurling towards them. It was a ball of energy of some kind. No, it was more than that. Was there something inside that energy ball?

"Is that...Waspinator?!?" Bluestreak exclaimed as he skidded to a halt in the sandy soil. “Look out, everyone! INCOMING!!!” The gunner shouted as he transformed back into his robot mode. The chatterbot took aim at the incoming object and unleashed a single rocket from one of his shoulder mounted launchers. As the missile ascended into the sky, it broke into four individual warheads. Hopefully, one of them would be successful in knocking the Insecticon projectile out of the sky before it could do harm to anyone on the ground.

((OOC: More to come.))

Australia--Uluru

He hadn't been given orders to dig in too deep on the recon front, and Sandstorm had managed to keep his wilder "shoot first and don't bother with questions" approach in check. But after the order to transform and roll out was given, Sandstorm was full-speed-ahead. Hell, he was already transformed. Fight time.

He didn't make it far before what looked like one of those Decepticon bugs managed to get himself snared in what had to be the Fallen's opening salvo against them and then became a projectile himself.

Sandstorm had dodged the combustible Insecticon with ease, even in his chopper mode.

"Oh it's game on now!"

The triple-changer let loose with a pair of short-range missiles until he could get close enough to start unloading his automatics.
___

Hide. Hiding was good. Breakdown could hide. Working under Motormaster for this long, breakdown could hide with the best of them.

For whatever it was worth, the Autobot seemed to have a plan for getting Drag Strip back functional. The Stunticon didn't know how good of a plan. He didn't really evaluate plans all that well. But he would play his part.

"Yeah yeah. Hide. Attack. I think I got it," Breakdown muttered, trying not to let on just how slagged he thought they were.

The Fallen's gonna shoot me first I know he is.

That thought carried the Stunticon forward until he realized, with no real relief, that Waspinator seemed to be the first one to get caught up in the Fallen's attack. Stupid bugs.

>>"Blurr, Breakdown, heads up! Waspinator's been turned into some kind of energy ball. We should be okay along the right flank, but the Fallen has clearly made his move!"<<

After that momentary respite, Breakdown went back to worrying.

Ok, maybe Waspy got it first, but I'm gonna be the next one...

Australia – Uluru – Decepticon Crowd

Runamuck fumbled with the paint can Runabout tossed to him, trying to catch the canister of bright fluorescent paint in the palm of his actuators without dropping it. Finally he had his grip around the can and opened up his storage compartment on his hip and placed his prankster ammunition away for later use once this situation was taken care of.

“Heh heh I can’t wait Runabout. Heh heh ‘DECEPTICONS RULE’ Heh heh.” The battlecharger mused as he continued to think up of possible graffiti-like messages he and Runabout could right over the hull of the shuttle.

Runamuck’s attention was drawn away from the antics he and Runabout were scheming up towards the sound of the Autobot-Decepticon combined force giving the order to roll out. Most took to their vehicle forms and began speeding off towards the Fallen’s location. Runamuck turned towards his fellow battlecharger and gave a gentle sway of the arms towards the departing group.

“Heh heh, Femmebots first!” He chuckled as he shifted to his Mustang alt mode in the blink of an optic.



“I am not gonna stick around to see the end of this ‘debate’.” Blitzwing gruffed as he took a running start away from Octane’s position before leaping up into the air and shifting into his Jet mode. His boosters kicked in and he took off soaring into the Australian air space, meeting up with his fellow aerial Decepticons and not so fellow Autobot fliers. Seems the Autobot triple changers were taking part in the anvil air force as well, much to Octane’s dismay. He could worry about that later though, for now he needed to put his jet form’s speed and firepower together to form a cohesive air strike for the ground forces below.



“Ehmmmm Wazzzpinator having very bad feeling about this…” The green and yellow wasp whined as he coordinated with the other aerial units taking part in Anvil force from above. He buzzed forward alongside some Jet vehicons who were playing catch-up with the rest of the squardron, an uneasy feeling growing stronger in his chassis. “Wazzzpinator can already tell he’s going to havvve a date with a CR Chamber when thizzz izzz all over ovvver…”

Before he could issue up another word, a bright light that emanated from the Fallen’s position came and struck the robotic wasp as he was flying closer to Ayers rock, shrouding him in a intense ball of light energy. Waspinator was not incinerated by the energy, much o his surprise, but the force of the attack had stopped his advancements and sent him soaring back in the opposite direction, as if he had been smacked by a mech the likes of Omega Supreme.

“WAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” He cried as he spun around helplessly in the air falling back towards the combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons.

“Look out, everyone! INCOMING!!!"

That was all the Green and yellow mech heard before he was struck across the chassis with one of the four individual warheads the Autobot known as Bluestreak had fired at him to hopefully stop him momentum even further and prevent him from crashing into anyone. The rocket propelled Waspinator back into the air a little bit and pushed him further behind the line of advancing Cybertronians before coming to full blown stop in a crater his wasp mode made in the Earthen soil.

“Ugghhh…Zzzee? Bad thingzzz alwayzzz happen to meee…” The green and yellow mech bellowed from his newly formed crater as he shifted into his robot form, scorched from the rocket explosion and tattered from the crash landing. His chassis radiated excess light from the Fallen’s energy attack, but he was still functional. “Wazzzpinator gonna have headache in his whole body now…” He whined as he stumbled out from the crater, falling over his own footsteps.

Australia – Uluru – Autobot Crowd

“Doesn’t seem natural does it? … Working next to the Cons I mean. What’s next, bathing in Scraplets?”

Getaway jerked his head around to find Chameleon had snuck up behind him. Typical Cham, always blending right into the crowd and appearing out of nowhere like that.

“Heh, I’ll say.” Getaway joked as he readied himself to transform into his alt mode. “Eons of civil war just to put it all aside to fight against a common foe. Who would’ve thought that it would take a myth to bring us all together again?” Getaway then somersaulted forward, transitioning into his Mustang alt mode. “C’mon Cham, better get those wheels running. Show’s about to start!”



Jazz overlooked the crowd of Autobots who began to take on their alternate forms to travel out to Ayers rock. His signature smirk etched his face as he followed in the footsteps of his Autobot comrades and transformed into his Porsche alt mode, performing an earth-styled break dance in the process. His legs kicked up into the air while he balanced himself on the palms of his actuators. As his lower half swung overhead, the rear end of his car mode began to take shape and brought towards the Earth while his upper half shortly followed after.

“Well let’s not keep this shin-dig on hold any longer! You heard Magnus, lets mobilize!” Jazz exclaimed to his fellow Autobots as his tires kicked up a large amount of dust and he went speeding off behind Magnus’ trailer. The white sports car had no trouble catching up to the rest of the group, able to pull right up next to Ultra Magnus and maintain his speeding. As he drove alongside the Autobot commander, Jazz switched on his onboard radio and internally played earth music he got from Blaster a while back. The loud thumping of a heavy bass line began blasting from his speakers as he and the Autobots pressed forward towards Ayers Rock.

>>“I'm gonna fight 'em off, A seven nation army couldn't hold me back…”<<

“Oh this is just too perfect.”



Finally, this was the moment of action. Railway hoisted his hammer onto his back, the large melee weapon collapsing on itself as it went into storage mode. The train-former followed alfter the actions of his fellow Autobots and shifted into his locomotive engine mode. It took him a little longer to get his engine’s running, mostly due to the sand and gravel not wanting to cooperate with his train engine’s wheels, but soon he was following behind the mass force of Cybertronian warriors.



“We should probably hang back away from the main attack group, at least until we can spot Hex on his own.” Chromedome suggested as he tucked the syringes away in a storage compartment along his waistline. “You’ll likely recognize him far before I do amongst the crowd so why don’t you take the lead and I’ll cover ya.” The mnemosurgeon then dropped to the ground as he transformed into his Cybertronian sports car mode, his dual laser pistols extending out of opened panels running along the back of his alt mode.

“Ready when you are.”



“Alright everyone! The Fallen’s taken his first crack at us,” Springer roared over the crowd of aerial units, “Now let’s show him we aren’t made of sheet metal!” The pressed forward on this thrusters, propelling his momentum forward towards the Fallen and his heralds below as he readied his weapon systems. Once his onboard gun was loaded, he began open firing on the 5 mechs standing atop of Ayers Rock, peppering the group with intense laser rifle.

“WRECK AND RULE!!!”

Australia - Uluru

"Uhhh...okay" Trailbraeker said when Prowl told him to use his force-field generator to protect them after the vehicons started the fight with The Fallen. As soon as he said that Trailbreaker's audio receivers heard something and his optics focused on the Ayres Rock, from which an energy bolt sped towards the insecticon Waspinator. The energy bolt sent Waspinator flying back to the anvil forces in even greater speed, making the con The Fallen's projectile. The wasp nearly hit many Autobots and Decipticons, but most were fast enough to avoid him.

"Trailbreaker, delay that last order! Use your force field now!"

The Toyota Land Cruiser's hood split open as Trailbreaker converted into his robot mode. His transformation wasn't even half complete when a force-field started forming around the black-and-white bot. A large transparent hemisphere protected Trailbreaker, Prowl and a few other nearby Autobots from Waspinator. When the danger passed by, he turned off the force-field generator, allowing the other bots to continue to their charge at the rock formation. Trailbreaker returned back to alt. mode and drove near Prowl.

"Now that was close!"

--------

"Primus!" gasped Air Raid when he saw Waspinator turn into a robot projectile, a weapon of The Fallen. The poor insecticon was sent back flying uncontrollably to the allied forces, nearly hitting many robots. The con crashed and made a Waspinator-sized crater where he fell.

"Well, that must have been a fun ride for him!" laughed Air Raid, trying to make something light out of what just happened. The aerialbot continued flight near his brethren, and watched as the first decipticon opened fire at the Ayres Rock. Air Raid was still not sure if he should be eagerly anticipating to enter combat, as he usually does, or avoid it. Some of the Heralds used to be his friends, and he doesn't want to enter a kill-or-be-killed situation with one of them.

Australia - Uluru

Skydive observed as the Insecticon Waspinator went flying by as a ball of energy and crashing into the ground. He was glad it wasn't one of them but also wondered how long before it was their turn.

"Looks like the Fallen has a few tricks up his sleeve. There are times I feel sorry for Waspinator but rarely. This is one of those times I actually do feel bad for the bug. I'm glad Prowl and Ultra Magnus is throwing a massive number at the Fallen because it would be embarrassing for him to toss all of us around like he did Waspy. This does concern me though but maybe if we get one of our good sensor guys in there the next time he uses the weapon, they will be able to get a read on the energy. I'm glad you are sticking with us Air Raid, because I am also itching a little to get in a good hit or two but we have our jobs for now. Look at it this way, more we stay back the more we will know or at least in theory."

----------------------------------

Hot Spot noticed the flying bug land hard after being knocked off course with the Autobot rocket. He hoped the knock down wouldn't cause the very uneasy alliance crumble. There are probably some Cons who are stupid enough to use the altercation to turn on the Autobots.

>>Prowl, Ultra Magnus, it looks like it will be much harder to get close to him. I'm hoping the Con fliers up by the Fallen will relay information on whatever the Fallen is doing. Did we have any of our own fliers up there getting high angle shots?>Groove, looks like the Fallen had struck first. I don't know if you saw the flying ball of energy but it was the Insecticon Waspinator. Go see if he will accept any help. I doubt he got out of the impact with little damage.>Understood, Hot Spot, I'll notify our team of medics.<<

Groove heads back to the medbots.

"Hey Ratchet, First Aid, and Vneer, I think we have our first possible injury. The Insecticon Waspinator was hurled against his will by the Fallen and had a hard landing. I'm going to see if he needs or wants help."

Before the medics could respond, Groove transforms and headed out where he last saw Waspinator land.

------------------------------

"I didn't know this battle would be so entertaining. Poor old Waspy, all the good he is a distraction even though he was able to wipe a few humans out but only a complete moron would fail such a job. I doubt all powerful Razorclaw will even care the bug got flatten like a bug. Now if the Fallen would get rid of the Autobot triple changers as easily then it will be much better."

Octane barely held in a chuckle.

Australia - Uluru

Shadowing moved out of the way as Waspinator went flying back from the blast.

"At least nothing of value was lost." He thought as he stayed in formation and awaited orders from the wing commander, Divebomb.

Australia - Uluru

"Rewind...Axle is right, the battle is going to be much too dangerous for you to tag alongside me. You're not built to fight... Stay back here... I don't wanna see anything happen to you..."

Rewind crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his optics at his conjunx endura. As much as he knew Chromedome was right, Rewind couldn't stand the thought of Chromedome going around and behaving recklessly, pretending he was some...some....Optimus Prime! No! Besides, this was just as much his fight as it was anyone else's. Rewind couldn't just sit back and do nothing. He could help!

"I'm coming with you," Rewind stated in a matter-of-fact tone that left no room for argument. The debate was over. Chromedome would have to forcibly restrain Rewind to prevent the little archivist from tagging along. And he wouldn't do that. Now the Chromedome silent treatment...? He would probably do that. Actually, almost definitely.

Rewind stood by Chromedome stalwartly as plans progressed and orders were dished out. None came to him from Blaster, thankfully. He would maybe have been forced to disobey the big red bot. As things began to churn into motion, Rewind was once again recording the action as Chromedome transformed beside him. The archivist immediately hopped into the passenger's seat and planted himself there stubbornly. He didn't exactly feel like running through the fields of battle, chasing after Chromedome and Axle.

((OOC: I'll be catching up with the rest of my bots and cons here soon. I'm on vacation so many things vie for my time. Will get them up as soon as I can though!))

The sight of seeing the yellow and green insecticon being turned into a mobile wrecking ball would of brought a smile to his face if broadside didn’t have a faceplate. The assembled air units were preparing for combat when a voice rose above the din of various engines.

Springer ended his little rousing speech with a phrase that had echoed in his mind for a long time

“Wreck And Rule!”

The sounds of Springer’s weaponry firing gave the signal for the fun and games to begin his various weapons started to cycle ammo hoppers moved around internally missiles swung to readiness.

On his HUD his weapons systems started to show green across the board at this range he would be firing for suppression. Missiles streaked from his hard points replacements slid from his internal ammo hoppers heading for the same plateau as Springer’s fire as his ionic rifle burst into life adding to the fusillade as the huge Triplechanger echoed his squad mate’s call to arms.

“Wreck And Rule!”

Australia - Uluru

Blaster nodded at Eject and Steeljaw's arrival and turned so that the vast majority of Decepticons would be shielded from Noise's view as Blaster deployed him from the cavity in his chest. "Graphy, Noise, combine!" Those two together would provide a useful addition to the anvil formation. "Join with the anvil forces. You too, Steeljaw. Eject, you're with me. We're going airborne to see if the Fallen is using a signal to control our boys."

As Blaster moved off toward Silverbolt and the rest of the Aerialbots, Steeljaw lingered near Eject and gave his friend and nod. "Good hunting, Eject. Take care not to get scrapped," the hunter said before charging forward with the rest of the combined Decepticon and Autobot forces.

Blaster waved at Silverbolt as he approached with Eject presumably following closely behind. "Yo. Let's get this show rockin' and rollin'!" Blaster began his transformation sequence. This mass displacement business was always more than a touch uncomfortable for the large red mech. Eventually, however, the Autobot's communications officer managed to transform into his tiny alternate mode as he always did. Once that feat was accomplished, Eject scooped him up and carried them both into the Aerialbot commander's cockpit. Almost immediately, they were underway.

"Alright, Eject, do your stuff and search for any strange frequencies or signals. If you find something, try to scramble it," Blaster said while he initiated his own sweeps of the battle field. Blaster was tempted to try to break the Decepticon communication's encryption, but Soundwave would notice almost immediately even with the end of the world happening around them. That one didn't miss much as much as Blaster hated to admit it. He turned his attentions to the Fallen and his heralds.

If there was a signal controlling their comrades, Blaster and Eject would surely find it. The red mech really hoped it was something as simple as that. They could easily interfere with it if that were the case. However, he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be far from that easy. But, the sooner they were done up here, the faster Blaster could join the party downstairs.

((OOC: More to come.))

Australia - Uluru

”My Heralds! Let the slaughter begin!”

Hardhead grinned from audio to audio as the Fallen declared the battle begun. No, not a battle, a genocide the likes of which no mech had ever seen before, or would again for that matter. With a wave of his Void Scepter, the fiery demigod transformed the insecticon called Waspinator into a ball of energy, sending the insignificant bug right back at the advancing Cybertronian forces. A low chuckle slowly grew into an echoing laughter as Hardhead enjoyed the sight immensely.

“Now that’s how one starts a battle,” Hardhead replied as his laughing died down. “Look at them scatter like the pathetic insects that they are! This will be all too easy.”

“Where’s Motormaster? Is he out there still?” Drag Strip asked as he stood by Hardhead and gazed out across the battlefield. “Wait! Yes, there he is! I see the filthy slagger!”

“Calm yourself, my little friend,” Hardhead responded, casting a glare down on the smaller herald. “Remember what I told you before. This is not a mission of revenge, but of extinction! Motormaster’s fate will come whether it be by your hands directly or one of ours. Take comfort in that.”

“Of course,” the former Stunticon replied, sheepishly. “I keep forgetting. Heh.”

“And besides, we have incoming,” the green herald added as weapons fire and missiles from the Autobot triplechangers erupted all around them. Hardhead remained still as his armor absorbed or deflected the shots that hit him while Drag Strip took cover behind the massive warrior. “I’m not your personal shield, Drag. You’re a herald of the Fallen. Act like it!”

“My apologies, Hardhead,” Drag Strip said as he ducked out from behind his comrade. “Just trying to avoid the initial volley, that’s all.”

Hardhead shook his cranium before pulling out his two shatterblasters and pointing one each at Sandstorm and Springer, who were approaching in their respective helicopter alt modes. “My turn,” Hardhead muttered as he opened fire, sending thousands of diamond-hard shards directly at the two Autobot triplechangers. With any luck, more than just a few of those shards would tear through their copter blades and bring them crashing back down to ground level.

Drag Strip, meanwhile, avoided a volley of laser fire from Broadside, who approached in his jet mode. Pulling out his gravito-gun, the former Stunticon took careful aim and unleashed several shots at more of the incoming missiles the large triplechanger had launched. The gravitational power of his weapon consumed the multitude of rockets, ripping some apart while crushing others like tin cans, rendering them all harmless.

“Is that all you got, big guy?!” Drag Strip taunted as the former Stunticon fired another barrage from his gravito-gun, this time aimed directly at Broadside. “Even an over-sized mech like you will feel the pressure! Ha ha!”

Not waiting to see if his shots hit their target, Drag Strip began to climb down the mountain side. The yellow herald was the embodiment of pestilence. In order to unleash the variety of plagues he had in store for the Cybertronians, Drag Strip needed to get in closer to his intended victims.
_________

From high above the battlefield, Blast-Off could see that the attack had begun. The anvil forces were moving towards Ayers Rock while those in the hammer portion of the assault were making their way around to the other side. The space warrior was not interested in sides as he was directly above the action as it unfolded beneath him. The Fallen and his heralds had wasted no time in striking at the approaching Cybertronians, using Waspinator as some kind of make-shift missile.

Oh my, that’s too funny! Blast-Off thought. He couldn’t help but chuckle even if it was at the expense of a fellow comrade. He had no love for insecticons and certainly not for Waspinator. The vocally challenged bug was more of a liability than a resource. Still, better the over-sized wasp suffer that kind of humiliation then the space warrior, himself. I still don’t understand why ol’ Waspy isn’t out there with his own kind. Doesn’t he have a swarm to tend to or something?

Blast-Off’s musings came to an end as his attention came back to the here and now. “Time to play,” the space warrior muttered as the X-37B space plane’s nose cone opened to reveal a powerful x-ray laser. Wasting no further time, Blast-Off set the Fallen in his sights and immediately opened fire directly at the fiery demigod who was still standing on the rock formation acting as though he had already won the battle. “We’ll see how well you do against my x-ray laser!”
_________

Skywarp approached Ayers Rock with caution as weapons fire erupted below. He watched Waspinator being turned into a glowing projectile before being sent flying back into the crowd of Cybertronians. Impressive, the teleporter thought, hoping that each of the heralds didn’t have powers like that. One could never be too sure and ‘Warp was hardly an expert on such things of the supernatural. Actually, he wasn’t much of an expert on anything other than flying, fighting and shooting. This whole diversionary idea wasn’t his, it was Smokescreen’s and the Autobots’ brilliant concept, one that would likely get him killed or in stasis lock.

The prankster wanted to open fire, but he reframed from doing so. It was not his job and there were plenty of mechs beneath him who had that covered. No, Skywarp needed to locate Darkride quickly and teleport him somewhere far away from the Fallen. Keeping as safe a distance as possible, the seeker scanned the rock formation below and searched diligently for his quarry. Unfortunately, the interrogator was no where to be found. “Wait! Where the slag is he?!” Skywarp exclaimed, not caring if another aerial flier overheard him. “Dammit! I knew this wasn’t going to be as easy as those stupid ‘Bots made it out to be!”

>>”Oil Slick, this is Skywarp. I’m over Ayers Rock right now and Darkride is no where to be found. I have a visual on the Fallen and the other three heralds, but no interrogator. He must’ve slipped out when no one was looking. Keep an optic out for him down there while I keep searching from above.”<<

Cutting his comm line, Skywarp did one more pass high over Ayers Rock before flying out across the battlefield, keeping his scanners attuned on the ground for the wayward torturer. “He’s got to be down there somewhere! Come on, Darkride, you disgusting fragger! Show your ugly faceplate! Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Australia - Uluru

Flamewar had been tending to her affairs after giving her counsel to Motormaster, primarily getting Wipe-Out's report and listening to one of the few mechs that she trusted, Warwolf, when she had been rather roughly pulled away by the Stunticon commander. At least with enough force to somewhat dent her shoulder plating. But despite Motormaster's rather rude interruption, he spoke rather civilly. Which, given the Stunticon commander's reputation, was almost a pleasant surprise. His request was not unreasonable either, though other Decepticons might have had issues with putting themselves below their standing like...for instance, Starscream. Appearances were important in the Decepticons afterall.

No, Flamewar understood Motormaster's position. As well as the leverage that her own position granted her. She was accustomed to sinking to whatever lows would accomplish her ends. Pride was not a factor. She surely had a good deal of it, but she allowed it to bend and flex to her needs. And right now, it suited her to maintain a low profile. As much as possible, anyway, given the circumstances.

"Got it? If you have a problem with this, our problem just got bigger."

"Understood sir," Flamewar said with a respectful and slightly contrite tone in her voice. Soon after, Motormaster released her and shoved the little strategist back into the line of troops. When the Stunticon commander had moved far enough away, Krunix deigned to speak to her once more.

"Past the all important opening move of 'Send in the Vehicons First', I have a feeling this isn't going to go anywhere near as smooth as everyone seems to think. Any other thoughts?"

Flamewar said nothing, but instead opened up a private communication with Krunix. The little strategist didn't learn his lesson that well did he? Openly vocalizing jokes about his commanding officer? Even if they were whispers. Still. Unwise. >>"We know very little about the combat capabilities of our enemy. Sending in genericons and vehicons first will allow us some insight into their capacity for combat. From there, we can begin to formulate a strategy. Intelligence is key. All I can say with any certainty right now is: Hit it till it breaks."<<

Turning her attention away from Krunix and onto other matters, she picked Wipe-Out from the crowd that he had tried to dissolve himself into. His report had been adequate for the moment. They were about to embark on a rather large engagement. Still, she wanted him alive for a full debriefing afterward. Pushing through the ranks, she yanked him from the rest of the rank and file and over to her side. "You're with me," she said gruffly.

With Wipe-Out in tow, she moved back over to Warwolf's side as they continued onward toward Ayer's Rock. "Warwolf, stay close to me during the attack," she muttered to her former pupil, "And keep an optic on this one-" She gestured to Wipe-Out, "-if you would. I need him alive for later."

And then the Fallen launched his attack. By shooting Waspinator. And turning him into an energy projectile. Well then. It seemed that the fates hated Waspinator's guts. That one always seemed to get the short end of the stick. It would be funny. Had Flamewar had no time for humor. Or a sense of one. Still...that ability...was disconcerting. What else did the Fallen have in his arsenal? Drawing out her fusion bow, Flamewar readied herself, and waited for further orders from Motormaster. The Vehicons could take the brunt of the first assault.

Australia - Uluru

Noise ejected from Blaster and landed with a roar. His nose immediately told him that there were Decepticons in the are but before he could get too riled up he heard Blaster. He blinked at him for a moment then turned to see Graphy already in leg mode.

"Ok, I do that Blaster!" Noise said excitedly and leaped into the air, transforming into his upper body mode and combining with Graphy.

The combined Decibel snapped into attention and saluted Blaster.

"Of course sir. Your orders will be carried out forthwith." He turned to Steeljaw. "Let us move out sir." The Graphy portion of his mind told Decibel where he should go and he moved out in a proper military hurried jog.

((OOC: Made a quick change calling Steeljaw "sir" instead of "soldier." Noticed his rank is higher than Decibel's.

Australia- Uluru; the Combined Aerial Forces



“Ehmmmm Wazzzpinator having very bad feeling about this…"

Waspinator was such a coward even Misfire couldn't help but groan. And he was flanked by fraggin Autobots and a pair of Decepticons he didn't particularly trust. There were a lot of bodies between him and the enemy, but they weren't bodies he knew he could count on.

“Wazzzpinator can already tell he’s going to havvve a date with a CR Chamber when thizzz izzz all over ovvver…"

And they said Misfire was a whiner...

"Easy, bug eyes," Misfire said over his comm link. "We outnumber this guy. We just make sure the Autobots take the hits and we all head back for some of the good Engex, huh?"

Misfire could barely see the target off in the distance. Divebomb and Shadowing were ahead of him, same as Waspinator. Misfire had made some excuse about his bulky frame being best suited to bring up the rear of their formation. Either the others pitied his cowardice or didn't care enough to see through his bunk. Either way worked.

And then, all of a sudden, Waspinator tumbled from the sky. The insecticon screamed as he tailspinned towards the ground. Suddenly the bug's whining seemed prophetic.

Misfire waited for the cries of confusion from his squadmates, disabling his own audio receptors before the comms lit up. He focused on the formation. He flew straight ahead to the target.

There were still a few defenders between him and the enemy. Still a few wings to support him in battle.

Once they were down... well, once that happened he'd be off to do something more self interested.