Chaotic Slideshow - Chapter 09 (Patreon)

We raced through the highway, then took the roads leading into Mission City like the devil’s hounds were on our tail. From what I knew of Megatron and his lackey, that was pretty close to the truth. We stopped at the crossroads, where Colonel Lennox ran into a pawnshop and, within a few seconds, came out holding a handful of radios.

He threw them into the cab of the military vehicle, toward his second-in-command, while the rest of the soldiers began to spread out, watching the skies.

I still stood on the back of the vehicle I had ridden here, watching as the public gathered around us, curiously watching and waiting for something to happen. Glancing at Lennox, our eyes met.

He nodded toward them; I returned it, then took a deep breath.

The Barrier of Wind King flared around me, unfurling as if reading my mind, carrying my voice far and wide.

“Attention, people of Mission City!”

Instantly, all eyes were on me, with people pointing and using their phones to take photos, a grin on their faces. They clearly thought this was some kind of elaborate production or marketing stunt. I just stared back, stone-faced, as the Autobots drove up near us, forming a semi-circle.

“This is a military operation! Your lives are going to be in danger if you stay!” I yelled, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good.

People instantly began to clap and yell in excitement.

“This country, I swear…” I muttered, then reached to my back, took my gun, and shot above the crowd, hitting the façade of the building.

WHUMP

Debris rained down, and people began to scream as they ducked low.

“As I was saying, please leave…” I exclaimed.

I watched the smarter ones instantly turn around and leave, but before I could continue, Lennox yelled up to me.

“We need to leave! The streets here are too narrow!”

I grabbed the handhold on the vehicle I was staying on.

“Then let’s go!”

We rode through the streets, with the Autobots surrounding us and the Cube securely held by Bumblebee, approaching a large crossing as a fighter jet screamed overhead, buzzing the buildings and sending the watching crowd to exclaim in wonder.

Some of them even clapped…

Morons…

“Air Force has arrived!” Lennox yelled. “Pop the smoke!”

Instantly, green smoke began to billow as the soldiers followed his command, before they began to fan out, nervously holding their weapons and scanning the sky and the surroundings.

Glancing back at the kids, I saw Sam and Mikaela nervously looking around, standing next to Bumblebee.

Then I looked after the fighter jet.

That exhaust looks a bit futuristic…

At the exact moment, the Autobots sprang into action, unfurling from their unassuming forms, their tall forms emerging and sending the watchers scattering while they screamed. Ratchet, as the medic, stayed behind, and the silver Autobot simply stayed as a car, pretending to be parked.

Ironhide, his name coming back as I finally watched his transformation, looked up and exclaimed. “That’s Starscream! Everyone to cover!”

It took only a fraction of a moment for the entire situation to devolve into chaos. The fighter jet screaming above the city did an almost impossible turn, facing them and flying parallel to the road they were on, settling into a classical strafing run.

Ironhide and Bumblebee moved forward, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.

I felt, even more keenly than previously, now that I had the Conceptualization power, how the wind around me surged eagerly. It belonged to a king. To some, she would be called THE king. Its purpose was to aid its wielder, to attack and to protect.

Not waiting for anything more, I jumped over the cab of the vehicle I was standing on, sliding off the hood, and the moment my feet touched the ground, I was running forward.

Colonel William Lennox was having a very bad, no-good time.

He didn’t really want to think about how long he had been having this very bad, no-good time. But as he stood in the middle of a crossing in Mission City, surrounded by only a few APCs, a squad armed with SABOT rounds, two teenagers holding a cube, four supercars that apparently could turn into giant robots (or maybe giant robots that could turn into supercars), and an honest-to-god wizard, he decided he was going to retire if they survived this.

Staring into the sky, watching, almost in slow motion, as the enemy fighter jet lined up for a perfect strike, he couldn’t help but curse. And yell.

He noticed he had been yelling a lot lately.

“Go! Go! GO! Get to cover!”

All around him, his squad was scrambling while several grabbed the kids and dragged them toward the stone buildings. Inadvertently, he glanced back at the wizard, who a second ago was still standing on the back of the APC and staring into the distance.

Lennox had no idea what the guy’s deal was.

But he was with them, and so far, looked almost the most competent among them. Plus, he could bend metal or whatever he did back in the bunker under Hoover Dam.

Not so secretly, Lennox hoped that the guy also had something against approaching enemy air strikes.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the wind in the air blew past him, and the guy was vaulting over the cab of the APC, sliding off, then rushing toward where two of the giant robots were also rushing. The big black robot yelled at the wizard to keep back, but the guy ignored him.

The blood in Lennox’s veins froze.

Up in the air, the sound of a missile barrage being fired could be heard, streaming and screaming toward them. Six lethal warheads they had no way to defend against.

Lennox kept yelling, throwing people away from the open road as he also started to run, but some instinct made him look back.

The wizard stopped ahead of the two robots, braced himself, and raised both of his hands.

Rockets screamed toward them, Lennox’s eyes following the first one as it spiraled through the air, aimed directly toward the middle of the street.

WHUMMMP!

WHUMP! WHUMP!

WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!

His eyes widened as he beheld the impossible.

Six missiles slammed into an invisible wall, exploding as if they had slammed into impenetrable metal, while the wind around it wasn’t even ruffled. Oh, people screamed and yelled, but aside from a bit of fright, nobody was hurt.

The same couldn’t be said of the other side of the invisible wall. The explosion tore apart everything; cars were flung away, the road was more debris than road, and small fires were burning everywhere as the fighter jet flew over their heads.

Lennox’s eyes were on the wizard, who slowly lowered his hands, visibly shaking, but standing tall, the wind seemingly ruffling his hair.

Then he had to duck low as something exploded above him.

BAMM!

CRASH!

Stone fell around him as a fucking giant tank turned the corner, firing continuously toward them. It drove toward them, seemingly crushing cars under its tracks on purpose, because Lennox saw that there was enough space for it not to do that.

Suddenly, the silver sports car roared forward, slaloming between their APCs, car wrecks, craters, and piles of debris.

He turned to Epps. “What the hell was that? They fired on us!”

“That wasn’t us! F-22 pilots would never fly this low! That was alien!”

“Then where the hell are the friendlies?”

I stood there, trembling, but with my eyes wide and ready for more. The sun was shining down on me, so Photosynthesis was doing its job, and Battle Continuation ensured that I wouldn’t fall over, but stopping six Decepticon missiles was a little more than I was prepared for.

Still, it worked.

Ironhide looked down at me. His face was very different from a human's, but it was still clear he was dumbfounded.

“Good job, human…”

I grinned, my eyes returning to the battle at hand. The tank was approaching, firing toward us. However, the shots were seemingly going wide.

“He doesn’t want to harm the Cube…” I murmured.

As we watched, Jazz, the name resurfacing in my head, transformed mid-jump after launching off a ramp made out of a crashed car. He transformed into his robot form and wrenched the tank's cannon aside, making the shot go even wider than the others.

“Brawl was never one for complicated plans…” Ironhide muttered in a deep voice.

People were rushing all around us, mostly away from the approaching monster tank, but I could see several bodies already lying on the ground, a deep, unsettling feeling taking hold of me.

I couldn’t protect them…

But breaking down was for later. For now, I had to ensure I was alive to be able to properly break down. Then, as I shook myself out of my momentary lapse, all I saw was Ironhide driving forward and missiles streaming toward us again.

Loudly cursing, I threw my hands up and launched Invisible Air to intercept them; behind me, the squad of soldiers took up defensive positions behind upturned cars and debris.

BAMM!

CRACK!

WHUMP!

Missiles exploded against my shield, and I felt every one of them through my body, letting me know it cost me a lot of energy to do what I did. Thankfully, the sun was constantly refilling my battery, but if the Decepticon mooks decided to grow brains and rain down a full barrage, I don’t think I would be able to fully maintain my shield.

Even now, I knew that I would be feeling this later, with only Battle Continuation allowing me to power through the shakes.

The Autobot transformed mid-jump, visibly avoiding the humans who were too hurt or too scared to move, and slammed down a pretty cool heel kick on Brawl. The tank Decepticon didn’t take this lying down and instantly transformed, only to have the comparatively small Jazz jump onto his neck and immediately rip off an extension holding several rockets.

This only caused the Decepticon to reach up with its long arm, grab the small Autobot, and toss him far away.

But the distraction achieved its purpose.

Ironhide and Ratchet were on the Decepticon, firing their guns, as Brawl returned fire with missiles that seemingly missed every one of the Autobots. I had to run forward, catching each and every one of them before they could impact and cause more destruction. Even then, as they exploded on my shield made out of Invisible Air, the shockwave and sheer force of the explosion still destroyed a lot of things.

Cars were set aflame, building facades collapsed, people were flung everywhere, the air filled with sirens, alarms, cries of the wounded, and screams of the fleeing, all only superseded by the shots fired by the Autobots and the sounds of Cybertronian metal clashing with Cybertronian metal in battle.

Jazz sprang up and slid forward, firing his weapon at the underbelly of Brawl while Ratchet and Ironhide circled the giant Decepticon, dwarfing even them, as I jumped around in the background, catching stray missiles and shots, preventing the people behind me from getting hit.

I must have looked ridiculous, running and rushing around, but my focus was fully on the projectiles.

Occasionally, I would see one of the soldiers rushing by, carrying someone, but the only thing I heard from behind me was the constant rat-a-tat-tat of their weapons as they tried to take out Brawl. Sadly, most of their shots ricocheted off Brawl’s armor, but some of them thankfully went through.

Then Ratchet sprang forward, somersaulting in the air, his arm transforming mid-motion from a gun to some kind of rotary saw-looking device, and using the motion, lopped off one of Brawl’s arms.

Using the moment as Brawl let out an agonizing, digitized screech, staring at his arm, Ironhide launched himself forward, sending Brawl tumbling backward, while Jazz, laughing uproariously, let loose a volley of shots.

The soldiers renewed their shots, Ratchet aimed directly at the core, and even Ironhide started blasting the moment he separated from Brawl.

Brawl hit a brownstone building, caving in the outer walls, sending bricks, dust, and debris everywhere, then fell forward onto the ground, every gear, servo, and moving part in its body whining loudly enough from exertion that even I could hear it from a distance. Several of those parts shone bright orange under load before Ironhide stepped forward and let loose one final shot.

Brawl spasmed once, then went limp.

Momentarily freed from the duty of providing cover from missiles, I conjured another token into my hand, spun around, and, using Invisible Air, launched it toward the dead body of the Decepticon.

Best not to leave alien technology lying around.

There was a distant ping as the small metal token hit the Decepticon, and I saw a new screen before me.

[You aided the Autobots in killing Brawl, then captured its dead body! 1 x Silver Random Ticket.]

Using the lull in the battle, I reached inside my pocket, pulled out the ticket, and tore it apart.

[Adept Driving (Rare Skill): You are as skilled as a veteran driver, being able to handle any vehicle with familiarity and ease. If you participate in a race, chances are you will embarrass the competition.]

“Haha, very funny…” I muttered as the knowledge and muscle memory filled my body, before my head snapped up as a very heavy thud recaptured my attention.

From beyond the cover of two buildings, a new robotic construct stepped forward.

Megatron emerged from the shadows, his gigantic body towering over the Autobots as he stared at them, his much wilder face showing his refusal to shed his Cybertronian body fully. A face that radiated contempt.

For a very, very short moment, silence fell over the battlefield, then everything exploded.

Jazz flung himself forward, firing on full cylinders, letting loose volleys of shots from both arms, while Ratchet and Ironhide turned around and roared.

“It’s Megatron! Retreat!”

“Take cover, soldiers!”

Megatron just ignored Jazz’s shots, letting the projectiles spark off his armor, and took several steps forward, crushing whatever was under his feet without care as he sneered at them.

“Give me… the Cube…”

Jazz jumped toward one of the buildings, grabbing onto the wall, the bricks turning to powder under his metal hand but giving enough surface for him to launch himself upward, aiming at Megatron’s head.

“Come and get it, you ancient rust bucket!” the small Autobot exclaimed, blue shots leaving his arms.

Megatron didn’t even look; his arm snapped up, just as fast as Jazz was flying through the air, the shots ricocheting off his armor, and with a contemptuous slap, sent Jazz tumbling through the air.

“Get lost, little cretin!”

Walking backwards, Ironhide raised both arms, both of them unfurling into giant rotary cannons, the metal radiating enough heat that the air around them wavered, and let loose a barrage, all of it aimed at Megatron.

The Decepticon turned sideways fast enough that the first volley slammed into the building behind him, then picked up a car with the ease of someone picking up a pillow and threw it forward, letting it absorb the shots. At the same time, it forced Ironhide to stop as he dodged the flying vehicle.

Ratchet was far away, holding up several vehicles as wounded people crawled out from under them, crying, screaming, and scrambling away from the alien lifeform; meanwhile, the medical Autobot anxiously looked around, no doubt wanting to know where Optimus Prime was.

I was too, because Megatron looked super pissed…

One hand up and ready to unleash Invisible Air, I reached to my back and took out my gun. Raising one hand, bracing myself with the Barrier of the Wind King, I took aim. I didn’t have any powers that gave me a supernatural ability to aim, but Megatron was so big it was hard not to hit him.

CLANK!

The first hit glanced off his pauldron.

PLINK!

Another glancing hit, but this time I managed to clip his side, while Jazz came back behind him, running and peppering Megatron with shots.

“You little pest!” Megatron growled and finally lifted his own arm, the line glowing sickly blue before letting loose an inhumanly precise shot, sending Jazz once again through the air, though I could see parts of him come off.

THUNK!

This time I hit, but the armor was too thick. Focusing on my aim, I took a deep breath and let loose three shots.

The first flew wide, the second was glancing, but the third…

CRACK!

Hit exactly at a joint, causing sparks to fly and something small to fall out of Megatron’s body. Instantly, the head of the Decepticon’s leader snapped toward me.

“Mongrel…” he growled, and his arm…

As Megatron’s arm came up, shining with blue light that reminded me of the pools in nuclear reactors, there was only one thought going through my head…

Hehe… I’m in trouble…

There was no time to run. No time to hide. The blue projectile left the cannon on Megatron’s arm, and all I could do was throw every ounce of my power into Invisible Air as it formed a tight cocoon around me.

Fire and energy roared around me, but I didn’t care.

More like I couldn’t focus on it as I was sent flying through the air, head over heels, spinning uncontrollably, both my body and mind shaken by the impact.

I don’t know how long I flew, but I felt the moment I landed somewhere, as the shock caused my breath to explode from my lungs, mixed with a cry of pain.

For a long moment, I just lay there, unthinking, unable to focus, feeling as if I had been trampled by a herd of elephants. My muscles refused to cooperate, every inch of my body was shaking, and my head was ringing both from the shockwave and the sounds around me.

I looked around, painfully moving my head, but while I saw, I couldn’t comprehend what I could see. A fog covered my mind.

For a while, I tried to focus, tried to reach out, but then something, or rather someone, reached down and started pulling me up.

This new sensation was enough to send a jolt of realization through my body, clearing out some of the fog, as I realized that one of Lennox’s men was pulling me toward cover as he kept yelling something I couldn’t understand.

As the fog continued to clear from my mind, I slowly checked over my body, and aside from a few bumps and scrapes, there was nothing that would indicate deeper wounds.

The Barrier of the Wind King did its job; it protected me, and as the last remnants of the fog fled, I could feel my control over my body returning. I flexed my fingers, which caused the soldier to stop.

“Can you hear me?” he yelled at me, his eyes looking at me with wild disbelief.

I held up a hand, stopping him, and slowly extricated myself from his hold. At first, it was dubious whether I would be able to stand, but then the energy from the sun mixed with Battle Continuation, allowing me to stay on my feet.

I saw out of the corner of my eye that the soldier kept staring at me in disbelief, but my eyes were on something else.

A puddle of water that gathered after one of the hydrants was destroyed during the fight.

And inside it, lying there half-submerged a toy sword.

I hobbled over and gently picked it up.

It was very light, clearly made from cheap plastic.

But… it was a sword from a “lake.” Maybe a reach, but I needed that reach.

The soldier behind me seemed to be baffled. “Sir… what are you doing?”

I simply gripped the toy sword, did a few swings, then used Invisible Air to envelop the “blade,” turning it invisible.

I was broken out of my reverie by another cry.

“Incoming!”

“On the rooftops!”

Snapping my head up, I saw a helicopter land on the edge of one of the buildings overlooking the crossing while transforming.

“Hail, Megatron!” it roared for all to hear, then several plates slid open on its body, releasing a wave of missiles right at our position, where the soldiers were holed up, and Bumblebee was doing his best to protect his charges and the Cube.

I took in the situation.

Megatron was in a battle with Ironhide and Ratchet, with Jazz running around him like an annoying bee and harassing him.

So instead, I took a deep breath and raised an arm, the other one holding onto the plastic sword with a death grip.

As the missiles began to slam into my shield, I couldn’t help but grin.

Beyond the dregs of energy slowly being refilled thanks to the sun, there was a new source. Something, dribbling a very little power, maybe no more than a few drops, and supporting him.

Soldiers cried out, covering their heads and throwing themselves aside, but the missiles exploded above our heads. In the swirling dust cloud, I managed to spot Lennox.

He called out to me the moment we made eye contact. “We have incoming evac!” He pointed toward one of the buildings. “Blackhawks are coming to pick up the Cube. We need to take it up there!”

I stared up at the building and scowled. That was a long run, especially with the Decepticon standing there at the corner, looking over the chaotic streets of Mission City.

Lennox continued. “The kid is going to take it. That way we can protect him.”

Before I could answer, while Sam nervously stood in the background, a roar bounced between the battered walls of Mission City.

“Enough, you cretins!”

Megatron was angry.

I watched as he moved blindingly fast, delivering an enormous punch at Ironhide, sending the Autobot flying, while at the same time kicking a car toward Ratchet, forcing the medic to dodge. Continuing the movement, he raised his arms and let loose a volley with enough power to vaporize several walls and cars as Jazz tried to rapidly dodge.

Sadly, the last shot landed partially, sending the smaller Autobot skidding, and Megatron pouncing.

However, Bumblebee suddenly appeared, seemingly abandoning his mission to protect Sam and the Cube, jumping over our cover and rapidly throwing himself into the battle.

His intervention allowed Jazz to scrape himself together, but his shots were also ineffective against Megatron.

My eyes still on the fight, I reached into my pocket and pulled out an apple and bit into it, almost instantly feeling a wave of relief sweep over my body.

“Prep the kid,” I said around rapid bites. “I’m going to assist.”

I didn’t even listen to his reply; I finished the last of the apple, and I was already running forward toward the giants fighting.

However, before I could reach them, I was waylaid by an enormous shadow dropping down on me. Ducking low, I rolled uncontrollably forward as the road behind me cratered when the Decepticon who had transformed into the helicopter landed.

His arms were covered in blades, which immediately began to buzz and swirl.

“You are going to die, little human…” it growled at me, snapping one of his arms forward, the helicopter blade on it buzzing with unrestrained energy.

Not knowing what to do, I raised my sword in my kneeling position.

SNICK

Cybertronian metal met with Invisible Air and my Puddlecalibur.

The cut metal blades fell to the ground with a loud clatter as the Decepticon stared at me. “What the…?”

Not wasting my opportunity, I lunged forward, slashing vertically at the Decepticon’s ankle, my sword enhanced with Invisible Air cutting into the thick metal, causing a mechanical roar of pain to emerge from the robot.

“Good one!” Ironhide laughed as he joined me in the fight. “Let’s deal with Blackout!”

As I tried to cut deeper, Blackout’s other arm came down, but Ironhide was there, catching it mid-flight. “Don’t think so!”

Then he raised his other arm and let loose an entire volley into Blackout’s chest. That was enough to send the Decepticon reeling, which in turn moved its leg into my sword, fully separating the foot from the leg.

It collapsed onto one knee, its other side catching a barrage of SABOT rounds from the soldiers who made sure to keep the pressure on. I could see its body slowly breaking down as the soldiers hit one after another.

I simply stepped deeper, looking up at the kneeling Decepticon, meeting its eyes.

His eyes were completely mechanical, but even then, I could see the realization that it would die.

Blackout didn’t beg.

He just stared into my eyes as Ironhide held him down and I stabbed upwards with my invisible sword, right where his spark was.

My energy met the Energon core, and there was a brief struggle as the core tried to keep itself together, but in the end, the energy vanished, the light behind the eyes fled, and Blackout collapsed forward. However, before it could crush me with its sheer weight, it also vanished into a token.

“Good job, human,” Ironhide growled, clearly pleased.

Before I could see if I got another ticket, another, much angrier roar shook the area. Swirling around, I saw Megatron staring at me with undisguised hate, as his own head snapped to the side, a SABOT round sparking off it.

I watched in slow motion as Jazz tried to do one of his maneuvers, backed up by the shots coming from Bumblebee, but Megatron, apparently having had enough of playing, moved at incredible speed and grabbed the small Autobot.

CRUNCH!

His grip on Jazz tightened, causing his chassis to crumble and the Autobot to cry out in pain.

“Die, mongrel!” Megatron shouted, his deep, scratchy voice, with digitized reverb, aimed directly at little ol’ me.

And Jazz.

Because Megatron threw the Autobot at me.

I had maybe a second to respond.

“Go limp, Jazz!” I yelled, and with Invisible Air boosting my hand, I threw a token at him.

PLINK!

Jazz vanished, and I grinned, while Megatron stared at me.

“What?! What did you do, human?”

I summoned the token and threw it behind myself, summoning Jazz back on the ground. The Autobot let out an autotuned groan of pain and confusion.

“That was some trip! Woohoo! Can’t put Jazz down!” the excitable Autobot exclaimed, before seemingly letting out a bunch of weird electronic noises. “Uuuuh I feel… woOoozy…”

Ratchet rushed over, kneeling over his fallen brother, while the rest of us stood around Megatron, who was hatefully scowling at us, every line of its metallic body tight with energy and tension.

For an eternity we stood there, then came two heavenly sounds.

HONK HONK

Every head, both Autobot, Decepticon, and even human, snapped toward the truck barreling through the streets, sending trash, debris, and wrecks aside.

Slowing down, the truck transformed, its speed still the same, not even breaking its stride, Optimus Prime emerging elegantly behind us after a seamless transformation, staring directly at Megatron.

“Megatron! This ends here!” he declared, his voice sending shivers down my spine. His very presence demanded that he be obeyed.

Feeling a bit cheeky, I grinned.

And yelled out loud. “Till all are one!”

Optimus Prime’s head slowly turned toward me, while the Autobots around me just stared at me. He slowly nodded.

“Yes. Till all are one.”

His gravelly voice echoed around us, and I could feel myself standing straighter.

Optimus Prime took up a battle stance. “Let’s end this, brother.”

Megatron, simmering in rage, just snarled incoherently and threw himself at Optimus Prime, disregarding us without thought or reason.

“Ironhide, Bumblebee, escort the Cube…” I whispered, knowing that their audio sensors would pick it up. “I will try to support the Prime.”

“Understood,” Ironhide grunted, then turned around and began running toward the squad of soldiers heading toward the building, surrounding Sam and Mikaela in the middle, with Sam holding the Cube to himself in a death grip.

Bumblebee looked down at me, and his radio came alive. “The stars above scream his name…” came in the voice of some unknown radio personality.

I nodded. “Starscream is a coward.” Even I, with my spotty Transformers knowledge, knew that Starscream was the biggest coward. “He will either run or strike when there is an opportunity.”

Bumblebee gave me a thumbs-up, and he was off toward Sam and the rest.

I turned around, pulled out my gun, and began shooting at the back of Megatron as he was locked in a battle with Optimus Prime, the two of them going at it like it was the end of the world.

Oh wait…

It was.

Colonel William Lennox couldn’t really make sense of reality.

He just watched a guy who looked barely out of college simply raise his hand and detonate missiles in the air, with their explosions refusing to affect those standing behind him, then do it again and again. Then he saw the guy pull out a gun he couldn’t recognize and take some rather amateurish shots at the big bad robot that was giving Lennox the creeps.

Naturally, the enormous robot fired back, creating a six-foot-deep crater where the guy had stood.

But was he vaporized?

Of course not! That would make too much sense.

Instead, Lennox watched open-mouthed with his men as the wizard, or whatever he was, was flung through the air like a rag doll, spinning and tumbling before hitting the torn-up pavement hard enough to turn any person into a smear, as an enormous blue cloud of fire consumed the spot where he had stood.

One of his men instantly rushed forward, one hand holding one of their severely depleting medical kits, and knelt next to the man. His soldier looked up incredulously.

“He is breathing!” he yelled, causing everyone to exclaim in surprise.

How the hell did he survive that?

As the man was helped out, eyes clouded and totally out of it, Lennox occasionally glanced toward him as the wizard and his man shambled toward their cover, while he was giving commands and occasionally letting loose a volley toward the enemy.

Then, hearing a confused yell, he watched as the wizard seemingly shook off being shot by what he estimated was close to a railgun, reached down and picked up a cheap toy sword dripping with water, and held it up as if he was carrying a great treasure.

Then he did a few amateurish swings, and the “blade” of the sword vanished in front of Lennox’s eyes, leaving behind only the cheap plastic grip and an enormous, self-satisfied grin on the wizard’s face.

Honestly, Lennox was completely lost.

Then, for some unfathomable reason, the kid ate a golden apple and ran toward the battle, as if he hadn’t taken a shot from a railgun to his face. He exchanged a look with his comrades, but they were just as shell-shocked as he was.

Putting the wizard out of his mind, he instead refocused on getting the VIP to the extraction spot.

The kids were great, but they were visibly shaken, the girl sticking very close to the spastic teenager as he hugged the mysterious Cube to himself.

Thankfully, the wizard and the rest of the good robots managed to distract the giant Blackhawk helicopter that also turned into a robot, and they managed to cut through the rubble and destruction, heading for the bank building’s roof in a loose formation with the kids in the middle.

Then Lennox made the mistake of looking over the battle.

The good robots were doing their very best to slow down the enormous evil-looking robot, while the wizard was fighting with the helicopter robot alone until the big black robot with the giant guns joined him.

Then Lennox watched as the seemingly invisible toy sword cut through the blade of the monster made out of the same metal that was protecting the enemy from his squad’s SABOT rounds.

Then a one-two body shot from the robot aiding the wizard, and he watched as the wizard guy stepped closer to the kneeling monster and thrust his invisible weapon upward. Sparks flew everywhere from the back of the helicopter robot before it vanished, just like the other defeated monsters.

He didn’t know what the wizard guy was doing, but he was glad. He didn’t know what would happen if someone from the public got their hands on alien technology.

Then the last of the good guys arrived. An enormous Peterbilt truck came barreling through the destroyed street and transformed into a robot equal in size to the enemy, whose mechanical eyes instantly locked onto the new arrival.

As the two named robots, Ironhide and Bumblebee, rushed toward them, Lennox glanced back one last time and saw the wizard guy with the same gun striding forward with even steps, continuously firing from his strange gun.

Despite being a fraction of the size of the fighting titans, as he got farther away from them, Lennox couldn’t help but think that he looked just as big as those robots.

Then he heard a sound that filled him with relief.

Two Blackhawks were approaching the city, heading straight for the coordinates they had given them.

“Go! Go! Last stretch, men!”

The soldiers yelled, the kids shivered, and they began running at full speed toward the old building as the helicopters began their approach.

He could feel the relief spreading through his body, knowing that all of this would soon be over. The Cube would be out of the city, and they could start evacuating. Or trying to take out the enemy.

Alas, Fate had different plans…

He heard an almost silent whining sound, as if the air itself were shaking, then the distinct boom of the sound barrier being broken, followed by the tinkling sound of countless windows shattering and raining glass down onto the streets, before the two Blackhawks exploded into fiery storms as something silver flew through them.

“COVER!” someone yelled, and they all began to duck away as the fiery carcasses of the two helicopters rained down around them.

“Starscream!” Ironhide yelled, raising a frustrated fist into the air.

The alien fighter jet screamed through the air, then took a sudden U-turn that Lennox knew would have pulped a human at that speed. It turned its attention toward them, slowing down and transforming into a grotesque mechanical monster before thudding down onto the ground with heavy steps.

Its jagged body moved as it pointed toward Ironhide, who turned to shield the humans with his bulk. “I shall present your core to Megatron!”

“Try it, coward,” Ironhide growled.

I shot hyper-accelerated shot after shot at Megatron, but the armor on his back was too sturdy, and he was moving too fast for me to even try to aim with my amateurish skills.

Optimus Prime was wielding a glowing sword, while Megatron’s hand transformed into a ball on a chain and used that to turn into a deadly blender, trying to snag Optimus while also carving deep trenches into the building around the two fighting Cybertronians.

Then I saw that Starscream had finally shown up, of course only after destroying the helicopters sent for the extraction. I looked between the two.

Either I help Optimus with dubious results, or go and handle Starscream before he decides to flee.

Pretty easy decision…

I spun around and began running toward the battle, where Ironhide had thrown himself at the winged Decepticon, the two of them brawling in the street. The soldiers were huddled up near the target building, raining down shots on the Decepticon with less-than-stellar results, while Sam and Mikaela huddled under Bumblebee’s protective body.

“Ratchet!” I yelled toward the medic, who was still making sure Jazz wouldn’t succumb to his wounds. “Need a hand!”

“Understood,” the taciturn Transformer answered, stepping away from Jazz.

“Leave me! I will hold!” the small Autobot exclaimed, pulling himself closer to the wall and slowly transforming one of his arms into a gun. The lights sputtered a little, but in the end, they came online. “Nobody can keep Jazz down!”

Ratchet stepped next to me, his longer steps crossing the distance between us within a few seconds.

“Launch me,” I told him, my hand gripping my Puddlecalibur.

“The human body is unlikely to withstand the physical forces…” Ratchet began as he lowered one of his hands, and I stepped onto it. “However, while my scans tell me you’re a baseline human, I have witnessed your actions. I shall trust that you have a plan.”

Then, without saying anything, he flung me forward.

Using the Barrier of the Wind King, I smoothed out my flight path, preventing any tumbling while raising the hand holding the sword and focusing on the edge, making sure that when it needed to cut, it would cut.

Standing with his back to me, Starscream didn’t see me, but Ironhide did. He rushed forward, taking several hits to his torso from both Starscream’s hands and weapons, but the sacrifice allowed him to grab the Decepticon and hold him there for a moment.

“What are you doing?” Starscream shouted as he reared back to strike Ironhide again.

SLICK

The invisible sword found purchase directly in the back of his body as my body slammed into him. The landing hurt, but Battle Continuation made sure that I wouldn’t black out or faint. Starscream froze, and I grinned.

Twisting the sword, I focused Invisible Air into the blade that was buried deep inside the Decepticon and willed it to explode.

A grand wind tore through his body, sending gears and smaller parts flying everywhere while exposing his core. Holding my sword with one hand, I reached behind me, pulled my gun, and let loose a single shot at the twisting core of corrupted Energon.

Starscream’s body spasmed once, then twice, letting out what was a cross between the whine of a microphone getting too close to a speaker and a scream of pain, before he collapsed into the arms of Ironhide.

Not wasting even a moment, I placed a token on his back and allowed the skill to absorb the corpse now that Starscream couldn’t resist.

Then I found myself without any footing, but Ironhide was quicker. His hand snapped out, catching me midair before lowering me to the ground.

Both of us looked at each other, battered and bruised, my clothing torn almost everywhere, and Ironhide having several car parts hanging off him, held in place only by prayer, dust, and dirt. He let out a booming laugh.

“HAHA! A fitting end for a coward! Excellent fight, human!”

I raised a fist in the air in victory, and the Autobot mimicked me as Bumblebee played a clapping ovation from some recording behind us. The soldiers began to slowly creep out of their hidey-holes, while I saw Sam and Mikaela staring at me in wonder and disbelief.

Sadly, our celebration was cut short as, with a great whooshing and scraping sound, Optimus Prime was launched backward through the air, his hands grasping at the nearby buildings and carving deep gouges as he searched for something to hold onto.

Megatron resurfaced, his claws gripping the corner of the building as he pulled himself forward, visibly battered and furious as his mechanical eyes swept through the area. It didn’t take him long to take in the celebrating Autobots and the complete lack of Decepticon presence.

“Useless wastrels,” he growled, the voice reaching everyone and sending a shiver down my spine. He emerged fully from behind the crumbling building, his body battered after he clashed with Optimus, but still towering over all of us. “It seems I have to deal with you myself…”

Optimus came running from where he had landed, hands moving beside his body as he ran toward Megatron. “Megatron! That’s enough! You’ve lost!” he yelled as the Autobots jumped into action at the sight of their leader.

Jazz began shooting at Megatron from the side, Bumblebee began to herd the humans away, the soldiers took to their knees and began to fire, while Ironhide slammed his fists together. “Let’s rumble!”

Ratchet was circling Megatron, looking for an opportunity to strike, while Optimus Prime fell on the fallen Cybertronian, his sword left somewhere, just straight-up slugging Megatron in the face and sending him staggering.

I took out my own gun and began to send potshots when I heard a very familiar sound.

Two jets approached from high up, and many more followed along.

“Epps! Tell me those are friendlies!” Lennox yelled at his second-in-command.

Epps, his red beret somehow still on his head, said something into the large, bulky radio he was holding and nodded at his commander. “Yes, sir! They are requesting targets!”

Lennox grinned. “Men! Paint them some targets!”

Several green dots suddenly appeared on Megatron’s moving body as Epps yelled out, “Twenty seconds until strike!”

I continued to fire as I watched brother fight against brother, my thoughts turning toward the Cube.

“Sam!” I yelled, using the wind to carry my voice across the battlefield. “Give me the Cube!”

Poor Sam, who looked like he was moments away from breaking down, jumped. “W-what?”

“The Cube!” I repeated.

I fired a few more shots. Several went wide, but one or two hit Megatron, either sparking off or hitting something with deep clonk sounds. Even then, it didn’t slow the monster down. I held out a hand. “The Cube, Sam!”

He clearly hesitated before Bumblebee gently pushed him forward. “Till we are one…” came from his speakers. It took me by surprise to hear my own voice played back.

“Five seconds!” Epps yelled, and the weapons fire doubled as the jets screamed down between the high-rises, leaving trails behind them as the setting sun illuminated everything.

The Cube landed heavily in my hand, Sam standing next to me and looking incredibly reluctant to give up the precious artifact. The moment the ancient technology touched my hand, I could feel the Energon surging below the surface, only waiting to be unleashed.

It was energy… life in its most raw, unrefined form.

I pocketed my gun, grinned at Sam, winked, and then I was off, yelling, “Ironhide! Covering fire!”

“You got it!” The giant Autobot with twin cannons on his hands stopped, took a deep stance, and unleashed fire above my head, aiming in the general direction of Megatron as I rushed forward, holding the Cube in my hand.

If I remember correctly, in the movie they fed the Cube into Megatron’s core, overloading it and destroying both the leader of the Decepticons and the Cube at the same time.

Fighter jets streamed above us, releasing a barrage of rockets and a volley of shots, most of which slammed into Megatron and the area around him, with a few hitting Optimus Prime. The old Autobot took them like a champ and kept pummeling the visibly irate Megatron.

The noise of the impacts was deafening, but I didn’t care; I ran, jumped, and scrambled toward Megatron.

Before touching the Cube, I had considered drawing out the energy within to defeat Megatron, but now I knew that my body was in no way capable of handling it. I would end up just like a Cybertronian: a burned-out husk.

Sometimes the simplest answer was the easiest…

I watched as Optimus Prime raised both hands in the air, clasped them together, and brought them down in a mighty hammer strike on the back of Megatron, sending the Decepticon stumbling forward, right into the path of another barrage of missiles from the second wave of fighter jets and the barrage unleashed by Ironhide. I could see that every shot stripped more and more armor from his monstrous body, exposing his innards.

Perfect for me.

Ratchet used the moment to pounce, his cutting implement slicing deep into Megatron’s body and causing him to let out a growl of pain.

As I ran forward with the Cube in my hand, our eyes met.

Mechanical with biological.

“Give that to me!” he shouted, reaching out with one hand toward me.

Which was a mistake, as Optimus was there and wrenched the arm backward. Ratchet reached Megatron’s other side and grabbed the other arm, with Jazz’s battered body wheeling close behind him, the small Autobot grabbing onto Megatron’s leg.

“You’re not going anywhere, chickenshit!” he yelled, cackling a little.

Megatron flexed, but due to the damage he had suffered, he wasn’t strong enough to wrench himself out of their hold. “Let me go, you mongrels! You are going to pay for this.”

I reached the gigantic body of Megatron; at the same time, Optimus Prime reared back, and a red sword unfolded from his arm. “I’m sorry, brother.”

I took the Cube and held it up to Megatron, practically throwing it into the Decepticon’s core.

Time slowed down as I watched the Cube disintegrate, Megatron’s core greedily drinking it in, every light on his monstrous body lighting up as the new energy surged through him. I could feel my body strain as the Cube seemingly drew power even from me to do what it was doing.

Megatron shouted and groaned, both in pain and exultation, before time sped up again and Optimus Prime’s sword emerged from Megatron’s chest, just above the core.

The last remnants of the Cube vanished, leaving my hand red, while the area around Megatron’s core melted and was ruined.

Megatron’s eyes visibly struggled to keep their lights on, but in the end, they went out.

Optimus Prime gently pulled out his sword and pulled Megatron’s body to the side, letting it fall gently to the ground as the last remnants of energy fled from the leader of the Decepticons. He looked down at the fallen body of his former brother, and I could see the sadness and grief radiating from him.

“You left me no choice, brother…”

Breathing heavily, I could hear my heartbeat as the silence settled around us.

With Megatron dead, there were no more Decepticons. Well, no more Decepticons on this battlefield. I was sure there were at least a few dozen more on Earth or somewhere around, but for now, I would take this win.

We all watched as Optimus Prime lowered his head for a moment of silence before he looked back at me. Behind us, I could hear the soldiers approaching cautiously, some yelling into radios as phones began to ring all around us.

Apparently, the communication blackout had fallen.

As the leader of the Autobots looked up, my hand snapped out, and a token flew through the air, hitting Megatron’s rapidly cooling body before it vanished with nary a sound.

“Better keep it safe…” I called out, then, as the realization hit that it was over, I could feel my body.v

I could feel every last scrape, every torn muscle, every bleeding wound, every bone in my body protesting against me standing or even being conscious.

I didn’t even have time to say anything before darkness consumed everything.

A/N: This one fought me a LOT. But I think I'm somewhat satisfied with the end results. Battle is over, Megatron is dead, Cube destroyed... Not much else to comment on.How do you like the Puddlecalibur? :D