“We’ve got to drive these creeps back! Follow me!” Sunstreaker leaped over a Sharkticon, shooting it with his electron-pulse blaster, and as he landed, he switched into vehicle mode and took off at full speed, smashing through still more Sharkticons. Rodimus also shifted into vehicle form and got a good head of speed, running over Sharkticons while Bumblebee and Kup gave him covering fire. But more swarms just kept coming.
TWO BLOCKS AWAY, GNAW WATCHED THE BATTLE ON THE main monitor in his massive command tank. He was amazed how much of a fight the Cybertronians were putting up. Surely they had to realize they were outnumbered at least ten to one. That they were trapped like rats with no way out. But Gnaw understood that kind of thinking. If the situation had been reversed, he, too, would have chosen a fight to the death over an ignoble surrender. Why capitulate to an enemy without making him pay as high a price as possible?
The Cybertronians were certainly making this a costly battle. The Hall of Justice destroyed, thousands of Sharkticons knocked out of the action—and this was the extent of the bloodletting just on Aquatron. Gnaw could only guess what kind of resistance the general must be running into on Cybertron itself. But if the Cybertronians wanted annihilation, well, Gnaw was more than happy to oblige. The faces of his divisional commanders appeared on the screen.
“Report,” he said.
“Dorsal Division. All causeways have been cut. There is no way out of the city.”
“Incisor Division. We have secured the area beneath the Hall of Justice and are attempting to break out onto the surface.”
“Razor Division. Our second wave is meeting heavy resistance.”
“Claw Division. Our second wave is being forced back.”
Gnaw turned to an aide-de-camp. “And what of the remaining Cybertronian spaceship?”
“Currently five miles above the city, sir. If it comes in for another strafing run or attempts an evacuation, we won’t be caught napping.”
“Good.” He turned back to his division commanders. “I will personally lead the final assault on the Hall of Justice. But first I will attempt to make these Cybertronians see reason.”
The commanders saluted; the screens went blank.
Gnaw picked up his battle mace and switched channels to address his team of handpicked warriors packed into battle tanks behind his own. “Sharkticons, your hour of glory is here! We will strike at their weakest point and hold it as a beachhead for the other divisions. We will overwhelm and destroy them! Let no Cybertronian remain standing. Forward for victory!” The warriors shook their maces and growled in agreement. Gnaw slapped his helmsman’s shoulder.
“I want you to bring us right to the edge of their defenses. Turn on the speakers and broadcast this message on all channels.”
The helmsman obeyed; the battle tank ground toward the Hall of Justice. As it closed in, Gnaw started telling the Cybertronians what was what:
“Attention, worms; your fight is over. We have you surrounded. Even if you escape, you have nowhere to go. The city of Hydratron is cut off, and your planet is under assault by our mighty legions! I am giving you this one chance to surrender. You have ten seconds to reply.”
The reply came in far less time than that.
“Well?” Gnaw asked.
The communications technician looked puzzled. “They say … ‘bolts’ …?”
“Bolts? What does that mean?”
“I … I don’t know.”
Gnaw pulled his blaster and shot the communications technician dead on the spot.
“Begin the assault,” he said. “No prisoners.”
EXPLOSIONS ROCKED THE HALL AS THE MAIN WAVE OF Gnaw’s forces triangulated their firepower. Those Sharkticons who had already stormed forward suddenly found themselves caught between the Cybertronians and their own comrades. They went down like the cannon fodder they were. Ducking another round of blasts, Jazz switched off the com-link and turned to some of the Autobots huddled together under some wreckage.
“I guess he got the message,” he said.
Even Starscream seemed amused. “Well played, Autobot. Let them know none of us is going to roll over and make it easy for them.”
“It may not be that hard,” Jazz said wryly. “They’ve got us pinned down here, and there’s no way we can hold out for long under this firepower.” As if to punctuate the point, a near miss showered them with debris. “So if anybody has any bright ideas, now would be the time to propose ’em.”
“We should take cover in the Nemesis,” Starscream said, gesturing at the nose of the starship, which still protruded through the far wall.
“We’re not leaving Optimus!”
“Will you shut up about your precious Optimus?” Starscream said. “The Nemesis crashed. Meaning it can’t fly. But it’s got to be more defensible than what’s left of this building. A good place for a final stand.”
“Who’s talking about a final stand?” Ratchet asked. “We need to bring the Ark back in here, take some of the pressure off us.”
“Do you think what Gnaw said about invading Cybertron was true?” Prowl asked.
“Nothing these guys say is true,” Jazz answered. “Don’t even give it another thought. I hate to say it, but Starscream’s right—we need to fall back to the Nemesis.”
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said today,” Starscream told him.
“I’ll cover your retreat,” Jazz said. “Now go! All of you!”
Starscream and his Decepticons didn’t need to be told twice; they took off like they were trying to break the lightspeed barrier. The rest of the Autobots fell back in more measured order. Ratchet remained where he was, staring at his old friend with considerable concern.
“You don’t expect to hold them off by yourself?”
Jazz picked up a laser and a Sharkticon mace. “Get out of here,” he said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, you won’t,” said Ironhide.
“You’ll be right alongside us,” Ratchet said. Bulkhead raised his battle mace.
Jazz grinned. The four Autobots gathered their weapons and turned to face the oncoming Sharkticon tide.
INVASION!
The word detonated in Sideswipe’s mind like a bomb. Teletraan-1 had managed to hack into the Aquatronians’ communication net and was piping their every word into the Ark’s bridge. Not that the data was doing them any good; in fact, all it seemed to do was reinforce what dire circumstances they were all in. And Sideswipe had more immediate challenges, anyway, such as keeping the Ark in the air. He was dealing with the damage from braving the city’s gunnery earlier; already he’d had to shut down one of the four thrusters. He was keeping away from most of the ground-to-air defenses, but the long-range cannon remained dangerous. He was debating gaining even more height when—
“Jazz to Sideswipe! We could really use some help down here! We’re pulling back to the Nemesis and need some serious air support.”
“The city’s air defenses are too tough,” Sideswipe said. “I can’t get any closer; you saw what happened to the Nemesis.”
“Well, if we don’t get a break down here, we’re finished!”
“Copy that.” Sideswipe realized he had very little time to come up with a working plan. He knew that even if the Ark deployed all of its remaining shuttles and dropships, they would still be no match for the withering fire of the city’s defenses.
“I hear you could use some assistance.”
Sideswipe turned to see the recently repaired Silverbolt enter the bridge with a slight limp. “Aerialbots ready for duty,” he proclaimed.
“I thought you guys were smashed up pretty badly. I can’t ask—”
“You don’t have to,” Silverbolt said. “What’s the situation?”
“Our guys down in the city center are about to get overrun, and there’s no way we can get to them.” Sideswipe brought up the city map on the viewscreen. Silverbolt studied it for a moment.
“Piece of cake,” he said.
JAZZ, RATC
HET, BULKHEAD, AND IRONHIDE KEPT MOVING, bringing Sharkticons down with precise shots as they gradually fell back toward the Nemesis. Though it was plain the situation wasn’t much better there. Only the Nemesis’s weaponry deployed at point-blank range was keeping the onslaught at bay; plasma cannons unleashed torrents of liquid fire, melting onrushing Sharkticons. But the four Autobots were about to get cut off. They had a company of Sharkticon commandos on the right and an unknown number on the left; at this rate, their chances of rejoining the forces at the Nemesis seemed negligible. At least they had given the others a chance.
“Stop,” Jazz yelled. “We’ll make a last stand here.”
Ratchet popped his blades. “I guess this is as good a place as any,” he said.
Ironhide cracked a smile. “One thing’s for sure—they’re going to know they’ve been in a real fight.” And then the Sharkticons were on them, charging into the four Autobots’ kill zones, those behind climbing over the corpses of those in front until finally they were close enough to engage in savage hand-to-hand combat. Through the swinging mace tails and whirling blades, Jazz could make out still more Sharkticon reserves bearing down on them. This is it, he thought …
But from out of nowhere a pair of rocket arrows knocked two Sharkticons out of the way, freeing a path for a speeding yellow blur to smash over several more, giving the three warriors space. Only when Jazz heard the recognizable sound of Kup’s ancient battle laser did he realize what was happening. The next moment, Bumblebee resumed bot form and fired his photon cannons while Rodimus leaped in and continued to fire rocket arrows into the oncoming horde, which wavered and drew back.
“You disobeyed orders!” Jazz yelled.
“Only to save your iron butts!” Rodimus retorted.
They heard what sounded like a thunderclap and then another. As a third blast resounded, the nearby Sharkticons went up in flames and the rest broke and scattered in all directions. Roaring into the Hall of Justice were the Aerialbots.
“We’ll cover you,” Silverbolt said. “Meet you at the Nemesis!”
Jazz shifted into his pursuit-cruiser mode; Ratchet, Ironhide, and Bulkhead hopped on while Kup and Rodimus leaped onto Bumblebee. They sped across the floor of the now-cleared hall toward the Nemesis as Silverbolt and the rest of the repaired Aerialbots streaked back out of the gaping hole where the roof had been, skimming the top of the city’s skyline, strafing Sharkticon troops and knocking out more of the city’s air defenses. Then the Aerialbots swung back toward the crash site, joining together at the last possible moment and forming Superion before touching down as a single giant bot next to the Nemesis. Autobots and Decepticons cheered as Superion brought his awesome weaponry to bear, incinerating nearby Sharkticons in a hail of rocket and laser fire. For a moment it almost looked like the tide was turning in their favor.
Almost.
Ironhide was the first to see it. A street rose up on hydraulic lifts and folded back into compartments; vents opened up all along the walls throughout this section of the city. The next moment, water jetted out of those vents at full force.
“What the slag’s going on?” Jazz yelled.
They got their answer a moment later. The floor of the Hall of Justice shuddered—and not just the floor but the entire surface level of the city. A terrible rumbling filled the air.
Then huge waves of water poured down the streets.
“The city’s submerging!” Ironhide yelled.
He was right. Scores of Sharkticons were knocked out of the way, dashed into walls before they could switch to shark mode. Only those advancing in tanks were safe from the deluge, for those tanks quickly switched to hover mode and sped in across the water. Superion turned to face the rushing water and was shoved back into what was left of a building, smashing it entirely. Autobots and Decepticons climbed atop the back of the crippled Nemesis, firing their weapons in every direction. Inside the ship, Starscream started yelling at Soundwave.
“Talk to me, Soundwave! I need some answers!”
Soundwave studied the readouts. “They’re flooding the island.”
“They’re not just flooding it, it’s sinking! This island’s artificial!”
“Maybe,” Soundwave said. “I need more data. All I can tell you is that in less than two minutes, our position will be submerged completely.”
“And the Nemesis? Will she float?”
“We’ll find out in another hundred seconds,” Soundwave said. “Maybe you can be the first Decepticon naval commander.”
Starscream punched Soundwave so hard that he knocked him onto the ground. Out the window he could see Commander Gnaw leading the final assault himself, riding on the back of what looked like a giant aquatic war turtle.
“Now we have them!” Gnaw yelled over his communication channel to his forces. “Kill them! Kill them all!”
Sharkticons swam in from every side, eager to oblige.
Chapter Thirty-nine
“DID YOU FEEL THAT?” OPTIMUS ASKED.
Megatron looked scornful. “You’re imagining things, librarian.”
But then the corridor shook again, this time violently enough for it to be unmistakable. There was a noise in the distance that sounded like a thousand whispers, all of them getting gradually closer. And louder.
“Okay,” Megatron said. “Maybe you’re not imagining things.”
“Something’s out there,” said Optimus.
“Just as long as we don’t have to fight another overgrown lobster.”
“Will you shut up about that lobster? The water level’s rising.”
It had been a factor they’d had to contend with as long as they’d been down there. They had been doing their best to pick the passages that seemed the least waterlogged. But now Optimus could plainly see that the water lapping around his ankles was rising toward his knees. And that noise in the distance was growing thunderous.
“Run!” he said. He and Megatron started sprinting, and as they did so, a deluge of water poured into the corridor behind them. The two Cybertronians made it another hundred yards before the force of the deluge started to lift them off their feet. It was obvious they had only a few more seconds before they lost traction altogether and were swept away. Optimus reached up with his energy blade and sliced a hole in the ceiling to reveal a corridor immediately above theirs.
“Get on my shoulder!” he yelled to Megatron. Megatron did just that, clambering onto Optimus’s shoulders and into the upper corridor. He looked down at Optimus, who was holding on to the wall to keep his balance against the rising tide.
“This is the part where you help me up,” Optimus said.
“Is it really?”
“Megatron, don’t be an idiot. We can continue our quarrel once we beat the Curator, but if you abandon me like this, you’re just decreasing your own chances of survival.”
Megatron seemed to ponder this. Then he extended his hand. “I’m just joking with you, librarian.”
Optimus had his doubts about that. He suspected it was the raw calculation he’d just suggested that had persuaded Megatron. He’d have to watch his back from now on. Not that that came as news in working with the Decepticon leader. He scrambled up, and the two bots continued down the new corridor, making as much haste as they could, because it was only a few more minutes before water started to pour past their feet once more.
“They’re flooding the whole place,” Optimus said.
“Probably to try to drown us.”
“They’re going to succeed unless we hurry.”
“Maybe this means we’re getting close to that space bridge. They’re trying to keep us away from a key objective.”
But Optimus didn’t buy that. This had to be about more than just getting him and Megatron. And as for the space bridge’s location … well, he didn’t believe in torture, but he was starting to wish they’d asked the Gamekeeper a few more questions before he died. All the monster had told them was that the bridge lay somewhere below. Presumably the Quintessons we
ren’t flooding the bridge’s infrastructure—they’d want to keep it operational—but the rising water was certainly going to make it difficult to keep going in that direction. So maybe the flooding was intended as a defensive measure against him and Megatron. Optimus realized that his thoughts were starting to go in circles; he wondered how this could get any worse.
“Duck!” Megatron yelled.
It was said with such urgency that Optimus didn’t think twice about Megatron’s out-of-the-blue command—he just followed it instinctively. He was glad he had. The Sharkticon that had been stalking them just missed him, instead landing right in Megatron’s waiting arms. The Decepticon threw the monster to the ground, held its jaw open with one foot, and then effortlessly pulled the top of its head clean off with a resounding crack before hurling the skull at another Sharkticon bounding down the corridor toward them. Optimus couldn’t help noticing the scores of gleaming eyes behind them …
“I think it’s time we started running,” he said.
“No disagreements there,” Megatron said. He and Optimus sprinted down the corridor as fast as they could with the chatter of gnashing Sharkticon teeth behind them. As the water level rose, some of the Sharkticons began to swim and were all the faster for it.
“The Gamekeeper’s starting to look good by comparison!” Megatron yelled.
“Complain about it later!” Optimus shouted, and then they rounded a corner and skidded to a stop. A heavy metal door blocked the way. There was no time to lose; the two Cybertronians shoved against the door for all they were worth while the Sharkticons closed in. The door started to give way, but not enough.
“Pull, Optimus! Scrap you, pull!”
“Save your breath,” Optimus breathed. They weren’t sure which would give first, their steel joints or the door. The Sharkticons were almost on them, but then they were rewarded with a cracking noise followed by the shriek of iron tearing as the great door came off its mooring.
And tumbled into an abyss.
Nothing could have prepared them for what they were looking at. It was a huge room with neither floor nor ceiling, and Optimus realized it was actually a circular shaft some hundred meters across, dropping like a spine down the length of the island to depths too far below to see. Water slopped around their feet and fell past them into darkness.
Retribution Page 28
