TRANSFORMERS: Nexus

The Darksyde

          "Tarantulas!" yelled a deep monotone voice, the sound reverberating throughout the metallic walls of the Predacon base, a starship once known as the Darksyde. Having crashed on this primitive planet some time ago, the ship would never again fly or make it back to space, but instead became a base of operations for the group of Predacons that had been aboard her during their mishap with a Maximal ship in orbit around the planet.
          "Where is that treacherous spider? I need him here now. Yes." grumbled Megatron, the leader of the Predacons whose alt mode resembled a dinosaur that once roamed the area in question where his base was located.
          Before he could get out of the command centre, he heard the sound of footfalls on the metal grating that served as walkways inside the base. The form of a robot with additional limbs behind his back walked up to the command area and stopped.
          "Yes, Megatron?" said Tarantulas, yellow optics glowing. "What can I do for you?
          Megatron glared at him for a moment before his own optics glowed red, wondering what was going through the head of the spider this time around. Tarantulas was famous for innuendo and hidden agendas. Today was no different.
          "I want to know your progress on the dimensional gateway you promised me woudl be ready MANY cycles ago!" he responded, in a frustrated tone.
          "Why, it's finished, mighty Megatron." explained Tarantulas. "I'm awaiting some raw energon crystals to use as a power source, and you know we can't rush those."
          As angry as Megatron was at hearing the machine was done and no one having told him until now, there was a ring of truth to what the spider had said. If the raw energon crystals weren't taken with great care, they could explode and destroy a wide swath of land, or even start a chain reaction that could be even deadlier.
          He settled back into his command chair and calmed down, pleased with the news after all and deciding that Tarantulas was still useful enough to keep around.
          "Excellent. I want to know immediately when the device is ready to be tested. Yes."
          Tarantulas nodded. "Very well. I will go await the crystals and report back to you when the gateway is ready for a trial run."
          "Good. You may leave now." said Megatron.
          Tarantulas turned and left the command area, deciding on heading to his lair to pass the time until the crystals were ready for him. 
          'That fool has no idea that the gateway will be own personal ticket to assuming power and overthrowing him!'

The Axalon

          Standing on the long rocky slab behind the Maximal base once known as the starship Axalon, Cheetor gazed out across the canyons and mountain ranges in the area, alone with his own thoughts before starting a patrol for this cycle.
          'Sure is an interesting place, this planet.' he thought to himself. 'Full of wonders, energon crystals, and oh yeah - Predacons!'
          Sunlight glinted off his yellow and blue armour, having emerged from the base in robot mode for a few short cycles. He'd have to transform to beast mode very soon to avoid the overloads made possible with all the raw energon on the planet, which would lead to stasis lock and quite possibly an untimely demise.
          'Better transform now.'
          Cheetor suddenly metamorphosized into his beast mode, a large cheeth with a yellow outer shell and black spots. Indistinguishable from native cheetahs, he sometimes liked to find a group of them while on patrol and blend in for a while.
          "Time to get going!"
          Leaping forward, he got his four beast form legs up to speed and darted away from the base, heading for a pre-determined patrol route in which he'd eventually meet up with Tigatron somewhere down the line. The purpose of these patrols was to make sure that no Predacons got too close to the base, and were also watched from afar.
          "If I see any Predacons, I'm gonna show them a thing or two!"
          His enthousiasm greater than that of his comrades, Cheetor had toned it down a lot since his arrival here. Optimus Primal had taught him quite a bit and helped him to not charge into a situation without first thinking it through. Too many times early on, Cheetor had gotten himself into some pretty tough spots due to his impulsiveness.
          'Remember what Big Bot said! I have to be smarter when I'm out here!'
          One mega-cycle later, Cheetor found himself walking at a relaxed pace through an area covered in dense plains, enjoying his trek through the high grasses and such. This was a favourite place of his, and it always felt peaceful to be here even when on patrol. Smaller animal life were present, but most of it hidden in the firm belief that Cheetor was a predator looking for a quick snack.
          'Another little while, and I'll be meeting up with Tigatron.' he thought. 'It's too bad that he doesn't like the plains as much as I do, otherwise we could have some fun.'
          Cheetor continued on, soaking up the quiet for the time being.

          Relived at the sight of raw energon crystals making it into his possession without any incident, Tarantulas set to work on getting them into the special chamber he had created specifically for this purpose. The chamber was connected directly to the large, disk shaped gateway via a set of cables and tubes that ran along the ground from the control console that ran the huge device. 
          Tarantulas had wisely picked a spot well away from the Darksyde (or anything else for that matter) in case of any issues. Having run the sequencer without the crystal bu using a small power pack, he knew the gateway would work perfectly on the first attempt.
          'Oh yes, it will work nicely....' he thought, before snickering to himself.
          A few cycles later, the crystal had been installed in the chamber and made ready to be activated. It was bigger than the crystal he orginally wanted, but the more power the better in this case. Tarantulas wasn't worried one bit, even though he probably should have been.
          He walked over to the console, entered in some commands, then pressed a button that would start the machine. Without warning, the energon crystal began to virbate and glow dangerously bright. Sparks shot out from all over the gateway's disk and cables, making Tarantulas stagger back, before watching his creation with fear.
          "Oh no! Too much power!!" he exclaimed, turning and transforming to beast mode as quickly as he could, using all eight legs to scuttle far away to safety. A portal began to open inside the disk, and suddenly things started to be pulled inside it to parts unknown.
          'Megatron is not going to like this!'

          Having used his comm link to tell Tigatron that he was postponing their rendezvous for a little while, Cheetor hurried off in the direction of the weird coloured sky he caught a glimpse of earlier. His optical sensors had also told him that there was energy being released in huge amounts in that area as well.
          'Something big going on over there! Maybe even some Predacreeps causing trouble that I can teach a lesson!'
          As cautious and patient as he had become in recent times, Cheetor was still prone to bursts of emotion and instinct. Moving as quickly as his four legs could take him, it wasn't long until he was out of the plains and into another area of rocks and valleys, the source of the strange light and energy now directly ahead and visible. An outcropping of rocks held a circular disk in place, the light show coming from it.
          Cheetor scanned the area for Predacons, but in finding none, transformed to robot mode to better understand what was going on. The closer he got to the strange disk, the more he felt something pulling at him.
          Suddenly, a flash of light from the disk accelerated the pull, a strange vortex at the disk's centre coming to life with a ferocity that was dragging him into it.
          "Not good! Not good at all!!" he yelled, turning away from the disk using all his strength to try and get away, but to no avail. Without warning, he was yanked off his feet and pulled into the vortex, disappearing from sight.

Cybertron

          It had been a while now since he had found a legion of Sharkticons and re-activated them as his own personal army, having given them a new purpose in life. More time spent on Cybertron as of late had given him a greater insight as to how they were fitting in with everyone else as well. When needed to fight, the Sharkticons were fierce warriors that could prove devastating to any attacking force.
          Under normal circumstances, they were a great deal of help as workers that could be left unsupervised for long periods of time. This was a far cry from the days when the Quintessons used to enslave them and had taken away their autonomy.
          'This is all working out better than I had planned.' he thought to himself.
          A score of the Sharkticons were kept handy as his personal guard should he need them, but had been put to work as security for the command centre in his absence. He rarely needed anyone when not on Cybertron, his powers to great for any other Transformer to comprehend or be a part of.
          'Still, it's interesting having them around here on the homeworld.'
          SkyStorm slowly walked through the central point on Telex, which was Cybertron's largest city. Even though his base of operations (and workshop) were in Polyhex, it was nice to visit the capital every so often. All of his off-world adventures and escapades sometimes disconnected him from his home planet, and he felt the need every so often to return to it and remember why it meant so much to him.
          His black and purple form stood out amongst the grey and brown arcitecture of the city, the gold Cybertronian insignia on his wings and chest plate standing out on their own. SkyStorm was known by many of his fellow Transformers, and even regarded as a living legend. Still, he was happy that no one really bothered him when he did decide to wander Telex or Polyhex or any other Cybertronian city whenever he pleased. 
          'I do not require special treatment, nor is it desired.'
          About to wrap up his walk and head back into space for a while, SkyStorm stopped dead in his tracks as a swirling vortex appeared out of nowhere a little ahead of him, blue and white energies converging almost like a storm. Without warning, a solitary form was desposited on the ground before the vortex, before the phenomena contracted and disappeared from sight altogether.
          In it's place was a small robotic form that was struggling to get to it's feet. SkyStorm suddenly felt that something was very wrong with the universe.
          'Very wrong indeed....'

          Clang! His end over end tumbling inside the strange vortex had finally come to and end, having been deposited somewhere, face first into the ground. 
          'Oww.'
          Cheetor slowly got to his feet after a couple failed attempts and looked around, shocked at the sights that greeted his optics.
          "Cybertron?" he said aloud, surprised. "Am I really here?!"
          The metallic structures of his home planet were all around him, albeit looking a tad different than he remembered, but there was no mistaking where he was. Just as he was about to jump for joy at the prospect of being back home, something seemed a bit off. Several other robots had been milling about and now stopped to see who this person was that appeared out of nowhere in their presence.
          'Why are those other 'bots so much bigger than I am?' thought Cheetor, gazing at the towering forms nearby. One of the robots carried an old Autobot symbol on it's chest, while another one had a Decepticon symbol, two types of insignia that he found in history files, insignia that were no longer used.
          Directly in front of him was another large, black and purple robot that had unfamiliar markings on it in gold. They looked like the combination of the Autobot and Decepticon logos, but he still couldn't make sense of it. With no other course of action available, he addressed the large being.
          "Who are you, exactly?" asked Cheetor.
          The robot's red optics glowed brightly as it considered a response.
          "I am SkyStorm, leader of all Cybertronians." it said in a calm monotone voice. "Who might you be?"
          Cheetor looked into it's optics. "Cheetor. A Maximal soldier."
          SkyStorm looked confused, his optics blinking once. "I do not know you, nor am I familiar with the designation 'Maximal'."
          Cheetor froze for a couple of moments. 'Not familiar with the Maximals? How could this be? There are many of us on Cybertron!'
          "This IS Cybertron, isn't it?" he queried.
          SkyStorm nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes it is, but I believe it's not the Cybertron you are familiar with. Please come with me."
          Something felt very wrong all of a sudden, leaving Cheetor to follow the large robot known as SkyStorm without question, yet very perplexed.

          Having had little choice but to accompany the large robot, Cheetor found himself out of place on a homeworld he thought he knew. It was hard for him to comprehend as to why the beings here were so massive, making him feel quite small and insignificant. 
          'It's Cybertron, but it's not Cybertron....' 
          Noticing that SkyStorm had come to a halt, Cheetor quickly regained his attention and stared straight ahead at a large, closed door emblazoned with the same gold insignia that his massive new friend sported.
          "We going in?" he queried.
          SkyStorm only nodded, before his optics started to glow an odd shade of green. The door suddenly slid apart, revealing a corridor that led into some sort of facility. SkyStorm led his small charge a short distance down the passageway, the door closing behind them. Stopping at another door that was to the left, SkyStorm walked towards it, the door opening for him. He motioned for Cheetor to follow, which he obliged.
          The Maximal found himself in what appeared to be an operations centre or lab of some sort, something he could see Rhinox working in at any given time.
          "Now what?" he asked, growing more curious by the nanocycle.
          SkyStorm pondered the smaller form for a moment before replying. "You're in the secondary command centre here in Telex. I brought you here because I suspect there is something going on that could pose a threat to Cybertron." he explained.
          "The moment you appeared in that flash of light and energy, I felt some sort of disturbance that I couldn't explain. I need your help to figure all of this out right now."
          Cheetor nodded. "Okay, I'll help! What should I do?" 
          SkyStorm's optics glowed a solid red. "Tell me everything that happened to you before you appeared here on Cybertron." he answered. "I need to understand how and why this happened, and to figure out what exactly is at stake."
          The Maximal pondered for a moment, his yellow optics blinking a few times as he recalled the events that led right up to his arrival on Cybertron.
          "I was on patrol duty." he started, "...making my way across the plains and out towards the forested area where I was supposed to meet up with Tigatron. I detected some weird energy source out near the valley, and went to take a look. There was a strange disk-shaped object that had a vortex spinning inside of it--"
          "A vortex?" interrupted SkyStorm. "What kind of vortex?"
          Cheetor continued. "Don't know! But, it was full of crazy energy, and it pulled me in and fast! Next thing I knew, I was here!"

Earth

          "There's no sign of him anywhere." saif Tigatron into the comm. "Cheetor never made the rendezvous, and I haven't been able to locate him anywhere."
          A short silence was his response, and it took a few nanocycles before Rhinox's voice came back to life.
          "I'll alert Optimus to the situation as soon as I can. Him and Dinobot went out on a scouting mission together, and they are just out of communications range." he explained.
          "You're on your own at the moment, Tigatron. Be careful out there."
          The channel cut out, leaving Tigatron alone with his thoughts like he usually was, and also preferred most of the time. However, with his comrade and friend missing, now wasn't the time to be a 'lone wolf' per se. He'd have to search for the lost Maximal, and hope that Primal and some reinforcements would arrive if things got nasty.
          'One can never rule out the Predacons.'
          He quickly transformed back to beast mode, his white tiger form both majestic and fearsome at the same time. Tigatron enjoyed his time in beast mode compared to the others, who mainly found it as a necessary way to survive on this strange world. He on the other hand, embraced the beast aspect and became one with it, learning to live amongst the primitive life on this planet quite easily. 
          Tigatron wanted more than anything else to live in harmony on this paradise of a world, happy to follow the ways of the wild. All of his comrades were almost obsessed with winning the Beast Wars and somehow getting themselves back to Cybertron, but he himself didn't share those sentiments. He was a protoform in a stasis pod that didn't remember ever being on Cybertron or being Cybertronian.
          All he knew for sure was that he heard the call of the wild, here on this world.
          'If the others end up finding a way back to their home, I will not be going with them. This place is my home, my calling. This land is my land.'
          A fair bit of travelling took him out of the forests and away from the plains, reaching the edge of an area bordered by rocky outcroppings where Predacons were known to be found and lurking about. He stopped, and used the rocks as his cover while he looked about, using his optical scanners to locate any signs of trouble.
          'No trace of any Predacons, but there is an energy signature....'
          Off in the distance, he caught a glimpse of some sort of bright light that was growing in overall intensity, and the winds were starting to pick up as well.
          'Hmm. What could that be?'

          "You fool, what have you done?" asked Megatron, furious with the mess that Taratulas had managed to create. The portal was starting to expand at an increased rate, consuming more and more of the landscape and anything that wasn't fastened to the ground, including a certain Predacon base that was starting to shudder.
          "Did it not occur to you to perform some tests first?!"
          Tarantulas lowered his head somewhat before responded. "It-it wasn't supposed to do what it did! My simulations never showed anything of the sort!"
          Megatron slammed a fist into the armrest of his chair. "Simulations indeed! I'm not happy with this at all! No!"
          Tarantulas knew that the only way to undo the damage was to somehow shut the experiment down, and fast. Problem is, no one could get near it without the possibility of being pulled into the vortex, and no one knew where it led to.
          'I never had a chance to set proper parameters, so that vortex could theoretically send anyone anywhere!'
          "What are you doing just standing there?" asked Megatron. "Get out there and find a way to stop it before it consumes this base among other things!"
          Leaving the command centre to go theorize and come up with a way to control the vortex himself (rather than destroy it), Tarantulas knew this was going to turn into an even bigger problem over time if he did nothing. While he wouldn't mind seeing Megatron fall victim to it, there wouldn't be anyone else left to celebrate with. The vortex would consume everything it could until there was nothing left at all.
          The base shuddered again as he left to come up with a plan, leaving Megatron alone in the command centre for the time being. The angry Predacon leader shook his head as he looked through the monitors and saw the destruction the vortex was causing. Under normal circumstances, he'd be happy to see carnage like this, but when it threatened him and his plans for global domination, it made him angry.
          'Finally something that could bring the Maximals to their knees, and because of it, I might have to warn them or enlist their aid to stop it.' he thought, frustrated. 'Not a great turn of events this is, no!'
          Add to the fact that he didn't completely trust Tarantulas, and he had a very high level of apprehension to deal with right now as well. It made him grumpy, to say the least.
          'Treacherous spider and his ridiculous inventions!'

Cybertron

          Strange occurences had started to be reported as happening all over Cybertron now, as objects and other things not native to the machine world were starting to appear out of thin air, and with little explanation. 
          SkyStorm was starting to be of the belief that there was another dimension that had been forcefully connected to his own, and something in it was acting as a catalyst to cause all the havoc currently underway.
          "It seems this 'vortex' you spoke of earlier is responsible for more than just your own appearance." he said to the much smaller form of Cheetor. "Objects such as rocks and plant life are being deposited all over Cybertron, and it's only going to get worse. If our two dimensions are in the process of getting pulled towards each other, the result could be devastating."
          Cheetor's optics blinked once, his mouth open now. "Wow! What can we do to stop this? Whatever that thing was that brought me here, it was impossible to get near!"
          SkyStorm thought for a moment. "Indeed. The power of that dimensional vortex will likely grow stronger with every cycle that passes. Any idea how it came to be, and what might be powering it?"
          The Maximal shook his head. "Nope! Didn't have time to investigate! It pulled me in real fast, and I couldn't stop it!"
          SkyStorm's optics glowed red as he came up with a plan.
          'I'll have to take the Maximal with me, as I am unfamiliar with his realm and what may lie in wait for me there.' he thought. 'Either way, the vortex needs to be destroyed with no hesitation. Such a portal cannot be left to those who have no idea how to harness the power it can command.'
          Knowing that it shouldn't be a problem to phase-shift to said dimension (and bring the Maximal with him), the issue with the mission would lie with whatever was being used to supply energy to the thing. He'd have to get more information from Cheetor first and foremost concerning everything that he knew about the realm and what it contained.
          "It looks as if we'll be going to your dimension to pick up the pieces and attempt to shut down the portal." he started. "Before we can do that however, I need to know about this place you've come from, and as much of the history you can give me. More specifically, I need to know about any sources of energy or power that are being used."
          Cheetor nodded. "Ah, okay! I'm not as technically minded as some, but I'll start from the time when myself and the other Maximals crash landed there, right up until the events of the other day that brought me here."
          SkyStorm nodded. "Very well, but be brief. Time is of the essence here."

Earth

          Megatron had been waiting for some time to hear about what was going on with the portal disk, but none of his incompetent troops had bothered to keep him informed. Leaving the quiet of the Darksyde's command area, he had himself ventured outside the base and headed in the direction of where the device was located.
          'If you want anything done correctly you must do it yourself. Yes.'
          Some of the other Predacons were out on patrol, Tarantulas had disappeared, and only the vast expanses of this planet knew where everyone else was. Megatron knew he had a better chance of knowing where those cursed Maximals were before the whereabouts of anyone on his own crew at this point.
          "Bunch of ingrates, making me do everything myself."
          Megatron transformed to his beast mode, and starting running. The longer legs made for a much more speedy trip across the dirty, rocky ground. After crossing the wide expanse, he could see the raw energy being put out in the distance by the portal, the bluish white light filling the sky. The winds had also picked up significantly, forcing him to slow down quite a bit.
          'There is far more energy being put out here than I thought....'
          Upon arrival near the portal, Megatron stayed at a safe distance to evaluate what was going on, and how to deal with it. There were no signs of anyone else, which gave him the necessary time to figure out his next move.
          'The power readings are off the scale right now, and it seems there is more than meets the eye going on here.' he thought to himself. 'That portal could provide me with a power so immense that it might destroy everything, and that would be very bad. Yes.'
          Megatron weighed the pros and cons of trying to harness the portal, but found that he didn't know how and wasn't willing to risk himself trying. He also knew that leaving it alone and letting it fall into the hands of the Maximals wasn't the best idea either, as Optimus Primal would more than likely use it to end the Beast Wars once and for all.
          'There is no good choice here, no.'
          Due to the high energy output as well as being near deposits of raw energon, Megatron couldn't risk transforming to robot mode unless it was necessary, as doing so for too long would mean a one-way trip to stasis lock.
          He needed to come up with a way to do something with that portal, and fast. The disruption was growing, and it could only get worse now.

Cybertron

          Standing almost in the exact spot where the Maximal known as Cheetor had first appeared, SkyStorm stared off in the direction of where the portal had formed, his optics switching from a red glow to a bright purple glow.
          The much smaller form of the Maximal looked up at the large Cybertronian, confused at why they had stopped in their tracks a few moments earlier.
          "Umm, what are we doing now?" he queried.
          SkyStorm didn't reply right away, and before the Maximal could ask anymore questions, focused his power into a swirling vortex of shimmering purple energy directly in front of the two of them, much to Cheetor's shock and awe. The anomaly grew in size until it was bigger than even the Cybertronian himself, his optics glowing with an intensity that gave Cheetor much reservation among other things.
          "I have opened a window to your dimension, using my powers." said SkyStorm. "We will venture to your realm and examine your portal with more detail. It may be necessary to destroy it to prevent anyone from harnessing it's immense energies."
          Cheetor didn't know what to say glancing between SkyStorm and the swirling window to his own realm. At the thought of accessing the portal he had found earlier, Cheetor has reservations, not knowing how anyone could stand up to the power of the portal and all the energy it was releasing.
          "How do you intend to examine the portal?" he asked. "You'll be pulled into it and possibly ripped apart or sent into some other dimension!"
          SkyStorm smiled. "Incorrect. I can shield myself from the effects of other dimensions and energies if I deem it necessary. You will have to keep your distance, but I will be unaffected by anything the portal might do."
          Cheetor's optics blinked for a moment, trying to take in what he had just been told.
          'Wow. There seems to be even more than meets the eye to SkyStorm, and he must be even more powerful than I had thought possible!'
          Before he could finish his train of thought, SkyStorm motioned to the swirling purple energy cloud.
          "Go now. I'll be right behind you to maintain the window until we arrive in your dimension."
          Cheetor only nodded, and with a slight hesitation, walked into the strange energy field, unsure how safe it really was. He disappeared into the swirling purple energy, with SkyStorm following close behind an disappearing from view as well. Moments later, the purple cloud shrunk and vanished, leaving Cybertron behind undisturbed.

Earth

          Having been deposited about a kilometer from where the portal was situated, Cheetor suddenly remembered the raw enegon deposits, and quickly transformed to beast mode so as not to incur energon poisioning and risk stasis lock.
          "Aren't you going to transform?" asked the Maximal of the Cybertronian.
          SkyStorm, whose optics were now back to their normal red glow, grinned before answering the question.
          "No. Why would I want to at this moment?" he asked, confused.
          Cheetor's optics went wide. "Because of the deposits of raw energon! You'll go into stasis lock and then bye bye!"
          SkyStorm glanced about, taking in the unfamiliar landscape he had been presented with all of a sudden. It sort of looked like the Tekk Realm, but there were forests and green areas far off in the distance. He could also feel the energies being released from raw energon crystals in the area, sensing that this realm was loaded with them.
          'Raw energon, and an abundance of it.' he thought to himself. 'I haven't seen reading like this in eons, and it's somewhat unsettling. There's enough deposits here to power Cybertron itself tenfold, and still have lots left over. A staggering amount of energy.'
          Focusing on the task at hand, SkyStorm made a mental note to research this realm at a later time. For now, he had to locate the portal and shut it down. With his powers and advanced technologies, it shouldn't be a problem at all.
          'I can always confiscate the technology used to create the portal and study it at a later time. Wouldn't want these lesser forms to make the same mistake twice.'
          The Maximal fell in behind him, trailing him closely as he started to head towards the main energy signature that was being picked up by his optical scanners. Aside from his technology, he could feel the energy of the portal radiating outwards. Ever since his reformatting by the benevolent Omnicron, he could sense and feel any kind of energy that may reside in the universe, and was drawn to some of them.
          "So, no stasis lock?" asked Cheetor, breaking the silence to hopefully have his lingering question answered a little more quickly this time.
          SkyStorm shook his head as he walked.
          "No stasis lock." he replied. "Most Cybertronians might be affected by the abundance of raw energon, but not me. My armour is unique, and my powers allow to either block or absorb energy as I see fit."
          Cheetor's optics blinked. "Wow. How did you get these powers?"
          SkyStorm continued on, but gave a deflection as an answer. "It's a long story, one that we don't have time for at the moment."
          Cheetor accepted the answer for the time being, and continued to follow the bigger robot towards the energy source, hoping the big bot had a plan to stop it.

          'That treacherous spider built that contraption so that only he and he alone could operate the damn thing! Yes!.' thought Megatron, frustrated at his lack of progress since arriving in the vicinity of the portal. He couldn't rish getting any closer to it due to the dangerous level of energy it was putting out, using his optical scanners to perform a long-range scan of the portal and it's control area.
          From what he could see, the control panel near the portal was plugged into some other kind of device that was augmented with raw energon crystals, which had grown somehow and spread outside the makeshift power chamber.
          'Raw energon crystals should NOT gain size in that fashion! Not only are the power levels off the scale, they are also unstable!'
          Any other time, Megatron would find a way to harness the power and not only destroy the Maximals, but any of his rivals within the Predacons that would challenge his authority and give him a headache. The problem was that he couldn't get close enough to the damn thing to learn more about it and possibly harness it. He also didn't want anyone else to have it, and letting the Maximals get to it was out of the question.
          'I just know that do-gooder Optimus Primal will send some of his misfits here sooner or later to try and commandeer that portal. I simply can't let that happen, especially since I haven't examined it yet myself. No.'
          Pondering risking a transformation to robot mode, Megatron was about to do just that when picked up on two forms approaching from the opposite direction. He lowered his beast form between two boulders and watched as the Maximal known as Cheetor trotted up to the top of a ridge, followed by a massive robot he couldn't identify. The black and purple form of the large robot also had unfamiliar gold markings on it's chest and wings behind it's arms, and sported two huge fusion cannons over it's shoulders.
          'Either the Maximals have found some rather large help, or this is some new player to our little game on this planet. Yes.'
          The awesome size of the new arrival had given Megatron some slight trepidation and made him do some seriosu thinking on his next course of action. Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to wait and let the Maximal and his new friend make the first move, and see where to take it from there.
          "I will bide my time for the moment." muttered Megatron to himself. "There's no point in being hasty or impatient here, what with all the raw energon in the area."

          The sight of the swirling energies that had expanded beyond the solid ring of the portal intrigued him somewhat, marvelling at the fact that one of the beings on this planet from the so-called 'Predacon' camp had been able to create it.
          'Powering it with raw energon crystals wouldn't be my own first choice, but someone here almost made it work. Almost.'
          More surprising was the fact that one of the crystals had continued to grow inside the power chamber, more than likely due to the fact that the energy levels inside the portal were now off the scale and helping to regenerate the crystals. SkyStorm turned to Cheetor, still in beast mode and pondered the Maximal for a moment.
          "Who could have built this device?"
          Cheetor was about to shrug, but then answered, "Probably that crazy Tarantulas! He's always building weird things for Megatron and the Predacons!"
          'Megatron. Why does there always have to be a Megatron behind these kind of things?' wondered SkyStorm. 'Megatron was enough in my own realm once upon a time, but now a namesake of his is up to no good in this realm.'
          "Stay here." he said to Cheetor, before moving ahead to get right up to the portal so he could scan it before making an attempt to shut it down. The Maximal held his position around one hundred meters from the portal, watching intently. The large Cybertronian continued on, the energy from the portal growing more intense the closer he got. Nothing he couldn't handle, but disconcerning due to the setting in which it existed.
          With every step he took, the local energy increased. SkyStorm started to absorb some of it, and let the rest dissipate. The raw enegron crystals in the area were amplifying the portal's energy even more than he had thought, and nothing good would come of it if something triggered all of it. The whole area would more than likely be blown to bits, and change the course of history on this world.
          'In Primus' name, this whole planet could blow up due to the amount of raw energon I've detected here. It would take the wrong being with bad intentions to set this all off and wreak havoc here. Not good at all.'
          SkyStorm stopped a couple strides from the mouth of the portal, and turned towards the control panel and energon chamber. His optical scans revealed it was a relatively primitive device by his own standards, but most effective in converting the power of the raw energon into something that was able to open the dimensional portal.
          'This could go awry in a hurry....'

          Having noticed that the Maximal known as Cheetor had stayed back and that the new player was alone, Megatron decided to act. He emerged from his hiding spot, still in beast mode, and trundled up behind the large robot and stopped short of it.
          "So, you're new in town, aren't you?" he asked aloud.
          The large robot slowly turned, it's red optics glowing as it looked down on the smaller, lizradlike form before him.
          "I am SkyStorm." it replied. "Who might you be?"
          Megatron thought for a quick second before replying. "I'm someone who is concerned about this portal being opened, and how this terrible release of energy could end up destroying the land and everything in it. Yes."
          SkyStorm didn't move for a moment, processing the situation. If he didn't already learn about Megatron and Predacons coming in, he might be inclinded to believe this lesser being and try to work out a solution. Fortunately, he didn't need help to rectify the situation, but still had to tread carefully. Any hasty aggression coudl result in mass destruction, andhe wouldn't have enough time to stop it on such a scale.
          "Indeed." responded the Cybertronian. "Do you have any idea on how to shut down the portal and stop this calamity?" he asked, putting the onus on the smaller being and buying some time in the process, sensing that it could all go sideways on a moment's notice.
          "Well," started the Predacon, "I suggest we try and shut down the power chamber. You stay here and monitor the portal, and I'll head over and remove the energon crystal from the chamber and help shut down the machine running it. Yes."
          SkyStorm already knew from his scans and sensitivity to energy that the one crystal wasn't what was keeping the portal going at this point. All the energon in the area was acting as a giant power source and amplifier. For the Predacon known as Megatron to suggest removing the one augmented crystal was to use it either for his own purposes, or against everyone else due to the energy said crystal now held.
          'This Megatron takes me as a fool, apparently. Something the original Megatron would have never even come close to doing.'
          "Ah. A good idea. Proceed." he said, turning back towards the portal as if to monitor any changes in it, while his heightened senses kept wind of Megatron. The powers he commanded let him feel the movement of other beings around him, and visualize their every move as if he had optics on them at all times.
          'Don't trust this Predacon as far as I can throw him....'
          
          Cheetor watched with shock as the large robot known as SkyStorm turned his back towards Megatron, and was about to jump up and d something to intervene when a familiar smell crossed his beast mode nose. He was surprised to Tigatron suddenly right next to him, also in beast mode, and as stealth as ever.
          "Wow, glad you're here!" said Cheetor happily. "Megatron is down there, and he's gonna steal the portal and blow us all up!"
          Tigatron gazed down at scene below the ridge, the swirling energy of the portal, and a strange unfamiliar form standing before it.
          "Who is that robot down there?" he asked of his comrade.
          Cheetor's optics blinked. "SkyStorm, from Cybertron! I fell victim to the portal and ended up on Cybertron, but in another dimension! He's come to shut down that crazy device and save us all!"
          While normally someone that took everything Cheetor said with a grain of salt, Tigatron couldn't help but notice the sincerity in his comrade's eyes, and again looked down below to take everything in as best he could from this distance.
          "I radioed Optimus Primal after I lost contact with you earlier. He's been on emergency standby since I left my position to find you." mentioned Tigatron. "Glad you're okay."
          Cheetor nodded. "Thanks! I mean, I feel okay, but everything I have seen in the last littl while makes me think we all might not be okay soon enough...." his voice trailed off as the energy from the portal grew even more intense, causing him to turn his attention back to the scene unfolding below.
          Megatron was slowly moving to the control panel next to the energon chamber, but had transformed to robot mode in silence, levelling his tail/fusion cannon at SkyStorm and lining him up for a shot in the back. Time in robot mode would be limited, and Cheetor knew that Megatron would have to make his move quickly and efficiently. 
          "Oh no!" exclaimed Cheetor. "Megatron is going to shoot big bot in the back! We have to transform and go in there and help--"
          Tigatron pushed Cheetor back with a large paw and calmed him down. 
          "We'll do no such thing." he said. "Something doesn't feel right down there, and I believe that your large friend is in no danger whatsoever. Under normal circumstances, no one can be that careless to turn their back on Megatron. But then, these aren't normal circumstances by any means, especially after what you just described."
          Cheetor agreed, but just knew that the big bot was going to get hit by a fusion blast in the back any nanocycle now...

          'First I take care of this oversized do-gooder, then I grab the portal and it's technology for myself. Yes.' thought Megatron to himself, ready to fire his weapon. 'When that's all done, I'll find that treacherous spider and eliminate him once and for all, then eliminate all the Maximals and claim victory in the Beast Wars! YES!'
          For all his planning and plotting in a short period of time, Megatron didn't count on his own overconfidence becoming his immediate undoing. As soon as he let loose a blast from his tail/fusion cannon, a blast of energy struck him with enough intensity to knock him off his feet and backwards into a large boulder, knocking him offline. His systems shorting out from the abundance of raw energon, he reverted back to beast mode and remained offline.
          SkyStorm had absorbed the fusion blast and instantly redirected it with several times more force back at Megatron.
          "Pathetic." he said, before turning his attention back to the portal. He made his way over to the chamber and ripped it out of the device with one hand, crushing it in his fist as the energon crystal exploded. He abosrbed it's energy before tossing the useless device away, and activating his shoulder cannons. A quick barrage from both weapons incinerated the control panel and connections to the portal, whose energy had stopped expanding and dissipated just as fast, leaving the ring of the portal alone as a worthless sentinel among the rocks.
          SkyStorm's optics switched from a red glow to blue as he manipulated the energies int he surrounding area so that the rest of the raw energon wouldn't detonate prematurely. While doing so, he noticed that Cheetor and a friend had made their way down from the ridge behind the portal and had wandered over to his position in their beast modes.
          "Just wow!" exclaimed Cheetor, in awe of what SkyStorm had just accomplish in such short order.
          "You took down Megatron and stopped the portal all by yourself."
          SkyStorm's optics went back to red as he grinned. "Not all by myself. If you hadn't appeared on Cybertron, I might have never come here."
          "So," started Tigartron. "You really are from Cybertron."
          SkyStorm nodded. "Yes, but not from your Cybertron. And alas, I must remove the memories from the two of you before I leave so that the time line in this realm isn't altered in any way or form."
          "Remove our memories? But how--" asked Cheetor before being interrupted.
          "Like this...." started SkyStorm, his optics suddenly turning white as sparkling energy surrounded the two Maximals and rendered them immobile. Within a couple nanocycles, it was over, and the two of them stood like sentinels for no reason. He looked to Megatron, still offline and in beast mode.
          'When his circuits come back to life, he won't know what happened either. All will be back to a reasonable approximation for normal, for them at least.'
          SkyStorm looked to Cheetor. "Goodbye, Maximal." he said, before focusing his thoughts and disappearing in a could of shimmering purple energy, phase-shifting back to his own realm and back to his Cybertron.

                                                   *          *          *          *

Cybertron

          Several megacycles had passed since SkyStorm had returned from the dimension he had nicknamed the 'Beast Wars' realm, still reflecting on the events that occurred there, and the friendship he had made with the Maximal known as Cheetor.
          'The same personality as the Cheetor I met on a previous adventure to a different realm, only this time he won't remember the dimensional shifting to Cybertron and back, or even me for that matter.' 
          Cybertron had gone back to normal rather quickly, with anything from the other realm having disappeared once the portal had been shut down. Still, he couldn't help but think what might end up happening in the other realm, and whether or not he should visit it again one day and see for himself the progression
          "Perhaps one day, but not today." he said aloud.

Earth

          Cheetor looked up at the night sky and gazed up upon the stars above, wondering if he would even return to his planet of Cybertron. He felt as if he had been there recently, but dismissed it as a vision he might of had the last time he had been knocked offline. Strange things were known to happen during long period of being offline or in stasis lock, and it had been said that someone could easily become one with their own spark as well.
          'I'll have to ask Optimus about that sort of thing, he knows almost everything and probably has a lot of insight.'
          Cheetor was glad he wasn't on sentry duty at the moment, happy to have time to look up at the stars, especially on a clear night like this. 
          "Maybe one day I'll be back, we'll all be back on Cybertron."
          Even though he was far away from his home planet, on this day he felt closer to it for some reason, and that seemed to put his mind at ease for a change.

                                                           THE END