Chapter Text
To say Silas wasn't interested in the main reason for his resurrection would be a lie.
After Tarantulas brought him up to speed, Silas was quick to look through the spider-bot's notes and documents.
He learned a great deal regarding information on this Absolute Solver.
It's power was... Incredible! Far greater than Project Damocles, more powerful than the might of an army of transforming robots. Able to warp flesh and metal to any form the host desires.
And now, a part of its superior might runs through him in his new (mostly) cybertronian body.
But Tarantulas is still missing the pieces to the massive puzzle that is the Solver itself, exactly why he resurrected Silas in the first place.
He resurrected Silas to utilize the one asset that provided Optimus Prime an advantage against Megatron on Earth...
The human factor.
Due to a large traces of human coding and the Arachnicon's lack of knowledge on it, he needed the help of a human who's able to work through such code.
Tarantulas was correct to seek Silas' aid. Afterall, how else Damocles was able to target anyone and anything anywhere on Earth with pinpoint accuracy?
Silas agreed to help Tarantulas understand the Solver's power by decoding it. Not only will it help Tarantulas unlock its secrets, but Silas as well.
Secrets that might allow him to rebuild M.E.C.H to its former glory.
"You're still working on that thing?" Rampage questioned at the entrance of his new quarters.
Silas turns away from his current project to face the crab-like cyberdrone who leaned against the doorway his his arms crossed and a metal brow raised in curiosity.
"Yes, but what's it to you?" He replied, narrowing his optics with a questioning gaze.
"Tsk, just asking. I honestly don't care if you can get it working again or not. I'm here because Tarantulas wants me to come and fetch you for a special assignment." Rampage snarkily replied. Silas curiously raised a brow at what the crab revealed.
"Special assignment? Did he say what exactly that assignment is?"
"The doc just told me he'll explain the details once you and me are both present."
Silas merely sighed in annoyance.
"Fine, I'll show once I've finished with my project. Surely he won't mind a minor delay." Silas said before turning back to his project and continued working on it, which made Rampage grumble in annoyance.
"In case you haven't noticed, Tarantulas might not be the one to be impatient here, but our so-called 'supreme leader' is."
And with that, Rampage left the room with the door automatically closing shut, leaving Silas alone to finish the project; Repairing and upgrading a cyberdrone clone left very damaged after an intense battle.
The one Cyn built after a certain cycloptic scientist.
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J marched through the colony halls with a JcJenson branded pen and a JcJenson branded clipboard in hand.
As J walked past any passers-by, she wrote down anything and everything that would be deemed either useful or necessary for their coming trip.
Extra oil rations, ammunition, tools, you name it. And while Doll and Soundwave are already gathering half of the things on the list, there was one place in the colony that would surly have what they need, and J was on her way there as we speak; The colony evac spot.
After all, the place used to be a storage warehouse containing items for hardware stores, engineering, construction projects, mining operations, everything you can think of.
As she reached the entrance to the evac spot, J looked up from her clipboard to look at the mass amounts of boxes and stockpiles, only for her to stop in her tracks with her face shifted to surprise when she saw who was currently in there.
Sat on one of the wooden shipping containers with his legs crossed was Grimlock, looking over his sword as removes any dirt and grime that latched onto it with a cloth and...
Is he wearing N's pilot hat?
In her state of surprise, she didn't see Grimlock look away from his sword and towards her when he finally noticed her.
"Hey, your J, right?" The Dinobot ask, snapping J out of her current sate. Once she regained herself, J straightened herself up and a very formal manner.
"You are correct, Grimlock. I am Serial Designation J, and may I ask what you are doing here in Outpost-3's evacuation spot?"
"Simple, I'm waiting for N to arrive for his combat training." Grimlock replied plainly, leading J to raise a digital brow.
"Combat training? For what exactly?"
Instead of answering J's question, Grimlock points his thumb to his left, prompting the corporate drone to look over to the damage Trypticon left behind in his rampage on the colony. It was then J's eyes widened, understanding what Grimlock was referring to.
"Oh."
"Yeah. It would be foolish to believe that we could just waltz on in and find out what makes the Solver tick when we get to Jenson City. I highly doubt that Cyn would just leave such knowledge completely unattended when she left. If she left any guards to protect the place in her absence, we'll need to be ready." Grimlock explained as he went back to cleaning his sword.
"I get that, but why teach N stuff he already knows?" J asked further.
"The only fighting method you guys know is shooting and swinging your swords or claws. You have no technique, no fighting style and, to top it all off, have no alternative methods of self defence when the opponent understands how you three fight."
J wanted to argue, but she knew that Grimlock was right; Before they met Uzi, her, N and V had little to no threats that could leave a scratch on them, let alone kill them. That's why they hunted with reckless abandon, hunt like they aren't afraid of harm.
But in time, J realised that there are those so skilled, they don't need to use so many weapons and primarily stick to hand-to-hand combat, far beyond than a normal disassembly drone's combat capabilities.
Scorn, Rampage and Shockblast were proof of that.
"That's... A fair argument. But, aside from that, is there any other reason for doing this?"
"Yeah, the other reason is that N wants to be more capable and independent when it comes to protecting who he cares about instead of him being the one who needs protecting, given that he had his hide saved. Twice."
"I see. And the hat?" J finally questioned, pointing to N's pilot hat that sat on Grimlock's helm.
"The kid accidently forgot it in his excitement when he ran off to change into a more appropriate attire. I'm just holding onto it for now." Grimlock shrugged in reply, slightly lifting the cap with the knuckle of his index digit as he did so.
"Alright, well, I should probably continue what I've been doing; Gathering the right supplies for our trip." J told the Dinobot as she proceeded to gather the necessities for their journey for Jenson City. But, before she did, she stopped and looked back at the Grimlock.
"One more thing; I know that you willingly joined our team. Does that mean you... Forgive him?"
Grimlock fell silent, his grip on the handle of his sword tightening, before letting out a sigh.
"I may have stopped trying to kill him, accepted his apology, and am willing to tolerate him. But make no mistake, it'll be a long time for me to forgive Shockwave for what he did to me and my team. If he wants my forgiveness, he. Must. EARN it."
J fell into silence from Grimlock's response, taking note of the venom in his voice. It wasn't as much when he and Shockwave crossed paths again, but it was barely noticeable.
It seems that the Dinobot hasn't let what happened between him and Shockwave go completely and was still angry towards him.
The sudden thought of what would've happen if N befriended Grimlock BEFORE Uzi came along and found out that she happily tried to kill him, along with the amount of physical and verbal abuse she wrought on him, sent a cold shiver down J's artificial spine.
With a subtle nod, J turned her head back and continued with her task, leaving Grimlock alone to tend to his sword. As time went by, Grimlock had finished with his sword, which he sheathed to his back, and started moving the shipping containers out of the way so that there is a wide area to train. By the time he was done, J had already gathered what was needed and left.
Before long afterwards, a rather excited (and a little nervous) N came skipping into the evac spot, now dressed in baggy gym shorts and a blue and yellow basketball jersey with a picture of a golden retriever with a basketball and a text underneath said picture saying "Air Bud".
"Sorry I'm late, Grim. Finding this outfit was a nightmare." N said apologetically, rubbing the back oh his head with an embarrassed smile.
"It's fine, kid. As long as you're ready, I'll wait as long as I have to." Grimlock told N as he approached him with his arms crossed.
"Now then, are you ready?" He asked, which prompted the disassembler's tail to wag excitedly.
"You batcha!" N replied happily in response with a salute and a cute smile. This brought an amused smirk beneath his mouthguard.
"Alright. Let's start with what you know."
N watched curiously as Grimlock moved away from him and towards the other side of the makeshift arena, unsheathing his sword and brings the blade to the ground, firmly digging it to the concrete floor, before he looks back at N with his arms crossed.
"Attack me."
N's look of curiosity quickly morphed into shock and confusion at the Dinobot's sudden request.
"Uh... Y-you want me... To attack... You?" N asked slowly, wanting to be absolutely sure that he heard him right.
"Of course. How else would I know what you're currently capable of? You are going to attack me and I won't fight back at all." The Dinobot answered calmly, which led to N to frantically wave his hands in a denying manner.
"G-Grimlock, I'm not gonna-"
"You want me to teach you how fight, right? How to fight in order for you to be fully capable of protecting Uzi? How am I supposed to do that if I don't know what I'm working with?"
N fell silent by this, standing there as he watched Grimlock spoke.
"If I'm going to teach you how to fight like a warrior rather than a predator, I need to see first hand what you're currently capable of. So come on..."
Grimlock uncrossed his arms and spread them wide apart, leaving himself vulnerable.
"Attack me. Give it everything you got, N!"
N stood there, hesitant to do what Grimlock wanted for he was afraid that he might hurt him. But what he said about protecting Uzi, it made him remember when Rampage skewered Uzi through the chest. It was the reason why N sought out Grimlock's help in the first place.
Before he met Uzi, J used to constantly call N nothing but a liability and, when he fought Rampage or when he tried helping in stopping Trypticon, she was right. Recalling those times sparked determination in him.
Serial Designation N didn't want to be a liability in helping his friends out in a fight anymore.
In an instant, N leaped into the air towards Grimlock, wings out, left hand swapped for claws, a wide unnatural smile and a signature, dreaded golden X replacing his eyes.
Grimlock saw this and, true to his word, did not even bother to put himself up into a defensive stance. However, when N slashed his claws down upon the Dinobot, all he did was leave claw marks on the floor.
The golden X and wide smile of his hunting mode was replaced with a looked of confusion, looking to his side to see that Grimlock has moved from his spot. His face falling back into hunting mode, N swiped his claws at Grimlock who effortlessly dodged the attack as well as dodging more swift slashing attacks that quickly followed.
"I thought you said that you won't fight back!" N cried out as he quickly slashed his claws at Grimlock who, once again, dodged the attack easily.
"I did. But that doesn't mean that I can't dodge, block or use other methods of self-defence against any attacks you throw at me." Grimlock replied, catching N's claws mid-slash before throwing him to the other side of the makeshift arena.
N caught himself with his left claws, leaving behind claw marks as he came to a stop, before looking up at his brother.
Grimlock wasn't just big and strong, he's surprisingly fast and agile too. Something that N took note of that sudden new development.
Switching his claws for a sub-machine gun, N unleashed a barrage of bullets at Grimlock, who quickly barrel rolls out of the way to hide behind a steel pillar from the gunfire. Bolting towards the pillar, N swaps the sub-machine gun for a sword and slashed his blade at his opponent once he makes it reaches him.
But to his shock, Grimlock was no longer there behind the pillar.
"What the..? Where did he go?"
He quickly gets his answer when a small and quick whistle from above alerted N, leading him to look up to see Grimlock hanging from one of the steel roof beams right above him.
N didn't have time to process this when Grimlock suddenly lets go and fall directly at him. N quickly gets out of the way when Grimlock lands on his pedes, causing the floor to slightly crack. N was quick to switch the sword to a missile launcher and fires at the Dinobot.
But, completely and totally unexpectedly, N saw that Grimlock didn't try to dodge the missile, but rather he CAUGHT it with his servo with out much effort!
"This is the best you can do? You were right to seek my help, kid." Grimlock commented as he moved his servo to redirect the missile towards N and let go.
N instinctively, though barely, dodges the missile, causing it to zoom past the disassembler and explode when it hits the wall behind him. N was on the ground, picking himself back up, as he looked towards Grimlock with his arms crossed.
"Not only you lack skill, you're sloppy too. I'm honestly impressed that you've made it this far with a fighting style like that."
N looks back at the Dinobot, switching the missile launcher back to a normal hand.
"On top of that, even without landing a single hit on me this whole time, I can clearly see that you're subconsciously holding back. I know you're scared, but when it come to combat, it's either you or the opponent that's trying to kill you."
The hand of N's cybertronian prosthetic balled into a fist as outer plating of the arm itself began to slightly shift, something that Grimlock noticed right away and decides to keep going.
"You want to protect Uzi, but how can you if you can't even land a hit on me? If you want to reach your full potential, then do NOT hold back!"
As N continued to rise to his feet, Grimlock saw the slight shift in the kid's cybertronian arm grew more and more apparent.
"You're right... I'm not good enough to fight back against guys like Rampage and Trypticon if I hold back. It's not like they'll do the same for me."
N looks towards Grimlock with golden eyes full of will and determination as he stood back up on his feet.
"I must... I WILL protect Uzi, I WILL be a warrior! Just. Like. YOU!"
N then raised his cybertronian arm at Grimlock before a cannon took form on his arm and unleashed a bright light of gold. Grimlock sidesteps, dodging the golden blast which exploded, leaving behind scorch marks and small fires.
Grimlock looks towards the damage N left behind and grinned beneath his mouthguard while N look at said damage in surprise.
"Whoa... Where did THAT come from?" The disassembler breath while N looked towards the cannon that now mounted his wrist as Grimlock approached him.
"What kind of weapon is this?"
"It's called a fusion cannon. A Class-A cybertronian military weapon. It is as powerful as it is impressive and very few servo-held weapons could match a weapon of such calibre, let alone exceed it. The hyperflux cannon being one of them." Shockwave replied suddenly, leaving N to let out a startled yelp as he turned to see Shockwave and Uzi at the entrance of the warehouse.
"How long have you too been there?" N asked, still startled by the sudden appearance of the two in front of him.
"Long enough to see you fire that thing. That was sick, N!" Uzi replied, leaping towards N and mounted herself on her boyfriend's shoulders.
"I suspected that N's nanites would react to his prosthetic, but never have I believed that it would leave him to wield such a weapon. I honestly find it quite fascinating." Shockwave admitted in interest.
"You said that there isn't that many weapons that's as strong as this fusion cannon thing. That means that it must be very powerful." N commented as he looked to his fusion cannon that latched to his arm.
"And very rare. From what I know of, there are only 6 of these things in total and, given their power, fetch an extremely high price in the black market back on Cybertron during the war. The only known person who possesses one of these 6 fusion cannons is Megatron." Grimlock explained with his arms crossed
"Better make that 7. Cuz my boyfriend here has a completely new fusion cannon and I can't wait to see just how powerful it really is." Uzi said before letting out her gremlin laugh, thinking of what N's new fusion cannon can do.
As the couple continued with their thing, Grimlock turns to Shockwave.
"Uzi's a feisty little drone, isn't she? From what N told me, that girl brings out the better of you." Grimlock commented as he looked towards Shockwave.
"Yes, I suppose she does, doesn't she?" Shockwave nodded in reply before Grimlock let out an amused chuckle.
"But at the building with the telescope dishes, while you were sorting out said dishes, V told me that you gave Uzi a ride on you shoulders one time."
Shockwave almost stumbled to the ground despite standing still, completely taken off guard by what Grimlock said.
'V, that snitch!' Shockwave thought to himself angerly before trying to cover-up what V told Grimlock.
"Why, t-there was a perfectly logical reason for me to do that, Grimlock. You see... You must understand tha-that... Uh..."
"Well?" Grimlock questioned teasingly, enjoying watching Shockwave try to come up with some excuse.
"... Urgh... Bite me..."
Grimlock merely laughed at Shockwave annoyance and embarrassment. Later, Uzi and Shockwave left after saying their goodbyes and Grimlock began N's training. Now that the Dinobot knows what he was working with, he knows how to make him into a great warrior
Or at least make him more than capable of taking care of himself. And with 3 days to train, Grimlock would make sure not to waste a second of it.
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Silas walked through the doors into the main bridge to see Tarantulas, Rampage and, unfortunately, Starscream.
When Starscream found out that Tarantulas resurrected Silas, to say that he was unhappy would be an understatement. The Seeker was in a rage when he found out, throwing a temper tantrum over what M.E.C.H did to him over a century ago.
It honestly amazed him and Rampage that Tarantulas calmed Starscream down, let alone convince him to allow Silas to stay.
Upon entering, Silas was immediately given a death glare by Starscream but said nothing to him.
"Ah, Silas. Happy for you to join us." Tarantulas happily greeted while Rampage gave Silas a scoff.
"That makes one of you. But back on topic, Rampage informed me that you have an assignment for us." Silas replied to which the Arachnicon let out a childish giggle because of it.
"Why yes! A very important assignment indeed, it prioritises the others."
"Just spit it out already, doc! I don't have all day!" Rampage grumbled impatiently.
"Yes, well. I have did some digging in the Solver's code and guess what? I found the location of the place that contains the secrets of the Absolute Solver's very existence."
Rampage and Silas' expressions morphed into complete shock by this. Tarantulas found where they can learn the truth of the Absolute Solver?!
"Where?!" Silas questioned as Tarantulas giggled while typing on the console.
"It is located in a human constructed space station referred to as Jenson City."
"You two are tasked with infiltrating Jenson City and retrieve such info for me. And you will annihilate EVERYTHING that gets in your way!"
"Including Shockwave and his crew in the off chance that they'll be there for a similar reason?" Rampage asked curiously, which led to Starscream's optic to twitch.
"What? Is it something I said?" Rampage asked confused as rage began to build in Starscream's very spark.
"Did you just say 'Shockwave'? Did he just say 'Shockwave'?! THERE IS NO SHOCKWAVE! Shockwave is DEAD! TERMINATED! SCRAP METAL! I SAW it MYSELF!"
"Trust me, Starscream. Shockwave is in fact alive and still kicking. Remember that working drone I talked about? Shockwave's with her, just like Tarantulas said he was."
This caused Starscream to slowly turn to Tarantulas and was absolutely seething at this point.
"You mean to tell me that you knew that Shockwave was alive this whole time and you. Didn't. TELL ME!"
"Calm down, my lord. This reaction is exactly why I did not inform you sooner, I knew you'll get like this. But you can scream at me about it later. If Shockwave and his colleagues do find out Jenson City's existence than they'll try to make their way there for the information." Tarantulas explained to the Seeker before Silas suddenly coughed to gain everyone's attention, which it did.
"Gentlemen, I believe I may have a solution to that. During my time, I have been working on something that will prove to be a value to us." Silas explained, gesturing to the door to the dark hallway.
That was when a singular green optic illuminated in the dark before the optic began to enter the room once stepping through that door, the light revealed what the green optic belonged to.
"Gentlemen, say hello to the new and improved clone of Shockwave, Shockblast."
To be continued
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An: so how was it? Is it good?
Hope so, cuz on the next chapter, the Murder Drones are gonna Fight Till They're Good Enough!