When I posted my novelization of the Beast Wars episode "Code of Hero" on
Sunday, I mentioned that it was a buildup to a new project.

This is the first part of said project. Enjoy. C&C welcome.




BEAST WARS LEGENDARY
A fanfiction based on Beast Wars Transformers
'Beast Wars' North American version trademark and copyright
Alliance/Mainframe Entertainment and Hasbro/Kenner. Used without
permission.

FOREWORD

I've always been a fan of Transformers. I have also become rather fond of
Beast Wars, the newest addition to the Transformers legacy.

One thing I've noticed is that the old adage about history repeating itself
has been twisted in Beast Wars...history does tend to repeat itself, but
there's always something different, something more complex, to the events
which take place. That, combined with some other ideas I've had, are the
reason I've decided to write this little piece of work.

Beast Wars Legendary basically overwrites everything which occurs after the
episode 'Code of Hero', most notably the appearance of Optimal Optimus.
Some events from the end of season two/beginning of season three WILL
occur, but in a different manner. I'm also going to take some minor
continuity liberties with this; just bear with. They won't be that bad.

Transformers fanfiction is new ground for me; I'll try to do it justice.
Comments are welcome.




1======= Fallen Heroes =======1

The five remaining Maximals stood around the Axalon control room, lost in
thought.

At length, Rattrap broke the silence. "I'm gonna miss ol' chopper-face," he
said quietly.

"We all will," Rhinox rumbled. "He could be difficult at times, scheming,
and self-serving, but in the end..."

"In the end," Silverbolt said solemnly, "he died honorably, in battle. His
death saved many who could not defend themselves from Megatron's villainy.
Truly, a hero's death."

"And we used to think he was just a schemin' Pred..." Cheetor commented,
shaking his head sadly.

"When I join the Matrix, I only hope my passing is as noble," Optimus said.
*Three friends, gone...how many more will be lost before the Beast Wars are
ended? Could I...what could I have done to prevent this? Have I truly done
my best as leader?*

******

Megatron emerged from the regeneration tank, scowling. "That traitorous
fool Dinobot was far more dangerous than I gave him credit for. But he got
what he so richly deserved...yees." Walking over to his control console, he
opened the comm link. "Waspinator! Report."

//Wazzpinator szee no szign of Maximalzz,// the insectoid Predacon buzzed.
//Think maybe they buzzy mourning sztupid lizzardbot.//

Megatron drummed his fingers thoughtfully. "The Maximals actually feel
saddened by the loss of that foolish carnivore. Hmmm...perhaps I can use
their time of mourning to my advantage...yees." Switching comms, he barked
out several orders. "Quickstrike! Inferno! Keep watch over the base.
Tarantulas, Blackarachnia, go out and search for the Neanderthals. Rampage,
you're with me." Converting to Beast Mode, Megatron smirked evilly. "Your
time grows short, Optimus Primal. Mourn the turncoat...your Spark shall
soon join his in oblivion!"

******

The reverie of the Maximal base was broken as alert lights began flashing.
//Warning,// Sentinel stated, //Predacon units Megatron and Rampage
approaching at extreme velocity.//

"Oh great," Rattrap groaned. "Slaggatron and sushi-in-a-shell are all we
need right now."

"Arm defense cannons," Primal commanded.

//Armed. Preparing to fire.// A pause. //Incoming transmission.//

"From Megatron?"

//Affirmative.//

Primal growled. "The last thing I'm in the mood for is a conversation with
that saurian slagheap."

//Oh, come now, Optimus Primal,// a disgustingly smooth voice mocked from
the comm console. //I'm deeply hurt. Has no one ever instructed you on
proper etiquette for receiving guests?//

"Yeah, an' we know how ta welcome pests, too," Rattrap snapped.

//The vermin insults me,// Megatron's voice sniped from the speaker. //Of
course--//

"Mute your vocal circuits, Megatron. You have five nanokliks to turn around
and crawl back under your rock before we open fire."

//I'm afraid not, Optimus Primal, noo. You see, I have come to issue
a...personal challenge, to yourself. Yees.//

"I'm not interested." Primal said.

//Oh my, what a pity,// Megatron said. //It is indeed a shame that
Dinobot's NOBLE sacrifice shall go to waste, because you were unwilling to
hear me out. Yees.//

"What're you blabbin' about, slaghead?" Rattrap demanded.

//Why, at this very moment, two of my loyal followers are searching for the
anthropoid tribes which fled the valley. If Optimus Primal accepts my
challenge, I will tell them to pull back. If not, well...// A dramatic sigh
emanated from the speaker. //It will be such a tragedy that Dinobot will
have died...for nothing.//

Rhinox, Silverbolt, Rattrap, and Cheetor glanced around at one another,
eyes wide.

Primal narrowed his eyes. "Alright, Megatron, what's your game?"

//Ah-ah-ah, I thought you weren't interested,// Megatron mocked.

"Get on with it already," Primal snapped.

//My my, we're touchy today. Did we eat some bad bananas, hmm?// Megatron
chuckled. //Here's the deal. You. Me. One on one. A fight to the death, to
determine the victor of the Beast Wars once and for all.//

"Don't trust him, Optimus," Rhinox whispered. "He's up to something."

"That goes without saying," Optimus replied. "Still..." He paused for a
long moment, thoughtful.

//Well, Optimus Primal? I'm waiting. What is your answer?//

"Do I have your word that you won't involve Rampage? Or any other
Predacons?" Optimus asked.

//Why, yees. And I expect the same from you and your Maximals.//

"Fine then. I'll be outside in ten cycles," Primal said.

//I shall be waiting, Optimus Primal. Yees. Megatron out.// The comm
channel clicked off.

"Hey, big ape, you sure you know what yer doin' here?" Rattrap asked. "This
is Megatron, fer bootin' up cold!"

"What this is, is a chance to end this, once and for all," Optimus said. "A
chance I'm more than willing to take."

Rattrap sighed. "I hope you know what yer gettin' yerself into..."

"I know," Optimus said. "Believe me, I know."

******

The lift descended from Axalon, depositing a silver-and-blue metallic ape.
The other Maximals dropped down, filing in behind Optimus Primal.

Standing some distance away, Megatron, in his metallic tyrannosaur form,
leaned his beastly head forward, sniffing. "Well, Optimus Primal, it seems
it is you, not I, who has violated the agreement. Yees."

"Slag off, lizard butt," Rattrap snarled from behind Optimus. "We're just
here t' make sure yer friend Crusty ova' there don't poke his claws inta
this rumble."

"Indeed," Megatron said, raising his head. "Fair enough, then. Rampage,
stand back at a respectable distance." The crab grumbled, but scuttled
away.

"Maximals, do likewise," Primal ordered. His four supporters shambled off,
finding a comfortable spot from which to observe.

"Now," Megatron said, "How shall we go about this? Shall we fight as true
Cybertron warriors, weapons clashing, energon blazing? Or shall we settle
this as the beasts do?"

"Either way is just prime," Optimus said, jaw clenched.

Megatron chuckled. "Very well then. Megatron, TERRORIZE!" Transforming into
his powerful robot mode, Megatron brought his tail blaster online, and
leveled a challenging glare at the ape standing across the way.

"Optimus Primal...MAXIMIZE!" Assuming his equally imposing robot form, he
removed one of his maces from his back, then stretched a hand backwards,
signalling Rattrap. The rodent hefted a large rifle and tossed it to the
Maximal leader, grumbling to himself. Optimus caught it easily with his
free hand, leaning it against his shoulder.

Megatron raised an eyebrow. "An interesting choice of weapon for our duel.
Yees. I do hope you appreciate the historical irony of your
selection...when I crush your Spark with my bare hands!"

"Enough talk," Optimus Primal said, narrowing his eyes as he leveled the
near-perfect replica of Optimus Prime's plasma rifle at Megatron. "You
wanted to fight? Let's fight." With that, he lunged forward, blasting away
at his nemesis.

With a great battle cry, Megatron dodged Primal's blasts, letting off
several blasts of his own, which Primal mostly dodged, taking minor damage
to his shoulder armor. Leaping into the air, Primal fired downward at
Megatron's head. Powerful blasts from the Predacon's weapon collided with
his plasma shots, the blasts cancelling each other in midair.

"Very impressive, Maximal," Megatron snarled, turning to rail away at the
warrior descending to the ground behind him. Landing in a crouch, Optimus
spun, slamming Megatron in the leg with the barrel of his rifle. As the
Predacon took an involuntary step backwards, Primal gave a beastlike bellow
of rage, and began pounding on Megatron's weapon with his mace, crushing
the business end of the deadly blaster. With an indignant roar, Megatron
struck Optimus hard in the gut with the curved weapon, knocking him a
respectable distance away.

"So, you DO wish to fight like a beast, then, do you, Optimus Primal? SO BE
IT! BEAST MODE!" Roaring, the tyrannosaur Megatron sprang towards the dazed
Maximal, fangs bared, using his Transmetal flight capabilities to add an
extra boost to his attack.

Primal's eyes widened, and he rolled aside just in time to avoid suffering
a nasty dinosaur bite. Springing to his feet, he converted quickly to beast
mode, taking to the sky on his hoverboard. Floating several meters up, he
glared down at Megatron, bringing both of his maces to bear. "Come up here
and I'll show you just how primal I can be," he growled.

******

"This is ridiculous," Blackarachnia grumbled as she skittered through the
jungle, moving swiftly through the dense foliage, taking full advantage of
her black widow spider form. "We're never gonna find those dumb apes!"

The fact that she had been sent on a fool's errand by Megatron had put the
Predacon femme fatale in an extraordinarily bad mood.

Tarantulas' sudden decision to play loyal Predacon for once wasn't helping
matters.

The low rumble of an engine and the continuous chuckling from behind a row
of trees nearby grated on the black widow's nerves as she picked her way
through the underbrush, startling much smaller spiders and insects. "And
just what's in this for you, quasar brain?" she snapped irritably.

"Why, the same thing that's in it for our *glorious* leader," Tarantulas
said, voice slippery as fresh oil. "This little...assignment is in the
interest of all Predacons, after all..."

Blackarachnia rolled all eight of her eyes. "Spare me the 'glory of the
Predacons' routine...you and I both know it's a load of slag."

Tarantulas chuckled. "Perhaps...perhaps not..."

With a snort of disgust, Blackarachnia skittered off in the opposite
direction.

*At last, she leaves!* Tarantulas thought to himself, rubbing his front
legs together in anticipation. *That troublesome witch has always fouled up
my plans...but not this time! I know where there's a stasis pod hidden in
this jungle, and I fully intend to claim it for myself!*

Chuckling maniacally to himself, Tarantulas rolled off into the foliage,
focused entirely on his goal.

So focused, that he never heard the war whoop from above, and didn't see
the stone hammer striking him in the head until it was too late.

******

"Aw, maaaan," Rattrap groaned. "This is completely nuts!"

"Cease your incessant jabbering, Maximal!" Rampage snarled. Once Optimus
and Megatron had taken their battle to the air, they had quickly
disappeared into the horizon. Left with the options of waiting for one or
the other to return, getting into a fight themselves, or giving chase to
see what was happening, the four Maximals and the surly crustacean agreed
to follow the two dueling commanders. It was fortunate for the Maximals
that Rampage was, for the moment, more interested in watching Optimus and
Megatron scrap each other than he was in attacking his enemies.

"Botha ya shut up," Rhinox bellowed. "I'm gettin' a headache."

The moment passed quickly, as Rampage spun in the dust, training his cannon
on Rhinox. "In that case, allow me to REMOVE it for you!"

"Hey, hey! I see 'em!" Cheetor called out from above. "They're comin' back
this way!"

"Indeed they are," Silverbolt confirmed. "It appears as though they have
both been equally successful in damaging one another."

Rampage turned away, converting from tank mode to beast mode, much to
Rhinox's relief. He let loose a peal of sinister laughter. "Yes, at last,
Megatron is getting what he deserves!"

As the battling duo loomed close enough for the group to clearly view the
action, Optimus Primal slammed his maces forcefully down as he barely
dodged a ferocious bite attack by Megatron. As the Predacon commander
leered up at him, and opened up for another strike, Primal's maces caught
him full-force in the mouth. Megatron bellowed in agony as several
razor-sharp teeth snapped free of his reptilian jaws, falling to the ground
below.

"YOU SHALL PAY MOST DEARLY FOR THAT, MAXIMAL!!" Megatron roared. Angling
his body to use his VTOL turbines to full advantage, he whipped viciously
around, striking Primal in the chest with his tail. The ape grunted,
dropping slightly as sparks flew from his damaged armor. He began circling
low, giving Megatron a wide berth. The dinosaur chuckled ominously. "What's
the matter, Optimus Primal? You seem to be afraid to face me, yeeees. Have
you finally realized that you are no match for me?"

"Match THIS, Megatron! Optimus, MAXIMIZE!" The Maximal leader converted to
robot form, and flipped his weapons harness into place, opening fire on
Megatron.

"Pathetic, Optimus Prim--AAARRRGGGHH!!" Megatron snarled as a blast from
Primal's cannons caught his left turbine, destroying it in a shower of
sparks. He spun wildly, plummeting to the ground. He finally managed to
pull up scant meters above the dusty terrain, and glared at his enemy. Not
bothering with  the activation code, he transformed, and charged Optimus,
who had landed nearby. Optimus pulled out his maces; Megatron armed himself
with his defunct tail blaster.

The four Maximals watching from a nearby rise flinched as the two
commanders went at it, sparks and chunks of metal flying as they laid into
each other with brutal, savage blows. Rampage cackled maniacally, soaking
up every second of the carnage.

Megatron bellowed in pain as Optimus delivered a vicious axehandle to his
right shoulder, completely shattering the armor plating. A small, purple
cube, ablaze with brilliant electrical fire from within, was sent flying.
"BLAST!! HOW DARE YOU!!" the Predacon commander raged.

Rampage glanced up, disbelieving. "YESSS!!!!" he cried, converting to tank
mode and roaring away.

"Hey! Where d'ya think yer goin', crabby?" Rattrap exclaimed, peeling out
after the deranged crustacean.

Megatron watched the object sail away, torn between giving chase, or
resuming his fight. His decision was made for him as Primal leapt at him,
kicking him in the back with both legs. He turned and glared at the
Maximal. "You shall DIE, Optimus Primal!" he roared, driving a vicious
uppercut into Primal's chin.

As they continued to fight, Rattrap caught up to Rampage. "Whoa, hold it
there, crusthead," he said.

"BACK OFF, MAXIMAL!" Rampage said, sideswiping Rattrap, who flipped over as
the crab-tank roared onward. He transformed back to beast mode just as the
purple cube flew into his path, and caught it in one claw. "AT LAST!!" He
began laughing maniacally.

"Heads up, everyone!" Cheetor called out, circling from above. "Your flyin'
cat camera says this fight's takin' a major turn for the worse!"

******

A vicious backhand sent Optimus Primal sprawling. He grunted as arcs of
energon surged across his body, sparks popping and hissing from damaged
circuits. Huge gaps in his armor emitted plumes of smoke as he struggled to
stand.

"Weeeeeellll," Megatron said, looming over Primal. He wasn't looking in top
form himself: one shoulderguard was completely shattered, his weapon hung
limply from his right arm, dents and cracks dotted his armor, and his left
optic had gone out. He glared down at the Maximal commander with his
remaining optic, in which burned a fire hotter than the depths of Hell.
"It's time we ended this little game. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss." With a
grinding noise, a pop, and a shower of sparks, Megatron reverted to Beast
Mode, glowering down at Optimus Primal.

The onlookers moved in closer. Rampage was chuckling in glee, eagerly
anticipating the conclusion of the battle as he clutched the tiny cage in
his own claw. The Maximals looked on with horror. "We must help Optimus!"
Silverbolt cried.

Megatron lunged forward, landing on Primal's chest. "LOOK, MAXIMALS!!" he
shouted, glancing back at the small crowd. "YOUR LEADER, DEFEATED! FALLEN,
TO MY SUPERIOR POWER! AS SHALL YOU ALL! AS SHALL ALL WHO DARE DEFY ME!"
Turning his attention back to the struggling Optimus Primal, he narrowed
his eyes. "Just as the original Megatron terminated the Spark of the
*great* Optimus Prime," he hissed, saying the name of the legendary Autobot
as though it were a curse, "so shall I terminate yours." In the blink of an
eye, his head darted down, massive jaws open wide.

The Maximals gasped. Rampage cackled.

There was a brief, strangled cry of pain, which was cut short. A blinding
spray of sparks streamed from the prone form of the Maximal commander.

Megatron slowly lifted his head, dramatically pausing before turning to
face the Maximals. In his jaws, he held the head of Optimus Primal, eyes
dark, face frozen in horror.

With a squealing metallic *crunch*, Megatron crushed Optimus Primal's
head...then devoured it.

******

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferno: "As you command, My Queen!"
Megatron: "I wish he'd stop calling me that...'


The Eternal Lost Lurker
Insane evil fanfic writer type nutcase otaku
White Knight of the Knightly Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
Spare the rod. Boil the child.
lurkerdrome@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker
ICQ# 22559724