Chapter 604: Leadership Module (Part 2) (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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"Hey, want to fight?"

Shake was startled by Sideswipe's actions, and once he realized what had happened, he became furious.

Sideswipe glared at him, saying, "If you don't want to stay here, then get out!"

Both Shake and Sideswipe were Autobots who had defected from the Decepticons. However, their different backgrounds and personalities had caused them to clash frequently, and they rarely participated in the same missions.

Sideswipe was a principled Decepticon. During the civil war, he had grown disillusioned with the frequent slaughter of Autobot civilians by the Skytiger Legion, as well as the brutal exploitation within the legion. He eventually defected from the Decepticons and joined the Autobots, fighting for his ideals and peace.

In contrast, Shake had a fiery and combative temperament during his time in the Skytiger Legion, which had led Megatron to recruit him into the elite guard. Although he had achieved numerous victories under Megatron's command, his contradictory nature led to moments of fear and cowardice, with instances of him fleeing the battlefield when the odds were against him.

The Skytiger Legion had never been a place for kindness to thrive; instead, it provided fertile ground for thugs and conspirators. Megatron had tolerated Shake's bouts of cowardice for a time but eventually lost patience.

Unfortunately, Shake's luck ran out during a battle where the Autobots emerged victorious. He had both his legs severely damaged in the fight and ended up as an Autobot prisoner of war.

Shake was fortunate, in a way. At the time of his capture, the Cybertronian civil war had reached the later stages, akin to World War II, with Optimus Prime taking over leadership from his mentor, Sentinel Prime, as the new Autobot leader. Unlike Sentinel Prime, who was ruthless and unforgiving towards captured Decepticons, Optimus Prime preferred to use kindness to reform Decepticons who had not committed heinous crimes.

Most of the former Decepticon members who joined the Autobots had done so under Optimus Prime's leadership.

Upon his capture, Shake's cooperation with his Autobot captors earned him the designation of a potentially reformable individual. After a brief period of confinement and interrogation, he was sent to Ratchet to assist in treating wounded Autobots.

During this time, Shake's good behavior, coupled with his compatible personality with Ironhide, eventually led to his acceptance among the Autobots. His humorous and lively nature also helped him make friends among the Autobots.

However, his relationships with most former Decepticons who had defected to the Autobots were strained, especially with Sideswipe.

After being verbally attacked by Shake and watching the infuriated Autobot charge at him, Sideswipe, a seasoned warrior, easily subdued Shake. Sideswipe did not coddle Shake; instead, he seized Shake's fist as it came towards him.

With a swift motion, Sideswipe pulled Shake close, and, while Shake was off balance, he reached for Shake's waist, lifting him high into the air. With a powerful effort, he slammed Shake against the nearby wall.

"Bang!"

The impact caused at least a hundred cracks to appear in the wall where Shake had been slammed.

"Sideswipe, Shake!" Ratchet noticed the escalating situation and hurried over, grabbing hold of Sideswipe. Ironhide, too, reacted promptly, grabbing Shake, who had just been dazed by the impact, and casting a menacing look at Sideswipe, preparing to confront him again.

"That's enough!" he scolded. "Is this chaos not sufficient?"

Shake, still somewhat in awe of his mentor, transformed his anger into a radiant expression under Ironhide's stern gaze.

However, Shake, known for his troublemaking, still defiantly pointed at Sideswipe and complained, "Teacher, he started it!"

"But the mistake was yours, Shake!" Claudia, who had been drawn to the commotion inside the temple, leaped down from a hill over a hundred meters high.

Seeing everyone standing up for themselves, Shake shot Sideswipe a hostile glance and then departed with a radiant grin.

"Don't mind him; that's just his nature," Shake had worked as Ratchet's assistant for some time, and Ratchet regarded him as a junior colleague. After Shake left, Ratchet offered a few words in his defense.

Sideswipe nodded slightly and walked over to retrieve the triangular-bladed knife he had embedded in the wall earlier.

"Squeak!"

The triangular blade was easily extracted from the wall mural, and Sam had been standing near the wall to avoid Shake when Sideswipe sent him flying, so it now stood near the opening.

After Sideswipe recovered his weapon, he casually glanced at the wall, then suddenly uttered a sound of surprise.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Sam?" his girlfriend, Michaela, asked.

Ignoring her, Sam furrowed his brow and quickly walked up to the rear wall of the temple. He stared at the mural on the wall, which had been pierced and cracked by Sideswipe's weapon, and tapped it several times.

"Thud... thud..."

"There's something behind this wall!"

Sam's suspicions were confirmed as he excitedly turned to the Autobots and Michaela, who were watching him.

"Behind this wall?"

Sideswipe frowned. He had conducted electromagnetic scans earlier and was quite certain that there were no hidden spaces around the temple, including underground.

"Let me check..."

Bumblebee stepped forward, warning everyone to step back. He retrieved a laser cannon from his storage compartment and aimed it at the mural on the rear wall of the temple. With a surge of energy, he fired a shot.

"Boom!"

The energy blast struck the temple's wall, creating a nearly two-meter-wide circular hole.

As soon as the hole appeared, a chilling wind, as though from the Arctic, caused Sam and Michaela to shiver involuntarily.

"There's something behind here!"

Bumblebee exclaimed excitedly.

Through the hole in the temple's rear wall, several massive metal hooks could be clearly seen.

Sam had sharp eyes and noticed some peculiar patterns on the large metal hooks. He quickly ran to the edge of the hole, stared at the hooks, and turned back to address all the Autobots with excitement.

"I'm certain of it. This is Cybertronian script. Although I don't know what it means, I can guarantee that I've seen it in the All Spark fragment's data..."

With those words, smiles finally returned to the faces of Ironhide and the other Autobots.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 605: Leadership Module (Part 2)