Grimlock, Dinobot... and father?

by The Bricklayer

Part 7: It's time... FOR SCIENCE! (Wheeljack's Lament)

The Ark

Wheeljack's Lab, the place where wonders are born, or on other times just the sounds of explosions. Either way, it was often a source of curiosity by many Autobots on what went behind those closed doors with only a select few high in the Ark's chain of command knowing what really went on back there. In this order it went:

Optimus Prime:

Ultra Magnus:

Prowl:

Ratchet:

And of course, Wheeljack himself. But now that very same curiosity had encaptured a certain trio of fillies along with Rainbow Dash, in it's grasp. There was a fifth member of that group, but she was not on this adventure by choice.

"Rainbow Dash, I cannot believe you would drag me along on this... this crusade of curiosity!" Rarity harrumphed in annoyance as the fivesome found themselves outside the big orange plated doors to Wheeljack's Lab, which had a big sign on them reading in big bold letters written both in Cybertronix and Equestrian "Keep Out, especially if you are a Dinobot!"

"Aw come on Rares, lighten up!" Rainbow exclaimed in disbelief, she could hardly believe her friend wasn't the slightest bit curious on what could be behind those doors. There could be giant ray guns, or aliens that could burst from your chest kept in jars or even a body-swapping machine!

"This is a adventure, along the lines of Daring Do! And I KNOW you keep those books around under your bed, from what Applejack told me." Rainbow added with a flirty grin, completely unable to contain herself.

Rarity grumbled something under her breath, probably along the lines of "...I knew she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut about those books. Still, I know she still has Fifty Shades of Hay under HER bed, after all I loaned it to her. Still want it back." She added in, with a blush as she remembered the book's contents.

The CMC looked at Rarity in confusion, before Rainbow cleared it up for them.

"They used to date." She explained, and the fillies then gained a dawning recognition on their faces as Rainbow looked at the giant orange doors.

"So, should we just... uh, knock? Ask open sesame or something like that?" Rainbow wondered aloud before she grumbled "Ah damn it, might as well just take the easy way out!"

With that, Rainbow with a mighty thrust of her hind legs bucked the doors wide open. Rarity stared at her in disbelief for a moment before she facehoofed and muttered sarcastically "Oh yes, why don't you let the whole base know we're going in there while you're at it?"

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively and replied "Oh stop being such a worrywart, you're worse then Twi right now I swear." as all five ponies walked inside the lab not knowing what they'd find...

---

Ark: Main Security Room

At the exact same time Prowl and Jazz as they was going over old holo-novels together like they did every week heard the alarm that was the result of the lab doors being kicked in. Prowl looked up at the security footage being shown on screens and sighed to himself. Jazz knew that particular sigh, it had been occurring a awful lot lately ever since Grimlock adopted the CMC.

"Is it them, man?" Jazz inquired and Prowl nodded before he grumbled something in Cybertronix under his breath, probably a curse.

"Guess I'd better alert Wheeljack." Prowl muttered, the inventor-bot wasn't going to like this one bit. Not at all... Prowl sighed in resignation, what he wouldn't give for a glass of something of Maccadam's Old Oil house back on Cybertron...

---

Wheeljack's Lab

The fivesome took in the contents of Wheeljack's lab in awe gasping every time they saw something new. On tables scattered across the room, were various parts and half-finished inventions. Rarity, despite her admittedly impressed look on what Wheeljack was making, thought the place needed some decoration. After all, if you were making something you might as well have a lab that looked good while you were doing it.

"Yeesh, somepony really needs to fire Jack's maid." Rainbow muttered before she wondered aloud "...Do robots even have maids?"

Rarity rolled her eyes, out of all the questions Rainbow could ask, that was the first one that came to her mind? She gave her friend a look, and Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"What? My mind can wander, so sue me." Rainbow replied in annoyance.

"This place is EPIC!" Scootaloo cried nearby as she tried to look at anything and everything. But then something caught her eye, a big, no a absolutely huge pod covered in dust and branded with a big yellow "X". Strangely enough, scratched into the pod's metal were the words "Never again." as well. Scootaloo wondered what they could mean, and why this pod was empty. What could have ever been inside it and why did it seem to be pushed to the back of the room, as if it was wanted to be hidden away and forgotten about?

"...So, I see you've found it." Wheeljack's voice came from behind them in a sad and resigned tone. Everyone turned to face him, and they saw he looked somewhat ashamed of himself. But that couldn't be right, Scootaloo mused. Wheeljack always seemed proud of whatever he created, even if it never worked quite right.

"What was inside the pod?" Scootaloo asked curiously, only for Rarity to immediately berate her. "Scootaloo, that's such a personal question, and I don't think Wheeljack wants to answer it!"

Wheeljack sighed long and hard as he sat down on a nearby chair before he spoke after a few brief moments of silence. His blue flashing headlights seemed to be dimmer then usual as if they reflected his shame.

"No, I suppose you have a right to know. Sit down, and listen to the tale of my greatest triumph, and my greatest failure..."

And so Wheeljack began his story...

---

Cybertron, Four Million Years ago...

Wheeljack was on the verge of a triumph, one that would hopefully end the civil war that was currently waging across Cybertron. Fuel sources had been consumed right and left, and entire cities ravaged by the brutal battles between both sides. Wheeljack had gone to desperate measures, he had gotten created something, something that would hopefully never die and end the war with simple flick of the switch.

"Got to... Got to hurry!" Wheeljack said frantically as he made the final preparations to the pod, with a bare protoform inside. He intended to give it a cold spark, jumpstart a creature bred only for war. He needed to work fast, as even now Vehicons led by Shockwave himself were pounding at the door of his lab.

"Open up Autobot, and I promise your death will be quickl and swift!" Shockwave's voice bellowed from behind the door. Wheeljack snarled at him defiantly.

"That's not going to happen, not today Shockwave!" Wheeljack yelled, his headlights flashing blue in defiance.

"Your reality is over, as soon as I reach you. It shall end, your resistance is illogical."" Shockwave exclaimed again, only for Wheeljack to fire off another retort even as he threw the final switch that would give life to his creation.

"Then I reject your reality and substitute my own!" The Autobot's chief inventor yelled, as the pod burst open and a being with reddish orange paint, purple detailing and sharp angles, a white X on his chest and a weapon resembling Megatron's infamous fusion cannon attached to his arm stepped out of it. The creature that could only be described as monstrous burst forth even as the door was broken down. Shockwave, if his face could show horror would have as his troops were almost at once felled by Energon blasts.

"What... What is this Nosferatu of a creature?" Shockwave stammered in fear as Wheeljack smirked under his faceplate.

"Shockwave, meet Protoform X!" Wheeljack exclaimed, but then he felt his excitement turn to sheer horror as he saw madness in the creature's green optics and watched fear as one of Shockwave's arms was ripped right off Energon fluid going everywhere before Shockwave was picked up by the neck and X's optics gazed into Shockwave's own.

"Is that fear you are feeling, Decepticon? Yes... my spark, it feeds on terror. Let it grow! Let it consume your circuitry! Feel it, yes, feel it! Feel the fear!" X proclaimed before he blasted Shockwave backwards into Stasis Lock before with a shifting of parts he was a Cybertronic jet and flying off into the night sky while Wheeljack watched and could only whisper one small thing.

"...What have I done?"

---

Back in the present...

"I created a monster, bred only for killing. It, as I cannot call it a being with gender as that would presume it was truly alive, was as bad if not possibly more horrific then the Great Slagmaker himself." Wheeljack lamented sadly as he held his head in shame.

"It... It killed many of Autobot and Decepticon alike before it was put down. I had to put it down, my own creation!" Wheeljack continued, choking back a sob before he continued his story to the five ponies who listened with sadness and sympathy. Even if the Autobots created a monster, he was ashamed of himself for doing so and that was all that mattered to them.

"I should have been kicked out of the Autobots, Pits there was even a trial to see if I should. It was Optimus who cast the deciding vote that kept me, but even today there are some still aboard the Ark who would rather see me scrapped, your father Grimlock included." Wheeljack lamated, turning to the CMC. In Grimlock's mind, Wheeljack was as bad as Shockwave as he reminded him of the experiments preformed on him by the Deception scientist that turned Grimlock into the creature he was today.

"Now that's quite enough of that!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed. "It was desperate times, and from little of what I've heard of the Great War things were truly horrific. You thought you were doing a good thing, and no one can hold you responsible for that." Rarity told Wheeljack, who gave her a serious look.

"But the road to the Pits is paved with good intentions they say, and nobot can deny what I was doing was that. But just look at the aftermath..." Wheeljack said sadly. For that, nopony had no answer.

END

Author's Note:

So, what do you think of Wheeljack being the creator a G1 version of Beast Wars's Rampage? I wanted to give him a tragic backstory, sorta how like Brainstorm has in the IDW comics and provide a chapter with no easy answers. I'm sorry for the general darkness and sadness of this chapter, I promise the next one will be back to the story's normal tone of CMC and Autobot antics together.

Bios for this chapter:

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Wheeljack_(G1)

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Shockwave_%28G1%29

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rampage_(BW)

And here is what Rampage would look like in-story.

Next time: Chaos at the Wonderbolts Air Show in Canterlot as Starscream and the Decepticons attack, and it's up to only the CMC, Ultra Magnus, Powerglide, Swoop and the Wonderbolts to fend them off!

Comments

[Guardian of Harmony424]

That was some heavy stuff. I always wondered if wheel jack had any endoskeletons in his closet so to speak. I can't wait to see how the airshow pans out!

[DaiAtlas2016]

Poor Wheeljack.

[The Bricklayer]

7334489
7335044
Glad you guys liked that chapter. Hey, just asking here but do you think I should do a later chapter where Rampage somehow comes back (Immortal spark, you know) and Wheeljack has to face his sins? And Dai Atlas, I know there will be something you like in the next chapter as I plan to have Ultra Magnus make at least one variation of his most famous line and perhaps quote the full line completely at one point.

[DaiAtlas2016]

7335364

Those are both great ideas! I like it!

[Guardian of Harmony424]

7335364 That sounds like a good idea.

[Casey23]

I do love me some rampage best predicon

[The Bricklayer]

7337316 Personally, I prefer BW Megatron but Rampage is right behind him.