Chapter 23: Disguised as the Giant Dinosaur Sarath
"Eh, looks like we've gone a little too far, Commander Overturned!"
Hearing Starscream's warning, a man who had transformed into an attack helicopter cautiously flew forward to report. His role was that of an Observer, mainly responsible for dividing the various war zones. After all, the Decepticons had clearly defined factions — and this time, Overturned had indeed crossed the line.
If it had been any other Decepticon leader, there might've been some leeway, since they were currently fighting together. But the problem was that the commander of this zone was none other than the giant dinosaur, Sarath. Provoking him could mean utter disaster; by the next day, he might wipe out everything in sight — except for two broken landing gears.
That giant dinosaur Sarath had always been a thorn in the side of Starscream, the supreme commander of the Decepticon air forces. If Overturned fell into his hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Why didn't you say so earlier, you brat?! Retreat! Everyone, retreat! Didn't you hear what Starscream said?"
Apparently, this troublemaker was fairly obedient — but in Starscream's database, he had quite a terrible record! Once Starscream pretended to leave, the young fool would surely sneak into enemy territory in search of the Autobots' Ark.
The real dinosaur, Sarath, had already returned to his base to recover energy, and his group of deformed Transformers had vanished. If that troublemaker happened to find Optimus Prime and the others, a fierce battle would be inevitable.
Though Starscream believed Optimus could defeat him, the Autobots only had one Ark left. If anything happened to it, Starscream's system mission would likely fail, and the Autobots would lose their final spark — becoming true cosmic orphans.
No — he had to warn Optimus Prime quickly, and preferably capture that troublemaker as well.
What should he do?
Just as Red Spider (Starscream) was rapidly devising a plan to intercept the chaos using his central memory, he suddenly remembered receiving a reward from the Transformation System.
"Well then, since the dinosaur Sarath has disappeared… can't I just transform into him?"
Ever since receiving that reward, Starscream had never tested the Impostor Ability — and now was the perfect chance to try it.
"System God, I request to use the Impostor Ability. What preparations are required?"
Determined, Starscream landed on a barren meteorite and activated the Transformation System.
"Ding! Transformation System acknowledges the command. The Impostor Ability may be used once every 12 hours, for a maximum of 25 minutes each time. As the ability improves, its features will also enhance. What form would you like to assume?"
Apparently, the Impostor System wasn't permanent. Still, at Starscream's current speed, twenty-five minutes was more than enough to scan all of Sarath's territory.
"I request transformation into the giant dinosaur Sarath. His image is in my database. Make it as realistic as possible — we might be facing an expert!"
"Understood, host. Image fully scanned. Initiating disguise!"
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
This was Starscream's first transformation. His original robot form was that of a typical fighter jet Transformer — tail fins visible on his shoulders, cockpit on his chest. But the giant dinosaur Sarath was a completely different case. The system had to reconstruct his disguise entirely: his plane-like head reshaped into that of a beast, and the sleek geometric panels of the jet morphed into the rugged, irregular body of a savage creature. Even Starscream's signature red stripes became chaotic markings — said to be a color scheme Sarath personally designed to make himself look even more ferocious!
"Alright!"
Although he felt extremely uncomfortable, Starscream's jet engines were still functioning perfectly. Under the Transformation System's disguise, he was virtually indistinguishable from the real Sarath. Unless the real one returned and stood face-to-face with him — not even Sarath's own mother could tell the difference!
"Perfect! System God, your disguise technique is truly amazing. Now, if you could just help me locate that brat 'Troublemaker,' it'd be even better! Well, just saying — I can always find him myself if I try a little harder!"
Starscream was, of course, being lazy. But just as he was about to rely on himself, the Transformation System suddenly replied:
"Respected host, the Target Tracking Function has been unlocked. Commencing search for designated Transformer target!"
Whoa! He'd said that half-jokingly, but apparently, the system had taken him seriously. It seemed the Transformation System had far more functions than he'd realized — and only 20% were currently unlocked. Who knew what surprises awaited once it was fully activated!
Within three seconds, the familiar mechanical voice returned.
"Dear host, we have successfully located the Transformer target 'Overheater' and locked onto his position. However, Overheater appears to be tracking our objective — the Autobot. If we do not stop him quickly, your main mission may fail, and this system will automatically shut down."
Well, that was both good and bad news.
But Overheater was behaving exactly as expected — it was unrealistic to let him go unpunished.
"Alright, System Chief, I know what to do! Give me Overheater's coordinates. I'll use this dinosaur's massive jaws to rip off his wings and tail — and toss him straight into the Decepticon scrapyard!"
Though Overheater had a head start, Starscream was confident in his speed. Catching up would only take a few minutes. He just hoped the Autobots' Ark could hold out until then!
(End of Chapter)