Invincible

Writer's note: Here is the third story in the series. Much, much better than the other two. It is basically a two-part story, because it would be too long if it were one. Other than that, enjoy!

Drifting around the distant sun, backed by an ebony background littered with stars and the planet’s moons.

Houses were destroyed, buildings scarred, major industries now just piles of rubble.

She was in a small, dirty room at the bottom level by an elevator in a rundown building. She was beautiful, sleek, seductive and athletic. And she was waiting.

Here, it was dangerous to walk around at night, for a robot might be stripped of its metal and circuitry to support the attacker, who was probably dying or very damaged.

It was dark, nighttime in fact, and there she was, on the ground floor of the tall, grey building. The building was housing many of the poor robots, like a block of flats.

“I did. I know we’ve been going out for quite a while, so, I think I can trust you with this information.” He said, shifting nervously, his smile fading.

“Shhh. Don’t worry, whatever you tell me, I will always love you.” She said and stroked his arm.

“Well, I need you to promise me you won’t say a word.” He said cautiously.

“Ok, I killed a guy, for his money. I was in trouble and I needed it bad. I regret it now, but the police don’t care. I…I just want you to know that I’ll never, ever hurt you.” He said quietly.

Suddenly, light poured in from all directions and police rushed in and grabbed him.

“What? WHAT? Hey let go of me! By the pit, you slagging bitch! You-you lied, you’re a cop!” He shrieked.

“Oops, I forgot. So sorry.” She sneered and watched the four large police grab his arm and pull him outside.

“BITCH!” He yelled but he was pulled into the police hovercraft and the noise stopped.

“Hey, Tour, that was a great performance! Your abilities to act continue to amaze me.” Said the azure and red female.

“Thanks Hyra. Ugh, this coating, I feel so naked! You know I hate to play the role of a ...”

“Yes, I know I know. Come on, we’re finished here. I’ll drive ya home.” Said Hyra.

“Thanks a million. Jeez, I was getting sick of luring that suspect everywhere with me!” She sighed and the two headed off.

“These buildings are suffering from a serious case of melancholy.” She remarked.

Toby was part of their detective trio. She, Hyra and Toby did undercover work all the time.

He was a fairly tall, dark grey robot who had heard of the Axalon and had paid big bucks to be given a beast mode. He chose a wolf. He had said that the earth animal form was great to sneak around in.

He had gone to the science lab and in the lab were various animals kept for study.

He was very friendly and had a great sense of humour, but he was a frightening robot.

Despite being grey from head to toe, he had snow-white eyes that looked hollow. They just freaked anyone who looked into them as he seemed to see through you like you were as hollow as his eyes.

“Great work, Tour. I mean, you must have been an actress in your previous life!” He remarked as he caught up to them and walked beside them.

“Yeah, well, I try my best. That guy was such a creep, and I had to kiss him! I feel sick.” She moaned.

“Well, at least we’re getting a holiday for five whole days now! That ought to boost your energy levels.” He replied cheerfully.

It was the dead of night when she awoke to the sound of the news reporter on her TV.

She had been sleeping for hours and had only meant to rest a few minutes. But work took a lot out of her and sleep was inevitable. But now, as she sat up in her bed she could see the pictures on the television embedded in the opposite wall of her small room in her tiny apartment. She yawned and looked around the dimly lit room.

The walls of metal had gathered rust for these days, anti rust coating was expensive. And she had neither the time nor money to spare for it. The floor was dirty and stained, her cupboard missing a door and the other barely on its hinges. The only thing intact was her bed and old TV. She sighed as she stared out the window to her right at the smoggy, black sky. But it was the words: ‘fight’ and ‘Zoltine street’ that caught her attention. She focussed on the red and yellow news reporter who was standing in front of two angry male ’bots. Judging by their symbols, one Maximal and one Predacon. Of course the Maximals and Predacons were no longer at war, but there would always be conflict and unease between the two factions.

The two were being held back from each other by police officers and both were screaming and swearing at each other, waving fingers and fists. She listened intently to the reporter.

“Two members of opposing gangs have been caught and arrested after a skirmish; yet the others remain hidden. Conflict is high in this Predamax neighbourhood and more fights like this are expected. Police advise pedestrians to steer clear of this and neighbouring streets for their own safety. Two shots fired earlier this week claimed the life of a Predacon male inside his own home when bullets shattered his windows and struck him. The high council will decide the fate of the two gang members and they will be taken in for questioning.” The two aggressors disappeared from behind the reporter.

“This is Ulextra Silone from Cybertron International New reporting live from the city of Relentrax, Tirzolph.”

It was then she shot up, her decision made, and headed towards the doorway. Her daughter was staying at a friend’s house up the road from Zoltine. And she was not going to let her stay there without her. No way she’d walk her back home. It was too dangerous. But just being there with her for the night would put her mind at ease slightly.

She walked quickly to the door, exited her apartment and hurried to the elevator. The hallways were dark and stunk of rubbish and fuels. But she had grown accustomed to them. The elevator stopped at ground level and she hurriedly left it and went through the next door into the alley - way. As she stepped outside into the cold night air, she remembered that her cybercar had broken down last week, and noted that she hadn’t yet had it repaired. With a grimace at the thought of walking through the empty, dark streets for ten cycles, she began her trek to her daughter. Her footsteps echoed behind her as she walked briskly through the alley and into the street. Shards of light metal littered the road and lifted gently off the ground occasionally in the slight wind. Rubble left over from the Gitrix War piled up on the sides of streets and bullet capsules were as common as litter. A brown fog travelled on silent wings through the lower parts of the street. Glowing lamps on the darkened buildings were of little comfort as she hurried along, her pace quickening. A loud crash followed by unfriendly laughter made her jump and make a muffled cry. Fear and unease choked her throat and she began to jog more than walk. There were distant sounds of glass shattering and loud, boisterous speaking. A large pile of rubble confronted her and blocked the sidewalk somewhat. She decided to stay on the sidewalk and walk around it. She would be be sandwiched between it and a building for a few steps then there was another corner into another street. The rubble was in a long, three metre pile but it would take less than a few seconds to get past at the pace she was going at. Another bang made her surge forward between the pile and building for cover in case it was a shot she heard. She stood there in the shadow of the heap for a moment, her heart racing, her body shivering. She took a few more breaths before turning to carry on. As she turned, a strong, rough grip settled on her arm and pulled her into the street corner. She shrieked as her body was pulled violently around the corner. She looked up and was face to face with a shady ’bot with dark, dim optics. He was of a muscular build, a foot taller than her, and was a camouflaged colour in the thick shadows. He held her arm in a malignant manner and was grinning maliciously.

“Shut up!” He yelled and swung her round and slammed her hard against the opposite wall. He pined both her arms down with his and did the same to her legs with his sharp knees. She struggled and kicked as much as she could but her movement was restricted to only foot wriggles and turning her head.

He leaned against her and pushed his chest onto hers and her arm, and with his other arm, tried to stuff something soft into her mouth.

His hot breath met her face as he again tried to muffle her cries, but with his hand.

She slowly stopped and breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling, her eyes staring wildly into his.

His gaze never left her and slowly she could see him pull something thin and shiny from his left cyber pocket. She watched him raise it up slowly, her heart thudding, fear tightening its potent grip.

She squinted slightly to get a better view, and at the sight and realisation of what it was, she began to scream.

His grin widened and he held the inch thick hollow knife/syringe to the dim light. She could see the pinkish fluid of cyber poison swirling inside the transparent blade. All it took was one stab and a push of the handle…

But only his hot, foul smelling breath greeted her face as he leaned closer and positioned the blade over her right hip

She stopped screaming for a second as one of his fingers entered her mouth and gripped the back of her teeth forcefully.

The scream rang in her ears. It was swamped with absolute terror and pain that shocked her very core.

All she could hear was the remains of a heart stopping scream and her own rapid panting. She could feel her spark flickering from the shock and her core twitching with unease.

Dinobot stood in the entrance- way, panting like her, his eyes lit with concern.

She tuned away, her eyes still wide, and looked down as she caught her breath. She almost began to cry as her body’s shock level lowered enough to allow for emotional trauma. But instead, she whimpered ever so slightly.

“It must have been some nightmare for you to scream like that. You scared the pit out of me.” He commented quietly.

“Calm down Diamond. Whatever you saw that made a noise in your nightmare, corresponded with your scream. It’s as simple as that.”

“Go get something calming to drink and read, it will take your mind off things.” He insisted.

Rattrap glanced up from his computer and eyed Harine as she paced up and down irritably. She had just entered her office opposite him, which was lacking a wall at present. The war had fortunately had little effect on the News Department Building, but when a bomb went off, a few of the cubicle walls fell down.

Then she swung around in her chair and faced him, annoyance and weariness written on her face.

“Primus! I’ve had the worst day of my life! No wait, I’ve had worse. But it was bad anyway!” She exclaimed, her arms flying up as she swung around to face her computer.

“YES I got a story. But nothing special. Primus, if I’m going to try and get a raise by impressing Jaxlin, I’m going to need better stories than this!” She yelled and began typing away.

“Oh. What story did ya get?” He asked as he stretched and lay back in his chair.

“Oh, some feme was found dead and buried in a rubble pile. She was stabbed repeatedly so that her memory circuits were severed, and she was choc full of cyber venom. It was in a bad area, Relentrax. There have been lots of killings there. Police think it was a gang member that killed her sometime at night. I mean, do you know how many murder cases you get each day? This one certainly won’t grab his attention.” She sighed.

“Relentrax, you say?” Rattrap asked as he remembered something about the town.

“Hey, I got a friend in Relentrax. He said that his son was a gang member and came home telling him recently that there was a non-gang member killing off their girlfriends. He said this guy was killing both factions’ girls, and they were really getting upset. Maybe a gang member didn’t kill this girl. Maybe it was that mystery guy, in which case, you may be onto somethin’.” Rattrap explained.

Dinobot gave tips to one of his students about twisting with a sword in hand the right way. Then the student left and Dinobot was finished.

But not in his mind, for it was still racing with ideas and intriguing thoughts.

After locking up, he walked over to the stands that semi- circled the arena. The arena was a semi circle backed with the indoor centre and in the open, surrounded by stands for his pupils to watch from, and judges when there were tournaments.

But the stands were now empty except for Diamond and one of her friends who were chatting and giggling excitedly.

The two girls were huddled together talking softly and giggling. But he caught a few words.

Both girls stopped chatting upon his arrival and Kyla, Diamond’s friend stood.

“Thanks for the lesson sir, I will see you at training tomorrow.” She said cheerfully.

Kyla darted off and disappeared through the exit winking at Diamond as she left.

“Oh, you’ve already packed up. Sorry! You should have called me, I would have helped.” She conveniently noticed.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to interrupt…your important conversation.” He sneered.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming.” She murmured, her face hot with embarrassment. He must have picked up what they were saying.

‘Stupid to be talking about boyfriends anywhere near him. Just stupid.’ She scolded herself mentally.

She hurried up beside him and watched as he activated the mini sentinel over the arena. Crime had increased dramatically after the war. Things were scarce and the homeless had resorted to stealing to merely keep themselves alive.

“I don’t think you should shrug it off, Diamond. There’s a tournament coming along and if he’s catching up quickly to your standards, you had better take notice and act upon it.” He snarled.

Then suddenly she turned in a flurry of stress and confusion and ran off across the street and disappeared into the crowds.

She was in a dirty, poor flat and was hoping to speak to Plytox, the son of Rattrap’s friend. She looked around nervously at the empty hallways and the dirty, rusty walls. A cold breeze wrapped around her feet. It was coming from a few bullet holes in one of the walls nearby.

Her attention was brought back as the door opened. A large, crimson male bot stood in the entrance- way, looking tired and irritable.

The apartment was as shabby as the outside. The walls needed a wash, the furniture was tatty and it was horribly untidy. The single room served as the lounge, TV room, two bedrooms and a storage room.

“Sit down, make yourself comfortable. I’ll go call Plytox, he’s in the kitchen.” He said and disappeared into the next room.

She seated herself on the small chair and a few moments later, a bot she assumed was Plytox stepped into the room.

He was black with streaks of red and yellow. He looked tired and slumped over as he walked to her. He looked sickly and his optics were dim. He seemed bored and uninterested and almost collapsed into the chair opposite her.

“Hello Plytox, I’m Harine. Um, well! I have come here to ask you a few questions, nothing personal, promise! And nothing to get you in trouble. Actually, it will help you-”

“Yes. Well, as I’m sure you know; a fembot was killed yesterday by an unknown killer. Of course, the blame has fallen on the two gang’s shoulders and you will undoubtedly have the police all over you soon. But what I believe and want to confirm with you is that the killer wasn’t a gang member, it was an outsider. Am I correct?”

He ducked lower and leaned towards her. She did the same. He looked around nervously before facing her.

“Listen, I’m not really sure but, from stuff I’ve heard…it wasn’t the Preds who killed the Maximal fem, and it weren’t us. It were, I mean, was none of us. The gangs were at a rumble a few streets up, all of us. No one was missing.”

“Look, there’s been a lot of weird stuff going on. I’ve told my old man, but not everything. So ya better keep it safe.”

“It was that mystery guy who’s been killing our girls. He’s got four of ’em already, two from both sides. He killed my pals pregnant girl three weeks ago and he’s really upset. Now the police ‘r after him and it weren’t him. That’s all I know.”

“Terrible. Down right awful. Heck, I promise that somehow or other, there will be justice! Don’t you worry; I’m going to give those police something to think about! Thanks for the information; I won’t mention your name or address. You’ve been a big help.” She said.

“Yeah, just keep me clean, I don’t want no more trouble.” He said, slurping his words. She smiled and nodded.

Diamond sipped the hot energon quietly as she sat on the edge of Cheetor’s chair.

She didn’t know where to turn and had simply run to Cheetor’s place in the hope he’d be there. Fortunately for her, he was.

“I don’t know what happened Cheets! I just lost it. I mean, he hardly ‘grabbed’ my arm hard but I just felt so threatened and scared. It was like deja vu of some kind. But it wasn’t him, just the action of grabbing my arm…” She stuttered, tears choking her throat.

“Shhhh! Calm down Dimes, calm down.” He soothed and put an arm around her and cradled her.

She felt a shiver of shock go down her spine. It was a strange sensation, Cheetor hugging her.

She felt a warm, fuzzy feeling mixed with confused and distressed sobs. She didn’t resist and let him rock her gently back and forth.

“Shhhh. Calm down. I’m here. It’ll be OK, you’re just going through a weird patch in your life. It happens to all fems.” He said gently.

“Hey, I’m a considerable amount older that you. I know these things. You know, when fems mature they get all protective of themselves. It’s only natural. You’re not a girl, Dimes. You’re sort of in between. It’s very confusing, believe me! Primus, it was the pit when I was on earth. I was a menace to Optimus, always running off and doing things my way to impress him. I annoyed your dad with my immaturity and was always getting myself in trouble. But they never thought what it was like for me. I was confused like you. But they never saw it. I got through it, just like every other grown bot you see. Our bodies, as transformers, stay the same, but it’s our mind that matures.” He explained.

“I feel like such a baby. I mean, I’ve been off to slagging war!” She mumbled.

“You’re not a baby, you’re a beautiful, talented young fem.” He said gently.

“Thanks Cheets, you really helped. Now I’ve just got to figure out a way to overcome this dilemma. But I’ll be fine.” She said as she rose to her feet.

He’d given up thinking over what had happened and decided to blank out and wait for sleep to carry him away.

But all appearing dreams were distorted and erased when the soft clicking of feet pulled him out of his impending slumber.

“Sorry dad. I didn’t mean to react that way. I’m just a little…confused at the moment. Please understand.” He heard a voice whisper.

She had been called in a day before her holiday ended for an ‘urgent’ meeting from her boss. She had predicted it. She never ever got a full five days holiday. Maybe three or four, but something would always crop up that would need her immediate attention, and of course, her team’s.

The tiny little silver disk rested by the keyboard with the date etched clearly into the front. She frowned and picked it up, before inserting it into her wrist to receive the information it contained. The welcome message appeared before her optics and a list of contents ran down under it.

‘Welcome to Cybertron International News, please selects an article.’ Her internal computer hummed.

“Currency news? Na uh. Politics section? Nope. Are you eating healthy? Are you? Another time, maybe. Relentrax murder sparks off controversy? Yeah, that ought to be interesting.” She muttered to herself.

“Yikes! I think I’ll stick to old fashioned computer reading.” She exclaimed as she switched on her computer and downloaded the article using the disk.

She read the article carefully and had just finished when in came Hyra and Toby.

“Whoa! Talk about controversy. Do you think this is what the boss called us in for?” She asked.

“No, if you read ’til the bottom, detectives have already been assigned.” Tourmaline sighed.

“Weird. Hey, it would have been interesting if we did it! I love theses kinds of cases. Wonder what the boss wanted us for then.” Hyra remarked thoughtfully.

“Huh? Oh yeah. I did. Strange.” He muttered before burying himself in some overdue work.

Tourmaline shrugged at his disinterest in the case. It was then their boss walked into the room.

“Morning kids.” The old blue and orange ’bot said. He had always called them ‘kids’ and Tourmaline couldn’t stand it.

“Sorry to rip you out of your holiday so soon, but I suspect you have all read the news this morning.” He noted.

“Well, as you can see, detectives have already been assigned to the case, which means you’ll have no part in it.” He said as he seated himself next to the girls.

“Kids, these kinds of cases are very dangerous. You have been in a few of them, but not as heavy as this. This requires sending young, attractive girls out into the streets at night to lure the killers to them.”

“Yes Tour, but you always had police nearby to protect you if anything went wrong, for as athletic as you may be, you’re not well trained for physically fighting off bots that get too rough.”

“In this situation, you can’t hide police everywhere for some of these guys can smell them a mile away. With these gangs, everyone knows everyone else’s business; any newcomers into the neighbourhood are noted and spread by word of mouth immediately. They check you out making sure you are not a cop and if you are, and it only takes one of them to find you out, they’ll kill you, no questions asked. As always, you have got to blend in, join their society and work by yourself before you can really catch what’s going on. The police won’t get in unnoticed in some situations; you have to bring that killer down yourself. By doing that, you’re going to need fighting skills.

It could be anywhere, any time when this killer strikes, and you have got to know how to break his neck and knock him out, drag him up to your make-shift apartment, then contact the police as quietly as possible. But all this takes time. It doesn’t happen over night, like you are used to. The longest you kids have had to survive is three weeks. Try this for size: three months. By yourself. You are perfectly trained in the undercover, blending in business, but if you are found out, you’re as good as dead without police. You deed basic defense skills, because these gang members we will be dealing with in the future, are fighters.”

“Ah but only basic skills. Kids, I’m sending you off to the War Training Centre.

“You’re gonna be there for a couple of months and when you come out, you’ll be moved up and upgraded to level B detective work.” He announced.

Although it was only a letter of the alphabet, the letter ‘B’ meant a lot more work, a lot more respect and a lot more pay and it was what every young detective aimed for. beside level ‘A’, which was the top position in Cybertronian detective ranks.

“I’m a guy! I’m stronger than you fems. I know how to fight.” He said moodily.

It wasn’t like him to behave like this, unless he really didn’t want to do something.

“What’s the matter Toby? Got an ex-girlfriend over there? You embarrassed to reveal you actually could learn something?” Hyra giggled.

“Toby,” the boss started. “You really have no choice. Pack your bags, you’re leaving this afternoon.”

“Yup. Looks like you and me are gonna be dragged along with an over enthusiastic Hyra.” She sighed.

“That’s the spirit!” Hyra piped up, ignoring the comments about her that were passed between them. She bounced off happily.

“Ooh, look at her boasting about her new car! I hate it!” Tourmaline hissed irritably.

“Buzz off! The day I ask a guy to walk me home is the day Cybertron gets covered in pink flowers!” She cried and left the room.

The ground met her abruptly and unkindly and grey dust plumed up in big clouds as her body skidded along.

Barely a second was spared to feel pain before she was up on her feet again, sword held with her right hand, her left clenched into a fist.

No sooner had she stood was she ducking a blow from the silver sword of her opponent.

Another blow narrowly missed her left arm and she flipped skilfully to the side and thrust her sword towards him.

It met with a clang against his blade and the two swords clashed for a few moments before his foot magically appeared and tripped her up. As she stumbled forward, she held her sword above her head to protect the majority of her back, and for good purpose too. His sword met hers and almost pushed her own blade into her back, but her arms prevailed in holding the blow off. She rolled swiftly to her right and stood, every sense concentrated on the fight.

Every bit of pain from previous blows, exhaustion, frustration and embarrassment were all shoved to the back of her mind as she focussed on the task at hand.

He made a short run, thrusting his sword through the air, but missing her stomach.

In turn, she grabbed his hand that was holding the handle, immobilising the use of his only weapon. However, she wasn’t fast enough to stop the malignant fist that crashed into her chest, throwing her back violently.

With a gut scream, she placed her hand defensively over her wounded area and the other aimed her sword. She stared blindly ahead, her vision temporarily blurred.

Her sight returned, and just in time as she swiftly dodged another metal rending blow.

She kicked him in the shin with her blade -aided feet and shards of metal splintered off him, like a peeler peeling a delicate carrot. He let out a more irritable and frustrated cry than one of pain. Besides, she had merely grazed him. She took this opportunity and plummeted her sword into the ground, swung on its handle and whilst swinging round, tried to kick him. But he saw the attempt and grabbed her vulnerable foot and yanked her loose from her grip of the sword, tossing her to the side. She met the hot, dry ground with a gut lurching crunch and all her gears groaned in anguish as she skidded to a halt. She lay motionless, on her right side, her shoulders burning and her hip screaming in pain. Her whole body was pulsing with numerous dents and cracks and her mech-fluid was at boiling point. Weakly, she raised her hands, forming a ‘T’ for ‘Timeout’ and indignantly let them fall to the ground with a bitter droop.

She closed her eyes and breathed in heavily, salvaging the air as if she’d never breath it again. She was dimly aware of a shadow falling somewhat uneasily over her.

With a strained sigh, she turned onto her back and lifted her sword above her chest and looked glumly up.

Dinobot stood over her, panting, silvery mech-fluid sliding down his cheek slowly.

His left hand was shredded and lay limply by his side, his other hand loosely holding his sword. She watched him closely; his facial expression was one of pride and dignity, yet flaunting signs of anguish and guilt. He dropped his sword, its hollow metal clang echoing through the empty arena. He held out his good hand, his gaze never leaving hers. She took it and her eyes dropped, hiding their expression. He pulled her up and in her utter exhaustion, she leaned on him for support. If a little reluctantly, he put his arm round her and held her up in a sort of half hug, which he did not approve of entirely. He let her catch her breath.

“Yeah, guess yesterday afternoon’s session helped! But I should have thought about the foot -snatching thing. I was just so sure I’d catch you off guard!” She panted.

They remained in that position while she caught her breath. The arena was empty, it was still early morning and training started an hour later. But she always warmed up in the mornings. Finally, she sat down on one of the rows in the arena and he seated himself beside her.

“There are three newcomers arriving today from a town near Relentrax. The name escapes me.” Dinobot noted.

“They’re a group of detectives and have been assigned to get proper training for dangerous circumstances. There are three of them and I have to get all three up to standard in two months.” He sighed.

“Two months? Jeez, that’s not a great deal of time. All males, I presume.”

“No, only one male, two females. The females are both attractive; they have to be in their line of detective work. You had better keep Cheetor away from them.” He said, smirking slightly.

“They’ll be here in an hour. Just thought I’d tell you.” He called as he moved to the weapons hold to set up.

“Thanks.” She muttered.

An hour passed and students started to arrive, hustling and chatting. Most were preparing themselves for the Cybertron Provincial Duals. By competing in the duals, they would earn either half colours to full colours and some would even be moved up a grade. Diamond had full colours and was in the highest grade at her War Training Centre. Meaning, if she passed her dual, she would be sent off to the finest and highest-class war-training centre in Cybertron. The Cybertron Battle Skills Institute. It also offered a scholarship to any Cybertron university and there was a good one built onto the institute. She could be anything she wanted, and still become one of the top fighters in her age group, on the planet. It was her dream, her future. But it also meant leaving home, going all the way to Thyraquex City. Sure, Optimus had moved near there recently, but she would be leaving her friends, her father, and Cheetor.

At the moments, her emotions were in a mixer, being chopped and sloshed around.

It was a big step, and no easy one too.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she caught sight of three new ‘bots, talking to her father.

The first thing she noticed was her father was right. Both females were extremely attractive, sleek and seductive, but had an intelligent look about them. One had a red torso and red arms and legs, but the rest of her was azure. She had smiling yellow optics and was slim and well balanced. But the other was the finest. She was tall and slim with long legs, a lovely face and dark green eyes. She was a mixture of tourmaline and a lovely, soft blue. She was mainly tourmaline, but at attractive streaks of blue down her legs and arms, and a bikini style blue waist and torso. Her torso was low cut. She looked particularly intelligent as was listening intently to Dinobot, who as she had expected, wasn’t moved by the two gorgeous girls looking and listening to him. The other bot was a surprisingly handsome male. He was different shades of a grey and silver. He looked of a strong build, and was built for fighting. He had startling, white hollow eyes that dazed and enchanted her.

It was then she decided to go up and introduce herself. Upon arriving, all three turned to look at her and Dinobot came out classically with: “And here she is now.”

“Hi.” Diamond said shyly.

“Hi girl! By Primus Tour, would you look at this chick? Look at that figure! Those muscles! I’m sorry but I can never get to those standards!” She exclaimed.

The other female eyed her up and down, not smiling, but not looking cold.

“Hmm mmm. She beats us girl. She’s got the looks and the build. Some bots are born with everything.” She said, a slow smile spreading across her face.

Diamond blushed a bit.

“Ok, names. I’m Tourmaline, she’s Hyra and this is Toby.” She said, pointing to the other two.

“Pleased to meet you.” Diamond said.

Toby bent over and kissed her hand.

“’Tis an honour, duchess Diamond.” He said, grinning.

Diamond looked surprise and felt her cheeks burning.

“Oh Toby! Do you have to flatter every pretty girl you come across! You never did that for me!” Hyra exclaimed.

“Yes, if I recall, you started laughing at her when you saw her.” Tourmaline commented good-humouredly.

“I DID NOT! Why on Cybertron would I do such a thing as that?!” He cried and bent over and placed a kiss on Hyra’s hand.

“Oh you nut! You’re such a joker! Sorry Diamond, he’s a bit on the weird side. You’re going to have to get used to him, I’m afraid.” She chuckled.

Diamond started giggling.

“Look now Toby, you’ve given her an illness.” Tourmaline laughed.

“I merely gave her the giggles, you just give cold chills, that’s why you think it’s an illness.” Toby said, putting on and evil glare.

Diamond looked at Dinobot, who shrugged with a smile.

“Oh Matrix! We’re wasting sir Dinobot’s time. Come come girls, off to training we go!” Hyra cried.

“Who you calling a girl?” Toby piped up after trying to kiss Tourmaline’s hand.

Hyra threw up her hands and walked into the arena.

“Is it us now, or must we wait?” She called to Dinobot.

“I’ve scheduled you for now.” Dinobot said as he stepped into the arena.

The other two fumbled in.

Hyra grabbed a sword.

“Then let’s begin!

“This is the best day of my life! Do you know how much feedback I’ve had?” Harine exclaimed as she threw down the news disk.

“Yeah. Intriguing story, sister! Told you you could be onto somethin’.” Rattrap replied as he glanced up from his computer.

“Yes, I’m truly amazing! Sure the police aren’t that happy! It gives them more work to do. It’s easier to blame a gang member coz everyone sees them as the trouble- makers. Yes, sometimes they are, but it is not always them, as my story clearly points out. Do you think Jaxlin will be pleased? I mean, he’s already published it.” She asked.

Rattrap opened his mouth to say something but it was then, as if on cue, Jaxlin opened his door and summoned with his hands for Harine to come into his office.

It was morning and there was still work to be done, but he decided to take an early lunch break. “Hey, Dalstal!”

“Um, Rattrap, could you pick up some energon bites? I’m really hungry. Pay you when you get back.”

Dalstal’s smiled quickly faded and he cleared his throat as he sank back into his work.

He slipped out of the building unnoticed and headed down the street, not actually having anywhere to go.

He walked along the sidewalk, though there was little use for them. Almost all transport was by use of Cybercars, which flew. Yes, you’d get the occasional vehicle bot who used the road, but there were so few of them. He sighed and hustled through the busy sidewalk. In his mind, he decided where to go next.

“Could go to da store an' pick up them energon bites? But I think I’ll pick 'em up on da way back. Could go down to da pub? Yeah, but I have ta try keep sober. Could drop in an' say hi to Rhinox, but I don’t want ta mess up any of his weird experiments.”

He nudged aside to let a screaming bot run past, who was followed by and angry she bot, holding a pan and swearing at him.

He carried on walking but he had barely taken two steps when another bot smashed into him. He fell back and hit the pavement with a clang. But he knew immediately that the merciless crowds would trample him if he didn’t get up quickly. Upon thinking this, he sat up and rubbed his head. And looked to see who’d bumped him.

It appeared to be a young, pretty female who was also rubbing her head, and carrying a gun too. She held it up.

“Whoa! Peace sister peace! It was an accident!!” He exclaimed, his arms flying up.

“Didn’t mean to run into you like that, but you know how ruthless these crowds are.” She said, a smile spreading across her face. It was dazzling and matched her dark green eyes. She was a lovely mix of a soft blue and green and looked sleek and seductive. She looked like a top model.

“Don’t worry, I’m used ta getting knocked about, I’m a small bot.” He said, grinning.

“Hardly. I’m a war trainee and this is my own, personal weapon I’ve just purchased. I don’t usually carry these things around.” She answered.

“Do I know him? I lived wid' da guy for almost five years! We were on the Axalon together.” He said, folding his arms across his chest, smirking slightly.

“The Axalon? You mean you’re Rattrap? Am I right? I studied so much about the Axalon case when you guys left and returned!” She exclaimed, a pleasant shock on her face. Rattrap grinned.

“Charming. Well, great to actually meet you in person, Rattrap. And can you believe it, I’m already going to ask a favour of you.” She said, a hopeful smile appearing vaguely.

“Look, I’m from a town off Relentrax and I’m new here. My map system doesn’t work well and I’m kind of unsure how to get back to the centre. A little shopping spree got me lost. Could you give me directions?” She asked.

“Ya know, dat was just where I was headin', ta say hi to Dinobu- I mean, Dinobot. I’ll take ya there.”

A few cycles later, Rattrap and Tourmaline, he’d found out her name, arrived at the centre. He escorted her inside.

The centre was packed with students, watching the present group being taught in the arena, others chatting away. They were pretty much all teenage athletes. But Tourmaline stuck out because of her ‘different’ figure. Athletic yes, a strong build, no. He saw Dinobot standing behind an orange and purple bot, trying to teach him how to hold a gun.

“It looks so easy, but it’s not. I almost fainted yesterday. It’s hard work and requires lots of concentration, which my other two friends who came here, haven’t got.” She sighed, rubbing what he presumed was a stiff, sore arm.

He nodded, he knew all too well the hardships of fighting, but it had its thrills as well.

“Yeah, they’re over there.” She said and pointed to a section of the stands.

Another pretty female accompanied by a handsome young male. They were laughing and the female pushed the male bot to the side.

“Primus no! Just friends. The day Toby marries Hyra is the day I suffocate in a mass of dried leaves.”

The two seated themselves and watched Dinobot fling students around the arena. Or at least that was Rattrap's perception.

Finally the session ended and it was apparently the student’s break time. Rattrap hopped off the stage and followed Tourmaline to Dinobot.

Dinobot placed his sword in the sword hold and looked up. There was Tourmaline, followed by Rattrap.

“Hello Lizard lips. Your look of contempt was heart warmin'.” Rattrap sneered, a playful, teasing gleam in his eye.

“YOU escorted her back? You must have a way with women, vermin. Considering your hideousness.”

“Yeah, I got a way, which you lack. You're as charming as a dried slug.” Rattrap retorted.

“Slimy? Slimy?! I was behavin' like a gentleman. She was lost an' I took her back ta you. And dis is the thanks I get?”

“Well if ya don’t mind, I’ll be joinin’ her.” Rattrap smirked and followed her.

“Right, yes that’s good. No, no wait; turn it this way, no this way! That’s better. All right now put your left foot there, and pull your right one back. Little more forward, that’s correct. Now swing it round, yes, yes… Now strike!”

Hyra struck the dummy with all the force she could muster. But it hardly budged.

She jerked back, examined the unscathed dummy for a moment, then cried out in shock.

“They’re all staring at me! They must think I’m some sort of a lunatic. It’s very embarrassing.” She said, her cheeks beginning to redden.

“That makes it even worse!” Hyra exclaimed, a weak smile flickering across her face.

“I think they’re staring for other reasons.” Diamond remarked, a grin threatening.

“Oh! I see. Does this town lack pretty girls or something!? Well I’ll give them something to gape about other than my looks.” She said, grabbed the sword and thrust it at the dummy, knocking it off its hook and throwing it back metre.

“Oh great, now you’re ALL staring!” She cried throwing down the sword before marching off.

Diamond seated herself on the stands and found Tourmaline chatting away with Rattrap. ‘Wonder what he’s doing here.’ She thought.

“Nothing much. Just waiting around as usual. Dad’s busy with another group; I’m next though. The next group are going to be split into twos, to prepare for the tournament.” She answered.

“Ah ha. Tour just told me about that. Hear that if you get in, you go ta university! Man, I remember those days.” He said, dreamily.

“I was hardly dere! Most of the time me and my pals were out getting drunk and slinking in halfway through classes. But we passed, didn’t we?” Rattrap smiled drifting back into the past.

“Cool it kid, I’m just kidding ya! I studied da mechanical an' technical side of ships. I was basically a repair man. Pretty boring after a while, so when I came back from my little excursion ta earth, I thought I’d do somethin’ with travel. A news rep was what I followed, in the end.”

“Matrix, no! They came in use. Do you know how many times I had to repair the Axalon thanks ta those stinkin’ Preds? I was always stuck with the work, beside old Rhinox.” He sighed.

Diamond glanced down and spotted her tournament group entering the arena as the others left.

“Catch ya tomorrow! If I’m still alive, my boss is gonna kill me!” He cried as he sprinted off.

“Man and I’ve still gotta get those slagging energon bites!” She heard him cry before his voice faded with him into the streets.

Diamond stood with eleven others, all male. But she was used to it, she was out of the norm. There were other females, two before Hyra And Tour came, but it was mainly a guy thing, fighting. But it was the way she’d grown up, with a warrior father. She learnt to fight when she was young and had carried on from there, becoming the best in her class. Dinobot played the part of both father and mother. He was a pathetic mother so she wasn’t surprised she ended up here, now being partnered with Zak. He was a piece of cake. Dinobot let all the pairs fight in the arena, which was very big so there was no shortage of space. It was a sword and physical dual. No guns allowed. That was in other training, and she was the best at that too.

She pulled out her shining gold-coated sword which glistened with wisdom and might in the sun. She held it high and for a moment, her expression suggested she was as old as time itself. Upon brining it out of its hold, Zak’s immature grin faded and a deep, raw fear accompanied him. He was a good fighter, amongst the top twelve at the centre, but here he was, fighting the equivalent of a lieutenant, and a powerful one at that. Her sheer knowledge of battle was enough to discourage him.

And she looked calm, as if knowing she’d already won and was looking forward to the next battle. It was stupid that after being a lieutenant in a war, she would still have to go back to training school to qualify got university. Stupid and what he felt, unfair to him and the other, less experienced fighter. He for one had never gone off to fight in the Gitrix war.

Diamond’s cool, relaxed face changed into a hard-bitten warrior, her pose now focussed, her body and mind determined.

At any moment now, Dinobot would set off the loud beep that was to summon the start of the duals. She stared long and hard at him, her eyes challenging.

In one swift movement, she charged and was on the attack immediately, he on the defence. She was so fast and vicious. He blocked her attacks just in the nick of time on two occasions already. She stepped back and ran forward.

He moved to the side but it was like she had read his mind as she too moved with him, and attacked again. He was too late and resorted to ducking and swerving around her. She spun around and he almost caught her, but her sword stopped his from sinking into her shoulder. For a moment, they stood still, he pushing with all the force he could muster to try and sink the sword into her armoured shoulder.

Suddenly she smiled and kicked him hard in the shin. He fell back in pain but rolled instinctively. Upon standing, her sword slashed down on his arm and he dropped his sword and pulled back, his other hand grabbing his injured arm in a shocked pain. She would usually have dropped the sword and fought fairly, but this was a tournament test, and she wouldn’t even try.

She charged again and he leapt to the right and rolled forward before scrambling to his feet. She charged again but he tripped her up. She fell but cleverly to the left side, where he didn’t expect it, and on the side of his hurt arm. He turned to kick her but she grabbed his foot and pulled him down. They tussled on the floor for a few moments before she grabbed his arm with her right hand and squeezed his inch thick cut with her other. He cried in pain and squirmed a little as she picked him up and stood on his feet, immobilising him. With the heavy armour, she weighed a considerable amount. Pain shot and vibrated through his severed arm and he grimaced as she squeezed tighter. “Sorry,” She whispered. “But pressure is good on open wounds, stops the blood flow.”

He bent his sharp pointed knee and thrust it into hers. She shrieked in surprise and pain and threw him backwards, but held onto his sore arm. She swung him around once with a battle cry and threw him hard onto the floor. The wind was knocked out of him so much that he felt his air tubes had cracked and broken. Pain rippled through him like a thousand angry bees stinging him from the inside. But where was she? He looked through misty eyes for her. It was then he felt the tell tale nip at his back. The tip of her sword rested on the top left hand side of his back, directly over his spark.

“Wouldn’t make a good impression…if I hurt the teacher’s daughter, now would it?” He wheezed.

She chuckled. “No Zak, he’d be pleased with you. And unhappy with me! That’s the way it works.” She sighed.

“Don’t be,” he began. “As your dad loves to say, all’s fair in love and war.”

“Better report back to him. Do you want me to say you won? Save me some time.” She asked with a touch of humour.

She shrugged and the two walked on the sidelines, out of the way of other still-fighting duos.

Diamond got through everyone and thought she was finished as she helped up Zyda.

Diamond patted her on the back and she nodded irritably, totally exhausted and headed inside. Diamond sighed and seated herself on a nearby bench, just outside the training centre building Zyda had disappeared into.

She caught her breath and at the same time, examined a burning pain on her shin.

She shook her head. It was the other shin now, thanks to Gerex and his nasty little dagger foot. The other shin wound from Zak had blocked up with dried mech fluid and parts were still sticky. Her elbow was scraped beyond recognition and she could feel a dent on her cheek. There were numerous cuts and scratches everywhere and her body was itching from the heat.

Dinobot strode over to her, his facial expression one of confusion and annoyance.

“What? Oh, there’s another one? Sorry.” She sighed and stood. Dinobot glanced quickly at her shins and shook his head silently.

“Impressive, aren’t they? Those misjudgements.” She sniggered and walked off.

Still, she entered confidently but that feeling of boldness fluctuated slightly when she caught sight of her opponent. He stood, his eyes focussed and his sword in the ground in front of him. He was indeed the last she needed to overcome before being top of today’s tournament practice, which was the first in three months. They had all practised with Dinobot only before now. But what startled her was his build. He was stronger and heavier looking. His muscles were better formed and he looked sturdier. He had always been the same size as her, but no longer. He was a metal monster, and a threat. He had also fought through the other six to get here.

Zyda threw down her cold, wet towel she had used to cool herself. It was a bitter throw. She stormed into the girl’s change room and found it to be empty, but she didn’t care. Like human change rooms, there were mirrors and showers to wash off in, but it was dust and dirt, not sweat that needed tending to. They had change cubicles for when they placed on more protected, armoured torsos and such.

“Beaten again. That slagging Diamond, she’s invincible!” She hissed to herself.

She pulled out a cloth from her sub space pocket and wiped her dusty legs and feet.

“Daddy’s little girl gets private lessons and gets feedback on all our WEAK points every night at supper time.” She sneered sourly.

“And she’s so darn confident about herself too. She already knows she’s slagging won with that sword and helmet. Thinks she sends shivers down our slagging spines with her lieutenant style armour! Thinks we’re scared! I’ll give her something to be scared about.” She snarled.

She spun around and found herself being thrown and a second later hit the wall with a thud. She screamed in fright and pain and slid off the bench attached to the wall and lay in a daze. She felt herself being picked up again and in her panic punched the air. But a punctual hand stopped her blow and another tightened its grip on her arm. She kicked and hit something, and whatever held her made a stifled grunt of pain.

She carried on kicking but found herself flying again and hitting the wall, but she had turned in the air and her hands hit the wall and pushed herself backward. She flew in reverse and crashed into the attacker, apparently knocking it over. She landed on her stomach and scrambled to her feet, screaming as loudly as she could. She made a run for it but a hand grabbed her ankle and tripped her up. She landed heavily and slid across the floor as it pulled her in closer. It flung her onto her back and held her there, it’s whole body crushing hers and pinning her to the ground.

It was a bot; she could see the dim glow of its optics a few inches from her face. She caught a glimmer of something else, a knife maybe. Her optics widened with alarm and she screamed and twisted. The shiny thing came plummeting towards her but in a surge of adrenaline, her knees rose up and heaved it off her body. The knife missed and clanged into the ground. She stood and let slip her wrist bullets, which were tiny flashes of green laser fire flying blindly towards their target. There was a scuffling noise and she turned and ran to the where she presumed the entrance was, instead she slammed into a cold, tiled wall. With a fear chocked sob her arm felt along the wall and came into contact with something. The lights flickered back on and she spun around and leaned against the wall, panting heavily, wrists aimed. The room was empty. Only the imprint of her form was engraved into the right hand corner wall. There was a bit of mech fluid on the floor that had been smeared across. She wheezed and her eyes scanned the room for any sign of it. Him. It was a him, she knew it. The cried it made was masculine.

Her eyes rolled up and she slid onto the floor, only a metre away from the exit. Her body trembled from still present shock. Her spark was sputtering from the adrenaline overload. She feared in the midst of her panic stricken mind that she would go into stasis lock due to the shock, and he would get her. It was then the door flung open and Zak and Kyla raced in and skidded to a halt.

“I swear I heard something, coming from inside the building.” Hyra said thoughtfully. He shrugged.

“Probably some weirdo practising a battle scream inside the bath rooms!” He chuckled.

“No, I don’t think so.” She said dreamily and headed off towards the building, staying on the protected sidelines from the dual that was taking place.

“Said she heard something coming from the building, probably gone to take a look is all.” He said.

The sword cut through the air and met her own. Baytrex stood, his knees bent as he pushed even harder onto the sword aiming for her chest as she lay on her back. Her arms shuddered from the pressure and she grimaced from the strain.

The tip moved down a little and aimed directly over her spark. She felt as if her arms were about to pop with the current stress and her circuits would blow.

Baytrex made a gut noise as he pushed even harder and his eyes flickered to her legs, making sure she didn’t kick, which for her, was a risk in itself.

They struggled for a few more moments. It was then she heard the tell tale hum of his systems converting all strength to his single arm. In her horror, she tried to do so, but he had started the sequence first, and it was a desperate and futile attempt on her side to do the same. In one split second she kicked upwards. His sword left hers and she found herself almost surging off the ground. Her foot made contact with his legs but at the same time, his sword had moved and he thrust it into her knee. She screamed in pain and squirmed, the sword still in her leg. She felt as if she’d pass out and suddenly the energy she had converted pulsed into her arm. Her hand tightened so hard that it bled and she thrust the sword forward, unable to stop it slicing into his hip. He let out a gut scream and jolted to the right, the sword in above her knee moving with him through her leg and out the other side. She let go of her sword and curled up in a ball, her arm gripping the whole in her leg. She gasped and screamed in uncontrollable pain. He grabbed the sword and pulled it out of his hip and dropped it. He collapsed on the ground and caught his breath a moment, not feeling the pain for it was numb.

He crawled over to her, took her sword from beside her and held it above her head.

Suddenly her arm flew out from her curled figure and whacked him with a clenched fist on the left side of his head. He felt the blow but the pain faded as darkness greeted him. She lay on her back, her chest rising and falling heavily, mech fluid sliding down her face and gushing out of her sparking leg. She pulled herself up and knelt on her good knee, brining the torn one up and laying it in front of her.

There was a shocked silence from the stands and everyone stared, some mouths agape. Baytrex lay in a crumpled heap on his side a metre away from her, a puddle of mech fluid forming by his left hip.

The silence lasted eternity before the ending beeeeep sounded and echoed through the air. A cybercar hooted in the distance and a quiet chatter from the streets wafted through. Through the corner of her eye, she saw Dinobot shake his head slowly. He summoned two bots from the stands and they jogged up and began carrying Baytrex off. Dinobot approached Diamond who was gripping her wound with both arms, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

“They were all wrong, those movements. I thought you could do better than that…”

She squinted her eyes and her hands loosened and blood poured out and onto them from her shredded leg.

“You and your fighting, your special moves!” She suddenly hissed. “Did it not cross your mind to congratulate me on my win? No, you’re so slagging callous; don’t give a damn about how I feel, how I tried. Well I’m sorry to disappoint you father, but I guess I’m not the perfect daughter you never wanted in the first place. I’m just not good enough for you, and whether you want to believe it or not, that was my slagging best!” She threw the blood that had collected in her hands at his face. He winced in shock She stood up shakily and limped away through the silent arena, stumbling occasionally. He watched her leave a trail of silvery mech fluid and slip out through the exit, and into the street. The sky seemed to darken at that moment and Dinobot stood in silence as the cold breeze blew the trickles of blood across his face. He closed his eyes with inward grief

Diamond stumbled through the dark streets, which were emptying. She lived in a little town with a small population, and this area specifically was quieter. The lamp- posts lit up as it grew darker and the sky became a dull grey, leading higher into black. She sobbed as she walked; tripping and falling a few times as more blood left her sparking leg. But it was only when she stopped crying that she noticed the sky was now black, the air cold with a vicious nip and that she had staggered blindly into unfamiliar territory. Pieces of litter blew in the strengthening wind and the buildings towered above her, like black pillars holding up the sky. The area was empty and rustled with taunting whisks of air. A hiss from a nearby street corner made her jump. On the wings of the wind, a whisper blew in her ear. ‘Shhhh, there’s nothing…nothing…nothing…’

The whisper faded and she froze, her sadness transforming into fear as a horrified sense of recognition passed through her. It was then, and she had predicted it, that a forceful grip fastened on her arm and pulled her around the street corner. She didn’t even struggle; it was as if she was merely a spectator re-watching a nightmare once been. She was slammed against the wall and he pinned her arms with his and jutted his knees into her torn legs. She didn’t struggle, nor attempt to break free. It was as if she had been waiting, knowing of this event for centuries, of her fate. But the fear was there, and its grip was no less constricting, she merely felt no need to run. She was damaged and would never make it, in a fight or an attempt at escape. It was over now. She stared into his dull eyes, fear choking her, a scream frozen at the back of her throat. She looked somewhat expectantly into his eyes, awaiting almost certain death. His hot breath stifled her air. He glanced down at her shredded legs then looked back at her. “You’re already injured.” He hissed in disappointment. She blinked slowly, suppressed sobs persevering to break through her lips. He froze and his eyes lit up into a bright, hollow white. Her body stiffened and her world came tumbling down. The scene was wrong, so terribly wrong and as it dawned upon her, realising this was not the desired fate, a fresh sense of urgency, soaring unease and fear rippled violently through her. She gasped in shock. “Toby!”

Back to the After Earth Base if you want to access the next part of the After Earth series and the continuation of this story.