Bridging the Gap PT2

Bridging the Gap

Part 2

PG-13 (L)

‘WHAT!?’ Cheetor cried sharply at the computer monitor. ‘You can’t be serious!!’

It was one of those prayed for times when Optimus had given the youngest Maximal some liesure time to himself, and the Predacons were being curtious enough not to take it away too quickly.
  During this time, Cheetor was doing a little delving into the old Transformer Archives and Data Tracks. Ever since he’d learnt that the strange planet they had crashed on was called ‘Earth’, the name had jarred something within the confines of his processor. It was probably something mentioned in an old lecture from his later education back on Cybertron.
  Either way, Cheetor had been determined to find out why the name was so familiar to him.

But now he almost wished he’d let his curiosity be.

Sure, the planet was known by Autobot and Decepticon history. Almost too well.
  For this was the same planet where the legendary Autobot space craft, the Ark, landed all those millions of stellar cycles ago, harbouring the great Autobot hero, Optimus Prime. And how could Cheetor forget it was the very planet where both the Decepticons and Autobots were revived, leading to what every transformer to this day knows as The Great War.

How could he have missed it? Why didn’t he figure it out sooner?

Had the other Maximals figured it out? No, they couldn’t have. They hadn’t explored the planet like he had, or knew as much about it as he really knew.
But did the Predacons know, or more precisely, did Megatron know?

A very cold feeling suddenly rushed over Cheetor. If Megatron’s true agenda was really what Cheetor thought it was…

‘Cheetor!’ Optimus’ voice called from the open door of the command room. ‘Come quickly, I need you to monitor these energon frequencies. It looks like a storm’s brewing.’
  ‘I’m coming,’ Cheetor replied hurriedly, and quickly shut down the programmes he’d accessed.
****

A ferocious energon storm was flaring up outside; a frightening contrast to what the Maximals had grown used to on the peaceful planet.
  Optimus was so concerned with the unstable energon radiation levels reading onscreen, that he ordered everyone back to the Axalon. By ‘everyone’, he meant Rattrap and Rhinox.
  Rattrap was out doing post duty, so thought this a blessing in disguise. However, Rhinox was doing some field study that he was finding rather fascinating. He had in fact grown quite fond of ‘the great outdoors’, and found the plant life that thrived on this planet simply breathtaking. The colours, the shapes, the smells; they were all new to him.
  Needless to say, he was somewhat reluctant to go back.

‘Rhinox, my bot, you’re nuts!’ Rattrap chuckled, as they met just outside the Axalon.
****

The wind roared eerily as it swept over the land. Lightning illuminated the dark, grey sky, cracking it and creeping across, like some phosphorescent ivy.  The thunder bellowed and called, echoing all over the land. And the rain just poured; letting the wind blow it in every direction.

But this storm wouldn’t stop her. She enjoyed the challenge.
Airazor was a masterful flyer with her mind set. And when her mind was set, nothing would stop her.

For you see, it was now Airazor’s turn to try and find out about the mysterious transformers that had crash landed here on Earth and had decided to make the planet their battleground. It was a brief but binding agreement that she and Tigatron had made.
  Only this time, it was Predacons that were to be observed.
  Airazor already knew of their vicious and  hostile nature. She was still missing some feathers on her front as a result from her last encounter with Terrorsaur; an ordeal she had only just managed to recover from.
  This, in a way, reminded her of her duties, and made her feel stronger and more determined.

‘Airazor, can you hear me? How’s it going?’ Tigatron radioed anxiously into the com link that was attached to her sleek, feathered neck.
‘You just can’t leave me alone for five minutes, can you?’ she chuckled back. ‘Yes, and I’m fine.’
‘Good. And I was only testing if the link was still working. This storm’s getting fierce, I don’t want us losing contact with each other.’
  Airazor shook her head wearily.
  ‘Tigatron, you worry too much. I’ll keep in contact with you and let you know if anything’s wrong, just like we agreed. Now will you please just relax and let me do this?’
  There was no response, only the sound of a heavy, static sigh.
  ‘Thank you,’ she breathed quietly.

Flapping her powerful brown wings, Airazor made haste in the direction of the Predacon ship.
****

‘Oh, what a glorious day,’ Megatron sighed cheerily to himself.
He was sitting in his command chair. The distant rumble of thunder could be heard, and the constant pattering noise of rain beating down on the ship’s roof   filled the room.
He and Blackarachnia were the only Predacons in the lava-bottomed room. It was stiflingly hot, but to a transformer, merely stuffy and warm.
There were no more than five main computers with command desks littered about the suspended rig, two of which were in the same area as Megatron’s command chair. Blackarachnia was monitoring energon readings on one of these.

‘And what’s so ‘glorious’ about it?’ Blackarachnia sneered, lifting her head up and turning to face him.     ‘Ah, my dear, naive Blackarachnia,’ he replied coolly. ‘This storm means that this planet is getting ready to release even more lovely energon to the surface.’

Blackarachnia delicately placed a clawed hand on her hip and gave him an unimpressed look.
‘Is that really all you think about? Energon?’ she asked in a distasteful tone, raising a brow.
‘You know, you’re so narrow minded, it’s unbelievable,’ Megatron replied curtly. ‘Now get back to work.I need to know, at the soonest possible moment, when the energon is about to break through the surface, so tell me when you see any sudden fluxes.’

Blackarachnia let out a very loud, false sigh.
‘Gee, and I thought I was gonna get a break.’
  She smiled slyly to him.
  Megatron looked at her with a bewildered expression, then turned around in his chair.
  Her little femme tricks weren’t going to work on him. Oh no.

But secretly, Blackarachnia knew she’d already won this round. Unnerving men to get her own way was just a little game she liked to play; one she’d won with Optimus more times than she cared to remember.

She casually walked over to Megatron’s command chair, arms crossed behind her, back straight, chest out. Stopping at the back of the chair, she bent down to peer over his shoulder, arms still crossed.
  Megatron tried to ignore her, refusing to turn around and acknowledge her.

‘You know, that’s very rude and distracting,’ he stated dryly, still looking at a nearby monitor.
  Blackarachnia just laughed to herself.

‘Oh come on, big guy. You know you love me really,’ she teased childishly, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and pressing her face against his.
‘Hmph. Hardly,’ he muttered in the same dry tone.
  He did, however, sport a slight smile when he turned his head to face her.
  Blackarachnia smirked back, and released him from the tight embrace. She then made her way quietly back to her post.

Ok, so that one was a draw. But she had to give it to old tall, dark, and purple; he was going to be a hard nut to crack.
She smiled to herself as she reached her post. This was going to be interesting.
****

‘NGHZZ!! Waspinator not like loud, scary storm!’ Waspinator cringed as another loud boom of thunder rumbled over the plains.
As an even louder roar sounded, Waspinator wailed and hid behind Terrorsaur, covering his segmented eyes with his front claws and trembling.
‘Oh, quit your belly aching. I don’t like it either,’ Terrorsaur grumbled. ‘I don’t even know why we’re out here!’
  He gave a sudden cold shudder as he flapped his scaly wings. The rain was lashing everywhere, making the wind that blew icy cold.
‘GRRR! It’s cold, it’s wet, and it’s BORING!!’ Terrorsaur screamed. ‘I NEED SOME ACTION!!’
  A crackle of lightning scrawled across the sky, as if to symbolise his frustration.

*Crackle*‘You two had better not be forgetting your duties!!’ *Fwip* Scoponok radioed to them both.
‘Bleh, easy for pincer bot to say, you still on ground!’ Waspinator moaned.
*Crackle* That’s because I can’t fly!’ Scorponok shouted down his com link. ‘Anyway, Megatron wants you to keep a look out for any sudden eruptions of energon. It could be in guesser form or an earthquake. Radio back if you find anything.’ *Fwip*
‘Yeah, and let him get all the credit? Heh heh, I don’t think so.’ Terorsaur chuckled.
****

Scorponok was finding the wind and the rain rather annoying on ground level. The gales were becoming difficult to travel against, and since he still wasn’t sure how high the energon radiation levels were during the storm, it would be too risky to transform.
But after a short while, it became apparent he was fighting a loosing battle. The rain was blinding and stung as it was swept over him by the wild gales. Refusing to admit defeat, Scorponok dug his claws and pincers in deep, only to have them and his whole body blown into the air by a freak blast of wind.
He was sent flying a good ten feet. He probably could have gone further, had he not landed smack against a sturdy old redwood. After a few nanos of being suspended flat against the tree’s mighty trunk, he slowly slid down to the ground.
Even here, Scorponok wasn’t safe from the vicious onslaught of the wind, as it raged against him, pinning him back against the tree. He couldn’t move, and he certainly couldn’t continue his mission.
With a heavy heart, Scorponok had to face the fact that he was going to fail this mission. He knew Megatron wasn’t going to be happy, but what else could he do?
With a muffled sigh, he activated his com link.

*BEEP*‘Megatron! *BEEP* Megatron!?’
*Crackle* * BZZP*  ‘Scorp-nok *BZZP* Wha- noo-oo-bont?’ *Fwip*
‘What?’ Scorponok cried in utter confusion, rubbing a pincer against his head.
  Unnoticed to him, the wind died down slightly.
*BZZP* ‘I SAID WHAT DO YOU WANT!?’*Fwip* Megatron shouted down the link, shocking poor Scorponok.
‘Oh,um, well you see…there’s a slight problem with the, uh, energon tracking, um, Megatron, sir,’ Scorponok babbled quickly.
*Crackle* ‘…Go on.’ *Fwip*
‘Uh, well, here’s the thing, Megatron, sir. The, um, the weather is proving a little more, uh, difficult than first anticipated. And, um, well…’
*BZZP* ‘You disappoint me, Scorponok,’ Megatron cut in smoothly. ‘Letting a little storm keep you from your duties. Dear me, I really thought you, out of the rest of these imbossils, could have handled a little recon mission.’ He sighed very dramatically. ‘But I guess I was wrong.’ *Fwip*
Scorpinok felt an overwhelming wave of guilt rush over him. He really hated to disappoint Megatron.
‘Oh no, please! I’m sorry, I…’
*BZZP* That’s enough, Scorponok. I’ll deal with you when you get back to base. And yes, that was an order telling you to come back, if you can get that through your small, posatronic brain!!’ *Fwip*

That one really hurt. And what was worse, the wind was starting to pick up again. It would take him hours to get back to base. Something else for Megatron to complain about.
****

Back at the Predacon base, Megatron had found something that both surprised and intrigued him.
On his personal monitor, a strange, moving energon anomaly had made itself known.
‘Computer,’ he ordered calmly. ‘Verify unknown energon signature.’
‘ENERGON SIGNATURE… VARIFIED. SIGNATURE PRESENTS TRANSFORMER QUALITIES.’
‘Is it Maximal?’
‘NEGATIVE. ENERGON SIGNATURE IS NOT GIVING OFF MAXIMAL OR PREDACON SIGNATURE. SIGNATURE APPEARS VOID OF ANY CYBERTRONNIAN QUALITIES.’
‘Hmmm,’ Megatron pondered to himself. ‘An unknown transformer. Oh, this planet is full of surprises.
Computer, mask signature from other systems.’
The computer gave a sharp beep.
‘ACKNOWLEDGED.’
‘Good. Now, bring up boundary surveillance view, Sector Beta, Quadrant 44-B.’
  On his monitor, the surveillance view popped up, taking half the screen. The other half showed the grid of the surrounding area he’d been watching, with the energon signature marked white. It appeared to be moving at some speed towards the Predacon base.

A few clicks later, the signature’s true form came into view.
Megatron surveyed her with interest, for it was in fact Airazor in her falcon Beast Mode.

‘Computer, activate audio on screen view. Now, let’s see what we can make of you, my little feathered friend,’ Megatron smiled to himself.

‘Are you talking to yourself again?’ Blackarachnia called loudly from behind, causing him to jump and almost fall out of his chair. He’d completely forgotten she was in the room with him.
She chuckled cruelly as he tried to steady himself.
Megatron shot her a threatening glare and growled.
‘Grr, I’m warning you, Blackarachnia. You’re on thin ice! Just mind your own business and get back to work!’
Blackarachnia shrugged with a laugh and returned to her post.

Megatron looked at his personal monitor screen again. Airazor zipped past the hidden boundary monitors, completely unaware of who was watching her.
****

In a roomy cavern etched into a mountain, not too far from the Predacon base, Terrorsaur and Waspinator were finding the weather quite depressing. They’d taken refuge here to get out of the cold and rain, and to save Terrorsaur from catching pneumonia.

‘This is so stupid!’ Terrorsaur vented with a sniffle, getting to his tiny clawed pteradactyl feet.
He’d been watching the rain fall outside the cave for what seemed like forever.
Waspinator was humming behind him. He’d been trying to figure out how the handheld energon radar Tarantulas had made worked.

It was round in shape, with a circular screen showing a grid of the surrounding area, and emitted a sort of sonar noise as it scanned the area. Tarantulas had explained it would start ringing when any traces of energon were detected and pin-point in red where it was on the grid.

‘Hmph, yeah!’ Waspinator cried in delayed agreement. ‘Waspinator not picking up any energon traces. Nope, nothing around here. No siree, nothing…’
Waspinator suddenly stopped, as the radar started making a loud, fast bleeping noise. He looked down at it in puzzlement.
‘Hey, looks like you got something there,’ Terrorsaur remarked with interest, and hopped over to Waspinator.
A red dot flickered on the grid. It was located underneath the planet’s surface.
‘Hmm, looks like a new source of energon has only just formed. It must be just about to emerge and…Hey, it’s nearby!’ Terrorsaur screeched, grabbing hold of one of Waspinator’s front arms and almost jumping onto him.
‘HEY!’ Waspinator cried, trying to shake him off.

*BZZP* ‘Terrorsaur!’ *BZZP* ‘Terrorsaur, come in!’ *Fwip*
  It was Megatron.
  ‘Oh, hey Megatron. Guess what, you’ll never believe what me and Waspinator have just…’
  *BZZP* ‘Be quiet and listen!’ the voice raged. ‘Scorponok is headed back to base. You might as well come back too.’*Fwip*
‘Huh? But, but…’ Terrorsaur stammered.
*BZZP* ‘Get back here right now, or I’ll have both your miserable hides smelted down into a waste disposal unit! Do I make myself clear?’ *Fwip*

‘Well, ‘hello’ to you too!’ Terrorsaur muttered sarcastically. ‘Hey Waspinator, we’re moving outta here, we got new orders.’
The words took a while to compute before Waspinator finally gave a cry of understanding and started to hover over to Terrorsaur.

‘NGH, but what about the energon?’ Waspinator buzzed.
‘Hmph. If Megatron doesn’t want our help, I say leave him to it. You just keep that radar nearby. The less he knows about that energon, the more we can keep for ourselves later on.  Now come on, let’s get outta this hole.’
And with a screech, Terrorsaur flapped his large, leathery wings and flew out of the crevace mouth.
Waspinator beat his wings hard to catch up with him, and fallowed.
****

Tarantulas entered the stifling main room of the Predacon ship. He hadn’t been seen all day, and had no intention of telling Megatron, or the rest of the Predacons, where he’d been or what he’d been doing. That was something only he should know.

‘Ah, Tarantulas,’ Megatron welcomed the brown Predacon with fake graciousness. ‘To what do we owe the honour?’
‘Hmph.’ Tarantulas grunted.
‘Well, better late than never, I suppose. Now, do tell us what has been keeping you.’
Tarantulas just ignored the remark, and quietly took his post.
‘Hmmm, not in a talkative mood, are we? Fair enough. I’ll find out myself, don’t you worry about that.’
Megatron shot Tarantulas a cruel smirk, before resuming command.
‘You’re on surveillance duty, Tarantulas. I don’t want any Maximals within five clicks of the area. Is that understood?’
Tarantulas grumbled and nodded.

‘Hey Megatron, I’m getting some kind of weird energon signature,’ Blackarachnia called from her opposite post.
  Megatron swung around, his optics flashing for a brief second.

‘No, that’s just Scorponok,’ Tarantulas droned dully, looking at his claws. ‘There’s a distinct difference between transformer mech-energon and regular energon. Didn’t you ever pass chemistry?’
Blackarachnia snorted.
‘Gee, thanks for the lecture.’
The two immediately began swapping insults across the room. Megatron just looked from left to right, then rubbed his head.
‘Why me?’ he sighed to himself, raising his head to the heavens.

‘Uh, excuse me, Megatron. Can I come in now?’ Scorponok radioed clearly to Megatron.
‘Yes, of course,’ Megatron sighed, and pressed a button on his command chair.

Another one of Tarantulas’ inventions; a magnetic seal for the main room’s door. It was near impossible to break down. However, it didn’t fare too well with any close range blasts. The others found this somewhat pointless, but at least it was some small form of defence; if indeed it was an utterly stupid one.

Scorponok trudged in, looking trully crest fallen.
Tarantulas took some time out of the heated argument with Blackarachnia to greet him.
‘Oh, hey Scorponok. Why the long face?’
Megatron broke in before Scorponok could reply.
‘This, Tarantulas, is how a loyal soldier should look after failing a mission.’
Scorponok sighed and lowered his head.

‘That’s funny,’ Blackarachnia scoffed. ‘I’ve never seen anyone here look like that when they’ve botched up some stupid order.’
‘And just what does that tell you?’ Megatron asked her, folding his arms.
‘That all your orders are stupid,’ Blackarachnia replied plainly, closing her optics with a small smirk.
‘WHAT!?’ Megatron cried.

Tarantulas exploded into a fit of hysterics. He had to lean on Scorponok to stop himself from falling over.
‘Oh, shut up, you!’ Megatron scowled, his cheeks flushing red.

Blackarachnia made a funny snorting noise, before also bursting out laughing; pointing at him with one arm whilst trying to stop her sides from splitting with the other.
Megatron narrowed his optics and shot her a frighteningly horrid look.
Scorponok felt a twitch on his lips, and let out a sudden gufaw.
Megaron stared at him, bearing the same fearsome glare he’d shot Blackarachnia.
Quickly realising what he’d done, Scorponok covered his mouth with his pincer-hands and looked away.

The laughter shortly died down. Blackarachnia and Tarantulas were both left letting out exhausted sighs whilst trying to catch their breathe.
‘Are we quite finished?’ Megatron roared, slamming a fist on his chair. The red blotches on his cheeks still hadn’t disappeared.
The two nodded, trying their best not to giggle.
‘Good. Then maybe now we can finally have some sanity around here!’

Tarantulas and Blackarachnia took their posts again, leaving Scorponok standing, rather nervously, on his own.
‘Uh…Megatron…’ he ventured cautiously.
‘What?’ Megatron snapped. Then seeing it was only Scorponok, quickly changed his tone.
‘Oh, yes, Scorponok. Well, you can help Tarantulas with field surveillance. Just keep an eye on the view screens, and tell me if you see anything. At least with someone I can rely on, we have half a chance of getting this right.’
He leered over to Blackarachnia, who was using every ounce of restraint she had not to throw a haymaker in his face, and to ignore him.
Scorponok quickly ran over to Tarantulas.

Quiet filled the room. With a sigh of relief, Megatron returned his gaze to his personal monitor to watch the progress of  his secret little ‘friend’.
****

Airazor continued forwards. The Predacon ship now in sight, she landed gracefully within a rock group, and tried her best to conceal herself from view.

‘Tigatron,’ she whispered hurriedly. ‘Tigatron, can you hear me?’
‘Yes, I can hear you,’ Tigatron’s calm voice replied clearly. ‘Are you there?’
Airazor shushed quietly.
‘SHH!! Not so loud! Yes, I’m here, and I’m close. This area is extremely baron, if we want to stay undetected, we have to keep quiet.’

A loud, molten guiser suddenly erupted. Airazor let out a sharp cry and fluttered. Then, quickly looking around, relised no-one was there.
‘What happened?’ Tigatron cried down the link.
Airazor took a deep breathe and exhaled it, trying to calm her nerves.
‘Nothing, it was just a guiser. Oh Tigatron, this place gives me the creeps. What if they already know I’m here?’
‘Stay strong. Think of the good you’re doing to the others by being there.’
Airazor nodded, still taking deep breathes.
****

Deep in the jungle, all over the continent; the Earth shook.
The land roared and cracked as it split into two. Trees were ripped from their roots as they toppled over. Rivers burst their banks, flooding the flat lands.
Panic spread all over the plain, as all sorts of animals and birds fled in fear.

As a small gorge grew wide and formed, a bright light shone out from the black abyss below. Energon.
****

‘Brace yourselves!’ Rhinox yelled, as the Axalon suddenly rumbled uncontrollably.
The Maximals grasped whatever means of support they could find, namely control benches and chairs.

‘Man, I have had enough shakes, quakes, and Transwarp trips to last me a life time!’ Rattrap cried angrily, as his seat wobbled uneasily beneath him.
Cheetor laughed to himself as he remembered all the times Rattrap had been well and trully shook up.

‘Better get used to it,’ Optimus called over the echoing rumbles. ‘This is how the planet releases energon to the surface.’
‘Huh?’ Cheetor cried. ‘So you’re saying some raw energon is making it’s way up to the surface, right now? But Optimus, the Predacons…’
‘Are going to try and go for it. I know.’ Optimus finished Cheetor’s sentence with a grunt, almost falling over from a sharp jolt. ‘But until this quake settles, there’s nothing we can do.’

Cheetor let out a frustrated growl. If only he could tell Prime about the Predacons. There’s no way he’d let them anywhere near it if he knew what they’d do with it.
****

Over at the Predacon ship, the earthquake was hardly noticeable. However, it was picked up by Megatron’s personal monitor and Blackarachnia’s computer.

‘Hey, check out the energon signature I’m getting from this quake!’ Blackarachnia exclaimed turning her monitor to Megatron.

‘Of course,’ Megatron remarked shortly. ‘Didn’t you believe me when I told you this planet was about to release some? Dear me, Blackarachnia. If you spent more time listening to me, you’d probably be dangerous.’
Tarantulas and Scorponok both chuckled at the cruel joke.
Blackarachnia felt herself grow warm, both with anger and embarassment. She quickly turned away, not daring to say another word.

‘So, Megatron, now what do we do?’ Scorponok asked with a shrug. ‘The Maximals are closer to the energon than we are. Should we head out right now?’
‘Ah, patience Scorponok,’ Megatron replied coolly. ‘As you can see, we are still short a few units. As soon as Waspinator and Terrorsaur arrive, we shall leave.
Remember, numbers play a big part in this little game. The Maximals are but four, and we are six. We should have no problems taking that energon, by force, if necessary. It’s just a matter of time.’

Tarantulas muttered something, sounding very much like ‘coward’, while Scorponok nodded obediently.
Blackarachnia remained silent. So she was just a number? Not that she’d expected anything more. Of course, it would have been nice to have been proven wrong this time, wouldn’t it?
NO! she thought to herself. She was letting her Maximal feelings get the better of her.

Megatron saw this as he glanced over to her. He smiled cruelly to himself as he revelled in the self-knowledge that he’d finally beaten her at her own game.
Oh, she was a formidable foe; tricky, clever, and at times quite amusing. However, she did need to know where she stood, otherwise she could prove to be quite a problem to him, yes.
****

*BZZP*‘AIRAZOR! *BZZP* AIRAZOR!! COME IN!!’
Static filled the link, but Airazor just managed to make out Tigatron’s voice.
‘Tigatron, I’m here. What’s wrong?’ she asked anxiously. Tigatron wouldn’t have risked her position by yelling so loudly if it wasn’t serious.
‘It’s the quake,’ he bagan hastily. ‘It’s…it’s underneath your flocks nesting grounds. I don’t know how big it is or the extent of damage it’s done. All I know is that it’s an energon-quake and there’s a huge mass of unstable energon near the surface. Airazor, you have to get your flock out of there, it won’t be long before those monsters get there and start another battle. If one of those rogue missiles hits it…’
Airazor’s bright falcon eyes widened with horror. Her fuel pump beat harder and faster inside her plump, feathered chest.

How… Why?  Why did this have to happen?

She had to get out of here, before the Predacons left. Before they started the battle.
‘Tigatron, I’m on my way!’ she cried exasperatedly, spreading her wings.

‘Well, fancy meeting you here!’

Airazor span around. To her horror, she found Terrorsaur flying just a few feet above her.
‘You!’ she raged.
‘You!’ Terrorsaur repeated. ‘Ha ha. I knew you were no ordinary bird.’

*BZP*‘Airazor, what’s going on?’

‘Well, what say we finish what we started? TERRORSAUR, TERRORIZE!!’
Terrorsaur quickly changed into his red and silver Robot Mode, and almost instantly opened fire on Airazor.
Bombarded with gunshot, Airazor tried desperately to get away. Finally finding a gap in the shots, she darted out of the lava-pooled area. Terrorsaur fired a final shot, which managed to skim her back, causing her to scream and jerk. The com-link fell off her neck and landed on a rock below.
But Airazor managed to overide the shock and fly away.

‘Slag!’ Terrorsaur cursed. ‘Oh no you don’t! Waspinator, come on!’
Terrorsaur zoomed off after Airazor, thrusters at full speed. Waspinator watched him race off, cocking his head with confusion.

‘Sigh. Megatron not going to be happy,’ Waspinator sang to himself, shaking his head and raising his front claws. Then he made haste and flew after Terrorsaur.

Below, on the ground, the dislodged com-link buzzed with static.
*BZZP* Airazor? *BZP* AIRAZOR!!’
****

‘IDIOT!!’ Megatron belowed, slamming both hands on his chair arms. ‘All of you, quickly get ready. We’re moving out.’
The other Predacons looked at him in disbelief.
‘But, what about Terrorsaur and Waspinator?’ Scorponok asked.
‘Terrorsaur and Waspinator are about to cost us a great deal of energon if you all don’t get moving!’ Megatron snapped after he’d reverted to his T-Rex Beast Mode.
These words certainly seemed to be a little more inspiring, as the other Predacons quickly readied themselves to move out.
****

Back on the jungle plain, the quake had subsided. But the Maximals had little time to recover. With a new source of energon, Optimus was almost certain Megatron would arrive soon to claim it.

‘Rhinox, can you pin-point exactly where that quake came from?’ Optimus asked, with a deep tone of urgency in his voice.
‘What do you think I’ve been trying to do since this ship stopped shaking?’ Rhinox replied dryly. ‘Our radar and grid systems are no-where near as good as the Preds. All I can give is a rough estimate.’

‘Well ya better hurry up with that, there rough estimate, Rhinox, cos, my trigger finger’s getting real itchy,’ Rattrap smirked, raising his gun and looking down the barrel.

Cheetor couldn’t take this any longer. If they didn’t get moving soon, or he didn’t warn Prime about the Predacons,   the Maximals, and however many more Earth Transformers there were, were in a lot of trouble.
Tension flowed through him as he subconsciously clenched his fists. He just had to do something.

‘Optimus, I…I  gotta go!’ he mumbled, and raced out of the command room without even giving Optimus a chance to respond.
‘Cheetor!’ Optimus began, but Cheetor was already out of the ship. ‘Bah, I just don’t know what’s gotten into that kid!’
He shook his head and sighed.
‘He’s been like this near since we got here. What do you think could have brought it on?’
‘Hmm, let’s see. Unpredictable mood swings, constantly dashing out and disappearing, secrets; sounds to me as though our boy’s right on track,’ Rhinox chuckled.
‘Meh, I blame television,’ Rattrap stated airily.

Suddenly, the radio came alive with static.

‘MAXIMALS, CAN YOU HEAR ME?’

Rattrap shot out of his chair and looked around.
‘WOW! Anyone else hear that?’
‘It’s coming from the intercom,’ Rhinox pointed out.
Optimus made his way over to the desk.
‘Hello. Yes, we read you. Who are you? And how did you get this frequency?’
‘My name is Tigatron,’ the unknown voice radioed. ‘But please, there’s no time. You have to help me. You need to know where the raw energon is, right? I can take you there, but please, you must help me.’
Rattrap and Rhinox exchanged questioning glances with one-another, then with Optimus.
‘Yes,’ Optimus replied. ‘Now please continue.’
‘My friend and her flock’s nesting spot is right over the energon. It’s a sacred breeding site that has been there for generations. Please, you have to protect it from those Predacons. Dozens of innocent lives are at stake!’

‘A flock …of birds!?’ Rattrap burst out aloud.
  Rhinox and Optimus both shot him threatening looks.
‘There’s more at stake than you really know,’ Tigatron sighed. ‘You’ll learn more when we meet. I’m at the edge of the forest, the front side of your ship.’
  Then the static voice ceased.

The three Maximals stared at the intercom in silence.
‘So…what are we gonna do?’ Rattrap finally asked, breaking the silence.
‘Simple,’ Optimus replied, standing up straight. ‘We’re going to protect a flock.’
Rattrap gave a sharp cry of disbelief.
‘Eh? You have any idea what we’re getting ourselves into here, Boss Monkey?!’
  Optimus smiled and shook his head.
‘Only one way to find out.’
****

Tigatron sat restlessly on the rough, earthen floor. It was dark now, and the storm had all but subsided. The sky twinkled with millions of tiny stars, and the forest seemed to glow with a dark, green loom.
His tail curled and swished, his narrow feline eyes staring at the slight clearing where he expected the Maximals to come through. If they really were going to show up.

He couldn’t wait much longer. If they didn’t show soon, he’d have to face the Predacons himself; a possibility that was fast becoming a reality.

The sound of twigs snapping underfoot suddenly snapped Tigatron out of his thoughts. He raised his head to look at the clearing.

‘Well, why am I not surprised?’
A tall, black silver-backed gorilla walked through the clearing.
‘Greetings. I’m Optimus Primal, Maximal commander.’
As if on cue, a giant grey rat, and a huge, sandy rhino came through the clearing also.
‘And these, are my fellow Maximals.’
He smiled as he introduced Rattrap and Rhinox. Tigatron found his manner friendly and welcoming. He knew he’d made the right choice.
‘Thank you,’ Tigatron bowed his head. ‘And thank you all for coming. I know there is much for me to tell you, but I won’t waste time now.
However, I feel there is one thing that definitely needs to be clarified.’

The Maximals watched in amazement as the white tiger began a transformation sequence right before their very eyes.
The tiger head fell down, resting on a turquoise-green metal chest, and a green, white helmed, metal head formed from beneath it. The robot face was feline, very much like Cheetor’s, with gentle, red optics that glowed brightly.
His front paws flew over his shoulders, revealing his green and white, robot arms. The white tiger fur cloaked his  robot legs, which had curled around and formed from his back tiger paws.

‘Wow,’ Rhinox gasped when the transformation was complete.
‘Wha!? There’s just…no way…’ Rattrap began stammering whimsically, but quickly trailed off, and was just left staring at the new form Tigatron had taken.
‘You’re…a…transformer?’ Optimus exclaimed in disbelief.
‘Yes. Well, Earth Transformer to be precise,’ Tigatron replied in his mellow voice. ‘And I am not alone. There are many Earth Transformers all over this planet.
But now is not the time to talk of that. We must make haste and get to the flock site, before it’s too late.’
He quickly reverted back to his white tiger form.
‘Oh. Yes, of course,’ Optimus nodded, reminding himself of what it really was they had come for. He was still in awe at what he’d just seen and learnt.
‘Please, lead the way.’
****

Cheetor galloped across the forest floor as fast as he could. He didn’t even know where to begin looking.
Prime had always been the one to find him. Even though it had been close, he’d always come through for Cheetor in his time of need. Now if he could only come this time.

Cheetor slowed to a stop. He needed to catch his breathe and give his systems time to cool down; something he’d never overlook again after his last incident.
He breathed loudly and slowly in the darkness. The forest here was open-top, the black sky and it’s dark veil surrounded him. But he could see everything, the stars and full bodied moon made sure of that.

‘Where are you?’ he whispered to himself, looking up to see his surroundings. Though he knew better than to expect an answer.

‘Right here,’ a familiar voice replied quietly from behind. ‘But you know, we really need to stop meeting like this.’

Cheetor’s feline eyes widened when he heard the response. He turned to look behind him.
There was Prime, beaming broadly and flicking his golden tail.

‘How did you…’ Cheetor began, but quickly broke off.
  ‘Prime, listen to me. That quake that happened just a while back, well… it was an energon-quake. And you’re in a lot of danger if the Predacons get a hold of the energon from it.
Look, I know I’m not making a lot of sense, but you have to believe me…’

‘I know,’ Prime broke in. ‘I was heading up there. A flock of wild birds led by an Earth Transformer nest exactly above that energon. And I know about the Predacons, so don’t worry.’
He turned and looked as if he was about to set off.
‘Hey, where’re you going?’ Cheetor called to him. ‘You’re not seriously gonna go there on your own? Prime, there’s six of them. You don’t stand a chance!’

‘CHEETOR! CHEETOR WHERE ARE YOU?’
Cheetor stared down at his furry chest.
‘Uh, right here Optimus,’ he replied nervously, tapping his chest with his paw.
‘You know what I mean.’ Optimus replied tiredly. ‘Now listen, we’ve got a lead to that energon area.  Meet us at sector 12, Co-ordinates 275, and for goodness sake, be quick about it. You can ask why later, just get there now!’
The com beeped and went quiet.

‘Who was that?’ Prime asked, turning around again.
‘Who, Optimus? He’s my general.’
‘Hmm,’ Prime hummed to himself with thought. ‘Well, it sounds like your Maximal buddies need you. Listen, just go. Don’t worry about anything, I’ll take of it all, you’ll see.’
He flashed a smile and winked, before disappearing into the thick grass.

Cheetor watched after him for a few seconds, then turned around and sped off in the other direction.
****

Airazor knew she couldn’t run forever. She’d realised she was flying Terrorsaur straight to the nesting grounds, and to the flock. Her flock. Her family. The ones who depended on her for protection, and had accepted her as their leader.
  She stopped in mid-air, and turned around; hovering steadily as she did so.

‘No more running,’ she told herself, and instantly began to transform.

The falcon head rose up and covered a chrome-bronze face and head. The beak rested between her vivid green optics, and ended just over her top lip.
Her falcon chest shaped itself around her front, splitting at the waist to reveal a metal stomach. It also split to cover the fronts of her chrome arms, and the tops and ankles of her forming robot legs. Her tail feathers split, and also rested on the sides of her legs, and her taloned, bird claws covered her metal feet. Her wings rose up and rested on her back.

‘Oh, you never cease to amaze me, my dear little Airazor,’ a cool, sueve voice sounded from her side.
Airazor turned her head to the direction it was coming from.

Out of the tall grass and dense foliage, a great purple T-Rex made his way through.
‘Yes, I must say I’ve been quite fascinated by you.’
‘Who are you?’ Airazor asked aggressively.
‘Ah yes. Where are my manners?’ he remarked smoothly. ‘MEGATRON, TERRORIZE.’

Airazor took an uneasy step back when she saw him transform. Megatron chuckled.
‘You seem a little tense for someone who doesn’t know me. No matter. I am Megatron, Predacon Commander. And these…’
He paused, as Blackarachnia, Tarantulas and Scorponok appeared on either side of him, bearing their weapons.
‘…Are the Predacons.’

Airazor stared at the four fearsome Predacons before her. Their weapons looked lethal, and they didn’t  look like the talkative type.
Fear slowly began to gnaw it’s way into her conscience.

‘THERE YOU ARE! YOU’RE MINE!!’ Terrorsaur’s voice shrieked from the direction Airazor had originally flown from. ‘Tsk. WOULD YOU HURRY IT UP WASPINATOR!?’

Soon, Terrorsaur and Waspinator were in full view of both Airazor and the other Predacons. Megatron narrowed his red optics, a look of utter distaste on his face, and shook his head.

‘And those would be the retards,’ he sighed, pointing his dino-headed arm to Terrorsaur and Waspinator.
The two stopped and hovered in mid-air, suddenly uncomfortably aware of the other Predacons.

‘Heh heh. Um, you two in the middle of something?’ Terrorsaur laughed meekly, rubbing the back of his head with a hand.
Megatron’s threatening glare was the only answer he needed. Quickly, he and Waspinator touched down, and trudged solemnly to join the ranks.

‘And now, to business,’ Megatron cleared his throat, directing everyone’s attention to him. ‘I believe there is a rather large amount of energon just a small way behind you. Would you please be so kind as to step aside while we deal with the matter?’
Airazor put on a brave face and stood her ground. There’s no way she was letting them get that energon.

‘No,’ she replied clearly.
  Megatron’s smile faded.
‘Now see here,’ he began, his voice betraying a tone of anger. ‘I know we’ve only just met, so I’ll give you one last chance. Get out of the way, and you’ll leave unharmed. Don’t; and things will become much more difficult for you.’
The other Predacons snickered, brandishing their weapons.
Airazor swallowed hard and shook her head.

‘Foolish creature,’ Megatron snarled. ‘Very well. Predacons, prepare to open fire.’

All weapons were aimed at Airazor, the loud ringing of charging and loading filled her audios.
This was it. Her final stand. She braced herself for the onslaught.

‘It’s a shame,’ Megatron sneered, raising his T-Rex head and taking aim ‘This really could have been avoided.’
‘I wouldn’t have let it,’ she replied fiercely, with a proud smile.
But almost instantly, the smile twisted into a horrid wince, and she emitted a sharp cry, as Megatron fired a purple laser blast straight into her delicate chest.
Blue static erupted from the wound. She stumbled back a few steps, then hunched over, wrapping her arms around her front. The pain shot through her like a hot blade. She felt the wet mech-fluid gush from behind her arms.
Trembling all over, she lifted her head, and looked at him.
‘It’ll…take…a lot more,’ she gasped, still wincing.

‘I doubt that,’ Megatron replied coldly, stepping to the side.
The other five Predacons were lined up, ready for his signal. Airazor lowered her head and closed her optics.
  ‘FI…’

‘LEAVE HER ALONE!!’

The Predacons barely stopped their triggers as they swerved around, muttering and grumbling, as they looked to the direction of the unknown voice.

‘STAND DOWN MEGATRON!’ Optimus shouted, walking out of the trees from the opposite side, his wrists raised with his twin blasters poised and ready.
‘OPTIMUS!!’ Megatron growled, turning towards his direction.

Rhinox, Rattrap and Tigatron quickly appeared on either side of Optimus, weapons bared and ready.

‘Airazor!’ Tigatron cried,and momentarily lowered his weapon.
She was now on her knees, still clenching her chest.

‘Oh. A friend of yours?’ Megatron voiced with interest, and walked slowly over to her.
‘Then if you value her safety, I suggest you surrender now.’
He quickly thrust the loaded T-Rex head in Airazor’s face.

‘No,’ Airazor croaked weakly. ‘Don’t do it.’
But she was overcome again by the searing pain and let out a loud moan.

‘So, Maximals, what is it to be?’

Tigatron stared at Airazor. He didn’t know how long he could bear seeing her in so much pain.
Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap looked over to one another.
‘She doesn’t look good, Optimus,’ Rhinox shook his head.
‘I know,’ Optimus sighed with a nod. ‘And as Maximals, we can’t risk the lives of the innocent. ’
  He lowered his arms to his sides.
‘Megatron, we…’

Suddenly, a yellow laser shot out from behind the Predacons, knocking Megatron sideways and clean off his feet. Commotion quickly broke out between the Predacons, as they looked high and low for the owner.

‘Comin’ through!’ Cheetor yelled, jumping through the tops of the trees, above the clueless Predacons. ‘Let’s get it in gear, heroes!’
He landed just in front of Optimus, and smiled broadly.
‘You’re late,’ Optimus remarked dryly, folding his arms.
‘Hey,’ Cheetor shrugged. ‘The transport systems on this planet are murder.’

Tigatron rushed over to Airazor and knelt down beside her.
‘Come on, everything’s going to be alright now,’ he soothed gently, placing her arm around his kneck and lifting her, using his other hand to support her. She sighed with relief and smiled, her other hand still pressed hard against her chest.

The Predacons were quickly coming over their state of shock, and had their weapons set on the two Earth Transformers.

‘Get ’em!’ Scorponok yelled, pointing his pincered hand to Airazor and Tigatron.

But before they could open fire, the Maximals rained down on them with a mass of lasers and bullets.

‘Split up, you fools!’ Megatron roared, staggering back into view; and the battle quickly split up into different areas of the forest.

Amid the chaos, Optimus managed to reach Airazor and Tigatron.

‘You two get to safety, I’ll cover you,’ he told them quickly.
The two nodded, and moved as fast as they could away from the battle.
As he watched them successfully get away, Optimus soon found himself under fire from a pair of all too familiar machine guns.
Turning around, a single wrist blaster ready, he found himself face-to-face with Blackarachnia.

‘Well, come on. You wouldn’t shoot a lady now, would you?’ she taunted in her husky voice, a hand on her hip, the other gently pushing aside his loaded arm.
Optimus stared at her coldly, but placed both his arms around his back.

‘You’re right, I wouldn’t shoot a lady,’ he shook his head solemnly. Blackarachnia smiled deviously.
Then a loud clicking noise was heard from behind his back.
‘However, a Predacon…’ He raised both his arms from behind his back, revealing both his loaded wrist mounted blasters. ‘Now there’s a different matter.’
  Blackarachnia gasped and stepped back, then quickly turned around and ran as he opened fire on her.

‘I must say, she had that coming to her,’ Megatron remarked dully from behind him.
‘Huh?’ Optimus swerved around, then dived as Megatron’s purple laser came towards him.

Not too far away, Rattrap and Rhinox were battling side by side, fending off Terrorsaur, Waspinator and Scorponok.
‘UGH! Sure would be nice for a cavalry to come darting in right about now,’ Rhinox grunted, quickly sliding behind a group of trees to avoid the return fire.
‘Yeah,’ Rattrap scoffed, reloading his gun. ‘Uh, speaking of which, where’s the kid?’

Cheetor had ended up somewhat separated from the battle. He was on his own, or so it appeared. But he knew there was one Predacon missing from the battle, and he had to be around here somewhere.

‘I know you’re here,’ Cheetor called aloud. ‘So why don’t you just show yourself, Tarantulas!’
‘Hee hee,’ Tarantulas’ cruel laughter filled the air.
‘And just where would the fun in that be?’
Cheetor darted around, quasar cannon pointing in every direction.
The gloom of the dense forest was overcoming. Hardly anything could be made out. And the chilling silence that seemed to engulf that area, was broken only by his own tense breathing.

‘Peek-a-boo!!’ Tarantulas cried, and swung out of the trees, landing a heavy kick in Cheetor’s mid-section.
Cheetor fell to the ground and landed flat on his back. As he turned his head to see where Tarantulas had come from, Tarantulas fired a blue stasis web, pinning him firmly to the ground.   Cheetor soon felt a stinging sensation all over, as the web slowly began to drain his energy.
‘AH!’ Cheetor winced, and tried desperately to struggle free.
Tarantulas laughed cruelly.
‘Ha ha ha. Struggle all you want, you’re just wasting your energy.’
To the pleasure of Tarantulas, Cheetor still continued to struggle. But he soon felt himself grow weak, and his struggling became less frenzied. He felt tired and exhausted, his vision was blurring. Any second now, he would go into stasis lock, and then what would Tarantulas do to him?

Tarantulas advanced on the fading Maximal, a Cybervenom shot lodged into his clawed gun. Cheetor let out a small gasp, as his head fell gently to the ground and his optics shut.

But before Tarantulas could reach him, a hideous, bestial, roar filled the forest. As it echoed all around, the battle suddenly came to a standstill, as bewildered Maximals and Predacons listened to the howl.
Tarantulas stopped dead in his tracks and looked around.
A strange, reptillion heckling filled the air aroung him.
‘D…D…Don’t come any closer. I’m warning you!’ Tarantulas stammered in panic, turning in every direction with his loaded weapon.
The heckling got louder, along with heavy snorting. Tarantulas soon became aware of which direction it was coming from.
Trembling slightly, he turned and faced the tall grass, just behind Cheetor.

Out of the thick, green grass, a towering, golden-yellow, scaly dragon-like creature stepped out. It hissed reptiliously, it’s gleaming blue eyes locking onto Tarantulas’ optics, it’s long, golden snout pointing down to him, bearing large, razor fangs.
On top of it’s head were small, brown horns and webbed, scaly ears. It was stood on it’s hind legs, showing it’s large, smooth, golden chest and front, and it’s long, sleek neck, raised it’s head high. By it’s sides, slightly raised, were two strong, muscly arms, which ended in long, white taloned claws. It’s large, scaly legs ended with the same claws.
A thick, long, reptilian tail swished by it’s side, and behind it, on it’s back, a pair of great, leathery, wings spread out, glowing a vivid aurora colour.

Tarantulas now began trembling uncontrollably, frozen to the spot, by the giant creature’s piercing stare. It stomped over to him, slowly and deliberately; snorting and growling loudly. As it grew closer, Tarantulas caught sight of the trail of grey smoke that was emitting from it’s flared nostrils.
Stopping no more than a few feet away, just next to Cheetor’s motionless body, it spread it’s arms and wings. Straightened it’s neck. Tilted it’s head and snout towards the sky; and gave a deafening, tyrannical, roar.
Amid the thunderous roar, a hot stream of blazing fire suddenly shot up from it’s mouth, filling the night sky and illuminating the surrounding, dark forest.
Optics wide with terror and shock, Tarantulas soon found himself screaming with fear, and finally managed to find his feet and run.

The dragon quickly cut off, and smirked to himself. Then he turned to his side where Cheetor was lying, and effortlessly tore off the webbing with his large, sharp claws.

‘Hey… Cheetor,’ he whispered, bending down and gently tapping Cheetor’s face with the same claws.
Cheetor’s brow furred slightly, then he slowly opened his optics
‘Wha?… Prime?’ he whispered weakly.
‘Yeah, it’s me,’ the dragon smiled back.
‘But…how…?’
Cheetor tried to get up.
‘Hey, take it easy. You’re still really weak,’ Prime said gently, holding the young Maximal to give him support. ‘Now listen, you just sit here till you get your strength back. I’m gonna take care of things back there.’
He pointed to where Tarantulas had made his escape, and set off.
****

‘MONSTER!! THERE’S A MONSTER!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!’ Tarantulas shrieked at the top of his voice, dashing through the battlefield.
‘A monster!?’ everyone chorused.
Then, as if on cue, another thunderous bellow echoed; this time accompanied by a bolt of fire, which shot out of the forest and into the sky.
The Maximals and Predacons all stared in the direction of the roar.
Tarantulas gave a sharp cry and sped out of the area.
‘GAHH!’ Waspinator wailed, his antennae standing on end; and reverted to his wasp Beast Mode and quickly took flight in the same direction as Tarantulas.

‘GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!!’ Megatron raged after them, but was soon overcome by white waves of energon, that started to coil around his body.
‘NO! Not now! BLAST!’ he grunted, then quickly reverted back to the purple T-Rex. He let out a frustrated snarl.

The same began to happen to the remaining transformers on the battlefeild.
‘Looks like we’ll have to call this one even,’ Optimus jeered, already in his gorilla form.
Megatron snarled and bared his saw-like teeth.
‘Maybe, Primal. But do you think you’re little friend will survive it? I think not. That energon will be mine, and with her out of the way, it will just be that much easier.’
He snorted and flashed a toothless grin, before stomping away and calling the retreat.

Optimus stared after him angrily.
‘Quickly you two,’ he called to Rattrap and Rhinox. ‘We have to find the two Earth Transformers!’

But no sooner had they begun their search, a very worried Tigatron came rushing over to them at full pelt in Robot Mode.
‘Please,’ he panted, skidding to a halt, and breathing heavily. ‘Come quickly. It’s Airazor. She’s not doing well at all.’
****

A short distance away, Airazor was lying on the forest floor, still in her Robot Mode. She writhed in agony and wailed painfully. Her optics clenched tightly as she pressed against the makeshift leaf bandage Tigatron had made her, on her chest.

‘It’s ok, Airazor. I’m here,’ Tigatron’s voice sounded nearby.
‘…Tigatron…’ she whispered weakly.

Pushing through the thick tree branches and tall grass, Tigatron and the three Maximals soon found Airazor. Tigatron rushed to her side, and tried to comfort her.
‘See, I told you I’d be back,’ he whispered gently, kneeling down at her side.
‘Rhinox, check her out,’ Optimus told the rhino abruptly.
Rhinox quickly transformed.
‘WARNING.WARNING. ENERGON LEVELS IN DANGER ZONE. POWER LEVELS-DROPPING.’
‘What!?’ Rhinox cried out aloud, looking himself over.
He transformed again, back into his rhino Beast Mode, and trudged over to Airazor.
‘Amazing…’ he mumbled to himself as he looked her over. ‘She’s completely unaffected by energon build-up.’
‘But…that’s impossible!’ Rattrap piped up. ‘How could she have stayed in Robot Mode this long without getting fried?’

‘Well, if she had transformed,’ Rhinox began grimly. ‘She probably wouldn’t be with us right now. She’s lost a lot of mech-fluid. And the wound’s done quite some damage. She’s lucky though, that shot missed her core processor. If we can get her to the CR chamber fast enough, she’s got a good fighting chance.’

‘Is that ok with you two?’ Optimus asked Tigatron quietly.
Tigatron nodded.
‘Please, anything to help her.’
****

Prime tilted his long snout into the air and sniffed; his scaly nostrils flaring as he did so.
‘Hmm, yeah. I think I got something.’
He sniffed again, this time louder.
Cheetor sat next to him, and watched with interest at what Prime was doing.

Luckily, he’d regained enough strength to transform back to Beast Mode when the energon build-up began. However, the sight had caused a mild panic with Prime. Never in his life had he seen such a thing; a transformer being engulfed in strange white waves which drained their systems. At first, Prime thought Cheetor was going to explode, the way it took over him so suddenly. Well, he didn’t know how Cybertronians coped with the high energon radiation levels here on Earth, did he?

‘Yeah. It’s gotta be them,’ Prime confirmed with a final sniff, bringing himself down to all fours. ‘Just a little way beyond this grass.’
Cheetor jumped to his feet excitedly.
‘Well, come on, Prime,’ he smiled, motioning his head to the direction Prime had just pointed out. ‘Come and meet and guys.’
Prime just shook his head.
‘No, I’m sorry Cheetor,’ he replied apologetically. ‘I just don’t think now’s the right time.’
Cheetor wanted to say something, but didn’t bother. Prime’s determined look was all he needed to know that he wasn’t going to change his mind.
‘Well,’ Cheetor sighed. ‘Thanks again. I guess that’s another one I owe you.’
Prime laughed.
‘Heh. Save it. With a death wish like yours, you’ll be owing me big real soon.’
Cheetor laughed too.
Prime flashed him the same wink and smile, then turned and departed.

Cheetor turned around also, a smile still on his feline face, and set off to find his comrades.
****

After only a short while, Cheetor could hear the sound of his fellow Maximals.
Fallowing their voices, he was soon brought to the clearing where Tigatron and the others were huddled about, trying desperately to help Airazor.

‘Guys, what happened?’  Cheetor cried worriedly, bursting through the tall grass.
Optimus turned around quickly.
‘Cheetor!’ he snapped angrily. ‘Where is Primus’ name have you been?’
‘Well…I..’
‘Forget it,’ Optimus snapped again. ‘You can tell me later. Right now we need to get Airazor back to base.’

It was agreed that Airazor’s best chance was for Optimus to fly her back to the Axalon.
‘Are you sure your systems can handle it?’ Tigatron asked anxiously.  He still wasn’t entirely sure what an energon build-up was, or how it happened.
‘Don’t worry,’ Cheetor reassured him. ‘Optimus is one ultra gear flyer. He’ll be outta here before the radiation even touches him. Right, Bit Bot?’
However, Optimus didn’t answer. He was still very annoyed with Cheetor’s disobedience and childish behaviour .

‘How is she doing?’ Optimus asked Rattrap, who was fanning Airazor with a thick tree leaf that was almost as big as he was.
‘Well, not good would be an understatement,’ Rattrap replied amid flapping the leaf. ‘Looks like it’s gonna be now or never, Boss Monkey.’
Optimus nodded and transformed.
Kneeling down, he picked her up gently and stood up slowly.
‘There,’ he said gently. ‘Now, you comfortable?’
Airazor nodded slightly.
‘Good. If you feel there’s anything wrong, you just tell me, ok?’
Airazor nodded again, and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and rested against him.

‘Now remember, don’t go too fast. The high speed and altitude could makes things a whole lot worse,’ Rhinox warned next to him.
‘Got it. Now lead everyone back to base as quick as you can. We should be there shortly.’
The remaining Maximals, led by Rhinox, quickly departed. Tigatron took one long, last look at Optimus and Airazor before fallowing the group.
****

The flight went smoothly.
As soon as they were inside the Axalon, Optimus immediately got Airazor to the CR chamber.

‘So, what is this thing?’ Tigatron asked when the door shut.
‘A CR chamber,’ Rhinox replied, bringing up Airazor’s condition and status on the central computer.

‘It repairs a transformer by using refined energon to rebuild original damaged systems and body work,’ Optimus explained. ‘Don’t worry, it’s quite painless. And the patient usually just sleeps while the process is underway. Hopefully, Airazor will cope well with the treatment, but for now all we can do is wait and see.’
He placed an hand reassuringly on Tigatron’s shoulder.
‘I just… don’t know what to say,’ Tigatron shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe that this is all happening.’
‘Well, you’re not the only one,’ Rattrap sighed. ‘Every time I wake up, a small part of me still thinks I’m back home an Cybertron. I mean, don’t get me wrong; this is a nice planet and all. It’s just, it isn’t home. You know?’
Cheetor and Optimus were rather taken aback by Rattrap’s sudden show of sincerity. Rhinox nodded in silent agreement. The feeling was more than mutual for them all.

A short silence filled the room.
‘I guess …we’re really not so different after all,’ Tigatron mused, in his mellow, gentle voice.
This caused another short silence, as Optimus, Rattrap and Cheetor thought over what had just been said.
‘Why don’t you sit down and rest ? I think we could all use a little break,’ Optimus suggested.
‘Yes, thank you,’ Tigatron breathed heavily, and the three Maximlas accompanied him out of the room, leaving Rhinox to monitor Airazor.
****

It wasn’t till the wee hours of the morning that Rhinox left the control room. He found the three Maximals plus Tigatron asleep in various areas of the front cockpit room of the ship.

This was what the Maximals considered their sort of common room, where they could rest and talk with each other in their spare time. It was small, but cosy. And the chairs were pretty comfortable to lounge in.

As he entered the room, the four transformers stirred and woke up. It took Tigatron a brief minute to realise where he was, before turning around to face Rhinox.
‘Well guys, I got some good news,’ Rhinox smiled wearily. ‘Airazor’s made a full recovery and she’s doing fine.’
Everyone let out a huge sigh of releif. Tigatron smiled happily as he thanked them all, and kind words were exchanged by everybody.
‘She’s resting right now, but you can all see her if you want,’ Rhinox told them all and led the way.

In the control room, Airazor was resting peacefully on a bed. There was no trace of the unsightly wound that had plagued her just a few mega-cycles ago, and she generally just felt relaxed and re-energized from her stay in the CR chamber.
When she heard the others coming, she quickly opened her optics and sat up.

‘Ah, there she is, up and awake,’ Rhinox sounded happily from across the room.
‘Airazor!’ Tigatron rejoiced, and quickly made his way over to her.
The two embraced warmly, realising just how close as friends they’d become in the few days they had spent together.
‘Don’t tell me you were worried about me,’ she joked with a smile, as she pressed close against him.

‘Sheesh. Are all Earth Transformers this mushy?’ Rattrap muttered sourly, folding his arms.
  ‘Oh, shut up Rattrap!’ the three Maximals chorused.
Rattrap just grumbled.

Airazor slid off the bed, and she and Tigatron walked over to the Maximals.
‘Thank you all so much for everything,’ she bowed graciously. ‘I know I probably wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for all of you.’
She walked up next ot Rhinox.
‘Thank you especially, for taking such good care of me,’ she said gently, taking hold of one of his hands and standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.
Rhinox blushed slightly.
‘Gosh…’ he smiled, rubbing the back of his head with his other great hand. ‘Uh…it was nothing, really.’
The others chuckled as he tried to regain his composure.
‘And thank you too,’ she smiled, turning to Optimus. ‘For leading such a wonderful crew.’
She stepped closer, and gently kissed him also on the cheek.
‘OOOOOOO’ Cheetor and Rattrap chorused together, then they and Rhinox started to laugh.
Optimus just smiled back to Airazor with a slight chuckle.

‘Listen,’ Optimus said, when the laughter had died down. ‘When you’re both feeling up to it, you can go whenever you want.’
The two looked at each other, their optics meeting in silent agreement.
‘Optimus,’ Tigatron began. ‘In light of what we have both seen and know of you and your Maximals, I would be honoured to serve you by any means necessary. Be it battle or help, just call and I will be here.’
‘And I too would like to aid you with your fight against Megatron,’ Airazor added after Tigatron.
Optimus just looked at them both for a minute.
‘I’m really not sure,’ he began uneasily. ‘You play no part in this war. Your families and friends would constantly be under threat…’
‘And how is that any different than now?’ Airazor justed. ‘Please. Being with you, at least we’ll know we’re aiding the protection of this planet and our felow Earth Transformers. And we could spread the message that you’re really not the guilty party.’

Optimus thought for a minute, then turned to the other Maximals.
‘And what do you think?’ he asked them.
‘Hey, if it were the other way about, I know I’d wanna help,’ Rattrap replied.
‘Yeah!’ Cheetor cried in agreement.
‘Rhinox?’ Optimus asked.
‘Well, if they want to help us so much, I don’t think we can stop em.’ Rhinox replied plainly.

Optimus turned to face the two Earth Transformers with a broad smile.
‘Very well. It’s unanimous. You have hereby been accepted into the Maximal ranks.’
He stood up straight and saluted them both.
Tigatron and Airazor both saluted him back, and then received another salute from the other sarrounding Maximals.
‘Welcome aboard,’ Optimus smiled, and shook their hands.

As a celebration broke out, and congratulations were exchanged, Optimus knew the future was now a little brighter for the Maximals. With the aid of their new friends, they were now one step closer to defeating Megatron, and ensuring the safety of not just Cybertron, but Earth aswell.