Beast Wars Anonymous:

Beast Wars and all related belong to Hasbro. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

Author's Note: Set in the TV series continuity, following "Crossing the Rubicon" but before "Master Blaster". I welcome all comments.

Page Administrator's Note: Thanks to the author for coding this story for me!

Metal Fatigue, pt. 1
A Beast Wars: Transformers Story by Bald Evil (baldevil@hotmail.com)

"Optimus to Silverbolt! Do you copy?"

Silverbolt dipped his head to his foreleg comm panel as he raced through the air. Ahead of him, engines flaring brightly, was the sleek form of Depth Charge's fighter mode.

"Silverbolt here!"

"How close are you to the stasis pod Cheetor found? We still can't reach him; his signal is being jammed."

Silverbolt snarled. "Megatron's doing, no doubt. We are closing rapidly, Optimus; five cycles or less."

Primal's tone was sharp. "No good, Silverbolt! Cheetor's in danger now! Make it two cycles, soldier!"

Silverbolt's head jerked back, then dipped forward again, eyes narrowed with determination. "Yes, SIR!" With a howl, he dropped his legs back and raced forward, catching up with Depth Charge.

"We must hurry! Our comrade is in dire danger, my friend! This is no time to hold back!"

Depth Charge rolled an eye at him. "I'm not the one slowing us down, pup." With an ear-splitting boom, his silvery fighter form rocketed forward, leaving Silverbolt spinning in his wake. In a moment, he was out of sight. Silverbolt blinked.

"Ahhh... well done, Depth Charge," he said wonderingly.

Dropping down low as he raced over the scrub and thinning grass towards the sea, Depth Charge saw before he heard the explosions up the shore. As sand blasted out around him, driven by the force of his passage, he could see Cheetor among the rocks on the seashore, trapped under the guns of Waspinator and Dinobot. The stasis pod he sought to guard was lying helplessly amid the rocks, half-buried in the sand; it looked to have been washed ashore.

"Looks like the cat could use a little pest control." Roughly aiming, he released several plasma discs along the shore, blasting Dinobot off his feet and sending Waspinator tumbling through the air. He wheeled in the air, turning for a second pass.

Cheetor ducked as Depth Charge screamed overhead, then turned to cheer. "All right! The cavalry's here! Let 'em have it, Big Blue!" An explosive blast cut his celebration short, and he was flung into the surf by the attack. Waspinator swooped down, jeering.

"Zzzcat-bot szzmart; Waszzpinator szzmarter!" He laughed gleefully, raining fire down on Cheetor as the injured Maximal tried to drag himself out of the water. Then he heard a roar, growing louder, and turned to see a very angry Depth Charge approaching fast.

"But Waszzpinator waszz having a good day," he whimpered as the angry Maximal fighter hit him full speed, sending bits and pieces of the unfortunate Predacon raining down over the beach. However, the violent impact bent one of Depth Charge's wings, and he veered out of control.

"Slag!" he roared tightly, "Depth Charge, maxi-" But his command was cut short as he crashed into the sand, throwing up a huge plume and digging a deep furrow down the beach. He ended up nearly completely buried, tail lashing furiously as he tried to pull himself free.

Dinobot dropped lightly onto the rocks, his talons biting easily through the slime and algae to grip the rock firmly. He scanned the area as he spoke. "Area secured. Proceed, Tarantulas."

Scuttling out of the brush, Tarantulas approached the stasis pod, cackling gleefully. "Another addition to our happy Predacon family, hehehahahaha!" Transforming, he quickly activated the pod's controls, and with practiced ease accessed the core programming functions. He held up a gleaming purple chip in one claw.

"A new soldier; for my new order. Heheheheheh!" He glanced up. "Dinobot! Make certain I am not interrupted! This is very delicate work!"

Dinobot turned and hissed, his tail lashing. " Then get to it, scientist. I don't need you to tell me my duties." He didn't see Silverbolt spiraling down out of the sky, almost directly above him.

Twin wing missiles crashed into the rocks, throwing Dinobot onto the sand with an enraged roar. Howling, Silverbolt transformed and landed in a combat stance, brandishing his weapons.

"Stand down, villains!" he bellowed. "You shall pervert no Maximal to your evil ways today!"

Dinobot hissed, his targeting beam landing on Silverbolt's chest. The gleaming knight barely avoided the blast from the Predacon's optic cannon a split second later, and was driven back by the flurry of bolts from the furious warrior.

"Cheetor! Depth Charge! If you are still functional- AAH! Now would be a... good time for you to join in!" He flung his wing missiles at Dinobot, who transformed and slithered under them, then returned to robot mode and pounced. Sidestepping nimbly, Silverbolt struck the snarling Predacon a massive blow across his hideous face, only to be struck in turn by Dinobot's whipping tail. His legs were knocked out from under him, and he crashed to the sand. Dinobot was on him in a moment, raptor claws crackling with wicked energy over his throat.

"Chivalry... is quite dead," the Predacon rasped, striking to kill. With a desperate kick, Silverbolt managed to throw himself out of the path of the lethal blade, which sank deep into the sand. Stuck for a critical second, Dinobot could not avoid the tremendous punch Silverbolt delivered to his jaw, driving him down.

"Never speak thusly of chivalry to me, monster! What could you know of such things?!" He hammered Dinobot relentlessly, battering the Predacon to the ground. Drawing another pair of missiles, he raised them over his foe. Dinobot looked up blearily, his optic cannon cracked and useless, and then slumped unconscious to the ground. Silverbolt growled.

"Fortunately for you, chivalry is not dead; or so too would you be!" He turned to see Tarantulas hard at work over the stasis pod. His eyes widened.

"By the Matrix, NO!"

Tarantulas glanced up, mandibles clicking. "No...no... not yet! Hurry up, you infernal pod!"

"Predacon programming accepted. Scanning for compatible life forms..."

As the pod's scanners deployed, Silverbolt flung a missile desperately at Tarantulas. The Predacon, exposed and vulnerable, sought the only cover he could. He pushed the pod up in front of him. Silverbolt's eyes went wide, and he let out an anguished howl. "NOOOOO!"

The missile flew straight and true, and crashed into the stasis pod with a tremendous blast. Somehow, the pod was not destroyed, but it was terribly damaged. The distorted voice of the pod's computer burbled out as Tarantulas staggered away.

"Danger... danger... abort transformation sequence... danger... spark containment field collapsing... danger..."

Silverbolt raced forward, pursuing Tarantulas, leaping over and past the pod and bringing down the spider as he limped off. He raised his weapon to strike a fatal blow.

"You have escaped justice one too many times, murderer! But not this time!"

Tarantulas gibbered. "The pod! It's going to-"

Depth Charge staggered up the beach just in time to see the pod disappear in a massive multi-colored flare, engulfing Tarantulas and Silverbolt, and throwing Cheetor back into the surf as he emerged. He threw his battered wings up around him to shield himself from the blast, and felt it hammering him, bits and pieces of the pod and the rocks striking and flying off. And something else...

As the explosion abated, Depth Charge lowered his wings and looked at them. There were globs of silvery fluid clinging to them, shivering in the sunlight, then slowly disappearing. He realized that they were sinking into his Transmetal skin.

"What in the name of Orion Pax is this crap?"

Staggering up the beach, he found Silverbolt smashed into a rock, wings mauled, electricity coursing over him. The same silver fluid was clinging to him, and likewise disappearing. He was deep in stasis lock. Looking down at the ocean, he saw Cheetor was in similar straits. Tarantulas had crawled away, or been destroyed; there was no sign of Dinobot. Depth Charge sighed.

"Better get you two back to base. Primal's not gonna like this at all."

Megatron glowered down at Tarantulas and Dinobot. "I thought my instructions were very clear. And yet, I see no new Predacon; I see only two badly damaged old Predacons." He frowned. "What happened?!"

Tarantulas looked up, wringing his claws. "Unfortunately, your creation here was too busy bragging to watch out for Maximals while I was working. He-" Dinobot cut him off with a snarl.

"Treacherous spider! Prepare to terminate!" His claws flashed out as Tarantulas drew back, drawing his blaster. Megatron seized both of them by their throats.

"Enough! Get out, both of you! I've had enough of your failures today!" He looked from one to the other, eyes burning. "Repair yourselves. Despite our loss, there is still much work to be done, yesss. And as incompetent as you may be, I have need of you still." He flung them down and glared as they slunk away, out opposite doors.

"I suppose we need to salvage Waspinator... again." He flipped on his comlink. "Inferno!"

"Yes, Royalty!"

"Go and find Waspinator. Bring him back for repairs. And Inferno..."

"Yes, Royalty?"

"Better take a sack with you." He clicked off the communicator, sighing. Glancing down, he noticed a strange silver residue on his hand where he had grabbed Tarantulas. With a shiver of disgust, he wiped it on his thigh.

"Filthy spider," he muttered.

"I... I failed, Optimus." Silverbolt hung his head. "I failed, and an innocent died for my failure."

Primal laid a soothing hand on Silverbolt's shoulder, kneeling and speaking softly. "You did everything you could, Silverbolt. You couldn't have known that Tarantulas would push the pod in front of him."

Silverbolt's lip curled in an angry snarl. "He is a villain... of the deepest dye."

Blackarachnia snorted. "I'll second that motion."

Optimus glanced up at her for a moment, then looked Silverbolt in the eyes. "You tried your best to save that protoform, my friend. No one here holds you responsible for it being destroyed."

"No one save myself..." Silverbolt shook his head woefully.

Rattrap cocked his head. "Ehh, look at it this way, bird-dog. At least ya saved us havin' ta worry about another Pred climbin' all over us!" He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Like I always say, 'bettah dead than Pred'-OW!" He yelped as one of Blackarachnia's beast mode legs rapped him sharply across the back of the head.

"Oops," she smiled innocently.

Inside the command center, Depth Charge had finally emerged from the CR chamber. Being the least badly damaged in a fight sometimes wasn't a big advantage; he'd had to sit and wait while Silverbolt and Cheetor were restored. No big deal, but since the rescue mission was over (and blundered), he'd wanted to get back to searching for Rampage's lair right away. A busted wing had prevented that. Depth Charge had had to sit and wait for his turn, trying not to let the rest of the Maximals get on his nerves. They weren't a bad bunch, but they sure never knew when to shut up.

Now, he could get back to business. He nodded a curt greeting to Rhinox as he strode out of the base, and was almost clear when Primal's voice stopped him.

"Depth Charge!"

He froze, scowling. Primal walked down the passage to stand before him. "What is it, Primal? I've got work to do."

"Yes, you do. And your job is to help us finish setting up the sensors along the western perimeter."

Depth Charge waved him off. "Give the job to one of your petting zoo. I'm done with my charity work for the day."

Primal's eyes narrowed. "You are some kind of hard-case, aren't you. I wish I could figure you out, Depth Charge; sometimes you want to help, and other times-"

"Other times I have a job to do. The one I came here to do; take care of Protoform X, once and for all. I'm not here for your war, Primal; I'm here to fix your mistake. The least you can do is stay out of my way!"

Optimus scowled. "And the least you can do is help us protect the future from being destroyed!"

Depth Charge shoved him. "The future can take care of itself. I'm telling you for the last time, stay out of my- huuughk!" He stopped suddenly, grabbing his chest. Optimus' face instantly changed from angry to concerned.

"Depth Charge! What is it? Are you all right?"

The stricken Maximal tried to speak, coughing, but could not. He fell to one knee, and Optimus grabbed him to keep him from falling. "RHINOX!" The heavy tread of Rhinox's feet boomed through the base as he rumbled down the hallway towards them. Depth Charge clutched at Optimus, leaving thin trails of silver on his armored skin. Optimus looked at them curiously.

"What is... that?"

Rhinox reached them, moving past Primal to examine Depth Charge. His eyes narrowed when he saw the thin trickle of silver running out of the Maximal's chest where his beast mode mouth was.

"Oh, no..."

"That stuff was on his hands, too. What is it, Rhinox? It's not mech fluid, it's..."

Rhinox cut him off. "Something very bad. We've got to get him back to the CR chamber. If this is what I think it is, he may not have very long!"

They carried the struggling Depth Charge back to the CR chamber and sealed it shut. Rhinox immediately began the restoration sequence, while at the same time bringing up a number of records on the command center's screens. Optimus studied them with some confusion.

"Life form compatibility records... the Maximal bioarchive... medical research logs? Rhinox, what's going on?"

Rhinox entered a set of scanning parameters into the computer, and turned slowly. "I've only seen this once before, but if it's what I think it is, we could be in for big trouble." He indicated a section of records for Optimus to look at. "When the Maximals and Predacons first began using protoforms, we discovered something... awful. An energy surge during the final stage of transformation programming could cause the protoform nanites to lose their ability to hold their forms; the protoform would become useless, and the spark would have to be moved. Worse, the damaged nanites could infect existing nanites, and cause them to start breaking down as well. Existing nanites in existing Cybertronians." Rhinox stared dolefully at Optimus.

"So what we're dealing with here is... some sort of protoform disease?"

"In a way. It's called Protoform Nano-Reversion Syndrome; it causes a Cybertronian's body to begin reverting to a protoform-like state. Unchecked, it can turn a Maximal into a puddle in less than... 24 mega-cycles." He looked away. "And without a new body for the spark to enter... it's fatal."

"We're a little short on spares around here, too." Optimus thought for a moment. "You said it could infect other Cybertronians? How quickly?"

Rhinox did not answer for a long time. Finally, quietly, he said, "On contact. The process begins on contact." He turned back to Optimus. "I hope I'm wrong."

Behind him, the CR chamber scanner began beeping loudly, and flashing red. They regarded it in silence. The computer spoke.

"Scan complete. Protoform nano-reversion in progress. Time until terminal decay occurs: eighteen mega-cycles."

There was a long silence broken only by the beeping of the scanner. Finally, Primal stirred.

"I'll inform the others. Since everyone's been exposed... they all need to know."

Rhinox nodded, and turned back to the console.

"You mean we're all gonna turn into soup in a few mega-cycles?! Aw, that's just fan-slaggin'-tastic, fearless leader! Should I maybe go find myself a nice bucket ta curl up in?"

Optimus frowned at Rattrap, but spoke quietly. "Rhinox is working on a way to stop the reversion. But... there are no guarantees. We'll just have to do the best we can."

"Which is... melt into slag and die, right? Sheesh!" Rattrap threw his hands in the air, pacing in circles. "I shoulda stayed at home and become a CR repairman like my Uncle Wheelie! But instead, I get ta turn into rat stew about a million cycles before I'm even born!" Blackarachnia glowered at him.

"Lay off the sunshine and flowers, okay? You're making me all giddy, rat-face."

"Giddy ain't the only thing you'll be, sistah!" Rattrap stepped toward her.

"Knock it off!" Prime's bellow thundered through the chamber. "I've had enough of the bickering and infighting! We need to work together, Maximals; the safety of the Ark is still our responsibility, and if we can't beat this thing, then at least... we have to make sure the Ark is safe."

They were all silent for a moment, considering his words. Then Silverbolt spoke up.

"Of course, there is a bright side; well, perhaps not a bright side, but... another side, at least." Seeing their grim faces, he hurriedly continued, "The Predacons are no doubt infected as well! Tarantulas was right there, as was Dinobot... they've certainly realized that they are in the same situation we are by now. Perhaps we can cooperate, work together to find a cure for this disease before it's too late!"

Rattrap jeered. "Oh yeah, right! I'm sure Megatron's just itchin' to come over and fix us some chicken soup! As soon as the Preds figure out they got this bug, they're gonna come knockin' all right; knockin' the doors down!"

"I'm afraid Rattrap may be right," said Optimus. "We can't count on the Predacons cooperating. Megatron won't lay down and die without a fight, that's for sure. We'll have to redouble our security and make sure the Predacons don't break through if they do attack." He turned as Rhinox entered. Everyone clustered around him.

"So, what's the good word, Rhinox?" said Cheetor a little too excitedly. "You got a cure for us?"

"Not yet; not yet." Rhinox exhaled deeply. "But... maybe. According to the records we still have, there may be a way to reverse the decay. But I'm not sure if we can do it."

"Well, what is it?" Rattrap pushed in front of him. "We ain't got all deca-cycle!"

"If we can generate a high-frequency energy burst across the right spectrum, it will stop the nanites from reverting to their protoform state. It won't reverse the decay in and of itself, but it will stop it so that the CR chamber can do the rest. Right now, the CR chamber can only slow down the process; once it reaches a certain point, there won't be enough left to reconstruct."

"How powerful an energy burst do we need, Rhinox?" asked Optimus.

Rhinox stared at him. "A Transwarp pulse should do the trick. Or rerouting the power grid of the Ark; all of it." Another silence fell over the Maximals.

"Well. That's just prime," said Optimus gloomily.

"We can't drain the power from the Ark! It would be defenseless! The Preds could just waltz in and take it!" Cheetor said emphatically.

"And just where do ya think we're gonna get a Transwarp pulse from, whiskahs? Rhinox's wild beans?"

"Hey..." Rhinox's tone was slightly hurt. "I explained about that. And even if we don't have a Transwarp cell... the Predacons might."

"We- they do. Megatron has the last Transwarp cell hidden somewhere on their ship," said Blackarachnia. "At least, right up until he figures out what Rhinox just figured out," she added. Optimus nodded.

"If the Predacons figure out how to stop the reversion before we get that cell, it's all over for us... and for the future," said Optimus. He looked around at his crew; here and there, small patches of silver were already visible on their bodies. Suppressing a shudder, he continued.

"Rhinox, how long do we have before the reversion... incapacitates us?"

"Depends... the more you exert yourself, the more you transform, the faster it'll spread through your system. At the most, eighteen to twenty mega-cycles; for you. Because I still have an organic beast mode, I should last a bit longer; the organic components take longer to break down than inorganic components do. The same goes for Silverbolt. But that only buys us an extra few mega-cycles, at most."

"It also means that Waspinator, Inferno, and Quickstrike will be less affected. Not great odds. But what choice do we have?" Optimus nodded at Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. "The two of you will make the run on the Predacon ship. Blackarachnia knows it better than anyone does, and you can get her out of there fast. Cheetor..."

"Yeah, Big Bot?"

"You and Rattrap are going to go in behind them to cover their escape. When the Predacons come after them, they're going to come hard. You have to stop them. Rhinox, Depth Charge and I will stay behind to guard the base."

"You can count on us, Big Bot!" Cheetor smacked Rattrap's arm. "Right, Rattrap?!"

Rattrap blinked, shaking his head. "Oh, yeah. This is a good idea."

Beast Wars and all related belong to Hasbro. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

Author's Note: Set in the TV series continuity, following "Crossing the Rubicon" but before "Master Blaster". I welcome all comments.

Page Administrator's Note: Thanks to the author for coding this story for me!

Metal Fatigue, pt. 2
A Beast Wars: Transformers Story by Bald Evil (baldevil@hotmail.com)

Waiting for the eruption, Tarantulas was surprised when it did not come. Megatron stood silently, arms behind his back.

"Eighteen to twenty-four mega-cycles, you say?"

"Y-yes, Megatron. Our records show this disease... is terminal."

Megatron turned back around, a hideous smile on his face. "Excellent. The perfect opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the Maximals, yesss. They'll be so busy scrambling to find a cure, they won't notice we're upon them... until it's too late."

"But what about us? We're infected, this reversion will destroy us as well as the Maximals!"

Megatron smiled again. "Panic leads to failure, my dear Tarantulas. And we are not going to fail, no. I have in mind a plan to keep us the very picture of health; at the cost of the Maximals', of course. And win us the Ark, as well!"

Tarantulas cocked his head skeptically.

"Easy to say. But I have no intention of waiting around for my spark to extinguish inside a useless, molten body, Megatron!"

Megatron scowled. "Take care, lieutenant. My patience with you is very nearly at an end. My plan will work perfectly, provided no... unexpected variables enter the equation." He leaned forward. "Like you."

Tarantulas drew back slightly. "As you wish, Megatron."

Megatron stood up straight again. "Good. See to it that our defenses are primed and ready, and that Sentinel is on full alert. I am expecting guests soon, yesss." He smiled. "And I want to make a good impression."

His rolling laughter followed Tarantulas out of the chamber.

Silverbolt soared through the evening air, cradling Blackarachnia in his arms. She kicked her legs lazily and smiled at him.

"You know, I'm really not feeling that badly at all. I think you may be the cure for what ails me, Jo-Jo."

Silverbolt smiled back. "Oh my lady, I would suffer a thousand maladies, if it meant but a smile from you." He coughed suddenly, harshly, and blinked.

"Although at the moment, the one seems to be quite enough." She laughed.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel loved." She glanced down. "Better swoop down and fly between the peaks now; this high up and Megatron's scanners will see you coming in."

"As always, you are correct, my dark angel," he replied. Tilting his wings, he dove down through the foreboding peaks surrounding the volcanic plain where the Predacon ship sat. Hunched and sullen in the gathering darkness, it was a nest of evil that the planet itself seemed to rebel against. The stench of sulfur blew from it through the stony spires, and Silverbolt's nose wrinkled.

"The stench of wickedness; it clings to this place like a-"

"Bad smell?"

Silverbolt frowned at her. "I suppose so." She chucked him under the chin, laughing.

"You're too much fun, you know that?"

They set down out of sight of the ship, behind a long outcropping of ancient, hardened lava. Blackarachnia jumped down as Silverbolt transformed, getting her footing and taking out a pair of binoculars. She surveyed the area carefully while Silverbolt paced, sniffing, searching for signs of Predacons.

"The whole area is quiet; maybe they're already melted down," she said quietly.

"We can only hope so. But I've detected the faint scent of Inferno, and it's not very old. He's been through here, but not too recently; earlier today, I'll wager. Still, we must be on our guard."

Blackarachnia nodded, and transformed. Her mandibles clicked as she nodded towards the ship.

"I have a good idea where to look, but the internal sensors may give us trouble. If I have a few minutes, I can probably hack my old access codes and give us free run of the ship; at least for a while."

Silverbolt nodded. "We must be stealthy; everyone is depending on us, my love."

She clicked her jaws in an arachnid smile. "Then we'd better not disappoint them, bright eyes. C'mon, let's move!"

They moved swiftly and surely across the black rock, slipping around the lava pools and between the occasional sulfur eruptions. Blackarachnia led the way.

"There's a hole in the Predacon sensor web through here; as long as we follow this route, Sentinel won't see us coming."

"Are you sure of this?"

She looked back with a twinkle in her eyes. "Of course. I set it up. Sometimes it helped to be able to take off unnoticed when old grape-face was on a tear."

Silverbolt raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. The broken drive nacelles of the Predacon ship loomed over them now, casting blacker shadows on the black rock. Above them on the hull, a gaping wound in the vessel could be seen: their way in.

Spreading his wings, Silverbolt half-leaped, half-flew up to the opening, while Blackarachnia scurried up the hull to meet him. They slipped inside quietly.

The dark chamber appeared to be an unused storage bay. Dust-covered crates lined the walls, mostly open and emptied; here and there, the remains of loose containers destroyed in the crash were strewn across the floor. A flash of color caught Silverbolt's eye as they crept along, and he peered into the container next to him. Blackarachnia turned.

"Find something?"

Silverbolt reached into the container and withdrew a fat yellow toy duck. It squeaked plaintively in his hand.

"There's a whole container of these. What-"

"Don't ask." Blackarachnia shook her head with a sigh. "C'mon, Rover, you can play with chew toys later. We've got to find that cell."

Silverbolt dropped the duck back into the container and followed along behind her.

The Predacon ship was in terrible disrepair; it looked as if nothing had been touched since it had crashed. It was only with great effort that they moved through the hallways without making noise, stepping lightly and gingerly over shattered circuit panels, broken glass, creaking crossbeams and collapsed bulkheads. Blackarachnia led them through the musty ship with the certainty of a practiced thief, slipping in and out of air ducts, down vacant elevator shafts, and through dimly-lit halls until they reached an area that looked much better maintained. Blackarachnia held up a claw.

"There's an access panel around that corner," she whispered. "I'm going to see if I can clear us past the internal sensors. We'll need about ten cycles to get in and out of Megatron's secured area; I think I can get us that."

"I have no doubt, my beloved," Silverbolt breathed back, but she had already slipped around the corner. A few taut moments later, her arm beckoned him to follow.

"One of my backdoors was still open. But we've got to hurry; a routine sensor check will show the patch." She gestured. "This way."

They moved like quicksilver shadows into the ship, along floors cleared of debris and wreckage. At last they came to a plain, unmarked door with a small access panel.

"One of Megatron's hidey-holes," she grinned, tapping a sequence of keys in. "Took forever to find them all." She completed the sequence, and the door hissed open.

The room within was empty, an unused maintenance locker. An auto-mop sat forlornly in the corner, never to clean again. Silverbolt started to speak, but Blackarachnia shushed him.

"Gimme a boost, and cut the chatter," she said quietly. "This is a very bad place to get caught." Silverbolt said nothing, but cupped his hands and helped her up to reach the ceiling.

Probing delicately with her claws, Blackarachnia quickly found a faintly recessed latch in the ceiling and pressed it. The panel whirred aside smoothly, and revealed its prize: A gleaming Transwarp cell, neatly tucked into the beams of the ship, well hidden from any prying eyes.

"Almost any," chuckled Blackarachnia as she plucked it from its cradle. "Come to mama, you pretty thing!"

Once she had the cell, she stepped down daintily and gave Silverbolt a quick kiss on the nose.

"Let's blow this hot-oil stand, baby, before leaving's not an option." Silverbolt nodded, and they moved out. Blackarachnia paused to close the door, and then they were on their way out.

As quickly as possible while remaining quiet, they retraced their path through the ship to the computer terminal Blackarachnia had used. She paused for a moment by the terminal.

"Half a nano-click, Jo-Jo," she murmured, "I just want to erase my calling card..."

Silverbolt's nose twitched, and he snarled. A shadow came to life in the gloom, and a low hiss sounded.

"Looks like we got ourselves a coupla rustlers!" Quickstrike guffawed. "Put 'em up, varmints!"

Bright green cyber-venom bolts splashed off the bulkheads as they dove for cover. Silverbolt turned to fight, but Blackarachnia grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"Down, boy! We've gotta make tracks!"

"I will hold him off! You return the Transwarp cell to the base, beloved!"

Blackarachnia scoffed. "Right. I'll just spread my wings, and fly back home. Hello? Remember? Team? Now come on!"

Quickstrike's serpent head whipped around the corner, fangs dripping. "Like Ah figgered! Yellah! C'mon out'n fight, wolfie! Ah promise Ah'll make it quick!"

"Another time, scoundrel," promised Silverbolt as they withdrew. "Of that you can be certain!"

"Aw, waitin's no fun! How's about we just scuffle now?! Just you, me, an'..." the alarm klaxon began to sound through the ship, "...the rest o' th' posse! Yeeeee-haw!"

"Slag!" cursed Blackarachnia. "So much for a clean getaway!"

"Seeing as they know we're here, my angel," said Silverbolt as Quickstrike renewed his cyber-venom assault, "I see no further need for... subtlety!" Drawing a wing missile he hurled it back down the hall they had vacated, just as Quickstrike stepped around the corner. He blinked.

"Aw, fiddlesticks," he muttered.

The heat from the explosion washed over them as they clambered through the tangled infrastructure of the Predacon ship, retreating as quickly as they could through the mess in their beast modes. At last they tumbled out into the storage bay they had entered through, and leaped one after the other out of the ship, transforming. Blackarachnia landed neatly in Silverbolt's arms as he landed.

"You do that so well," she winked.

"Anything for you, milady," he replied, smiling.

"AHA!" bellowed Inferno. "The traitoress returns! Burn in the flames of the Royalty's wrath!"

Silverbolt leaped, Blackarachnia in his arms, narrowly avoiding the searing plasma fire from Inferno's flamethrower. She kicked off of him in mid-air, transforming and throwing out a glowing blue line to ensnare the giant Predacon's gun as it tracked her. Landing, she whip-cracked it out of his hand, sending it flying. Inferno scowled.

"Your tricks will not save you, spider! Death to the enemies of the Colony! Heeeeeyaaaah!" Inferno leaped through the air, claws extended, his thrusters spinning and roaring. Blackarachnia shook her arachnoid head.

"Plenty of ugly; brains optional," she laughed. Bunching her legs, she sprang into the air to meet the surprised Predacon.

"Wha?!"

Again her grappling line lashed out, snaring Inferno's neck. She sailed over him, the cord trailing, pulling taut as she landed while he tried to turn. With a mighty pull, she whipped him overhead to smash him flat against the hull of the Predacon ship. He slid down with a long groan and lay still. Silverbolt lit down next to her as she returned to robot mode.

"Are you uninjured, my lady?"

"I'm as good as I get, Benji," she said, then coughed violently. She blinked in shock at the silver splatters on the ground, and the similar patches glistening on her forearms. "But not for long, it seems..."

Silverbolt gaped in horror. "Beloved! We must leave at once!" He gathered her up and leaped into the air again. She didn't argue.

Below, the auto-guns around the Predacon base had emerged, driven by Sentinel's merciless will, and they now began to fire on the pair. Silverbolt jinked and dodged as the bolts sizzled past them, scorching his feathers and fur. He suppressed a yowl of pain as a blast caught his leg.

"You... gonna make it, Jo-Jo?" murmured Blackarachnia in his ear.

"The fires of the Pit cannot restrain me, beloved," he responded through gritted teeth. Gaining speed and altitude, he drew away from the auto-guns, only to see Waspinator rising up swiftly, firing repeatedly.

"Doggy-bot will not eszzcape Waszzpinator thiszz time!"

Tipping his wings and rolling to the side, Silverbolt lowered his head and dove straight for the approaching Predacon, who was still laughing and firing ceaselessly.

"Hold tight, my sweet," he growled. "This may be... uncomfortable."

Plunging through Waspinator's hail of fire, Silverbolt drove straight for him. It took Waspinator a split second too long to realize his mistake.

"No! Bad doggy-bot! Ba-" Silverbolt crashed into Waspinator and drove him down, leaving the Predacon's gun spinning in the air. Waspinator blinked, stunned, and looked into Blackarachnia's face.

"No hitchers," she said sweetly, and kicked him loose from them. With a long, mournful cry, Waspinator tumbled into the darkness of the black mountains below.

Breathing heavily, Silverbolt flew on. Blackarachnia could see the last of the day's light reflected on the silver trails running from his shoulders and down his chest. She shuddered against him. He held her tighter to him.

"We're safe now, beloved," he rasped, smiling down painfully at her. She managed a smile in return.

"That's one way to look at it, I guess..." They flew on through the deepening darkness.

Megatron sat in his command chair watching the Maximals vanish over the horizon on the screen before him, his face stony. Quickstrike staggered in slowly, blackened and smoking. Inferno lurched in behind him and collapsed, strewing bits across the deck. Silver fluid leaked from both of their bodies.

"We gave it our best shot, boss," coughed Quickstrike, rubbing his shattered shoulder. "But them sneaky Maximals still got away."

"Yesss. So they did. Good for them." He turned in his chair to face them, raising the pulsing Transwarp cell he held in his silver-streaked hand. He grinned with malevolent humor.

"And better for us."

Rhinox and Optimus worked in stoic silence, sharing the same worries but not needing to speak them. They had been through enough together that such exchanges hardly seemed necessary. Instead they focused their attention on assembling the Transwarp pulse generator, and doing their best to ignore the awful looseness that each of them felt within themselves.

Rhinox coughed, loudly and harshly, and Primal looked up in alarm. A thin trickle of silver ran down out of the corner of Rhinox's mouth. Rhinox wiped it away with a grim expression.

"Keep working," he said gruffly.

They had been at it for what seemed like deca-cycles, salvaging parts and assembling them as quickly as they could. Each of them felt a terrible dragging weight upon them, slowing their movements and making even simple tasks seem to take forever. But at last, the makeshift generator was finished, as Depth Charge reported in.

"No sign of the Preds," he said tersely, leaning against a bulkhead. "But there were some fireworks over their ship a while back. I didn't see Silverbolt and Blackarachnia."

Rhinox looked at Optimus, defeat creeping relentlessly across his face. Optimus wouldn't hear it.

"They'll make it. I know they will." He raised himself from the floor, not looking at the silvery pool at his feet. "Come on, let's get this thing outside."

Depth Charge blinked. "Outside? Why outside?"

Rhinox turned to him. "The Transwarp pulse won't be anything like that quantum surge that hit us before you arrived; but enclosed in this volcano, it could damage or even burn out all of our systems. The only safe place to detonate it is outside, on the plain. The pulse will be absorbed by the rock, and our gates; our systems should stay safe."

"And we'll need them, if Megatron and his crew come calling," added Prime. "Without a Transwarp cell to stop the reversion, you can be sure they're going to hit us with everything they've got to get theirs back. Or die trying."

"I'll be happy to help them out there," growled Depth Charge, grabbing one of the handles on the generator. "Let's go."

Together they maneuvered the bulky device out of the base, and out through the massive patchwork blast doors. The wide plain around the Maximal base was eerily lit by the full moon that watched impassively above. Carrying the device out to a safe distance, they set it down gently. Depth Charge slumped to the ground.

"I don't like this," he grumbled, as silver fluid trickled out of his joints. "I feel like I'm turning to slush from the inside out."

"Close enough," replied Rhinox with a sigh. "Let's hope they make it back soon. We don't have much time left."

Optimus' communicator crackled, and Cheetor's voice came over. "Cheetor to Optimus! Come in, Big Bot!"

"Optimus here. What's going on, Cheetor?"

The young Maximal was obviously excited. "Silverbolt and Blackarachnia just flew over our position! They're coming in fast and furious! No sign of the Preds, either!"

Optimus smiled. "That's good news. You and Rattrap haul your tailpipes back to the base, we're almost set up here. We just need the Transwarp cell."

"You got it, Big Bot! The cat n' mouse combo are on the way! Cheetor out!"

Optimus looked at Rhinox. "Are we all set?"

Rhinox nodded. "Once we have the cell in place, we can generate the pulse any time. I've preset the frequency modulator to the bandwidth we need; we're as ready as we'll ever be."

"Good," mumbled Depth Charge under his breath, rising with effort to his feet.

A faint howl echoed across the rim of the cliff overlooking the Maximals, and as their heads turned to look Silverbolt soared over the edge, swooping down on them like a falcon. He shot over their heads at high speed, then banked and came down to land slowly. Blackarachnia jumped down easily, but stumbled as she landed. Her cobalt skin was stained with silver streaks. Wincing, she raised the Transwarp cell with a gleam in her eye.

"Same day delivery, courtesy of Air Silverbolt," she grinned.

Rhinox took the cell from Blackarachnia and examined it. "Not a scratch. And fully charged, too."

Optimus smiled at them. "Good work, you two. Any trouble?"

"The usual creepshow," said Blackarachnia with a laugh. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

Silverbolt touched down, and collapsed with a howl. Blackarachnia's expression turned instantly to concern, then shock as she went to him. The others followed.

"Silverbolt!" she cried. "Your leg!"

His right leg below the knee was gone; only a soft lump of silvery gel remained. Silverbolt stared dumbly. "Oh."

Blackarachnia looked up at Primal. "We need to get him in the CR chamber now!"

Primal shook his head. "Negative. Cheetor and Rattrap will be here in a few clicks; we have to generate the Transwarp pulse as soon as possible. We're in no shape to fight off the Predacons right now. Silverbolt will be all right until we've stabilized this reversion; then we'll get him fixed up."

Blackarachnia bristled, taking a step towards Primal, but Silverbolt raised a trembling hand. "No, my beloved; Optimus is right. The good of the crew comes first." He coughed. "I... will persevere."

She knelt by him, smiling. "You'd better. After all I've been through for you, you're not gonna cut out on me this easy, Bowser-boy."

Depth Charge looked skyward and shook his head. "I think there's enough mush here already without these two adding any more."

Rhinox glowered at him. "Give it a rest."

The roar of Rattrap's engine and Cheetor's rocket booster grew louder, and they raced down the narrow path of the cliff to stop short before the other Maximals in a cloud of dust.

"So, we gonna get this show on the road, or are we just gonna melt inta one big happy puddle togethah?!" Rattrap transformed and stepped forward. "Make with the pulse, already!"

Rhinox was already installing it into the generator, and a moment later it beeped and began throbbing with energy. Rhinox stepped back.

"It's ready to go. Let's do it."

"Rock and roll!" said Cheetor.

"Do we need to stand back from it, or do anything special, Rhinox?" asked Primal.

"No; I don't think so. Just make yourselves comfortable, this may sting a little." He raised the remote control he held, his finger poised on the command key. "Five... four... three... two... one. Ignite pulse!"

The generator thrummed, its pitch rising, the glow intensifying as the Transwarp field began to form. They watched in silence as the aura around the generator built, the sound rising in intensity, the glow so bright that the device could no longer be seen.

"Here it comes!" shouted Rhinox, sounding distant.

The pulse exploded out from the generator in a vast, coruscating sheet of light and sound, engulfing them and flowing through them. They fell to their knees almost as one, pain shooting through their systems, the pounding energy wave mercilessly hammering them. Their cries were barely audible above the harmonic screaming of the pulse.

"Something's... wrong!" bellowed Rhinox.

"That's not... what I wanted... to heah!" screamed Rattrap, writhing on the ground.

Blackarachnia shrieked as the force of the pulse lifted her up and flung her away from the generator. She crashed to the ground near the gates, tried to rise, then slumped to the ground again. The merciless energy continued to pour over her as it poured over the others.

"Turn it... off, Rhinox!" roared Optimus. A moment later he realized that Rhinox was pinned down by the force of the pulse, hardly able to move. With a Herculean effort, Optimus raised himself from the ground, and staggered toward the generator. Balling a massive fist, he brought it crashing down on the device.

The generator screamed as it shattered, blowing apart violently under the impact. The abrupt dispersal of the pulse was even more shocking than its effect. A deafening silence seized them in the night as the last echoes of the pulse died among the rocks. Optimus collapsed, groaning, and looked around blearily.

The Maximals lay scattered about the area. The pulse appeared to have devastated them. Cheetor moaned and twitched; Depth Charge was still as stone. Optimus croaked hoarsely. "Rhinox... what..."

Rhinox stirred. "That... shouldn't have... happened..." He raised his arm unsteadily, and saw rivulets of silver flowing freely along it. "Oh... no..."

"Oh, YESSS!"

The booming laughter of Megatron echoed over the plain as the Maximals lay helpless. Raising his head, Optimus could see the Predacons lined up along the high ridge, weapons at the ready, gazing down on them.

"Ah, good evening, Optimus Primal! I'm so glad to see you survived the Transwarp pulse, yesss!" Megatron's grin turned monstrous. "For now you will be witness to the final victory of MEGATRON!!!"

Beast Wars and all related belong to Hasbro. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

Author's Note: Set in the TV series continuity, following "Crossing the Rubicon" but before "Master Blaster". I welcome all comments.

Page Administrator's Note: Thanks to the author for coding this story for me!

Metal Fatigue, pt. 3
A Beast Wars: Transformers Story by Bald Evil (baldevil@hotmail.com)

They opened fire.

Deadly energy rained down on the Maximals, pummeling their already weakened forms. Incredibly, Optimus struggled to his feet despite the withering storm, and deployed his shoulder cannons. With grim determination he raised his head and his guns to bear on the Predacons.

Megatron grimaced. "Rampage! Put him down!"

Rumbling with loathsome joy, the bulky Predacon locked his cluster missile launcher onto Primal and fired. The first impact staggered the giant Maximal; the second tore his left arm from his shoulder and sent it spinning as Optimus toppled, narrowly missing Rattrap's prone form.

"Yesssss!" hissed Megatron. "Now... let us end this dance!"

The Predacons swarmed down on them, while Megatron drifted down leisurely through the air, laughing.

"Poor Maximals... you should be more careful when playing with Transwarp cells, yesss! Especially ones I've modified to deliver the crippling effects that you're now suffering from." He landed, and strode forward to Primal's massive form. "Fool! Did you think I would surrender my own survival so easily?"

Optimus blinked, shuddering on the verge of stasis lock. He could see the other Maximals were likewise trying to recover, but there was no time...

Stalling, he looked up at Megatron and asked, "How..."

Sneering, Megatron arrogantly placed a clawed foot on Primal's shoulder while tapping him on the head with his plasma launcher to emphasize his words. "Your clever traitoress was not as clever as she thought, no! I had another cell secreted away in my ship; one which I was saving for exactly this sort of emergency. When I learned that a protoform reversion infection was in progress, I reprogrammed the Transwarp cell which she stole to deliver a massive disruption pulse at any bandwidth. Once she was gone, I used my own cell to stabilize the reversion in my troops; as you can see, they are now completely recovered. Inoculated, if you will." He ground his foot down on Primal, causing the Maximal leader to wince. "It hardly bears observing that the pulse you received... has no restorative effects." The Predacons laughed.

"You... haven't won yet... Megatron," growled Optimus, trying to rise. "We're not... slag... yet!"

Megatron shrugged, smiling. "A temporary condition, I assure you. Tarantulas!"

The Predacon scientist scuttled forward, caressing an evil-looking device in his claws. It ended in a broad drill-head. Megatron glanced down at Primal.

"Before you are extinguished, I believe you have something else of mine to return, as well; the access codes to the Ark!" He stepped back, and Tarantulas leaped up onto Primal's chest, centering the device over his spark chamber. Cruel metal legs folded out of it and bit down into Primal's hide as the drill bit settled into place. Tarantulas looked up, chuckling wickedly.

"Core hacker in place, Megatron. It will suck the secrets out of his very processor!"

"Excellent." Megatron peered down at his rival. "This is how it ends, Optimus Primal. With a bang, and with a whimper! HAH, hahahahahahahah!"

Blackarachnia came to slowly, and took in the situation at a glance. She had ended up at the foot of the base's left sentry tower, almost out of view of the Predacons. Hissing, she slid back out of sight.

"Not good... very not good," she murmured to herself. "Looks like I changed sides just in time to lose!" She risked another glance, saw Tarantulas atop Primal, securing his drilling device. Her eyes narrowed.

"Can't attack... that's suicide... but I can't just let them be destroyed! Unless..." She stared fixedly at the base, as if seeing through the ancient stone. Without hesitation, she rose.

"It's a long shot... but there aren't any cards left in the deck!"

The Predacons formed a broad circle around the Maximals, guns at the ready. Dinobot hunched down over Silverbolt, tapping the Maximal's face with one gleaming claw. Silverbolt blinked and tried to focus.

"Who...?"

Dinobot leaned down closer, grinning. "When Megatron gives the command... your spark is mine." Silverbolt snarled weakly in defiance.

"We... shall see, monster..."

Quickstrike scampered frantically over to Megatron as the core hacker began to drill into Optimus' chest. "Boss! Sugarbot- Ah mean, Blackarachnia's gone!" Megatron whirled snarling.

"Whaaat?!"

"She ain't here! Ah looked all around, an' she ain't with 'em!"

Megatron grimaced. "Blast that treacherous she-spider!" He looked up, eyes flaring crimson. "Rampage! Dinobot! Spread out and find her!" His voice deepened threateningly. "And bring her back!" The two Predacons nodded, and scrambled away. Megatron turned on Tarantulas.

"How long until we have the access codes once more?"

Tarantulas tapped his claws together. "The core hacker will pull out everything it finds, Megatron. We will have to sift through it to retrieve the access codes, and extract them from any encryption they have been sealed in." He chuckled. "I would estimate ten cycles or less. Hehehehahahahahah!"

"Good." He rubbed his hands together. "At long last... triumph!"

"Not so fast, you slag-suckin' saurian!"

Megatron whirled, his eyes burning, fixing on Blackarachnia as she emerged from the shadows.

"YOU!"

"In the Transmetal flesh," she snarled fiercely. "I've got something else that belongs to you, Mega-jerk... but this, you're not going to like!" Reaching behind her, she whipped out the Transmetal II driver, brandishing the strangely pulsing alien device before her. Megatron glared.

"You DARE! Predacons! Destroy her!"

"Let's hope this works..." Closing her eyes, trying to ignore the sudden chaos around her, Blackarachnia lowered her head and opened her spark chamber. Flickering green energy tendrils reached out to the driver, which began pulsating more rapidly, its own reddish glow changing to green, and it began to spin in her clawed hands.

Waspinator leaped forward, raising his weapon. "Zzz, by your command, Megatron!!! Waszzpinator, atttaaaaaack!" He fired rapidly at Blackarachnia's still form, dead on target. But the spinning projectiles didn't hit her; instead, they seemed to dance around her in a wild orbit for a moment before racing straight back at Waspinator.

"Huh?" Waspinator hardly had time to be surprised as his own darts blasted him into fragments, his head spinning rapidly in the air before dropping to the ground with a loud thunk! He blinked.

"Waszzpinator needszz to quit hiszz day job," he complained feebly.

The driver was spinning faster now, as the Predacons converged on Blackarachnia. Suddenly her head flew back, her mouth gaping open, and a shrill and terrifying scream pealed out of her. The driver exploded in a blast of brilliant green light. It filled the entire plain with its ominous glow, flowing like water even into the shadows and recesses of the rocky cliffside.

Tarantulas cowered. "By the PIT!"

The other Predacons were likewise staggered, but they stood their ground. A moment later, the light was gone, and the echoes of Blackarachnia's scream faded. The driver went dark and fell heavily from Blackarachnia's claws. She wavered for a moment, then slumped to the ground beside it.

Megatron was silent for a moment, then laughed broadly. "Hah, hahahahahah! My traitorous protégé's glorious last stand! Full of sound and fury... signifying nothing!"

"I wouldn't say 'nothing', Megatron!"

Megatron whirled, eyes widening. "No... NO!"

The Maximals rose up, eyes flaring brightly, all traces of the reversion gone. Primal snatched up his severed arm, and absentmindedly tore the core hacker from his chest, crushing it to splinters. Rhinox whipped out his chainguns, the weapons spinning even as he brought them to bear. Silverbolt stood proudly on one leg, drawing a pair of wing missiles. Cheetor flexed his gleaming Transmetal claws. Depth Charge raised his energy cannon. Rattrap pounded his fist into his hand.

"Oh, yeah... payback time!"

"Impossible!" Megatron was furious. "Predacons, attack!"

"I think we've had just about enough of you for one day, Megatron!" Primal stalked forward, terrifying in his anger. "Hit 'em with everything you've got, Maximals!"

The battle was joined instantly, and fiercely. The Maximals and their Predacon counterparts leaped and rolled, blasting away grimly at their hated opponents. Silverbolt soared into the air, hurling missile after missile at Dinobot as the skeletal Predacon pressed Rattrap. Turning to fire at Silverbolt, he took his eyes off of Rattrap for a nano-click too long. He felt a pair of light touches, and looked down to see a demolition charge stuck to each side of his torso. He raged.

"GrrrrrrraaAAHHH!!! Detestable rodent!" Then he vanished in flame, bits raining down around his blackened form. Silverbolt nodded to Rattrap with a grin, as they both turned to charge Inferno. Cheetor, in beast mode, ran circles around Quickstrike as the hopping mad Predacon fired blast after blast at him.

"Gol-dang it, hold still, you slippery critter! I wanna blast ya!"

Cheetor grinned ferociously. "Sorry, snake-eyes; that's just not a good enough reason!" Dashing in, he bulldozed the smaller Predacon, sending him flying into the air with a howl. As Quickstrike landed roughly and rolled over to leap to his feet, Cheetor's taloned paw came down on his throat. Quickstrike froze, gulping.

"Whatsa matter?" teased Cheetor, leaning down with a feral grin. "Cat got your tongue?"

Tarantulas scampered out of Optimus' path as he strode toward Megatron, but not fast enough. The giant Maximal glared down at the cringing Predacon.

"Going somewhere?!" Raising his own severed arm like a club, Optimus brought it down with incredible force on Tarantulas, who vainly threw up his arms.

"D'oh, nooo!" The impact hammered the Predacon into the ground, and when Optimus moved on all that could be seen was the top of Tarantulas' head, surrounded by his crushed beast mode legs, like some weird mechanical weed. Optimus bore down on Megatron.

"Let's finish this, Megatron! Right now! No more games!" Megatron snarled hatefully.

"But you're such a good sport, Optimus! And the game is not yet over, no! Rampage!"

Optimus turned to see Rampage holding Blackarachnia in his huge hand, his gatling cannon resting against her head. The monstrous Predacon chuckled.

"Surrender, Primal! Or she goes to join the Matrix! Hoho, hahahahah!"

Primal bared his teeth in fury. "Or I could do... this!" He hurled his arm like a spear, and it whistled through the air to crash into Rampage's shocked face. The Predacon staggered backwards, gurgling with incoherent fury, flinging Blackarachnia aside like a doll. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up to see Optimus loom over him, arm in hand again.

"You think you're scary, Rampage... you haven't seen scary!" Drawing back his arm like a bat, Primal brought it around in a screaming arc that crashed mightily into Rampage and drove him into the air, hurtling him off into the night sky. Rattrap stared.

"Yeesh," he muttered in surprise. "Talk about a foul ball..."

Megatron was beside himself with rage, firing over and over into Primal's back, astonished despite himself that his blasts were having no effect other than to enrage the already furious Maximal. Primal turned as Megatron continued to pound him with plasma blasts.

"Fall, curse your Maximal hide, FALL!"

Optimus' targeting beam lashed out and painted Megatron's chest, shoulder cannons locking on instantly. "You took your best shot, Megatron. Now it's my turn!"

The Predacon commander was staggered by the first impact, and felled by the second. As the brutal pounding continued, he spat through gritted teeth. "No... this is not the way it ends! INFERNO!"

Hearing the call of his master, Inferno soared away from Depth Charge and the others, swooping down over Optimus.

"Coming, Royalty! I'm coming!'

Without hesitation the Predacon warrior unleashed a withering blast of plasma fire into Primal's face, staggering him and driving him back. Megatron dragged himself to his feet, and saw his forces in a shambles. His hands shook with inexpressible fury.

"Predacons! Withdraw! Withdraw!" He rose up into the air, shaking his fist at Optimus as the Maximal commander swatted Inferno down and stomped him, leaving him twitching in the center of a huge footprint.

"The battle may be lost, Primal! But not the war! Victory shall yet be mine! MINE!!!" With a roar of rage, he turned and hurtled away into the night, muttering to himself.

"Oh yesss... victory shall yet be mine." He smiled slowly and viciously as a plan began to form in his mind. "And all it will require is... a small systems upgrade." His fierce laughter thundered over the moonlit forests below.

On the plain outside the Maximal base, it was over. Cheetor was helping an injured Rhinox back to the base. Optimus and Depth Charge watched as the Predacons lurched, hobbled, and crawled away, beaten and humbled. Depth Charge started forward.

"We slag them all now. While they're helpless!" He raised his gun, and Primal stepped in front of him.

"No, we don't, Depth Charge. They're beaten... let them go. They can't hurt us now." Depth Charge snarled.

"That's the kind of thinking that will get us all killed, Primal! Get out of my way!" He shoved past Optimus, drawing down on Inferno as the Predacon crept away in beast mode. Optimus swatted his gun away as he fired, sending the bolt into the night sky. Depth Charge whirled.

"You have completely lost it, Primal! You must really enjoy losing!" He was cut off as Primal seized him and yanked him off the ground.

"No." Primal spoke quietly, but his words were shod in cold iron. "But we will not become them to defeat them." He watched the defeated Predacons retreat as he set Depth Charge down gently. The other Maximal spat.

"You're gonna get us all killed, Primal. I hope you can live with that." Angrily, Depth Charge stalked off toward the base. Optimus looked after him, sighing. Then he jerked.

"Blackarachnia!"

His gaze fell on Silverbolt and Rattrap, crouched over Blackarachnia's battered form. Silverbolt was clutching her to him. Rattrap looked up as Optimus approached.

"Looks like the spider-lady finally paid her share a' the' rent," he grinned. Optimus glanced at him, and knelt by them.

"How is she, Silverbolt?"

In response, Blackarachnia's eyes flickered open, dancing with weak amusement. "Whoa... I hope somebody got the license of the star cruiser that just hit me. I wanna file a report."

Optimus smiled. "That was a dangerous stunt you pulled. How did you know it would work?"

"My beloved has many skills," said Silverbolt proudly.

"Right. That, and a lot of luck," she said with a wink. "I took a chance that that alien gizmo would respond to my spark; looks like it paid off."

"It did. The reversion seems to have stopped. We all owe you our lives, Blackarachnia."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's not start keeping score, okay? I don't want to go through this again any time soon."

"Ehhh, Optimus," said Rattrap, "You're, ah, pretty handy with that arm there, big guy. You want we should maybe fix you up with a spare?"

Optimus laughed. "I think Silverbolt and I will both be a lot happier once all of our parts are back where they belong." He rubbed the hole the core hacker had drilled in his chest with a wince. "As a matter of fact, a visit to the CR chamber is sounding pretty good right now."

"Ladies first," groaned Blackarachnia as she stood up slowly. Silverbolt transformed and she walked along side him, resting her hand on his lupine head as he moved with an odd gait. Optimus and Rattrap followed them.

As they walked, Rattrap paused and scooped something up from the ground: the alien driver. He offered it to Optimus.

"Here, you take it, fearless leader." Optimus accepted it carefully, balancing his severed arm across his shoulders. "It may have saved our skins, but that's one good luck charm I've seen enough of!"

Optimus simply smiled and turned his gaze to the vast, glowing sky above, for a moment looking for answers among the glittering stars. They offered none. He looked down at Rattrap.

"I don't know why you're scared of it, Rattrap." He winked. "It seems... armless enough." Rattrap groaned.

"Optimus. Please." His eyes were imploring. "Leave the jokes... to the professionals?"

They passed through the huge blast doors together. The warm laughter of friends was the last sound to echo across the empty plain beyond the walls of the Maximal base.