Beast Wars Anonymous:

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. I(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

A dark, sooty rain fell heavily from the sky and covered the landscape. There was no water in the tiny drops, only volcanic ash and debris. A constant bass rumble shook the earth around him and Dinobot shot nervous glances at the giant mountain.

The day was far from pleasant.

Overhead, just a glimmer of what would normally have been the afternoon sun appeared for a brief moment, only to be swallowed by lead colored clouds. The area was known to be a seismic zone with lots of volcanic activity and Dinobot growled softly to himself. He could have chosen a better time to come down here and check on the perimeter. Then again, Optimus could have chosen a better time as well. The Maximal leader had decided that watching the land movement in this specific quadrant was important and since there were energon deposits here, maybe even vital for their own survival. If the deposits blew, the seismic forces might rip apart the tectonic plate the Axalon was sitting on.

Rhinox had made this startling discovery only a few weeks ago and as if on cue, two weeks later the volcano had started to wake up. It belched gray clouds into the sky and obscured the sight. Steam and sometimes ash particles filled the air. Airazor, who had been sent here to keep and eye on things, had had great difficulties staying airborne. Hot updrafts, microbursts, ash and toxic gases made it quite impossible to be close to the mountain. The small dust particles clung to everything, covering feathers, fur, and especially the optics hidden behind the organic eye cover; and the microbursts and hot updrafts could shake a flyer so badly that she might lose direction and plummet into the volcano or the mountain side. So Dinobot had been chosen to patrol here. Optimus had made it quite clear that he was not to go anywhere near the volcano, but Dinobot had soon discovered a fascination with this untamed spectacle of nature. Watching the giant mountain suddenly evoked a sensation of being small and unimportant compared to this giant of power. For Dinobot, this was a new feeling and a strange one; one he was following. So he stood on an outcropping of rock and stared at the sloping walls of the mountain that reached into the clouded sky.

If Rhinox was right, the magma would blow soon and with it half the mountain. Hopefully the energon wouldn't be ignited as well.

A low rumble passed through the ground and upset his balance, snapping Dinobot out of his thoughts. He glanced at the mountain again and decided to get to safer grounds, especially since he was due to report in. As he reached ground level he sent a short message to the Axalon and then continued his patrol. The ground shook slightly again and he growled softly. Better leave the area soon; it was getting unstable here. Dinobot was just about to leave when an earthquake hit for real. It wasn't strong, but it was strong enough to throw him to the ground. He heard the sound of crumbling rock and steam rose up around his prone form in large clouds. The ground sagged and triggered an instinctive transformation. His hands dug into the stone as the ground suddenly fell away beneath him and his legs dangled over a new chasm. Dinobot's servos groaned and he tried to get his footing. The continuing quakes didn't make it much easier.

Finally everything quieted down. Dinobot managed to pull himself up and sat there for a second, his energon level high from the experience of sudden fear. He looked around and through the steam and settling dust discovered how profoundly the landscape had changed. The outcropping he had stood on several minutes ago was gone; a chasm was in front of him and part of the mountainside had caved in, opening a hole into the darkness inside. Dinobot was about to dismiss the cave when he suddenly noticed an eerie, pulsing light from inside.

Quite eerie.

He rose to his feet and called his weapons from subspace, then approached the cave. The cave was in fact a rather narrow tunnel, just high enough that he could walk comfortably, and pitch-black dark except for the strange light. Dinobotfelt something crawl over his skin and a tiny internal alarm went off. He frowned. This didn't really feel like an energon overload, but he still transformed, knowing fully well that a stasis lock was not to be preferred over his beast form. Walking ever deeper into the tunnel he wondered what this was. It looked artificial, but it was still just a tunnel. Maybe the quake had opened an overhead hole and the light was diffused and recolored through steam from the magma flowing beneath this whole area.

But greenish blue?

Dinobot shook his head. This was strange and even stranger was the fact that there was no heat. If there was magma beneath him, wouldn't it be warmer here? Then again, he was no scientist and the planet had proven to be quite unusual in its behavior. bHe continued and after some time the light increased. He grew even more careful and then stepped into a large cave. Dinobot stared. He couldn't do anything else. The cave was about five times his height and seemed to stretch endlessly, an effect made possible by the smooth black walls. They curved slightly, glistening in the artificial light and were like mirrors. But the cave was not what gave Dinobot a sudden bad feeling. It was the .... thing.

It was clearly of alien origin: a triangle carved into the wall, colored in blue and green as it shone brightly. Runes covered the immediate area around it and as he looked at them, they seemed to twist and move. Dinobot was unable to get a clear picture of them. And he didn't really want to.

The former Predacon felt a low rumble deep in his chest. He didn't like this. He wasn't easily spooked, but this came close to giving him the creeps. It looked innocent enough but something here was terribly wrong. Dinobot stepped back from the artifact. bThe glow began to intensify. He stopped. bIt glowed still more brightly than before. bHe started his retreat again.

This time it didn't just glow, it pulsed!

Dinobot came to a quick decision and made a run for it.

He never got anywhere.

Light encased him, coming out of seemingly nowhere. It trapped him, froze him, gave him no chance to either scream or voice his protest in any other form. He was lifted up and felt himself shift and transform against his will.

And then the pain came.

It engulfed him, drowned out every other sensation and bathed him in agony. Dinobot's scream echoed in the emptiness and the light pulsed coldly.

:: Specimen acquired ::

:: Examination preparation ::

:: Remove core consciousness ::

:: Send in probes ::

Rhinox was in science heaven. His screens were alive with various data strings, running down with a speed that gave even him slight problems if he wanted to follow the read-outs. Several weeks ago he had stumbled over the tiny seismic quakes shaking the tectonic plate they sat on. The quakes had come in barely perceptible waves and only extremely good sensor equipment had registered them. The epicenter was in the mountain area beyond their position and Rhinox had been immediately curious as to what had caused them. Setting out with most of their geo-therm and movement sensors, he and Cheetor had spent about three days in the area, and in the end they had covered it with their sensor equipment to the hilt. Tilt meters, geo-therm sensors, seismic meters -- everything Rhinox had been able to find in the cargo holds of the Axalon.

As an exploration vessel, the ship held tons of valuable equipment and now he could use it. The mountain was wired. Back at the base he had plugged in the hardware and begun to monitor the area. The seismographs were active and recorded every microquake. Much to his surprise, there were energon deposits deep inside the planet's crust here, deeper than usual. And they sat in what could only be described as a pattern. The energon seemed to be less volatile and he had spent two days only studying the crystals from afar, having this tickling feeling of wanting to go out and dig some up. But with the increasing seismic activities, it might be deadly. Cheetor had offered to 'cat in and nick it', but Optimus Primal had ordered him to stay put and 'listen to him for once'. So Cheetor had stayed.

Rhinox had a whole data base full of read-outs now and had begun evaluation. It produced more unusual data. The scientist had known from the start that the Axalon sat on the same plate as the mountains and that, as this was a rather young planet, the crust moved. The movements were not constant and none of them registered except on their equipment, but they existed. Through the seismic activity, Rhinox knew that the movements had increased, but they had not had the effects he might have predicted. From all the data he had, magma was boiling just beneath the surface of the mountain, likely to erupt, though that was not a definite. Sometimes volcanoes bubbled and belched but never blew. Normally he'd be happy and content as a scientist to have so many sensors planted and the chance to witness further activity, but in this case, with the energon buried there, it might be catastrophic -- and he had no idea how to stop it. There was no way they could seal this volcano. And even if they could, he'd never do it. This was a force of nature, untamed and ready to break if tempted. Sealing off the only exit way it had to break free only meant it would look for another opening. And this might be even worse.

Anyway, Rhinox knew he had to watch closely. It might prove to be vital for them. And he had to take a closer look at the strangely stable energon crystal growth. With all the heat and activity around it, he had expected it to blow soon, but it hadn't. The readings hadn't changed and the crystals still existed. It was the most fascinating discovery yet. If this was stable energon... the possibilities were incalculable...

Suddenly Sentinel gave a soft hum, pulling him out of his thoughts. Rhinox glanced at the map detailing their explored territory and frowned. Something... no, someone! .... was missing and had gone missing in just the area he didn't want to have anyone going missing in. With a grunt he rose from his chair and checked the read-outs. Everything was correct. Sentinel was working flawlessly. Then something else registered: seismic activity. Quite a lot of it in short waves, strong enough to inflict damage but not strong enough to indicate a blow yet. He ran another check and shook his head.

"Oh no," he muttered. Rhinox set out to contact his leader.

Optimus Primal was in his quarters, the terminal connected to the main computer of the Axalon, logging files. Normally he hated it because it was stupid and monotonous work, but after the hectic and frantic days lately, it was a welcome difference. He was an explorer -- and, if required, a soldier, though more or less a reluctant one -- and he had been employed as an explorer, so logging work should be in his blood. He smiled slightly. Well, he'd rather type up a scientific report any day... which reminded him he had to do that as well. Completing his last entry he set the computer on 'process and store' and left the room as it shut down. There was a ton of work to do as a commander here and his team was not exactly what he had thought he would get. Sometimes he wished he had chosen another profession, had not taken the Axalon's command, but then, in those rare moments when something incredible happened, he was glad fate had brought him here.

"Optimus, we have a problem."

Then again, maybe not, he decided with a wry smile. "What is it, Rhinox?" he wanted to know.

"Dinobot's signal disappeared," the large Maximal rumbled. "He was in the volcanic area and I picked up severe seismic disturbances. Afterwards, the signal was present for a short moment, then it disappeared."

Optimus frowned, already on his way to the command center. "Energon disturbance?"

"Not likely. The energon deposit is close to the mountain and Dinobot was rather far away and outside the seismic center." Rhinox sounded slightly worried.

"Hm," Optimus muttered thoughtfully. He stepped onto the bridge and Rhinox called up the map, gesturing at it. He studied the screen where Dinobot's last position was marked, then the current readings, which only spoke of volcanic activity. "Predacons?"

"None sighted. They've been quiet lately."

"Which means they might be up to something." Optimus sighed, hating this. "Okay, who is closest?"

The Axalon's main computer processed the question. "Rattrap and Rogue," it then said.

"All right, get me in contact with those two. We'll let them check it out."

:: Specimen prepared ::

:: Begin examination ::

:: Access memory circuits ::

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. II(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

Scorponok, despite being called dense and stupid by almost every Predacon stranded here -- and every Maximal for that matter -- had a rather brilliant scientific mind. The problem was, it was hidden by a personality likely to get nervous spells and revert to blurted sentences and insecure mutters. Scorponok was a scientist as well as a warrior, and he had developed some interesting and ingenious devices, one of them the CyberBee. But mostly he stood in the shadow of Tarantulas and, since she had joined them, Blackarachnia.

Somehow he didn't mind. It kept Megatron's focus away from his work, though Scorponok sometimes had the distinct feeling that Megatron knew more about what was going on in and around the Predacon ship than anybody thought. The Predacon leader had surprised them enough lately to give Scorponok room for thought. Of course, Megatron was their leader and he knew a lot of the small intrigues here, as well as scientific projects, but some of the knowledge he had displayed had been fearsome.

Currently Scorponok was monitoring a volcano not far away from them. He had looked into the matter of the active mountain of magma because the Predacon base sat on a volcano as well, though this one was stable and unlikely to go up. There was magma beneath them but no pressure had built up. Still, if the mountain not far away blew, it might result in shockwaves of pressure racing along the magma bed and hit their base.

Not good.

Not good at all.

So he had started monitoring.

Scorponok had also discovered that there was increased Maximal activity around the volcanic area. Apparently they were watching nature's spectacle as well. The scientist in Scorponok understood, but the warrior was growing extremely itchy.

Then the first bigger quakes hit. He watched them wreck havoc and logged down their strength and intervals, frowning as he saw how frequent they now came. He finally convinced Waspinator to do some over-head scouting and to his startlement found energon in the area. A lot of it. Deposited oddly and strangely stable. Things began getting highly intriguing from there on and he almost forgot everything else, cooped up in his lab and buried in data. He ignored everyone else's comments and simply kept on working. Maximal presence increased in the area, but they never got too close to the volcano and only seemed to check on it from afar, never venturing anywhere else. They didn't even try to dig up the energon crystals, mainly because they were probably unsafe to unearth with all the seismic activity.

The last Maximal presence Scorponok registered was Dinobot. He ignored the presence, as most of the times, but then a rather large quake turned everything upside down -- including the Maximal. The signature disappeared, which let Scorponok frown, especially when it also didn't turn up again. Had Dinobot been buried? Killed? Or had he retreated and Scorponok had not seen it? Not likely, he decided. If Dinobot had been buried, the scanners should show it because even if he was under tons of rock, the signature would be a beacon. Or had he been killed? Unlikely as well. The signature would not have been cut off so abruptly if the seismic waves had squashed him. It would have faded. And there were no magma streams anywhere close to the surface.

Puzzling about this effect and also the still incredibly stable energon, he didn't hear the approach of a large, purple-colored saurian. "Found something?" a pleasant voice whispered.

Scorponok gave a gasp of startled surprise and nearly dropped his data disk. "Megatron!"

The t-rex grinned a bit.

"I ....I .... the volcano went up a scale concerning activity," he then stuttered- Megatron grinned more.

"And the Maximals were foolish enough to be in the vicinity, yesss."

Scorponok wondered how the Predacon leader had been able to distinguish that from simply looking at the readings. He nodded. "Dinobot was in the area. His signal is gone."

Megatron's eyes gleamed. "The traitor, yesss. So he was killed?"

It sounded like a hypothetical question to Scorponok. Still, he shook his head. "No, I don't think so. He ... simply disappeared." He made a vague gesture.

Megatron now studied the screen. "Disappeared," he muttered to himself. "Fascinating, yesss. And so much stable energon in the area. I think this calls for a closer examination, wouldn't you agree, Scorponok?" The cold, reptilian eyes fixed on the scientist and he nodded automatically. "Who is closest?"

Scorponok logged into the area control computer. "Terrorsaur and Waspinator."

"Send them in."

"Yes, Megatron."

Rattrap was in a rather good mood today and he relished the feeling of being out on patrol and not cooped up inside he Axalon -- with Dinobot. Though his relationship with the former Predacon had changed profoundly in the time they had been on the same team, he was reluctant to let his guard down completely concerning him. He wouldn't even confess openly to anyone -- including himself -- that he considered Dinobot something akin to a friend. He winced inside at the word. Oh,what had become of him?

His eyes fell on his companion for this patrol and he decided to forget about Dinobot and enjoy the view. His current teammate was a reddish brown fox with white paws and almost black ears and tail tip. Her name was Rogue and she was the latest addition to their small band of Maximals. Rattrap had yet to decide where to put her. Rogue was a medic and her warrior skills were mediocre, though she had some mean moves, as he had found out when he had challenged her to a training session. Much to Dinobot's amusement as well.

He snorted slightly. The only positive thing he had been able to gain from this was to find out why Dinobot evaded Rogue. He wasn't afraid of her, he simply ... tried not to be where she was. Rattrap had to grin when he thought about the possibilities .....

Suddenly the intercom beeped and Rogue opened a channel. There were disturbances, but the voice of Optimus Prime was audible.

"Rattrap, Rogue, change your heading to Dinobot's last coordinates," the Maximal leader ordered.

"Why, he got trouble?" Rattrap asked, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"Could be. We lost his signal."

"Oooohh, Dinobrain got lost! Maybe we should wait a bit more so he stays lost!"

Rogue shot him an amused look. Rattrap hated to recall her words concerning his relationship with Dinobot. She hinted at things he didn't like to even ponder for a second. "Will do, Optimus," she affirmed.

"Be careful. It might be Pred activity, though we haven't picked any up yet," Optimus warned them.

"Yeah, right, okay," Rattrap muttered.

Rogue cut the channel and shot him another of her amused looks. "Well?" she asked.

He snorted. "Whatcha waiting for, Foxlady? An invitation?" With that he scurried off. Rogue shook her head with a chuckle and followed him.

He was alone.

Around him was nothing.

Then something stirred the nothingness.

"What are you?" Dinobot demanded.

He floated. The other presence was close by but he couldn't see it. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"

Still no answer.

But a feather light touch.

Something flickered over him.

First it tickled, then it burned slightly, and then the pain hit again.

-- Light ... flashing --

-- Pain .... injury .... madness --

There was a flare and he was suddenly flung forward. Pain lanced through him and he cringed away.

Hot, white light.

A force equaling a nuclear explosion hit.

Dinobot screamed in agony as his molecules seemed to be torn apart. Then everything went dark.

:: Specimen resisting ::

:: Increase energy flow ::

:: Shields breaking ::

Rogue wrinkled her nose as she looked at the landscape around her. Everything looked devastated and covered in black soot. The ash rain had slowed a bit but there was enough of it in the air to make for poor sight and hard breathing. Above them, the mountain belched continuously, the plumes of smoke rising into the sky. It was already late in the afternoon and though the sun should still be visible, it wasn't.

"Huuuh, boy!" Rattrap muttered. "What a nice view." Rogue transformed into her bipedal robot mode and activated her scanners. She had quite sophisticated scanners, which were originally for medical use. But they were very good for field work as well.

"No sign," she said. "But I'm getting some strange readings from over there." She pointed at a dark, narrow entry into the mountain side.

"Goody," Rattrap sighed. "I just love strange readings and dark caves."

Rogue walked over and looked into the black mouth of the cave. She didn't like it either but she was also curious. "Let's take a look."

Rattrap groaned. Rogue was as bad as Optimus when it came to explorations!

They entered the cave and Rattrap switched on infra-red to get a better impression. He didn't like what he saw. The tunnel was long and narrow and winding its way deep into the mountain. After what seemed to be an eternity the tunnel stretched out and became wider... finally ending up in a giant cave. Both Maximals stood there for a second, then Rogue gasped faintly. As if on this cue, the cave filled with light, a greenish blue light that throbbed slowly, pulsing....

"Holy...." Rattrap exclaimed, mouth agape.

Carved into the center of one of the cave's walls was a strange relic, emitting the throbbing light ..... and spread-eagled in front of it was --

"Dinobot!"

Mist rose around him from the ground. Darkness reigned and only dim a light -- a greenish blue light -- illuminated the night, spreading an eerie glow, barely enough to see by. Sounds disturbed the night, strange sounds of nothing he had ever heard.

Dinobot had no idea where he was and somehow everything seemed to be dull, without life, though still dangerous and lethal. He moved carefully through the mist.

"So we meet again," a voice suddenly whispered and he whirled around, weapon in hand. In front of him stood a slender, red and green colored female of ghastly construction. She looked like a mismatch between a crab and a spider.

"FireWalker," he exclaimed. It couldn't be.

The female approached him, smiling broadly, her bug-eyes alight, her mouth showing rows of sharp teeth. For a moment he was too baffled to react at all.

FireWalker used that. She attacked. But instead of aiming for the head or the chest, as he might have expected, she aimed for the legs, kicking hard. He felt her foot connect with his leg and a burning pain shot through his body. Then he heard the splintering of armor when not only his shin protection but also his supports broke. His leg couldn't carry the weight of his body any longer and he fell to the ground. He was puzzled by this all.

FireWalker was dead! He had killed her! And she had never been strong enough to even dent his armor! And why was a mere bruise to his leg enough topple him?

Footsteps echoed through the bewildering landscape of nightmare and reality. Through the colored veils drifting around his optics Dinobot recognized Optimus Primal -- somehow blurred and out of focus. Why was it so hard for him to concentrate? Dinobot tried to warn him, but somehow he couldn't speak. His voice box was frozen.

Dinobot's memory was sketchy concerning what happened then. He thought he could see Optimus' body get hit by hundreds of kicks and blows the Maximal leader couldn't avoid. And that he was pushed -- more thrown -- against a wall by the female Predacon. Dinobot tried to rise, to rush to the side of his leader and help him, but he couldn't.

Your leader,a voice whispered.

Dinobot cried in denial. Driven by the need to help Optimus he started to crawl forward. His left hand brushed over a familiar object lying on the ground. It was more of a reflex that made him close his hand around a gun.

And suddenly he looked into the sightless eyes of Optimus Primal. The body was shattered and torn apart, mutilated.

"Optimus..." he whispered.

He had failed.

Again.

After he had failed to protect Optimus several times before... this time it had cost him his life.

Failure! Failure! Failure!the voice chanted.

Noooo!

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. III(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

"We lost them."

Optimus stared at Rhinox in disbelief. "What?" he exclaimed.

"Their signals have disappeared, just like Dinobot's."

The Maximal leader leaned over Rhinox' shoulder and studied the screen. "Any explanation? Seismic activities? Energon? Predacons?"

Rhinox shook his head. "None of the above. As far as I can determine, they walked into the mountain and suddenly the signals were gone."

"Into the mountain?" Cheetor piped up. "A cave?"

"Possible. The area is constantly changing because of the activity of the volcano close by. My instruments show a rise in the pressure under the rock and it's only a matter of time till it blows for real." Rhinox gestured at the monitor and Optimus nodded, recognizing the pattern.

"If it's a cave, why won't the signal penetrate?" he then asked.

"I wish I knew, Optimus," Rhinox sighed. "I have no explanation for it. The energon deposits are stable -- too stable for my liking -- and I've yet to register anything out of the ordinary."

"I'm going there," Optimus decided.

"Optimus, no!" Rhinox immediately interrupted. "It's getting dark and the area is dangerous!"

"One more reason to go now." The Maximal leader walked over to the exit elevator.

"Let me come along!" Cheetor called after him.

"No, you stay here. Put Airazor on stand-by in case I run into trouble!" he ordered.

"Optimus, I object....!"

"Objection noted, Rhinox. Keep in touch." With that Optimus lowered the elevator and a few seconds later they heard the tell-tale roar of his thrusters. Rhinox shook his head with a low rumble.

"And they say I'm impulsive," Cheetor muttered.

Rhinox looked up and smiled wryly. "Well, better do what Optimus said. Get Airazor on the com and tell her to stand by."

"Will do."

Rhinox leaned back in his chair as Cheetor went over to the communications console to contact their other flier. His eyes were drawn once again to the area in question. Something bothered him about it all. His instruments told him exactly what was going on. The tilt meters registered every movement the mountain made and it had moved quite a lot lately. The angle of the ground had changed and the laser receptors monitored the size of the mountain. The movement of magma inside was considerable and at a temperature of two thousand degrees it was nothing to feel lightly about. Swarms of microquakes erupted from under the belching behemoth and the deformations of the earth's crust meant that the magma was just below the surface -- ready to erupt. Most of the quakes detected lately though had registered as stronger.

And still the energon didn't react.

Rhinox rumbled something and punched up more data. The energon deposits sat outside the volcano and close to where all signals had disappeared. They were not radiating strong enough to interrupt their sensor equipment like this and though the crystals were concentrated in one spot, they had yet to do anything else. Rhinox had studied the energon on the planet. It was likely to have volatile reactions to heat, extreme quakes, or explosions nearby. All of which were happening here, but the energon ignored it. "What is going on here?" he sighed.

Cheetor came back from his short conversation with Airazor, looking at the various read-outs. He had no idea about seismographs, tilt meters, strain gauges and all that technical stuff. He only knew that something weird was going on and he didn't like it. Optimus was broadcasting a strong signal as he rushed toward the area in question. Somehow Cheetor had a queasy feeling about this all. "Could it be the aliens?" he asked quietly.

Rhinox looked at him, optics hooded. "I hope not."

:: New specimens detected ::

:: Scanning ::

Rogue had seen a lot in her time as a medic in the war, though she had mostly done psychosis and trauma consultation field work. But what she now saw was by far the worst. Dinobot hung limply in what seemed to be an energy field coming from the relic in the wall, his optics dark and unresponsive. He was in his robot form and every piece of artificial skin he had had was missing. The 'blood' that nourished the skin smeared his metal body and some of it had pooled on the ground below. The 'bones' were missing as well, leaving him in his normal appearance without the beast alterations. But whoever or whatever had done this, had not stopped there. The raptor ribcage had been torn off so violently that it had left deep marks in the silver blue skin, opening circuits and disconnecting them.

Rattrap made a small, choking noise. He was staring at his fellow Maximal in horror and undisguised fear.

"We have to get him down from there," Rogue decided and approached the unconscious Dinobot, ignoring the relic -- for now.

"Wow, Red, wait!" Rattrap called and held her back. "You have no idea whatsoever what this thing is! What if it catches you as well?"

She smiled faintly. "Then you have to get help."

The small Maximal shook his head. "No way, lady, this is a two-bot gig. We're in together, we leave together."

Rogue looked at the imprisoned Dinobot who had not moved or even twitched yet. "I won't leave him here."

"Neither will I," Rattrap told her seriously, "But gettin' caught yerself won't help."

Rogue nodded and freed herself from Rattrap's grip, slowly walking over to the ornamented wall. The runes on the wall seemed to slither out of proportion, never staying the same so she might read them. And amid them all was the relic.

A triangle, she saw; with what had to be an eye in the middle. The eye had been carved with incredible attention to detail, looking almost real, as though it might blink any minute and stare at her. Rogue tore her eyes away from it. "Have you ever seen something similar before?" she asked.

Rattrap gave the wall an uneasy look. "Yeah, in a way. Stripes found this floatin' island with a weird tower. Had some runes an' markings all over the place as well, but none looked like these wrigglers."

"And the eye?"

Rattrap nodded. "And the eye symbol as well. Wasn't a pleasant experience. These things are dangerous and I hate to be so close to one!" He shuddered theatrically.

The female Maximal nodded. She felt the same though this was her first encounter with the mysterious aliens' technology. Her optics were drawn to Dinobot, still hanging there, and she bit her lip. "We should contact Optimus," she decided.

"No go, sister. Already tried. Disturbances here are incredible." Rattrap shook his head. "Though the energon levels are bearable."

Rogue had noticed that as well. Her systems were not suffering from slow overload and she had wondered why. It seemed that this cave was shielded.

Suddenly the light pulsed strongly and a shudder passed through Dinobot. The other two Maximals flinched, moving instinctively away from the field. Dinobot's body was wracked by tremors and then he suddenly and unceremoniously crashed to the ground.

Rattrap was stunned for a moment, just standing there with his weapon in hand, but Rogue let her medic's instincts take over. She rushed to the freed robot's side and switched on her scanners. The readings were far from pleasant. "Great Cybertron," she muttered.

Rattrap approached cautiously, keeping an eye on the relic, which had shut down it seemed, though the weird light stayed. "How is he?" he wanted to know.

"Not good," the fox muttered, "Not good at all. He lost all his skin fluids along with the skin, his transformation circuits have been completely mangled, 80% of his power cells are destroyed and his blocking chip is gone."

Rattrap stared at her, then at Dinobot, who lay on the sandy cave floor, unresponsive -- as though he were already dead. Rattrap felt something inside of him twist. He and Dinobot were constantly at each other's throats and for Rattrap it was always great fun. It was also a way to pass boring days or to take his mind off things, especially that they were effectively trapped on this weird world. He knew Dinobot enjoyed the verbal fights as well or he wouldn't participate as 'peacefully' as he did. The former Predacon was a skilled warrior, a fighting machine. If he wanted to, he could turn Rattrap's insides out, and he had had ample opportunity to do it in the past. He had never acted though. And now he was dying.

Rattrap shivered a bit. As much as he liked to announce how he hated Dinobot's guts, he didn't want to see him die. Not here. Not like this.

"We have to get him back to the Axalon," Rogue went on. "The CR chamber is his only chance. I'll try and stabilize him, but it won't hold forever."

"How do you want to get the big dinosaur back to the ships?" Rattrap asked, sounding incredulous. Rogue was taller than him -- about Optimus Primal's height -- but even between the two of them, they couldn't pull Dinobot back. It would take days!

"Get help," the medic said, already setting to work.

He stared at her. "And leave ya here?"

"Yes."

"No way, Red. You are not staying in here with this... thing!"

"Rattrap, it's his only chance," she said reasonably. "We can't contact the base, we can't move him and we have very little time to get him to a CR chamber. Do you want to stay here and baby-sit or do you want to be the one running for help?"

Rattrap looked at the mutilated, bloodied form and shuddered. She was right, he knew; he didn't have the necessary medical expertise. And he didn't want to be cooped up in here any longer than necessary, but he also hated to think of what might happen to her -- in the same cave with this alien weapon. It could do to her what it had done to Dinobot ......

"All right," he finally grumbled.

Rogue smiled. "Thank you."

He sheathed his weapon. "Just be careful."

"You know I will."

With that he left, feeling very uneasy about it all.

Terrorsaur looked glumly down, studying the ground rushing past beneath him with infrared vision. There was nothing down there. Everything was dead, the trees withered and gray, the grass brittle. No wildlife was visible anywhere. Terrorsaur's stomach gave a growl and he sighed. Either he had to recharge or hunt. He preferred hunting but there was nothing here; nothing at all. And to top it all, it was dark. The afternoon sun, which should have been low in the sky, was missing. Volcanic ash hung in the air and obscured everything, leaving it in twilight. The ash clung to his wing membranes and he knew he needed a few rounds in the CR chamber to get the skin repaired.

Something buzzed at his side and he wearily looked at his partner. Waspinator looked curiously at everything, like a big child, though it was dangerous to underestimate the slightly deranged flyer. He was a dangerous fighter, but the craziness was a constant partner of Waspinator and it sometimes drove Terrorsaur crazy as well. "Wazzpinator see no Maximalzzz," the large wasp now said.

Terrorsaur gave a low mutter. He didn't either. He wondered what they were doing here. Scorponok had told them that Megatron wanted a patrol here, looking for Maximal activity, but all the activity he had seen had come from the volcano not far ahead. Terrorsaur hated the volcano. Coming too close upset his balance because of the sudden hot air bursts and the toxic gases ate at his skin. "There are probably none here!" he spat. "Megatron sent us on a wild goose chase."

Waspinator flew erratically around him, humming to himself. Suddenly he exclaimed, "Maxiiiimal!"

Terrorsaur looked down and his eyes narrowed. Yes, there was something down there and as he zoomed in he identified the moving furry being as a rat. A large rat.

A smile passed over Terrorsaur's lips.

Rattrap.

>Alone.

"I'll take care of the rat," he told Waspinator, "You check out the vicinity! He wasn't here alone, I'm sure of that!"

Waspinator nodded eagerly and soared off, aiming for the area Rattrap had emerged from.

Optimus had put his thrusters on full power and was racing through the dusk as fast as he possibly could. His scanners were on full, infrared vision on, and his mind was busy contemplating what might be going on. Signals didn't just disappear like that. Something had happened to Dinobot and now it had happened to Rogue and Rattrap as well.

The aliens?

The thought came up unbidden and he shivered. He had had his encounters with the mysterious aliens who had apparently claimed this planet as their own, changing it to their plans. First there had been the probe, then the floating island. Both had been dangerous and nearly lethal, though the probe had not done anything to his Maximals. It had simply taken him apart, scanned him and then released him when Rhinox had triggered it. Optimus still wondered whether it had really reacted to Rhinox' device or simply decided it was time to give its victim back his freedom. They might never find out. The island had been full of opportunity but it had been destroyed. Optimus had lead a team to where the main part of the island had crashed and they had explored the debris. Strangely enough, there had been no trace of the alien tower. Optimus didn't believe it had been completely obliterated and he also didn't think that the Predacons had been there before them, but where was the debris? They had never found an answer.

Had something else popped up now?

And if yes, was is as dangerous as the island or as neutral as the probe?

Optimus shoved those thoughts aside and checked his position. He'd be in the target area soon. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. IV(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

He was alone again.

The nothingness around him flowed past, but suddenly there was a light. It was greenish blue and it made him shudder in memory. It was the same eerie light from the cave. The one with the relic.

Fear lanced through him.

"Who are you?" he shouted.

No answer. Just the feather-light touch again. Something was with him here and he hated it. The touch was light but possessive .... inquiring ... curious.... able to inflict pain and agony. It had put him through a hell of pain the time he had been here, assaulting him with nightmarish settings.... Why?

Dinobot gasped in surprise as an icy fist seemed to slam into his chest, wrenching his insides out. The fist spread into tentacles, invading his mind, tearing it apart.

"What do you want?" he screamed in pain.

Searching.

Questioning,

He groaned.

The former Predacon gasped again and his optics flickered badly.

Digging deeper.

Into his mind.

"No," he moaned in protest.

Whispers surrounded him and the entity dug even deeper, removing every layer of protection around his memory banks and extracting all the information it needed.

Events from his past rushed by, some lingering longer and confronting him with things long shoved into dark corners of his mind.

He fell into darkness again, but it was far from oblivion.

It was memories and pain.

It was dark outside. Rattrap briefly looked up into the sky. It was pitch black and he had no idea whether it was normal darkness or simply the volcanic ash. He shivered. Close by the mountain rumbled and quakes shook the ground. Rattrap stopped. "Whooo, fun," he muttered. Close by, the ground cracked a bit and steam hissed out of the fissure. Rattrap decided to get the hell out of here now! He had to get in contact with Optimus and for that he had to get away from the cave with the relic.

Thinking about the relic brought back the sharp reminder that Rogue and Dinobot were alone with that thing, and it had already skinned Dinobot alive! He didn't want to imagine what else the former Predacon had been put through.

Rattrap ran down the side of the rock face and then made for a distance, all the time trying to get an open channel. Without luck. He cursed under his breath and kept on trying.

Suddenly there was a whoosh of air. "Terrorsaur, terrorize!"

"Oh, no," the small Maximal muttered. "Just what I needed."

Low rumbles could be heard and it was most likely the still bubbling and belching volcano. Magma boiled beneath the surface not far away and Rogue's sensitive equipment was registering every tiny shockwave. The carbon dioxide levels around her were rising and though she didn't need oxygen to function, her organic skin did and it might die of oxygen deprivation if she stayed here too long. It wasn't a life threatening condition if her skin died -- it could be replaced -- but if she ventured outside the cave, which apparently protected them, she'd short out soon. The volcano was far enough away that she wouldn't get hit by the outbreak -- and it would happen soon -- but the whole area was seismic and she didn't want to be here when it finally happened.

She turned down her sensitivity and concentrated on her patient. She had done what she could to stabilize Dinobot for now, but he needed more help soon -- and if Rattrap didn't get back with help and the necessary equipment, she had to improvise.

Having some time to inspect the cave now, she looked around. The cave was several times the size of the Axalon's main cargo deck and also several times its height. The walls appeared very smooth and completely black. Rogue touched one of the walls and almost flinched back. The walls were warm! She pressed her palm against the wall and activated her sensors. She took readings and puzzled about them. She'd have to evaluate them later, though this first reading told her more than she wanted to know. The walls were not warmed by the magma streams in the area and there was no heat source as such. They were simply warm. Rogue went over to the wall with the runes and tried to fix one of them. It was impossible. They evaded every scan she had, so she concentrated on the relic.

She took readings of its size, noted the fine details and also registered how the glow had dimmed. The eye stared back at her, unblinking, dead. And yet still managing to look so frighteningly alive. She shivered.

The medic studied the whole cave, and took a minute scan it all again. Then she returned to Dinobot's side, checking him. He was getting worse. She and Dinobot had never been friends, but she felt for every patient she had and it wrenched her fuel pump to see him like this. Thinking about it, Dinobot had avoided her from day one and he had never been anything but outright hostile when they were paired together. Rattrap had jovially told her that 'that's just ol Chopperface', but she knew there was more behind it than she being new and he being a Predacon. She had no prejudice concerning Predacons and he knew of her work.

And maybe that was the problem.

Rogue had encountered a lot of prejudice concerning her profession in the past and everyone who didn't know what a trained psychologist really did thought she was constantly examining people. She wasn't. If she would, she'd suffer from an overload soon. All the others treated her normally, each in his or her own way, but Dinobot couldn't get used to her.

Damn,she thought darkly as the levels sank further. She'd have to do an emergency surgery to restore the severely damaged power cells. Rogue sighed deeply. It would be tricky and it would involve transplanting parts from her own body. Very tricky. And if Rattrap didn't get here soon, she'd have to do it.

Very soon.

:: Specimen scanned ::

:: Filing scans ::

:: End examination ::

Cold eyes regarded him. Scanners took apart his body. His mind was raped of its knowledge.

Still searching.

Ever deeper.

Dinobot tried to shut them all out, but there was no way he could evade the questioning tentacles, the curious eyes that were so cold and still kind of compassionate.

"Who are you?"

The scanning continued.

He got a glimpse of something vast and alien and it made him shudder. Then his mind seemed to explode.

And suddenly the scans stopped.

He whimpered and collapsed, curling into a ball. He was in pain, his mind open and vulnerable, his memories open to whoever claimed them.

"Why?" he whispered.

There was no answer.

Rattrap sat behind a boulder, cursing softly to himself, sometimes loosing a shot in the general direction of Terrorsaur, who was pounding his cover with laser fire. Rocky shrapnel sprayed over him and the wicked laughter of his attacker floated through the dusk. Another tremor shook the ground and Rattrap clenched his teeth. Not far away from him, the volcano belched and Rattrap had the distinct impression he should get out of here soon!

"Come out and fight, Maximal coward!" Terrorsaur screamed and pelted the rock.

"Coward, huh?" Rattrap aimed and gave off three shots, which came close to scorching Terrorsaur's wing and one even hit his shoulder. The Predacon flyer was thrown back a bit but found his balance again too soon. Rattrap ran for a new cover, laser blasts following him. Another tremor passed through the ground and he stumbled. Steam shot out of a newly opened fissure and obscured his vision, simultaneously also hiding him from Terrorsaur.

The Predacon swooped in lower to acquire his target. Rattrap landed a good blast, but Terrorsaur was not so easy to get rid of. His next shot, this time one of his missiles, hit the Maximal in the chest and slammed him back against the rock wall. Rattrap gave an 'ouff' and slipped down the wall onto the ground. His chest circuits hurt and the skin was badly scorched.

"Time to end this game," Terrorsaur said in satisfaction.

"Quite right," another voice said behind him. Terrorsaur whirled around and received a blow full in the chest by Optimus Primal. He was thrown back and crashed down. Optimus walked over to where Rattrap was trying to get to his feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Rattrap leaned against the boulder and dusted himself off, wincing a bit. The missile had hurt him quite a bit.

"But not much longer," a pleasant voice said.

Optimus turned and his energon pump did a little jump. "Megatron!" he whispered.

The large t-rex smiled amiably. Inferno and Blackarachnia were with him, both now transforming and pointing their weapons at them.

"Tell me we have back-up," Rattrap hissed.

Optimus gave him a rueful smile and the smaller Maximal stared. "That's just prime!" he moaned.

Rogue removed the power cell, gingerly holding it between thumb and forefinger, then closed the open connection in her own body. Her systems kicked back in and then came up with a failure -- well, several of them. She ignored them and shut down her diagnostics for the time being. She knew what was missing and/or malfunctioning. She didn't need to be reminded. Closing her chest cover she smoothed her fur and then proceeded to continue her operation on Dinobot. She carefully cleaned and restored broken circuits and wires, then implanted the power cell. Dinobot's systems went on-line and started running, though it was a low-power operation. His last twenty percent were almost not enough to boot the power cell and get it operational as it should be. Then the readings climbed and he went to twenty-five then thirty percent. Rogue ran a complete medical check on him and sighed. Not much better than before. He needed more than one donated cell, but at least he now had a better chance of survival.

The medic sat back and looked at her patient. He looked dreadful and she decided she'd at least start cleaning him up a bit. It gave her something to do and took her mind off the eye on the wall. She hated to be in this cave -- alone. As she began the clean-up she continued to check the energon levels on Dinobot.

Dinobot's arm jerked up and grabbed her hand, almost crushing it. She yelped in surprise and jumped back, though his hold on her made a retreat impossible.

Dinobot's hand went limp and a shudder went through him. A moan could be heard, very faint, almost non-existent.

"Dinobot?" Rogue asked.

His optics flickered, then flared once, bright red and filled with pain, then dulled considerably. A rasping noise passed his lips.

"Dinobot, it's Rogue."

He gave a moan of denial and suddenly jerked up. Rogue was knocked over, stunned by the explosion of movement. She got to her feet. Dinobot was flinching away from her, his optics reflecting a terror than terrified her as well. Then they turned the green of a charging laser and she yelled in surprise as he missed her by an inch. "Dinobot! No, stop!"

He choked out a cry and scrambled away. She had never seen such absolute, deeply rooted fear. He didn't see her, Rogue realized, he lived in a nightmare. And then Dinobot went limp again, breaking down with a moan, twitching, his circuits strained and the power cells dangerously low again. Rogue ran over to him, scanners on full.

Dinobot had curled up and flinched at her touch -- as if it hurt him. She registered increased cranial unit activity, to a point where she was afraid he'd short circuit himself. He was indeed locked in a nightmare -- one repeating itself over and over again. "It's okay," she soothed. "I'm here."

It didn't register with him. He was under too deep. Finally he quieted down, though he didn't relax. Rogue sat back and sighed, shaking her head. Her optics were drawn over to the relic. What had this thing done to Dinobot? And how could she undo it?

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. V(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

Airazor had closed in on the target area, still on stand-by, looking for any suspicious movements. All she saw right now was the threatening cone of the volcano in the distance and thinking back to a few days ago when she had flown reconnaissance for Rhinox around it, she shivered a bit. Battling an enemy like the Predacons was one thing, but going up against the untamed forces of nature was something completely different. Dinobot had gone missing inside the seismic area and Rattrap and Rogue had disappeared as well. Now Optimus was on his way to investigate and Airazor had to agree with Rhinox that he should not have gone alone. But that was just Optimus. She smiled a bit.

Suddenly something caught her eye. She zoomed in on the quadrant and gasped. "Predacons!" Airazor counted three of the enemy closing in fast on where Optimus was headed as well and she tried to get in contact with the Maximal leader. To her utter dismay, the line was blocked. She hailed the Axalon and immediately got Rhinox on the com. Strange.....

"We've got trouble here," she told him. "I can't raise Optimus and three Preds are closing in on him."

She almost felt Rhinox suppress a string of curses. "Cheetor is on his way. Watch them, but don't engage actively!"

Airazor affirmed and continued watching. But things soon got hot and she had no other choice.

She engaged.

Waspinator had scanned the area where Rattrap had come from, carefully avoiding the steaming cracks and the volcano as such, but it was getting more and more difficult to see anything from up in the air. Ash particles blocked his view and he finally decided to land. Transforming, he touched down. His scanners were working overtime and he looked nervously at the mountain just in front of him, glowing and steaming in the approaching darkness. He didn't like the volcano. It was too volatile right now and when he looked closely, he could see glowing fissures in the ground. Magma was coming to the surface.

The flyer looked for any traces of Maximals. There were no visible tracks, but a gut feeling told him something was wrong here. He had walked for a time, dodging cracks and wishing the tremors would stop when he discovered the cave, an eerie light stealing out of its mouth.

"Uuuhh, Wazzzpinator no like," he muttered. But he had his orders: search for Maximals and maybe the others were in there where the light was. He approached the cave, nervously clicking his mandibles. Above him, the volcano continued to send dark clouds into the night sky, obscuring the stars, and the quakes strengthened.

Terrorsaur had crashed down close to where Waspinator had walked into the cave and by pure coincidence saw the narrow entrance as well. Intrigued by the strange light he approached. Several earthquakes gave him a hard time though. The ground split beneath him and he was enveloped in steam erupting from beneath. Terrorsaur coughed and stumbled, then launched himself into the air and flew over to the entrance.

Both sides were locked in battle and Optimus ducked quickly as Megatron's blast chopped off a piece of the rocky shelter and sprayed it on him. "We are getting nowhere with this!" he growled angrily. Rattrap had relayed to him in brief words what had happened, how they had found the cave, discovered Dinobot and how Rogue had decided Rattrap should get help while she tended to Dinobot. Optimus had winced at the description of the wounds and the relic, putting two and two together and coming up an a dangerous artifact in a cave where Rogue was trapped with Dinobot. Well, not exactly trapped, but he also knew she wouldn't leave him. Her medic's instincts were too strong. She had once nearly been shot up while trying to save Cheetor, who had been injured so badly he would not have made it back if not for her help. She would stay and tend to Dinobot -- whatever the cost.

Optimus sighed and fired at Megatron, who lost two of his missile at his position in turn. Optimus flung himself down as the rock shelter was nearly pulverized and then pounded the Predacon with some of his own fire, driving him back.

"Man!" Rattrap cried as he dove for cover as well. "I've had enough of this!"

Inferno laughed madly. Optimus was too busy with Megatron to help. Airazor swooped down and attacked Inferno, and between the two of them, they finally gained the advantage and pounded Inferno. The large Predacon fought back with his flame thrower and gun, but in the end he was blown back by a combined shot, breaking down and staying down. Rattrap grinned in triumph.

Further away, Cheetor had engaged Blackarachnia and had found out that the spider was not so easily defeated. A stray bullet from her machine gun legs had even punctured his skin and he was experiencing difficulties moving his right arm. "Time to say goodbye, pussy cat!" Blackarachnia chuckled.

Cheetor growled and attacked despite his weakness. She greeted him with a kick in the chest and he flew back. Another kick to his head left him staggering and a third kick brought him down on his knees. "Well, well, well," she said and walked over to the dazed Maximal, "What have we here?" Another kick. Cheetor keeled over, groaning a bit. Blackarachnia grabbed him by the throat and hauled him to his feet. She smiled triumphantly as he glared back. "Bye, bye, kitty cat! -- ouff!"

Cheetor dropped as she released him and coughed, crawling away, his left hand hurting. The armor around her stomach area was hard and even though he had channeled all energy into the muscle-cables of his left arm, he had nearly shattered his hand. Blackarachnia stumbled, one claw grabbing her bruised stomach. "You'll pay for this!" she hissed.

"Not today, sister!" Airazor's darts hit the female Predacon and she gave a furious scream as she fell forward. Sparks errupted from her punctured back. Airazor landed beside Cheetor, who staggered to his feet, looking as dazed and bruised as Blacarachnia. "You all right?" she asked.

"I will be," he managed. At that moment the ground shook again and Cheetor almost fell against Airazor. The volcano belched and grumbled and more fissures appeared, steam billowing up and obscuring their vision.

"I don't like this!" Airazor breathed.

"Huh. Guess who else?" Cheetor muttered. His optics were drawn to the cone. Magma was bubbling beneath the thin crust and when it blew.... he shuddered. More tremors passed through the ground, growing progressively stronger. "Time to bail out!"

"We have to get to Rogue and Dinobot!" Airazor told him. "They are in a cave somewhere! Optimus and Rattrap are occupying Megatron. We have to get to them."

"You got it! But how?"

Airazor transformed and hovered above him. "Rattrap knows where the cave is. You give Optimus a hand, Rattrap and I can get the others."

"Roger that." Cheetor transformed and headed over to where Megatron was giving the other two Maximals a hard time. He radioed Rattrap and told him they'd switch places. Optimus only nodded in agreement as Rattrap shot him a questioning look. "Go!" he told the smaller Maximal.

Rattrap nodded, transformed and ran off. Cheetor joined Optimus and together they tried to keep Megatron occupied long enough for Rogue and Dinobot to get out of the cave and to safety. Around them, the landscape was rattled and shaken by the ever-strengthening quakes.

The narrow, winding tunnel finally ended in a giant, black cave, obviously the source of the wavering and eerie light that had accompanied him through the tunnel. Waspinator slowed down, weapon ready -- and froze.

"Fox-bot!" Waspinator stared at the slender, dark red Maximal standing protectively in front of a severely damaged Dinobot. Dinobot was no threat at all. His body was torn and mutilated, his skin missing, part of his circuits underneath the metal skin visible. But then there was Rogue. He was stopped dead in his tracks, body and mind, only able to continue staring at her. He couldn't do anything else for a full two seconds. Then his stinger gun fell to his side. "You here?" he whispered.

Rogue looked at him warily, something that hurt him a bit. "Are you alone?"

He nodded. "Terrorsaur hunting for other Maximal. Waspinator look for more Maximalzzz."

"You found more."

He hesitated. "Yezzz," he finally said.

"You have to either shoot me or lie to Terrorsaur. You know he'll come here anyway to check on what you tell him."

Waspinator looked terrified of those decisions. "Waspinator not want to hurt Fox-bot. Fox-bot friend."

Rogue smiled gently. "Yes, we are friends, but you are also a Predacon, Waspinator. If you don't kill me, they will eventually find out about our friendship. It will have terrible consequences for you."

"Reprogram," he muttered.

"If you are lucky."

The flier flinched. "Not kill you," he then decided.

Rogue walked slowly over to him and touched his forearm. He looked into her understanding green optics. "You are my friend, Waspinator," she said carefully. "We've known each other since the war and we've always been on different sides. If you act against your faction's rules, it will get you killed. I'd hate to see that."

"Not kill!"

"It might be your only chance."

Waspinator gave a soft moan. He was torn between his Predacon oath as a warrior and a deep friendship to the one he was now facing. He would have sooner shot at Megatron than at her, but if he didn't act now, everything might be lost. The other Predacons would find out about his lingering friendly feelings toward a Maximal and kill her. Perhaps they would kill him as well. He buzzed in emotional turmoil.

Rogue walked back to her wounded friend, kneeling down and checking him for life signs. Postponing his decision, Waspinator followed her and studied Dinobot's wounds. He frowned as he once again noted the missing skin. There were no skin pieces lying anywhere in the dark, strange cave and he wondered what had happened. Then his optics fell on the rune-covered wall -- and widened. His mind flashed violently back to the floating island and how he had barely come out of the experience alive.

The tower.

The strange energies.

Pain.

Someone touched his arm and shook him gently. He looked at Rogue.

"What's wrong?"

"Bad plazzze," he buzzed.

She looked at the symbols. "I know. It did that to Dinobot," she nodded at the wounds, "And I have the strangest feelings being here."

"Bad," he repeated.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" He nodded. Rogue tilted her head. "Can you tell me about it?"

Waspinator shot her a pained look. He hated to remember the island.

"Please?"

And he told her. Slowly, interrupted by agitated buzzing and pacing. Rogue watched him, noted his body language and the fear audible in his voice, then studied the symbols. They still swirled, but they were a bit less vague now.

A weapon. A defense system. A mystery. This strange relic was all in one, as it seemed. It had nearly killed Dinobot, but it also kept them safe from energon overload, and she had yet to discover the true nature of it. "Not like," Waspinator muttered, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Me neither, my friend. It's dangerous, but it also keeps my patient alive for now. It is responsible for his current condition but also protects his body from energon damage. I'd like nothing more than to get out of here, but I won't leave him."

Waspinator shot her an unreadable look. "Sometimes friendship dangerouzzz," he then said slowly.

She answered the strange look with one of her own, smiling a bit. "But most of the time it's worth it."

And then Terrorsaur stepped out of the tunnel and into the relic cave. Waspinator made his decision in a split second. He had to keep Rogue safe. He had to keep their secret. He had to make sure he wouldn't be scrapped by Megatron because if the Predacon leader ever found out about this very special relationship, he'd simply tear him apart -- or worse: reprogram him. And Waspinator knew he could not ever betray the Predacons and turn over to the Maximals. He was a Predacon. Rogue was a Maximal. They were enemies here, even though they were friends.

He raised the stinger weapon again and pulled the trigger.

Something inside him twisted in absolute pain down to his very core as Rogue was thrown back and connected hard with the wall behind her. Circuits sparked and then she collapsed, the shoulder wound leaking fluids. Waspinator stared at her and had he had a more open facial structure, he would have done so anguished optics. But, thankfully, he wasn't capable of such expressions.

"More Maximals?" Terrorsaur asked brightly. His optics fell on the dying Dinobot and the now damaged Rogue. "Not much longer as it seems!"

Waspinator felt like tearing him apart. "Maximalzzz dead," he reported dutifully.

Terrorsaur went over to Dinobot and kicked him. The large Maximal didn't respond. Then the ground shook hard and both nearly lost their balance. "Let's report back to Megatron," Terrorsaur decided with maniacal glee. "This is definitely good news. Two down and only a few more battered ones to go."

Waspinator followed him as he left the cave, shooting pained looks back at Rogue. Around him, the cave walls were cracking and the light wavered. Rock dust drizzled down on the prone form.

What had he done?

Rhinox took part in what was happening, though only from his position in front of the computer monitors. But they told him enough....maybe too much. The seismometers were going haywire and data scrolled down the screens. "Oh, no," he muttered to himself. "Harmonic tremors ..... eruption tremors.... The magma's moving..."

He keyed in several command and brought up a three-D projection of the volcano. Angry red lines crossed through the cone, but the worst was a rising level of magma in its middle. His sensors registered high steam pressure which was not vented through small belches but kept on building.

And then an alarm went off. "Slag!" Rhinox exclaimed.

More alarms sounded.

The energon was suddenly going unstable!

He punched the com console to open a line but it was impossible. Static greeted him. Rhinox stared helplessly at his read-outs. Everything had just gone critical and there was no way to warn Optimus....

:: Energon overload ::

:: Save data ::

:: Begin shut down procedures ::

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. VI(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

The ground shook hard and rock pillars collapsed. Optimus was thrown to the ground. Megatron had his own difficulties and seemed to realize that the area was quickly turning into a danger zone.

"Predacons, retreat!" he shouted as a cascade of rocks rushed down the mountainside, some of the large boulders nearly hitting him.

"I think he got a really good idea there!" Cheetor gasped, half-kneeling on the ground.

Optimus looked at the volcano's cone. A dark gray plume boiled up out of it and into the sky. No more venting steam, he realized. This mountain was now blowing ash and toxic gases in heaps and the erruption could not be far off. He tried to contact Airazor or Rattrap, but the interferences made it impossible. And then something blew in the distance. Optimus flinched and stared at the fiery display, recognizing it. "Energon!" he whispered.

"It's going up!" Cheetor exclaimed. "But it was so stable!"

"Not any longer!" Optimus shouted over another explosion. "We have to find the others and bail out!"

The earthquakes were now coming hard on top of each other and the world turned mad.

Terrorsaur had instantly taken to the sky, fighting off volcanic ash and battling hot updrafts, closely followed by Waspinator. Neither of the Predacons saw the two Maximals racing toward the cave's enteric. Airazor was the first inside, mainly because she was not hampered by strong quakes upsetting her balance. Rattrap jumped the last of the obstacles that were being thrown in his path and raced after her. The eerie light in the tunnel was almost gone and the quakes shook everything so hard that the walls were slowly moving in on each other. Rattrap cursed. He burst into the cave chamber and was greeted by a nightmarish situation.

Rogue was kneeling on the ground, her body covered in fine rock dust, one shoulder badly charred. She was trying to protect Dinobot, who had moved from his last position, as Rattrap saw, and now lay half curled up. The cave showed large cracks along the smooth walls and the ceiling. The relic had stopped glowing and the light emanated from everywhere else. The runes had also stopped moving, but now they looked even more frightening than before. All over the place rock pillars thrust up from the floor, all the same smooth black as the whole cave, and it was only a matter of time until one came too close to the injured Dinobot -- and maybe even through him. Airazor was already at Rogue's side, taking in the complicated situation. The cave echoed with the loud quakes and the cracking of stone.

"We gotta move!" Rattrap yelled. An explosion could be heard and he winced. He knew that sound. He had been too close to it once and there were some things you never forgot. "The energon deposits are blowing!"

Rogue looked alarmed, then her optics darted over to her patient. "We can't move him out of the cave! He'd short out!"

"He'll be rather squashed if we don't!" Rattrap shot back. "It's either stasis lock, which you can cure, or Dino-Pancake, which is rather permanent! Now move it, Red!"

Rogue got to her feet and Rattrap briefly wondered about her burned shoulder. It looked suspiciously like a stinger had hit her..... Well, he had time to ask her about it later. For now he would be happy to see them all out of here, though he doubted the situation outside was much better.

Between the three of them, they managed to get Dinobot into the tunnel and proceeded down the tight corridor of rock toward the exit. The stone around them groaned and Rattrap had the distinct impression of the walls moving in. Wait a moment! They actually were moving in.

The four Maximals burst out of the cave into hell on earth. Behind them the cave's tunnel kept narrowing considerably and finally crumbled. Dust exploded out of the cave's mouth.

Atop the mountain, a dome had been building. Pressure was rising and the strain was incredible, deforming the rock, pushing magma up. Now the rock dome was reaching a critical point, the pressure it was under too much for it.

A fissure opened.

A bright spray of magma erupted from the mountain, opening the fissure even more and first a fountain, then a constant stream of lava exploded, lighting up the night. It flowed toward the rim of the crater, an ever widening river of fire, until it overflowed the rim. It raced down the sides of the ruptured mountain, growing in forced. A river of hot and deadly molten rock.

Optimus saw his team and ran over, coughing and trying to get his optics to penetrate the toxic air, polluted by ash and small debris. The three Maximals had difficulties staying on their feet, just like Cheetor and himself, and they had to support Dinobot as well. "Let's go!" he yelled over the roar of the volcano and the grounding of rock. Earthquakes were simply flowing now and then the mountain spewed up the first jet of red hot lava.

Optimus grabbed Dinobot and slung him over one shoulder, ignoring the devastating condition his friend was in. "Fly him out of here!" Rogue yelled over the sizzle of steaming lava. "He has to go to a CR chamber fast!"

Optimus knew it was the only way. He nodded and ignited his thrusters, taking off into the night sky, illuminated by the glowing lava.

"Airazor, take Rattrap!" Rogue suddenly ordered.

"Hey, wait a second!" Rattrap interrupted. "Since when are you the boss around here?"

Another quake shook them hard and the mountain belched dangerously.

"Since we are about to get flooded by lava!" she called. "Now move! Cheetor and I are fast enough to run out of here!"

Rattrap was sure that was true about Cheetor, but he wasn't so sure about Rogue.

"Move!" With that Rogue transformed and darted through the ever-changing landscape. Before Rattrap could make another protest, Airazor grabbed him with her talons and lifted him up into the air, her wings beating furiously. Cheetor was already racing after Rogue.

Suddenly one of the energon deposits went up between them. Cheetor was flung aside and connected hard with a rock. He got to his feet, shaking his head and looking around. "Rogue?" he yelled.

No answer. Where his exit path had been was only a crater, glowing with the remnants of energon crystals. "Rogue!"

The mountain growled and he flinched. He had to move now! Searching out a new path he continued his flight, fearing the worst had happened to his fellow Maximal.

Behind him, the mountain was beginning to errupt in earnest. The entire floor of the volcano crater had become a shuddering, ever-rising dome, the pressure beneath it still rising. Superheated steam and bluish clouds of sulfuric acid and fluorine vented through the fissure with a violence rarely seen even in nature. This volcano would blow big and it would blow now.

Fountains of red hot lava burst constantly from the volcano, running, pooling together, building up..... The temperature on the outside of the mountain had risen constantly, evaporating every drop of water and burning the dry, dead grass still clutching to small parts of it.

A big earthquake hit. One of the worst and most destructive. It flung Cheetor forward and he stumbled, barely able to catch his footing. He kept on running, panting heavily, his speed faster than he had ever been. His life was depending on it. He finally had enough distance between him and the volcano to stop, gasping hard, completely out of breath. Even if he had wanted to, he couldn't move another foot. He looked at the dome and then gaped.

The distant dome seemed to blur, to go out of focus. Then the whole northern slope began to slide, as if in slow motion. It opened the mountain to the prying eye and revealed its guts. From behind the slope a gigantic erruption ripped out of the volcano. Super-heated, steam-charged magma burst forth with an incalculable energy, pushed by the tremendous upwelling pressure beneath. It expanded in nanoseconds and then it went super-nova. Cheetor could only stare as the mountain went up in an ungodly roar, splattering all over the place. A black ash cloud rose several miles into the sky. Bolts of strange-colored lightning streaked through the night. And Cheetor was witness to it all. The mega-explosion was something he knew he would never forget. It was a spectacle of nature...... and it might have cost one of their team her life.

"Rogue...." he whispered.

:: Overload warning ::

:: Shields down ::

:: Energon ... non-existent ::

Inside the cave, the relic blew, shattering into millions of fragments. The light died abruptly, then the cave collapsed onto itself. Lava welled up through the cracks and flooded the cave.

The relic ceased to exist.

Inside the Axalon, Rhinox felt the shockwaves of the quakes. Everything around him was shaking, trembling ..... something crashed and splintered. Rhinox held on to his chair, trying to keep himself from getting flung out of it as the shockwaves grew stronger. The Axalon groaned and so did Rhinox. If this got any worse.... he didn't want to think about it.

The monitors displayed data from the sensors in the volcano area, but some were already experiencing trouble. Then the first one died completely. Rhinox knew where it was positioned and he moaned. Several more went, obliterated by the forces of nature.

And then the volcano blew.

The resulting shockwave dislocated Rhinox from the chair onto the floor and he lay there, waiting for the quakes to stop. The Axalon shook and groaned, sliding slightly to one side but refusing to topple. Finally everything quieted down and he was at his station in a flash, trying to call up data. All his probes in the mountain were destroyed, but what they had relayed before going was interesting enough. Rhinox ignored the data flow for now and concentrated on checking the tectonic plate. It had shifted, but not as badly as he would have predicted. Still, it had shifted and he would have to have a close eye on it. He then did a check on the Axalon and was greeted by several strain alarms. Some parts would need closer checks and repairs.

Rhinox sighed silently. This had gone by better than expected. Now he only had to wait and see how the others had fared. He hoped everyone had come out of this hell alive.

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. VII(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

Rogue was thrown aside by the powerful explosion and when she tried to get to her feet, the ground beneath her sagged. Her paws scrambled to gain some sort of purchase on the treacherous terrain, but there was none. The rock tilted further and she gasped as she slid down. She transformed quickly and rammed her fingers into the rocky surface. She fought for a hold, sliding further and her sensors detected magma rising below her. Steam exploded and she coughed, her organic skin blistering. Rogue looked around and then grabbed for an outcropping, holding on and swinging her body over. Her servos protested and the heat became unbearable. An organic being would be already dead, but she wasn't organic. Her body fluids were boiling instead and her skin was attacked by the searing heat and the acid gases. Pulling herself up she tried to reach the rim of the chasm she was hanging in.

Her fingers dug into the ground and pure will to survive drove her. It was a slow process and the constant quakes didn't help one bit. Finally she lay half over the rim, feeling the ground beneath her buck, hearing the low growl of the tortured earth. Blurred optics fixed on the volcano and she knew it was near blowing. She was dead. Whatever she would do now, wherever she ran, she wouldn't be fast enough to evade the red hot death inside this behemoth. Still, survival instincts could not be surpressed and she crawled away from the rim. She transformed into her beast form and tried to run, but it was impossible. She coughed, her body trembling from over-exertion and the heat damage it had taken. A volcanic bomb exploded close to her -- a chunk of semisolid lava hurtling out of the crater miles away. The bomb struck and blew up earth around her like a mortar explosion,the resulting shockwave toppling Rogue, slamming her forward. She coughed and groaned. Another bomb struck and she was slammed forward again. Absolute pandemonium reigned around her, shockwaves rolling down from the mountain, flattening all vegetation still upright. Rogue staggered once more, but she was weak and her body was betraying her.

And then something grabbed her from above. She was lifted off the ground and gained height, carried by her savior. Underneath her she could see the volcano blowing. She had never seen anything more spectacular, more beautiful .... more awe-inspiring. Then she looked up, trying to see who had rescued her and stared.

"Waspinator?" she coughed.

Waspinator shot away from the volcano, then aimed for a spot outside the immediate danger zone. He set her down very carefully, then transformed. Rogue did the same, her skin steaming and flaking. She'd have to get a session in the CR chamber.

Waspinator was wringing his hands, looking like he wanted nothing more than to disappear into the ground. Anguished optics stared at Rogue and though he wasn't easy to read, she had no problems. He was deeply, deeply disturbed by what he had done. "Fox-bot okay?" he asked, voice wavering.

She smiled gently. "Yes, I am okay. No permanent damage done."

"Good. Wazzzpinator not want to hurt Fox-bot," he told her hurriedly, apologetically.

"I know. You did what was necessary. Because of your action, I survived."

"Shot you!"

"But you didn't kill me."

Waspinator sighed. "Wazzzpinator hurt you. Hurt friend. Bad thing." Before she could say something, Waspinator looked around in alarm. "Maxiiimal!" he exclaimed, then transformed and shot off into the night-sky, which was illuminated by the glowing red of the lava.

Cheetor jumped out of the darkness, looking badly singed himself, his fur stained black from the rain of soot and ash spewing forth from the volcano. "You're alive!" he exclaimed.

Rogue smiled tiredly. "Looks like it."

Cheetor smiled happily. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing too bad. A bit of heat damage, singed fur and bruised skin. Probably the same amount of damage you sustained."

Cheetor shrugged. "No heat damage but enough burned fur to smell bad." He grinned. "Let's get going. I want to put as much distance between me and that volcano as possible."

"Gotcha." Rogue transformed and trotted after him. Behind them the spectacle continued, though much quieter now. The quakes went down in strength though the lava flowed in great quantities. Now and then steam hissed out of fissures in the ground, but not as violently as before.

It was over.

Scorponok breathed a sigh of relief, allowing himself to relax now, though not completely. Tarantulas picked himself up from the floor and Scorponok felt a smirk cross over his lips. He wiped it off quickly and went over to his instruments to check. He breathed a second sigh of relief when he saw the results. No grave changes to the volcanic activity beneath them. The shockwaves had changed some superficial features of the landscape around the Predacon ship, but it had not done as much damage as it could have. Of course they had to repair some supports, but that was a small matter.

The sun was already rising when Megatron returned with a damaged Blackarachnia and Inferno, Terrorsaur complaining about acid damage and Waspinator buzzing around as always. The Predacon leader was in a rather foul mood, which had less to do with the fact that the Maximals had escaped and more with his own volcano damage. They had all made it out in the nick of time. But his mood lifted when he heard about the now destroyed cave and the relic. Both Terrorsaur and Waspinator dutifully gave their reports.

"Another alien artifact, yesss," Megatron muttered. "Intriguing." He looked thoughtfully over the bridge. Scorponok recognized that look and shivered a bit. Megatron knew something the others didn't and it made him more dangerous than Tarantulas and the other schemers would ever want to believe. But Scorponok remained silent. Megatron was his leader and he would support him, whatever the cost.

Optimus looked at the CR chamber and wondered when the tight feeling in his energon pump would pass. Dinobot had made it back. Stasis lock had set in shortly before they had arrived and he had radioed Rhinox to prepare the CR chamber fast. He had flown in at nearly top speed and Rhinox had plucked Dinobot from his grip, getting him into the chamber and switching it on. They had to get him stabilized before they could repair any of the deeper damage done to him. He needed the organic skin back and that would take a while since his nutrient fluids also had be replaced.

Airazor and Rattrap had returned shortly afterwards and radio contact with Cheetor and Rogue was established. All were relieved to find that the two had come out of the seismic hell in more or less one piece.

Now, three days later, everything had quieted down in the volcano area and Rhinox was busy evaluating data. Dinobot had come out of the CR chamber half an hour earlier and hardly spoken a word. His face had been a mask and Optimus blamed the near-death experience for the former Predacon's behavior. Turning to the science station, Optimus decided to watch things develop first and then act. Rhinox welcomed his help with the volcano data and a few minutes later both were deeply engrossed.

Rogue had had her severely damaged skin replaced and was soon back to full operational status. Since Dinobot was still in the CR chamber at the time, she began to file away what she had seen and felt in the cave. She did a point-by-point drawing of the relic and tried to remember how the runes had looked when she had been able to catch a glimpse. Her files grew and she knew she wanted to compare her own memories to what was stored in the computer banks about the alien structures. Two days after the eruption and the events in the cave, she walked along the perimeter of the seismic area, following a request from Rhinox. She and Cheetor had installed new sensors, since the old ones had been obliterated in the lava. They finished setting the new seismographs and tilt meters and Cheetor headed back. "I'll have a stroll to stretch my legs," Rogue told him and he nodded.

"Just be careful. Might be Preds in the area."

She smiled. You might be right, she thought. Aloud she said, "Don't worry." And Cheetor headed off.

Now she was alone and she studied the landscape around her. Everything was covered by slowly cooling lava and the ground was torn from the earthquakes. The mountain had lost most of its top and the north slope was completely missing. Suddenly there was a buzzing noise and she heard the soft 'thud' of feet touching the ground. Rogue turned and smiled at the robot standing behind her. "Hello, Waspinator."

Waspinator looked like he didn't really want to be here, but just like the many times before when they had met secretly -- to talk and exchange stories of the past -- he would stay. "Still talk to Wazzzpinator?" he asked, looking apprehensive.

"Of course I still talk to you!" Rogue told him, shaking her head a bit. "I told you, I understand what you had to do. I even proposed it. And you saved my life later as well. A second time."

"Could have shot Terrorsaur instead," Waspinator muttered.

"No, you couldn't have," she said firmly. "You cannot act against your own rules, Waspinator. Terrorsaur is a fellow Predacon."

"Fox-bot is friend. Not Terrorsaur."

She smiled. "And I treasure this friendship, just like I did back on Cybertron."

Waspinator sighed a bit.

"I wish I could help you," Rogue continued softly. "I wish we could continue from where we left off on Cybertron."

The flyer stared at her.

"Back in the medical ward," she added. "I know you said you remembered me from there. I know you remember more. You recall a lot from your past and not just main events, but also small things. I know you also recall what we worked on." She approached him. "I can help you, Waspinator."

"Waspinator not need help!" the Predacon protested, fear audible in his voice.

"What are you afraid of? I know what lies beneath this facade. I know who you were!"

He shook his head violently. "Waspinator not go back. Not be old person again!"

Rogue looked at the panicky robot and read all she needed to know in his voice and body language. He was frightened of what sessions with her, specific sessions aimed at trying to heal him, might reveal. "Why do you fear the result?" she asked calmly.

Waspinator fidgeted. "No longer past. Waspinator now. Always will be," he muttered.

"But that's not you."

"Izzzz now!"

Rogue sighed softly, feeling helpless. She knew what lurked behind the apparently deranged exterior; she had seen the mind of Waspinator's former self and she had cheered when he had started to battle the self-induced other personality, the one who kept him safe. The war had done this to him and she had been glad that he had only covered his true self with one personality and had not turned either schizophrenic or into a multi-personality. But then .... too much had happened between now and then. And he had given in to Waspinator again.

"Okay," she admitted defeat -- for now. Rogue didn't give up easily. "Will you at least come and meet me again? Just talking. No psychological evaluation, I promise."

Waspinator nodded eagerly. "Waspinator will come," he said earnestly.

She smiled. "Thank you. You better go now before your friends discover you are gone."

Waspinator made a harrumphing sound, muttering, 'No friends', but he transformed and flew off anyway.

Rogue stared after his retreating form for a moment, then transformed herself and trotted off.

1998 Readers' Choice Awards Winner
Most Frightening Battle

Relic, pt. VIII(PG-13)
by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.d)

He was running, though he didn't know exactly what from. Stopping beside a tree he leaned against the rough surface, trying to catch his breath. The jungle around him was quiet and dark. There was no sound from animals of any kind. Even the insects were quiet. What was he running from? And who was chasing him?

He looked around, listening intently and thought he could hear footsteps somewhere. His mind told him to run, but another voice, a tiny, little voice, told him to sit tight. The footsteps were help. They signaled the coming of his friends.

He tensed.

And then the bluish green light washed over him.

Pain enveloped him.

He screamed.

Dinobot woke with a start, completely disoriented for several seconds, panting, his nostrils flaring. He stood in a battle ready stance, lips pulled back over sharp teeth, constantly growling. Finally he realized where he was.

His quarters.

In the Axalon.

Safe.

He forced himself to relax and felt his energon level sink a bit, but he was still shaking. It had been the nightmare again. Another version of it, true, but still a nightmare. Since coming out of the CR chamber his mind had replayed what had happened in the cave, how he had been invaded by this ...thing...and how it had delved deep into his most private thoughts of anger, fear, joy and happiness.

He shivered.

No one had heard this part of the story from him. He had only reported what had happened, coldly, clinically correct .... leaving out what the relic had done to him. The way Optimus had looked at him and was still looking, Dinobot knew the Maximal leader suspected something. Damn him all the way to the Inferno! Optimus just knew him too well! And when had he grown so transparent anyway? He hated it..... Rattrap was a constant pain in the diodes and maybe it was the only normality Dinobot had right now. Whenever he was alone, he pondered on what had happened, and at night he had nightmares. And it was growing worse. Shaking his head to clear it he left his quarters, transforming in the process.

He entered the silent bridge of the Axalon and automatically checked the status board. The damage from the seismic shockwaves been repaired completely and only a few more circuits and wires needed to be fixed. Everything was perfectly okay.

Dinobot growled slightly and tried to suppress a shiver. Nothing was ever perfect. Especially since they had discovered the aliens.

Another tremor shook him.

The aliens.

He clenched his teeth and calmed down by force. He would get through this. It would pass....

But it didn't. It grew worse. The nightmares were violent and sometimes he needed a long time to get out of a particular nasty one. He was afraid of falling asleep now but his beast form demanded it. He needed rest. So he tried napping, which had no great success either. His temper grew short and he found himself snapping more than usual at the others. Optimus was frowning at him with this worried expression and it irritated Dinobot even more.

And then there was Rogue. The new addition to their team regarded him with those understanding optics -- as if she waited for him to do something, to act, to talk... but he wouldn't. He didn't need a psychologist! Dinobot hissed darkly. From the moment he had heard what Rogue had been before becoming one of the Axalon's crew, he had tried to avoid her. He didn't want a psychological profile done of him and he believed that Rogue was evaluating everything he did. It was a fixation, a small part of him argued. She was a team member, she was a medic, and she was also a warrior, albeit not a very good one.

He sneered. She had some wicked moves, but in a fight she wouldn't last long. Her fighting style was aimed to take out an opponent in the first few minutes. The longer the fight dragged, the more vulnerable she grew.

"Yo, ya dreamin', Lizard Lips?"

Dinobot growled and glared at Rattrap, who sauntered up beside him. "Unlike others, I know what a patrol means!" he snapped harshly.

"Uuuhhhh, touchy, aren't we?" The small Maximal chuckled. "Maybe you should ask Optimus to be put back on the injured list!"

Dinobot hissed again. Unbidden, the nightmarish situation inside the cave returned. "I'm fine!"

"Yeah. Right. Sure." Rattrap shrugged. "That cave coulda freaked everyone, y'know."

Dinobot tensed visibly and Rattrap shot him a curious look. His mind flashed violently back to the bluish green light, the pain, the digging, inquiring tentacles....

"Hey, Dinobreath, ya still readin' me?"

The voice intruded into the flashback, pulling him out and into the reality around him. But his mind was still lingering and the fear translated into a vicious growl.

Rattrap was barely fast enough to evade the sharp, gleaming teeth and Dinobot's jaw snapped audibly close -- barely an inch away from Rattrap's neck. The small Maximal was visibly shaken and he stared at the raptor with apparent shock. "What the....?"

Dinobot's eyes glowed madly and he saw too much nightmarish fear reflected in them to think this was just a 'friendly' snap to show him where the limit was. This was real!

Dinobot's head drew back and his nostril's flared. He was trembling and his front claws clenched. He closed his eyes and then shook his head, a tremor running through him. When he opened his eyes again the fear was gone; only confusion remained.

Rattrap was shaking himself. He had had his encounters with Dinobot, but they had all been on a friendly, teasing level, never for real.

Dinobot stumbled back, looking suddenly shocked, realizing what he had nearly done. An inch more and Rattrap would have needed some serious repair to his neck region. Those raptor teeth were sharp and could puncture skin.

"Dinobot?" Rattrap asked, still confused.

Dinobot turned and walked away, almost running.

Optimus Primal had known it would happen sooner or later, and he wasn't really surprised when he got Rattrap's report. The strain had become too much and Dinobot had cracked. Rogue, sitting beside him in her fox form shook her head sadly. He knew she had realized this whole situation and what would develop out of it sooner than anyone. They had even talked about it, but like Rogue, Optimus knew there would be nothing won out of forcing Dinobot to talk. Now.... now might be a better chance, though there wasn't even a fifty percent chance he would open up. Something had happened to him in that cave and what Rogue had witnessed of it, it had hit him hard and deep. It wasn't the capture or his near death; something had come closer than that. Rogue had told him about how Dinobot had woken, terrified of her, unable to get a grip on reality, and how he had broken down again.

Something had invaded his mind. That was at least Rogue's theory, and from what she had explained and from what he had seen himself, Optimus knew the conclusion was correct. They were still trying to work out what this relic might have been. Rhinox theorized it was a scanner, but for what purposes he was not sure. It had scanned Dinobot and it had taken him apart, but why? And what about the energon deposits? Why had the crystals been so stable? So many questions and no answers. Optimus sighed softly.

"It had to happen," Rogue said calmly.

"Oh, and it had to happen to me? Yeah, right!" Rattrap crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Has the big lizard bought a one-way ticket to la-la land now?"

Rogue smiled slightly. "No, he has made a first step to realize that he needs help."

"By nearly taking a piece out of me?!" Rattrap exclaimed.

She chuckled. "Yes."

The small Maximal muttered something under his breath. It didn't sound nice. "So what now?" he asked aloud.

"We leave Dinobot alone," Optimus decided. "If we push, he'll fight back."

Rattrap snorted. "Yeah, I saw that."

Rogue stood and walked over to the elevator. "See you later." When she had vanished outside, Optimus returned to his own work, hoping they were doing the right thing. He trusted in Rogue, knowing she was the one best qualified for the job. She had an almost instinctive understanding of each and every one of them and sometimes it unnerved him. She was easy to talk to, listened without interrupting and was simply there when he needed someone to vent off his anger.

Optimus had never really noticed his behavior to her -- how he turned to her when he needed someone to just talk to -- and when he had, he had been surprised. Optimus had studied Rogue's file in the Axalon's computer about their crew and had come up with some interesting bits. She was an experienced psychologist and had a lot of war experience. She had been there from the start, always working in the field and rarely in one of the hospitals. Her war experience was rather extensive. She wasn't a warrior, but he had seen that already. Rogue knew a few moves, but she was clearly not a soldier or had ever trained as one.

And then there were the stranger things. Sometimes, when he looked into her optics, Optimus thought he saw something ancient there. Something older than her file told she was. He had tried to dig deeper, but the Axalon was an exploration vessel, not a flying library. There was nothing else about her anywhere and Optimus knew he might have to carefully ask her one day. Until then .... he would keep an eye on Rogue.

Dinobot returned to the Axalon after sunset. His mind was still awhirl with what had happened and he knew he would have to apologize to Rattrap.

Apologize. He sneered. The rat would most likely see that as a triumph and never let it live him down.

As he walked along the quiet corridors he nearly ran into Rogue. His mind screamed enemy and his clawed fingers nearly rammed into the slender form in front of him while his eyes briefly turned the green of a charging laser. Rogue stumbled back and shot him a surprised look. She had clearly not heard him, just as he had not seen or heard her.

"Whoops, sorry," she laughed. "I didn't see you. I was thinking." Dinobot forced himself to calm down with an effort and gave a low growl, his mind flashing wildly again. Her green optics met his and he tried to shut out the nightmarish pictures, slipping a mask over his features.

"If I had been an enemy, you would be dead!" he hissed. The look she threw him made him shiver briefly. She had nearly been dead without being the enemy and she knew it.

"But you didn't see an enemy," Rogue said softly. "What did you see?"

Dinobot's eyes flashed and then pushed past her. He didn't want to talk. Not now. Not ever. This was his private problem and he had to deal with it.

He hissed.

His hands clenched.

And now you were ready to kill Rogue. Is it Optimus next time?The nightmare inside the relic came back. How Optimus had died.... He trembled.

Dinobot fought down the voice but it grew stronger, more insisting.

He stopped and looked down the dark corridor. Rogue was gone. Yes, she had saved his life by risking her own. Not because she had stayed in the alien cave with him but because she had donated part of her own power supply to keep him alive. Dinobot took some involuntary steps down after her, then stopped again, still fighting it. He didn't need a shrink! He wasn't crazy!

The former Predacon fought against the overwheling need to talk to someone, but the more he fought, the faster he lost the fight. Suddenly he was in front of the doors to her quarters. He hesitated just one more second, then knocked. The doors opened and Rogue stood in front of him, looking half surprised, half like she had expected him.

Rattrap stood at the corner of the intersection between the two corridors and watched Dinobot hesitantly walk into Rogue's quarters. A smile passed over his lips. Well, this was a first step all right!

Satisfied, he transformed and trotted down the corridor.

More time had gone by since the volcano incident and Rogue had made some progress with Dinobot, though he still fought talking too much about his fears and nightmares. At least he had confessed that he had them and that they were sometimes following him into his waking time. She listened to him and simply sat with him until he decided it was time to split and no longer spill his soul.

Rogue smiled. Yes, he was making progress because he actually started to talk by himself now, seeking her out when he thought no one else was listening or watching. Rogue suspected that some of the Maximals, namely Optimus and Rattrap knew.

Looking out over the peaceful land beneath her, Rogue let her mind drift. She liked this planet, its untouched nature, but there was always the alien threat. It had been the first time she had seen an alien artifact from up close since she had never ventured closer to the Standing Stones. It had scared her, but it had also made her more curious.

"Yo, Red!" Cheetor stopped beside her and sat down. "What's shakin'?"

She chuckled. "Nothing much. I'm just having a nice sunbath and enjoying the view."

"Mind if I join you?"

Rogue shook her head. "No problem."

Cheetor grinned. His youthful cheerfulness was infectious and she felt it course through her. But it also showed her how much younger he was, how much difference there was between them -- not just in mind and profession. No one knew who she was and she preferred it this way. No one knew her complete past and her files were all kept somewhere no one could get to them. What was in the Axalon's computer was nothing but a small fraction of the truth. She preferred it this way. It made her life so much easier.

Rogue felt the wind ruffle her fur and she stretched, shoving those thoughts aside. As long as she didn't let something slip, no one would ever find out about it all. She would be Rogue, just one of the Maximals ..... for as long as she could.