Connection 

Part Three

By: Starath (starathbot@geekgrok.com)

PG 13 (Language)

Author’s Note:  *patpats fic* This is mah baby!  Be nice to it! I am quite proud of it, though I’ve been working on it so long I’m sick of lookin’ at the thing… and please!  I love comments!  And, once again, Beast Wars and its characters belong to Mainframe Entertainment and Hasbro.  “Numb” by Linkin Park isn’t mine either.  Special thanks to Landray Depth Charge for helping me… again!  And for those of you who don’t know, my ideal robot form is a smaller purple and silver version of Terrorsaur’s form.

            A loud thud echoed throughout the Maximal base, followed by a roar of frustration.  In the command center, Rattrap and Cheetor dropped their playing cards, startled by the sudden noises. The thud was followed by another, and another, along with the sound of shredding metal.  A low deep voice cursed colorfully from the hallway.  Optimal Optimus rushed into the room. 

            “Rattrap!  What’s going on?” demanded the Maximal leader.

            “If I knew I’d tell ya!” he replied, peeking out from under the card table. “But whatever it is doesn’t sound too happy!”

Cheetor drew his brand-new missile launcher that he’d gotten from becoming a Transmetal Two a few days ago just in case.  “Big Bot, it sounds like Depth Charge…”

Everyone listened to the swearing that was nearly drowned out by the scream of metal being torn apart.  Rattrap crawled out from under the table.

            “Yeah, dat sounds like Cap’n Minnow alright.  Wonder what’s got his wires crossed so badly?”

Optimus cringed.  “We’re going to have to find out.”  He kneeled down so he could see down the hallway, but Depth Charge was around the corner out of his view, still cursing quite creatively.  “Depth Charge, come out here!”

There was a clang of metal on the floor, and Optimus saw some hallway railing bent and twisted together into a gruesome form.  The hallway wall shook as several huge punches pounded on it and more metal was ripped out.

            “Depth Charge—”

            “Stuff it in your exhaust, Primal!”

Rattrap exchanged glances with Cheetor.  “Hoo boy…”

            “What’s the matter?”  Optimus persisted, undaunted by the insult.  The curses and shrieking metal suddenly quieted, replaced by angry footsteps coming down the hall.  Optimus stood up quickly to get out of the path of the raging Maximal. Cheetor and Rattrap backed off too. Depth Charge passed them without a word, on his way out of the cavern.  Optimus hesitantly followed him.

            “What’s wrong?” 

            “Nothing that concerns you, so slag off! –RAH!  Would you shut up, girl?!  I should have done this from the start!”

            “Done what? What are you talking about?”

Depth Charge kicked open the doors of the base and stormed outside without a reply. Silverbolt and Black Arachnia watched him from above in their gun posts and gave their leader questioning looks when he appeared through the doors.  Optimus threw his hands up.

            “I don’t know either.  But hopefully he’ll cool off in awhile…”

Rattrap slipped through the door to stand beside him, shaking his head as Depth Charge’s form disappeared into the distance.  “I think it’ll take a long while before he cools off, Boss Monkey. It always does with hot-heads like ‘im.”

              “Well, however long it takes, then.  Maybe we can find out what he was talking about too.”  Optimus sighed.  “Back to your duties, Maximals.  We have work to do.”

            “Yeah yeah…” Rattrap took once last glance at Depth Charge, then blinked.  He was just there on the horizon a moment ago…  He shrugged.  He must be too far for me ta see now…

            Corners weren’t so bad when you were used to them.  They were kind of cozy in a weird sort of way.  And you didn’t have to watch your back; it was already covered.  All you had to do was pay attention to what was in front of you.  As far as she was concerned, she would just sit there in the corner for the next ten minutes until class was over.  She didn’t want to go into the weight room.  She didn’t want to try.  She was convinced it was pointless.  She couldn’t do anything.  When people saw her in the corner they left her alone and it hurt because she craved the companionship of somebody to talk to.  But she didn’t move anyway.  Tears threatened to fall but she kept it all contained.  Self-defeat and anger ran rampant in her mind no matter what she did.  Thinking of other things didn’t help.  Too scared to try, too sure of failure, Christine just sat there in the corner of the gym.  Nothing mattered anymore. Even if he showed up, she was dead-set on doing nothing.  She didn’t care.  He wouldn’t be able to help her anyway.  She’d love to see him try.  Above her, the gym speakers blasted an intro to a song that caught her attention, and she relaxed while listening to it.  It was “Numb” by Linkin Park.

I'm tired of being what you want me to be

Feeling so faithless

Whilst under the surface

Dunno what you’re expecting of me

Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes…

Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow

Every step that I take is another mistake to you

Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow…

I’ve become so numb

I can’t feel you there

I’ve become so tired

So much more awake

By becoming this

All I want to do

Is be more like me

And be less like you…

            The room suddenly rumbled and an impact shook the ground.  Christine stared, then gulped as the massive form of Depth Charge became visible.  He had his back to her for the moment but was searching the gym for her.  The corner she sat in was right next to a door, so if she was really quick she could duck out of the room—

Their gazes locked.  For the first time since she met him, she became genuinely afraid.  The fury in his red optics matched that of a smoldering volcano, and there was no way she was going to escape the explosion.  Depth Charge marched up to her, his voice shaking in barely controlled anger.

“Get out of that corner now!”

She did, but kept her back to the wall and glanced nervously at the open door.  He blocked it off.

            “Don’t even try it!  What did I say about running away?  What did I say?!”

            “I—I know what you said!  But I can’t!” 

            “This is right back where we’ve already been, girl!  How can you believe in me enough to bring me to this world but not believe in yourself?”

Droplets of fear and frustration fell from her eyes as she pressed herself against the wall in an attempt to get away from his rage.  “I don’t know!  I’m sorry, Depth Charge!”

            “You’re sorry…?”  His voice dropped to a deadly low tone, “Yes.  I’m sure you are.  But I am NOT sorry for what I’m about to do with you, like I should have in the first place…”

            “What?”  Christine shrieked, terrified, and backed away from his reaching hand.  “What are you going to do with me?!”

              The gym became empty and silent then, save for the music that continued playing from the speakers:

And I know

I may end up failing too

But I know

You were just like me

With someone disappointed in you…

            Waves came and went, pulled by the lake’s gentle tide.  Wind stirred the leaves of trees far from the shore and blew sand and gravel in lazy circles.  The sun beat down on her, standing alone in the bright blue sky.  She blinked to block out the blinding light, but the heat bothered her then, quickly becoming unbearable.  She couldn’t lift her arm when she tried to shield her face with it.  It felt incredibly heavy, along with every other part of her.  It was almost as if she was being pressed into the sand because she was so heavy. A huge shadow loomed over her, completely covering the sun.

            “Alright kid, time to get up and at it.”

She tried pushing herself up on her elbows, but it was a large effort to do so.  Moving her legs took a lot of concentration too.  Her body shook with tension as she attempted to stand, but everything was too heavy.  She sank back into the sand.  The shadow offered a silver hand.  She took it, barely able to reach up far enough to grab it.  Then, as if she weighed nothing, the shadow pulled her upright, then pressed his other hand into her back to make sure she didn’t fall backwards.  She blinked, adjusting to the lesser amount of light, and Depth Charge came into focus.  Startled, she stumbled sideways but he caught her and held her so she stood up straight again.

            “Take it easy.  Just stand a moment to gain your balance.”

            “Wh—why do I feel so heavy?”  Her voice now had a metallic ring to it. 

            “Because you aren’t quite what you were a few moments ago.”  Depth Charge pointed to the lake’s surface.  “Take a look.”

Uncertain, she turned to the water but clung to his hands to keep standing.  She gasped when a purple and silver face with blue optics stared back at her.

            “I’m… I’m a robot?”  Excitement mixed with alarm and she stared in disbelief.  “How?  Why?”

            “You’re in my world now kid, and you have to dress the part, just like I had to be a human in your world.”

            “But why?” 

            “Because you’re going to learn a few things today.  A few very important lessons.  And they’re going to be rough.  But you brought them upon yourself.”

            “Lessons…? Like what?”  

             “First of all, how to stand on your own.” Depth Charge released her and immediately she tumbled forwards with a yelp of surprise. 

            “Now, get up, Starath.”

Breathing hard from the shock of hitting the ground so suddenly, she laid in the sand for a while.  Depth Charge crossed his arms.

            “I said, get up!”

She squirmed in the sand, attempting to do so.  But she couldn’t push herself upright.

            “I’m too heavy!”

            “Get up anyway!”

            “I’m trying, but I can’t!”

            “No excuses!  Get up NOW!”

Whimpering from the strain and stinging of the effort, she pushed herself out of the sand and shoved herself into sitting position.   Depth Charge scowled when she gave him a pleading look.  She would be getting no help from him.  After a few moments she attempted to stand, but forcing all the dead-metal weight she now had to move hurt too much and she fell backwards.  She caught herself just before she could go all the way down, landing hard on her elbows.  Gritting her teeth to keep tiny cries of pain from escaping, she sat up in sitting position again.  Slowly and carefully, with every bit of concentration focused on standing, Starath finally stood upright and looked Depth Charge in the optics.  He nodded.

            “Good.”

            Learning to walk again took just as much effort and concentration as standing up.  She fell more than once, but rose quicker each time under Depth Charge’s stern gaze.  Without any words between them, Starath followed him slowly down the lakeshore and into the trees until they came to a wide grassy field surrounded by the forest on three sides and a tall cliff face on the fourth side.  Broken rock and boulders lay scattered in the field.  Depth Charge let her look around at the area for the moment.  She fell when turning around to take in the view and she sat in the grass, observing every little thing. She frowned when she saw that some of the boulders looked like they had been blown apart with a single punch.  That made her very nervous.  A glare from her new mentor sent her scrambling to get up again. 

            “Your robot form is one that can fly, but you will have to learn how.  The very basics are already programmed within you but you must learn how to use them to do what you want.  And we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Starath wobbled to keep her balance, forcing herself to stay steady.  Everything still felt much too heavy, but she dared not complain about it.  “Uh… do I want to know what the easy and hard ways are…?”

            “The easy way is that you learn how to do it right here in this field.  The hard way…” Depth Charge’s gaze flicked to the top of the cliff face.  She saw the glance and gulped.  “Do I make myself clear?”

            “Y-yes sir.  Quite.  I don’t like being thrown off cliffs.”

            “Good. Now, the thing about flying is that you can’t force it.  It will come naturally, but not if you try too hard.”

And you’re telling this to someone who’s been a human all her life…I can’t fly…  Starath cringed and backed away when Depth Charge growled as soon as she finished her thought.  She wobbled like a toddler again and fell against a boulder with a clank.

            “Okay okay okay, I’ll try…” Pushing herself away from the rock she smiled sheepishly.  “I don’t suppose this is the time for me to tell you I’m scared of heights…?”

            “I can give you OTHER things to be frightened of.”

            “Eh heh heh… no thanks…” Alright.  There’s no way out of this.  I’m supposed to learn how to fly.  Riiight…It’ll be natural, but not.  Oh yeah, that helps.  What the heck does that mean?  Where do I even start?  What exactly am I supposed to DO? I feel way too heavy to begin with—

Depth Charge’s sharp voice broke through her thoughts.  “You could something else other than just debating about it!”

            “—Eeep!”  She jumped, startled.  She didn’t notice when it took a few more moments than usual for her feet to return to the ground. 

            “Would you please NOT do that?” she snapped at him.

            “Would you prefer to do this the hard way?”

            “Uh… no…”

            “Then DO something.”

            “Well, I don’t know what exactly TO DO.  I can’t try if I don’t know where to begin, okay?”  It was Starath’s turn to growl; she hated being so short compared to Depth Charge.  It was easier to talk to his stomach than his face.  She resisted the urge to poke it just for the heck of it.  But it was SO tempting….

            “Don’t even think about it, kid.”

            “What?”  She gave him an innocent look.  “I wasn’t going to do anything…”

            “Uh huh…”

Sighing, Starath started pacing back and forth to make it look like she was doing something useful.  She puzzled over what she needed to do to fly.  What, is she just supposed to jump up and say “up, up and away”?  …Why not?  She tried that and landed flat on her face.  Depth Charge shook his head as she spit out grass.

            “Try again.  Without the dramatics…”

It was a comforting thought when she realized that walking was getting easier in the middle of puzzling the possibilities of flight.  Next she tried climbing up on a boulder, which took a long time since she kept falling off… and jumping from that.  It didn’t work either.  But she tried four more times just to be sure it didn’t work.  She tried jumping from a bigger boulder.  It resulted in harder and more painful splats into the ground.  Once she managed to flail a little.  At the last attempt something rattled around in her head as she shook dirt and grass bits free of her face.  Depth Charge chuckled.

            “There, I always knew you had a screw loose…”

She threw grass at him.  “Shuddup! I’m actually TRYING here!”

            “Yes, I see that.  But there are less painful ways to do it…”

            “Hey, who’s doing this, you or me?!”

He threw up his hands.  “Just trying to help.”

            “Ooowww… rattling bits make headaches…” Leaning against the boulder, Starath decided to take a break.  She regained her breath, then resumed pacing.  Pacing in straight lines quickly became old, so she paced in circles instead.  And that made her dizzy.  Sagging against a boulder she slouched to the ground, holding her spinning head.  Depth Charge joined her at the boulder and started to say something when a shriek and a rush of purple and silver cut him off.

            “EEEEEKKKK Getitawaygetitawaygetitaway!!!!”   

            “—the Pit?!”  He jumped back with weapons ready, but silence met his battle-ready stance.  Quickly scanning the field he saw no apparent danger.  And no Starath.  She had completely disappeared. 

            “Primus…” Depth Charge put his weapons away.  “Starath?  Where did you go?”

No answer came.  He scanned the field again but saw nothing out of the ordinary… unless a shaking tree was ordinary…. He crossed the field and approached the tree.  In its thick leaves and branches he spotted two blue optics.

            “What are you doing up there?”  He grumbled.

            “A snake!”

            “What…?”

            “I saw a snake! Evilevilevilevil!  I HATE snakes!  I’m not coming down til it goes away!”

            “Oh for the love of Primus… Come down Starath!”

            “No!  Not until it goes away!”

            “Starath!”

            “No!  And you can’t make me!”

Depth Charge backed up, judging the girth and weight of the tree.  “Yes, I can!”

            “HA!  I’d love to see you TRY!  I HATE SNAKES!”

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation of what he was about to do.  “You want me to try…?”

The blue optics widened.  “You couldn’t move this thing--!”

            “One way or another you’re coming down, kid!  This is your last chance!  Either come down yourself or I’ll shake all the nuts from this tree, and that means you too!”

            “No way!  I’m not moo---  EeeeeeeKKK!!!”

The tree heaved and creaked as Depth Charge grasped it and with a mighty tug, he tore it right out of the ground.  Swinging it so it became horizontal he shook it hard.  At first Starath had fun.

            “Whheeeeeee!!!!”

He shook it harder.

            “Whheee—ack!  Okay, you can stop now!  This is a bit much!  Thank you, the loose bits in my head are rattling quite well right now, yes, thank you Depth Char—Whooooaaaa!”

She fell from the tree with a thump among leaves and twigs and tree nuts.  Depth Charge put the tree back in its hole and stood over her.

            “You were saying…?”

            “I stand corrected…Eeeehhh...” She flopped onto her back with little spirals in her optics. 

            “And look, no snakes have attacked you…”

            “Snakes?!  WHERE??” 

He grabbed her by the back of her armor before she could fly up another tree.

            “Hey hey HEY!  Put me down!  Put me DOWN!!!!!!”

            “Snakes are not something to be scared of. There are much worse things to fear.”  Despite her protests he carried her back to the boulder she had run away from.  Starath panicked.

            “No no no!  I don’t wanna meet the snake!  Snakes are bad!  Put me down!           --Eeeeekk no no no no DON’T put me down!  There it is Depth Charge!  Get it!  Get it!!!!”        

He saw the long green thing she was pointing at.  “That?”

            “Yes!  That!  Can’t you see its beady little eyes and tongue and stuff???  It’s hiding behind the rock on PURPOSE just so it could scare me!  It’s EVIL! –What are you grinning at?!  This isn’t funny!  Stupid snake!  Get it Depth Charge, show it who’s boss! Eeep!”

Depth Charge set her on top of the boulder where she clung to the rock and stared down at the vicious robot-harassing snake, cringing when he bent down to grab it. 

            “Now Starath, I want you to pay close attention,” he said in a very professional-sounding voice as he held up his open hand.  “This… is called a vine… Can you say ‘vine’? Spell it with me.  V… I… N—”

            “Oh shuddup!”  She pounced on him.  He started laughing when they hit the ground.  “So what if I thought it was a snake!!!!  It could be a killer vine too!  You don’t know that! Stop laughing!!!”

But he didn’t, laughing so hard his body shook and she slipped off his stomach.  Embarrassed and annoyed, she kicked him half-heartedly in the ribs.  He didn’t seem to notice. If he had a mouth she would have stuffed the vine into it to shut him up.  With a huff she left him and walked away to sulk.

            “Hey… heh heh… where are you going?”  Depth Charge hauled himself up to follow her.

            “I’m still supposed to learn how to fly, aren’t I?  I think I’ll throw myself off that cliff.”

            “Now now, kid…”

            “Would you STOP calling me ‘kid’?!”

            “Well, that’s what you are, aren’t you?  You certainly act like it most of the time…”

            “I do not!”

            “See…?”

            “I am perfectly capable of acting adult when I want to!”

            “Just not around deadly vine-snakes, right?”

            “Depth Charge!”

He wrapped an arm around her and pinned her into a noogie grip.  “You’re always going to be younger and smaller than me, so you’re going to always be a kid!”

            “Ahhh!  Leggo!  No fair!  No noogies!  Aaaaahhh!”  She squirmed and wiggled to get free but to no avail.  To get even, she poked his stomach and found that it wasn’t squishy anymore.

            “Aaaww!  No more squishy fishy!”  For that she got a glare, but it softened into a happier face as Depth Charge laughed again.

            “Yes, sorry to disappoint you.”

Starath giggled.  “I’ll have to get you next time you’re a human!”

They laughed together for awhile until he released her.

            “Well, time to figure out how to fly again…”

Depth Charge blinked.  “How do you think you got up into that tree…?”

She blinked back.  “Uh…. Oh yeah… cool!  Now I hafta see if I can do that again!”

            “Should I find another vine?”

            “Depth Charge!”

            And so Starath learned how to fly not by jumping from boulders or the cliff or shouting “up, up and away!”… She learned by running after and pouncing on Depth Charge. 

            Next came learning how to use weapons.  At first Starath couldn’t hit the broad side of a stasispod, but that changed when Depth Charge taught her to fire a gun without closing her optics.  After that her aim became much better even though it remained unsteady through most of target practice.  She was proud she hadn’t shot herself in the foot at least.  A thought occurred to her as Depth Charge was setting up the next round of targets to shoot at.  She approached him from behind.

            “Hey, uh, Depth Charge… why are you teaching me all this?  Why did you bring me here to become a bot?”

She didn’t see his face harden or his optics flash with a burst of dull anger.  “For later.”

            “Yeah, but what for?  What’re we gunna do later?”

He didn’t reply as he busied himself with settling up the last of the target-rocks, then he made his way back to the spot he’d been having Starath shoot from.  She watched him go, then hurried to catch up.  She started to ask her question again when he interrupted with more shooting instructions.  When she had destroyed all the target-rocks they went on to moving targets… which were just thrown rocks.  Starath found those much harder to destroy, and it didn’t help when Depth Charge threw them so hard and fast.  She noted that he seemed to keeping some dark emotions controlled, and as time went on the happy nature he had faded away, replaced by gruffness and impatience.  Slowly he became distant and almost cold.  She was relieved when he allowed her to take an hour’s break before the next “big lesson” and took the opportunity to get away from his dark aura. 

            Shaking off the feeling of imminent doom, Starath explored the forest. She loved the rustling of leaves in the wind, the smell of earth, the songs of birds and watching chipmunks play in the trees.  Nature was her sanctuary, and she was glad to remind herself that she was in the time before humans, before they could tear up the beautiful landscapes on the wonderful planet.  If she could she’d stay in the Beast Wars world forever, but eventually she would have to leave.  Plus, since Depth Charge was around, the war was drawing to a close.  And eventually…. She shuddered, leaning against a tree, and prayed that Depth Charge wouldn’t meet the horrible fate she’d seen… Her mind ran through the scenes even though she didn’t want to see them… His final words to Rampage, the massive explosion that sent pieces of him bobbing to the surface before they sank into the ocean….  If he died, her support would be gone. She needed him to help her keep standing, just as he had done when he helped her arise from the sand a few hours ago.  She wouldn’t admit it before, but she wanted him to show up when she’d crammed herself into a corner of the gym.    But she definitely didn’t expect to be brought here.  Walking wasn’t a problem anymore; she’d adjusted to the extra weight, and flying… well, she was still scared of heights, but it was so much fun to feel so free.  A definite blessing.  She would have to thank Depth Charge for the chance to fly.  Sighing sadly, she turned and walked back to the field even though she didn’t want to leave nature’s solitude.  But she also didn’t want Depth Charge to be mad at her for staying away too long. 

            When Starath emerged from the trees, the peace she had gained from her walk shattered when she saw Depth Charge in the middle of the field.  He looked every bit the cold hard warrior he really was, not the laughing friend from earlier.  Fear flooded through her body and she froze, staring at him.  She ducked behind a tree.  A command came not from the air but from within her mind.

Come here. 

            She gasped, her chest feeling suddenly tight and stricken with the chill of panic.  She began to hope and pray that he was just angry with her for being away longer than the hour break.  Yeah, that’s it.  It had to be.  …Yet, no matter how much she hoped, she knew it wasn’t that.  It was something else…

I said, COME HERE!

            Her head stung from the biting order and she cringed like a beaten dog.  Eventually fear of the consequences if she didn’t obey overrode the fear of what lay in store for her in the middle of the field.   She stepped out from behind the tree and approached him with feet that had suddenly become lead weights again.  Heavy dread pressed on her shoulders as panicked thoughts began to race in her mind, all of them wondering what was to come next? Depth Charge’s powerful presence surrounded her and bled throughout the field, filling the atmosphere with the same tension and friction that occurs just before a thunderstorm.  The wind kicked up, blowing a little harder, making the warm sunny day dim with cold.  The sun now fought to shine through clouds that blocked its light.  When Starath finally stood in front of Depth Charge his optics held red lightning and he spoke in a voice that rumbled like thunder.

            “This is your last lesson.  You will fight me.”

She recoiled backwards in shock.  “Fight you?  Are you insane?  I can’t fight you!  It would be suicide!”

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken.  “You will also eliminate “can’t” from your vocabulary.”

            “By fighting you?”  Yes, he’s gone insane! “ No.  No way.  There’d be no point.  You’d scatter my body parts across the land.  Fighting you would be nothing but suicide!  It won’t teach me anything, most of all getting rid of “can’t” because I CAN’T fight you and stand a chance!  No!  I refuse!”

            “I’m not giving you a choice.”

His optics met hers and they locked together.  She searched for some glimmer that he wasn’t serious, praying he wasn’t.  She found nothing in the depths of the red lightning.  He then started to circle her.  “Weakling.”

She tried to escape his paced circle but couldn’t.  “Yeah, I am.  So what?  I don’t CARE if I’m weak!  I know I have my limitations!”

            “You have FAR too many!”  He paused in his tracks and before she could move he slapped her across the face.  Starath flew backwards and dug up the earth as she skidded across the ground.  She laid there, stunned, human tears brimming in her optics.  He actually hit me!  But despite her stinging cheek, she refused to cry outright.  She stood up and glared at him in defiance.

            “So what if I do?  I will live with it like I always have!”

Depth Charge towered over her with no emotion on his face.  “No.  You won’t.  Because if you do, you will die.”

            “WHAT?” 

He replied with another powerful slap across the face.  She flew farther back than she did last time and slammed against a boulder.  Through spinning vision Starath saw him coming and attempted to stand up, but her legs had gone wobbly with fear and pain, refusing to work. 

            “N-no, Depth Charge!  What did I do to deserve this?  I’m sorry!”  She pressed herself against the rock as he came closer without a word and death in his optics.  She commanded her legs to move as he pulled back to take another swing at her.  At the very last moment she leapt away from the boulder, which shattered into dust and gravel under his hand.  She landed atop another boulder a few feet away.  He spun and destroyed it under her feet too, so she jumped to another one and hung onto it for dear life.  But he came to that one and it disintegrated like the rocks before it.  Starath barely kept ahead of him, leap-frogging from one stone to the next while pleading for him to stop.  But he would not.          

            The pursuit became faster and more brutal as Depth Charge hunted her.  Every punch he swung became quicker with less time in between, chasing her relentlessly wherever she went. Starath’s cries and shrieks easily rose above the destructive clamor of rock blowing apart. 

            “Depth Charge, please!  Stop it!”

As their numbers diminished the boulders became farther apart.  She couldn’t keep jumping from one to the other… they were running out.  Why I don’t turn and fight??  His fist narrowly missed her and split the rock she stood upon in half and buried itself into the ground.  THAT’S why!  I can’t do anything!  He’s much too strong!  I’m NOT! I don’t stand a chance! I can’t fight him!

            “Depth Charge, please!”  She leaped to another boulder, but before she reached it a bright yellow blur zipped by and the rock exploded.  She landed in the rubble, tripped over burnt stone and rolled across the ground.  Panting hard, she pushed herself up into a frenzied run.  The boulder in front of her erupted into a shower of rock as another of Depth Charge’s chest missiles destroyed it.  The next one she turned to also detonated, blasting stone fragments at her.  She screamed, covering her face, running a crazy path between boulders and ruined remains of the ones Depth Charge destroyed.  Starath’s spark pounded in her chest along with her fluid pump as she ran blindly, gasping ragged breaths.  She stumbled as she stepped on some rocks lying in the grass and smacked into the tall cliff face on the edge of the field.  She stared at it, dumbfounded, not really understanding what it was.  Her gaze followed the rock face all the way up its height, many times her size.  A wall.  It was a WALL!   She spun around when she heard heavy footsteps crunching the rock on the ground.  Red lightning still sparked in Depth Charge’s optics as he approached her.  Starath pressed herself against to cliff in an attempt to become one with it and hide, screwing her optics shut. TRAPPED!

            “No…Please… I can’t fight you Depth Charge!  I can’t!  Please!”

A barely audible click-click reached her audios, and blinking she saw him raising his rifle.

            “Oh God no!”

He aimed with a steady gaze.  “Then you will die.”

            “Noooooooooo!”

Rock exploded in a violent show when he pulled the trigger, but before the dust and debris hit him he felt a rush of wind brush by.  All that was left where Starath stood was a gaping hole in the rock face.  She had disappeared.   He smirked, stowing his rifle away.

            “She managed to do it again.  Lucky girl.”

Depth Charge turned and scanned the field, then the forest, intent on continuing the hunt.

            In the shadows of the forest songbirds quieted as a breeze rustled leaves and a robot girl appeared on the forest floor, curled up in a tight ball, shaking with sobs. Human tears poured out of her optics as she cried uncontrollably, huddled in the decaying leaves and soft earth.  She wanted to disappear and leave this nightmare.  But she couldn’t.  Yet… if she lay there long enough, maybe she could wake up and it would be over?  She would be back home?  Home…No, there was no going home.  There was only this horrible hunt.  A hunt she will never escape from until it was over and she died.  She was going to die today.  She couldn’t fight him!  No, never!  Clenching herself tighter she tried to burrow into the ground to somehow escape the nightmare.  She only succeeded in covering herself in dead leaves and mud, sticking to her wet face flushed with human tears.  I’m going to die today… I am going to die!  I’m done!  There is no more!  I can’t do anything… I can’t fight him!  Never!  And he’s going to kill me… HE’S GOING TO KILL ME!  Everything I’ve ever done until now… all for naught… all for NAUGHT!  Lord, I want to go home!  HOME!  I’ve had enough… enough!  What is this supposed to prove?  What am I supposed to gain by fighting him?  WHAT?  Somebody tell me, please! If I do fight him it would be suicide, if I don’t he’ll kill me anyway!  I thought he was my friend! 

            Starath’s stomach and throat hurt from crying so hard, toiling over thoughts of her doom and hopelessness.  But suddenly in her mind she felt some sort of intrusion.  A tug, a presence that wasn’t supposed to be there.  Shocked, she jerked upright, searching the forest for the source of the intrusion.  The quiet atmosphere was overwhelmed with the thunderstorm-like tension she had felt earlier.                 

Where are you, girl…?

It was Depth Charge!  She couldn’t see him, but felt him… he was doing more than just reading her thoughts, he was seeing through her eyes, seeing her where she sat without really being there…

            “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” She screeched, jumping up out of the mud and leaves.  His presence left her mind.  She had to move now.  She had to get out of the area he had seen.  Brushing off the mud and leaves she bolted through the trees, weaving in and out of them into a thicker place of the forest where the trees grew closer together.  Her hope was that Depth Charge wouldn’t be able to fit where she was going.  She ran like a frightened rabbit, bounding over bushes and over stumps, wiping tears from her optics so she could see clearly.  In the midst of her panic, a weird sort of calm settled into her.  Why should I run anymore?  Why don’t I just face him and get it over with since I’m going to die anyway?  I can’t fight him.  And he will eventually catch me if I keep running.  Why am I making this hard on myself? I’m done.  I give up.   

            The trees thinned out and the sky became more visible when she approached the tree line and burst though… ending up right back in the field.  Starath skidded to a stop, nearly running into a remaining boulder.  Trees!  I need trees for protection!  She spun on her heel but was suddenly covered by a huge shadow coming from the sky.  Depth Charge flew down on his anti-gravity thrusters and landed right in front of her with an impact that made the ground shake.

            “Going somewhere?”

She backpedaled to get away from him, but one of his steps easily equaled three of hers.  Her back hit the boulder, but instead of scrambling over it she met his optics with a determined gaze.  He stopped, watching her. 

            “Alright, since you’re going to kill me, get it over with.”

His optics snapped open wide, then narrowed in fury.  She’s completely given up?! WHAT is WITH this girl??  What more can I do besides threatening her life to get her to fight?  She needs to learn how to try and not listen to her demons! Hmm… demons…A plan quickly formed in his mind.

            “Well, what are you waiting for?  Kill me!  I don’t CARE!”

Depth Charge started to circle her.  “You were right all along.  You’re pathetic and weak.  You can’t even muster up the guts to fight for your life.”

Starath’s jaw hung slack for a moment before she snapped it shut.  He’s given up on me?    

“I wasted my time with you.  You were nothing from the start.  Even now I wonder if I should bother wasting my time killing you.  Weak and pathetic girl.”  Depth Charge snarled, getting right in her face.  “You can’t fight.  You can’t become stronger.  You never could!  I just let you think that to make you feel better!  You will never be anything!  You are nothing!”

Tears of betrayal stained her cheeks.  She sniffled, clenching her fists together in shaking balls as he straightened up and continued circling her.

            “No!  That’s not true!”

            “Oh, but isn’t it?  You are weak.  You are pathetic.  Too afraid to try, too afraid to do anything but HIDE!  Go on girl, go on and hide!  Crawl into another corner! That’s where you BELONG!  You will never be like the others.  You will never learn how to use both hands.  Every day people will see your arm and wonder why it hangs so limply at your side.  They will SEE.  You’re special, girl.  And no one will ever help you.  Not me, not anyone.  Ever.  There’s no point to wasting time on a pitiful creature such as you—”

            “Shut up!” 

 Depth Charge spoke louder.  “You KNOW I speak the truth!  Why don’t you like hearing it?  You think it every DAY!  And you just sit there when someone tries to help you.  COWARD!  You can’t fight to become stronger.  You can’t fight ME!  You haven’t even the will to live. I won’t kill you.  That way every day you will see people doing things you can’t.  Can’t. Can’t. CAN’T!  Oh, how you love that word!”  

            “No I don’t!”

            “Every day you will have to live with the fact that you are a FAILURE. You never even tried. You are absolutely nothing!  You will never be strong.  You are so broken you can never be repaired.  And your mind is so sick you cannot fix yourself.  Sick with fear.  Sick with defeat—”

            “NO I’M NOT!” 

            “You’ll just keep running like a frightened kitten with a crippled paw.  You will never be more than that!  NEVER!”

Starath looked as though she might leap at him when he paused to take a breath, but she held herself back with a sudden realization. 

            “You can stop now, Depth Charge.  I know what you’re doing.  If you think you’re going to lure me into a brawl with you, think again.”

He sneered at her.  “No, of course not.  You’re too weak and too scared to fight!”  He stood over her.  “You’re too small anyway.  I could step on you and end the fight in a nano.”                        

            “I’m strong enough in my own way.  That’s all I need.  I don’t need to prove myself to you.”

Despite the calm tone in her voice, Depth Charge saw white-hot anger boiling in her blue optics.  Good, he had gotten to her temper.  He just needed to chip into her resolve a little further…

            “Weakling,” he growled, pacing a tighter circle around her, “I can see the anger within you… why don’t you release it...?”

Starath drew a sharp breath.  She thought she had been keeping her fury hidden from him.  She didn’t want to fight in anger.  That was a beast she didn’t know how to control and was scared of what it might make her do. But it was power.  Raw, untapped power that she had been keeping leashed for years…. When it did reveal itself—even in small bits—she always ended up hurting her friends or herself. The last thing she wanted to do was lash out and hurt Depth Charge.  Taking a slow breath to calm her racing spark and fluid pump, she pressed the anger back into its small cage at the corner of her mind. But now she was caught between Depth Charge speaking her demons aloud and the dragon of anger trapped in her head, which was infuriated by his taunts.  Her very sanity was now threatened.

            “I am strong enough.  I can do what I have to and expect nothing more.  I don’t want to fight you.  I have no reason to.” 

            “Oh?”  Depth Charge shoved her backwards.  “What about now?”  He shoved her again.  “And now?”  He socked her across the jaw.  “There yet?”  

Starath staggered under his hammering blow but recovered, glowering at him.  She wiped at mech fluid that tricked from her lip.  “No!  I will not fight you!”

            “Because you can’t, you weakling.  A weak.  Little.  Girl.  Nothing more.” 

Her inner dragon roared, pulling on its chain.  “I could fight you if I wanted to!”

            “No, you can’t.”

            “Yes I can!” 

Depth Charge leaned down into her face again.  “You can’t.”

            “ARGH!”  She backed away from him, clinging to the last bits of her resolve and sanity as the desire to do everything to prove him wrong set in.  She turned away to stare at the grass, panting hard.  “I will not… I will not…” Her body shook terribly with restraint as her inner dragon fought and begged to be released.  She wanted to shut him up.  She wanted to become stronger.  Releasing her anger would do that.  She could fight him, and she could win.  But still she hung onto her humanity.  She had no reason to fight.  She had nothing to prove… Depth Charge whispered in her audios.

             “You… CAN’T.”

With a ghastly howl she spun around, swinging her fist as hard as she could into his face.  

            “Yes I CAN!  I HATE that word!  I’ll never use it again!”

Depth Charge’s optics flashed with something like pride before they smoldered with red lightning again.  Bending, he smashed his hand across Starath’s face, sending her flying.

“Pathetic!”

            Skidding across the ground, she dug her heels in to stop and fell forwards onto her hands.  Tears of fury mixed with dripping mech fluid and dropped to the grass, staining it silver.  Her human side slowly gave in to the dragon of anger and she gladly let it slip away to gain power leashed too long.  She could do anything.  She had strength.  And she wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore…

            “Finished already, girl?”  Depth Charge’s shadow fell over her.  “I suppose I should step on you now and end this…” He raised his foot and slammed it down, but at the very last moment Starath rolled over and grabbed it, twisting it sideways with a sickening snap.  Depth Charge shouted in surprise and pain and he toppled over onto his back.  Starath arose and stood over him with an insane smile

            “Who’s the pathetic one now, fishbot?”

He leaped up; refusing to make any sounds to reveal how much pain he was in.  Snarling, he growled,  “You are.  You are nothing.”

Fury contorted her face.  “NO!  NO I’M NOT!”

            “Then prove it!”

Running at him she suddenly disappeared in a blur of newly controlled speed.  Harsh punches rained down from all sides until Depth Charge wrapped himself up in his fins and held firm for a moment, then swung them open the next.  Starath screamed as she was slapped away, but regained her flight and disappeared again.  He stood ready for her attack but none came.  He heard a faint giggle to his right and swung his fist but connected with nothing.  Suddenly she was in front of him and landed a punch into his chin.  He staggered back a step, putting his weight on his broken ankle.  A string of colorful curses burst forth until he became balanced again to favor his good foot.  He waited for another attack and pinpointed the source of another insane giggle.  Spinning quickly he swatted her from the air.  She hit the ground and lay stunned.

            “Come on girl, is this all you can do? I am NOT impressed!”

But in fact, he was.  She’s much faster than I thought she would be… Ow, slaggin’ ankle!  I shouldn’t have given her the chance to do that…now I just have to teach her to control that anger… He smirked, realizing the irony.  One hot-head teaching another…Whoa!

            In a blink Starath was off the ground and flying at him with a green beam-saber in her hand.  Depth Charge had been wondering how long it would take her to find that weapon and drew his spear just in time to block her thrust.  She hit with surprising force, making him slide backwards in the dirt.  He kept his expression neutral as he saw the insane fury raging in her optics.  The kind girl from before had vanished, replaced by a violent demon.  If he wasn’t careful he would get hurt from that fierce anger.  He had to get her back in control of herself again.  She drew back and struck again, shoving him further back.  Depth Charge winced as his broken ankle sparked. She saw the flash of pain and retreated to hit him a third time.  He swung back, connecting with her sword hard enough to send her spinning backwards in the air.   Starath yowled, shooting forwards, slashing wildly.  Her strikes were hard and powerful but they were unfocused.  He counter-attacked with well-timed blows, forcing her closer and closer to the ground.  Eventually he was able to sweep his spear under her and she fell to the earth.  Before she could get up Depth Charge pinned her down, holding his spear diagonally across her body.  She growled and snarled, thrashing under his weight to get free.

            “Starath, Starath!  Listen to me.  You must calm down and get a hold of yourself!”

She managed to kick him square in the chest.  “Burn in the Pit, fishbot!  I’m going to tear you apart!  You will die today!”

            “You’ve proven your point!  There is no need to fight anymore!  You know how strong you are! You’ve gotten rid of “can’t”!”

            “NO!  I must fight!  You called me weak!  You called me pathetic!”  She spat in his face and kicked him a second time.  “You wanted me to get mad.  You wanted me to release the beast within me.  Now you’re going to have to deal with it!”

            “Blind anger will get you nowhere.  You need to harness that power but not fight with it, or it will only lead to mistakes.  Believe me, I know!”  He caught her foot before she could kick him again and lowered his voice to a gentle tone. 

“…Just calm down, kid.”

At the sound of his nickname for her, Starath stopped squirming and gazed into his optics.  The red lightning was gone, replaced by a kind fatherly light.  Anger slipped away as it was leashed again and sad relief took over her.  The grip on her sword loosened as she allowed Depth Charge to take it away.  Human tears welled up in her optics. 

            “I… I didn’t want to hurt you, honest… you just made me mad…”

He stood up, put away his spear and offered his hand.  She took it and hugged his arm, clinging to it as she cried.  He patted her back.

            “It’s okay, kid.  I asked for it.  But it was for your own good.”

She sniffled, wiping her nose on his arm.  “Yeah, I can see that now. Thank y—”

            The scream of a missile cut her off as it came from the left and struck Depth Charge in the side.  He and Starath flew in opposite directions.  She landed on her stomach and dug up grass until she stopped skidding.  A low haunting laugh filled her audios.  Pulling herself up, she saw Rampage emerging from the forest.  He paused beside Depth Charge, who was unconscious and kicked him hard in the ribs.

            “So THIS is why you’ve been distracted all these weeks!  Why didn’t you tell me?  I want to play too!”  When he got no reply he laughed.  “Oh ho ho!  So it’s MY turn now?  How kind of you, old friend!”

Starath scooted back as the monstrous crab approached her.  Her body stung from the impact of the missile even though she hadn’t been the one who took the hit. 

            “Depth Charge…?”  She whimpered. He didn’t move.  Rampage moved in front of her to block her view.

            “Don’t bother with him right now little one.  He’s… napping.” 

            “No!  You shot him!”

He shrugged, indifferent.  “Bad habit of mine.  I must say you fight very well… What delicious burning anger you have! But I wonder how loud you can scream…?”   

            “Stay away from me!”  She scrambled upright and backed away as the Predacon advanced on her.  If only she still had that sword she’d try to take him down!  But she didn’t.  “Depth Charge!  Get up!”

            “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a girl to play with… They’re so rare…. And their fear is always so refreshing…”

Starath remembered her gun that she had learned to use a few hours ago.  She wretched it out and aimed at the crab’s chest with shaking hands.  Since speaking aloud wasn’t working, she tried calling to her friend in his mind. 

DEPTH CHARGE!  GET UP!  I NEED YOU!

Meanwhile, Rampage laughed at her puny gun.

            “You’re going to need a little bit more than that to do me any harm, sorry to disappoint you… But you’re welcome to try…”

Her will to stand against him wavered and he reveled in a wave of her fear as it hit him.

            “Ah yes… that’s it… let the fear build within you… there is no escape from ME!”

Starath’s back ran into something hard.  She turned to see that she had backed up against the tall cliff face. 

            “No…” She moaned, dropping her gun.  She was trapped again, but this time a monster had caught her.  And she could only imagine the terrible things he would do…  Rampage chuckled, breaking her thoughts.

            “Oh dear, no where else to go, little one!  What will you do n—”

            He roared angrily as a heavy force slammed him sideways and rolled the two of them across the field. Depth Charge exchanged blows with the giant crab until they stopped rolling and the raybot ended up pressed to the ground, barely holding back his enemy’s strong arms as they threatened to crush his throat and rip off his limbs.

            “BAH!  Again you interfere with my fun, fish bait!  Nevermore!”

            “You will leave her ALONE!”  Depth Charge panted, managing to shove the crab off him.  He spun to pin him down, glancing up at the small femmebot who watched them with tears in her optics.

            “Starath!  Get away from here!”

            “No!  I don’t want you to fight him alone!”

            “This is the LAST time and place to be stubborn! —ARGH— I always fight him alone! Leave here quickly!”    

            “Depth Charge!  No!  I want to help!”

He growled, both in frustration and from the huge effort to keep Rampage down. 

Sorry kid.

Before she could make a sound, the world shifted and spun.  When she opened her eyes she found herself several feet off of a cream colored floor.  She fell hard on her hands and knees.  Silence met her ears.  Numb with pain from the short fall Christine sat up and looked around.  She was back in the school’s gym.  Quickly examining her hands, she saw reddening flesh instead of silver metal. Human again.  The clock before her on the wall showed no time had passed since she left for the Beast Wars world well over six hours ago.       

            “Depth Charge…?”  Her voice echoed through the empty room.  No answer came.  She called out in her mind.

Depth Charge!

But she could tell their minds had been disconnected.

END PART THREE