Countdown

Part Two

The wind clawed at him as he tried to fly to safety. The lightning kept startling him and the thunder filled his head with its deafening voice.

Silverbolt strained against the force of the gale that hampered him on his way home. Rattrap clutched onto him tightly, as he'd already almost been blown off twice. Optimus was having a less difficult time keeping airborne with the help of his jets, whereas Silverbolt was smaller and relying on animal wings to keep him up. Though the storm had been raging for several hours, it had hardly lessened in strength.

A particularly strong gust forced Silverbolt to rear up against it and beat his wings hard and fast. As soon as had recovered, another blast of air threatened to send him into a spin. He opened a comm. channel to his leader.

"Optimus, this wind his besting me! It's getting too strong," he shouted.

A hundred meters ahead, Optimus responded. "Perhaps we should lower our altitude. The winds are less vicious further down."

Silverbolt felt ill at the prospect. The closer they were to the forest, the easier it would be for Rampage to see and shoot them. "I don't know if that's---" he started, but a huge bang of thunder cut him short. The rain was swept hard against him, drenching his wings and making them heavy. He felt Rattrap wriggling in discomfort on top of him.

"Crimeny, Bolt! We gotta get outta da thick 'o this or we're gonna be blown away like leaves!"

Silverbolt nodded grimly and prepared to drop altitude. "I'm going down eighty meters," he informed Optimus. The Maximal responded by dropping down.

Silverbolt carefully and gradually sank in the air and was just about to achieve his target height above ground when there was an incredibly bright flash, a bang and intense heat and pain. At first Silverbolt thought he'd been shot but as he felt the electricity run through and short his circuits he knew it was lightning. He lost all power control in his wings and plummeted. The fear of falling came a dazed few seconds later, and was heightened when he realized Rattrap was no longer with him. His body was frozen in a stiff, contorted position of agony and burning all over. The air rushed past him and the black layer of the forest canopy filled his vision. Silverbolt closed his eyes as he made contact with the first branches. He vaguely felt them gripping and tearing at him as he went through like a large stone, but he was too stunned to react to anything. He felt the impact and prayed silently for stasis lock. He was granted that wish.

Optimus heard the deafening boom behind him and turned as sharply as the winds would allow to see what had happened. It took him a frustrating amount of time and when he looked for Silverbolt and Rattrap, he did not find them. He knew then that they'd been hit and had fallen into the forest.

His first initiative was to try and contact them via their comm. links. He was not surprised to get no response. The storm was causing havoc with their communications even on a short range basis. He stopped in midair, keeping his eyes trained on the ominous shadow of the forest below. He wondered if they'd been hit by lightning, or from a missile. If they'd been brought down by natural causes, then perhaps they stood a chance, but if they'd been a target...

Optimus was torn in two. He had to go after them, because they were sitting ducks down there. But he had a responsibility in getting Depth Charge to safety. He knew that it would be impossible for him to locate and rescue them while he had Depth Charge to carry. With a sickening feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, Optimus turned back to the direction of the Ark, and set his blasters to maximum. He had to return here as soon as possible, or he'd surely lose them for good.

Rhinox felt his body go cold. He watched in quiet horror as the signatures of Silverbolt and Rattrap separated, blinked several times and then disappeared altogether. Optimus's signature went off the radar, as well.

He knew there was nothing he could do from his end but wait and hope he'd get a signal again. The storm was circling and the lull in the energon radiation was coming, or had come to an end. He waited for several cycles that dragged by almost painfully. Then, to his relief, Optimus's signature blinked back on the scanners. He was a lot closer to the base now, but he was without his companions. He unhappily realized, then, that they'd not recovered from whatever threw them off-course.

His head fell into his hands and he groaned. Though his face was buried in his palms, he could detect a change in light from the corner of his vision. He froze, not wanting to look up, because he knew that he would discover. With a heavy sigh, he raised his head and met the darkness. The back-up generators had failed.

Unable to control his temper brought on by frustration, he yelled: "Blackarachnia, what did you do to repair the chewed circuitry earlier?!"

The ringing silence that greeted him only further unnerved him. He opened a comm. channel to her.

"Blackarachnia---"

"I heard you! I'm coming."

Rhinox switched on his infra red and stared at the entrance to the control room. A few moments later Blackarachnia emerged silently like a dark ghost. "I re-connected the wires and taped them over. Either the rats have been especially busy tonight and chewed through them again, or it's a fault in the generator itself. Considering it was salvaged from a severely battered Axalon, I wouldn't be surprised if it were the latter," she said as she came over.

"We never properly tested it, I admit," Rhinox grumbled as he stood. They hadn't had much to work with when they moved in here.

"What's going on here?! Why's it dark?!" echoed a young, frightened voice.

"We're in the control room, Cheetor," Rhinox hollered. He turned to the Predacon femme. "We've got another problem," he announced gravely.

Blackarachnia was aware that Silverbolt had gone on a mission to retrieve Depth Charge, and so she automatically assumed something was wrong for him. "Where are they?" she asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice.

"Rattrap and Silverbolt separated and disappeared over Grid Alca. Optimus is on his way here. I don't know what happened, but---"

"It's obviously not good," Blackarachnia finished unhappily. She impulsively made for the computers only to stop short when she saw their screens were blank. Of course, the generator's power fed them, too.

Cheetor arrived in the control room looking panicked. "What happened to the power?" he asked Rhinox.

"Not sure, but I think the back-up generator failed. We need to go and check it out. Blackarachnia? If you'd show me where you patched up those circuits," Rhinox said. Blackarachnia slowly turned to face him, obviously distracted. "How close was Optimus to us?"

"He'll be here in about five cycles. Let's try to give him some welcoming light," he said as he gestured to her to follow him.

"Wait, where's Optimus gone and where's Silverbolt and Rattrap?" Cheetor asked a little frantically.

"They went to collect Depth Charge. He was hurt. Look, we have to tend to the generators. You can help if you wait by the doors and unbolt them when Optimus arrives, if the power's not restored by that stage." Rhinox moved to the hallway but paused a moment. "Don't unlock them until you're sure it's him," he added, and then disappeared into the gloom, Blackarachnia close behind.

Cheetor stared after them a moment while he composed himself. He was feeling terribly anxious, and the mere thought of lingering by the blast doors alone, was heightening his anxiety.

Steeling himself against the building fear, he headed over to the base's entrance.

He came to slowly. The first thing he became fully conscious of was the rain. He felt it splashing on his aching form. He stirred.

Silverbolt moaned. He tried to move but found his body heavy and sore, and still warm. Being struck by lightning was not an experience he wanted to go through again. He lay still and allowed his systems some more time to recover. When he felt ready, he slowly sat up. The movement was difficult and painful, but he felt compelled by some distant alarming urge to get up and away. Once he was upright, he allowed his thoughts to gather. Then he remembered why he felt alarmed.

Startled into action, Silverbolt looked over his shoulder, wide-eyed. His vision was poor, as the bright flash of lightning had damaged his optics and disabled his infra-red. He squinted in the gloom and was able to make out that he was in the thick of the forest and all that was before him was a mass of tangled branches and thick bushes. They shivered and writhed in the wind that penetrated the thick canopy and whirled around him.

Fear rushed to him and he turned sharply to look to his right when he heard something snapping. All he could see was shaking forms of trees, lit sporadically in white flashes. He felt panicked that he could not see properly. It was as if he were naked and everything was watching him squirm feebly in the torrents of rain and howling gale.

He tried to stand and felt an immediate stab of pain in his joints. His entire body was shocked and his internals were badly damaged. He knew, given enough time, his circuits would recover and moving wouldn't be so difficult, but he couldn't wait that long. He had to get out of here as soon as possible!

Grimacing, he forced himself up into a standing position. Once he was up, he allowed himself a moment to catch his breath and survey his surroundings as best he could. After regarding his immediate area, Silverbolt came to the conclusion that it was impossible to tell which direction he was facing in relation to the base. He didn't know where to start heading.

'Maybe I should remain stationary and wait for Optimus to find me. If I stray too far from here, he won't be able to locate me.'

It was the logical decision, but he felt an overwhelming urge to run and move away. He felt incredibly unsafe here. He thought that if he kept moving, he wouldn't be able to catch him. Or, at least it'd be more difficult.

Silverbolt started forward and his body instantly protested. He ignored the pain and warning messages and pushed onwards. He had barely gone five steps when his legs gave way and he fell. A root snagged his foot and he jerked in fright and started scrambling forward. He tugged his leg several times before the root finally snapped and he fell face first into the mud. He pushed himself up and rolled over onto his back, panting. He was coming apart! He couldn't let this fear take control. Silverbolt closed his eyes and forced himself to think. The threat of Rampage had been looming over them all and had grown bigger and more terrifying as the time passed. Now that he was out in the open and exposed to the killer he'd barely escaped from before, he felt frightened beyond his wits. When the crabbot had been under Megatron's control, he'd felt some false comfort at knowing he was leashed and never at full power. But on their first meeting, Rampage had held him in his great claw and tapped into his terror like...like he was an open book! It had been an unnerving experience he'd had to suppress in order to fight him in other battles.

But this was not a battle. There was no match. Rampage was free, and he was trapped by his injuries. There was nothing to inhibit the murderer from doing what Depth Charge said he enjoyed doing.

Silverbolt felt he would choke with terror.

"No," he murmured. "I won't let this consume me," he told himself. He rolled back onto his stomach and heaved himself up. He looked behind him and saw a small gap in the bushes. He backed into the gap and curled into himself in the thicket. He would wait here and keep on alert for any sign of light. If he saw light, he knew it'd be of the blasters of Optimus. Silverbolt swallowed hard and closed his eyes, concentrating on steadying his nerves. He knew there was a chance he'd have to fight for his life, and if he did, he had to have a plan. He couldn't do much in his current state, but if he kept his wits about him, he might survive this nightmare.

Rattrap had been caught in the trees on his way down. He was wedged in the V of a two diverging branches of a thick tree. His sides were aching and throbbing and his head was spinning. He'd spent what felt like an hour trying to work his way free. Finally, he'd wormed his way out of the niche and toppled head first the ten meters to the ground. It took him a while to gather enough strength to get out of the mud.

Rattrap examined himself. He was covered in scratches and burnt patches, but all his limbs were functioning. His internals were quite shot, he knew that, and that was affecting his infra-red. It was flickering in erratic bursts. His eyes had been closed when they'd been struck, and that's probably why he was able to see at all. Cowardice had some advantages. His face had been buried in Silverbolt's fur after a particularly loud crash of thunder.

Remembering his comrade, Rattrap looked around him to see if he could spot him. All he could see was trees and foliage. He sighed. It was quite likely they'd been blown far apart.

He tried to access his internal computer's grid-map, only to find that it too was malfunctioning. The grid flashed across his vision for a brief moment and then sputtered out. Rattrap cursed himself for not paying close enough attention to the compass on the top right hand corner. He fancied it was showing him as facing north, but he wasn't sure.

He got slowly and painfully to his feet and tried walking. It hurt and his legs felt like lead weights, but he was able to do it. He stopped and tried to remember which direction the base would be in relation to him. "Well, assuming I'm facin' north," he muttered. He adjusted himself and faced east.

A part of him felt that he should at least try and find Silverbolt. The fuzor could be in serious trouble. But this forest was immense and Silverbolt could be anywhere. He could spend the whole night looking for him, while all that time he'd be vulnerable to attack. Rattrap was uncomfortably aware that this was the same forest they'd found Depth Charge battered and offline in. Rampage was most likely still stalking through it, drawn to his pain.

Rattrap was unable to suppress a shudder. His constant sense of impending doom everyone told him off for voicing seemed quite fitting for this situation. He'd often thought they were all going to perish when things looked bleak and time and time again he'd been proven wrong. He only hoped that his cynical outlook would end in a pleasant surprise again.

"Gotta keep my eyes open," he told himself. He felt frightened, but he was able to keep it in check. Rattrap intensely hated what Rampage was, and that loathing was what curbed the fear somewhat. He was determined not to give the crab the satisfaction of his death.

He started walking forward, aiming to break out of this forest and get back to base. He knew it would be useless trying to drive through the mud and broken trees. He'd have to make his way carefully, by foot.

"I jus' hope yer doin' da same, Bolt," he murmured. Something deep within him told him that wasn't the case.

Optimus hammered his fist against the doors. "Rhinox? Cheetor?"

He waited for someone to let him in. He could make out the doors rattling slightly and then they opened a crack. One green optic peered through. Relief washed across Cheetor's barely visible face and the doors were pushed open slowly. "Sorry, Optimus," he apologised. "I was just being careful."

Optimus nodded understandingly and helped him widen them and then bent to pick up Depth Charge. He came inside to darkness.

"Don't tell me. The back-up's failed," he sighed.

Cheetor nodded. "The power went out just a few cycles ago. Rhinox and Blackarachnia are checking it out now."

"Right. Close the doors, please Cheetor."

Cheetor frowned. "Wait, what about Silverbolt and Rattrap?" he asked, suddenly realizing they were not with him.

Optimus shook his head miserably. "They're not coming. They got hit while we were flying over the forest."

Cheetor's optics widened in shock. "Hit? You mean by a missile?!"

Optimus started forward, wanting to put Depth Charge down somewhere. "I don't know. It's quite likely it was lightning. We were flying too high, because we were trying to avoid getting hit by missiles. It didn't pay off for us. I'm going back to find them now."

Cheetor frantically closed the doors and bolted them, then hurried after his leader. He caught up with him as he was placing Depth Charge on an examining table. "So they're out there alone and damaged?" he repeated unnecessarily.

"Yes and quite frankly I don't think they're going to last if we leave them there. I'm going after them. I want you to keep alert for them, in case by some miracle they make it to the base in the next few hours. Tell Rhinox what happened and where I've gone. I'm going to be searching Grid Alca."

With that, Optimus turned and headed off for the doors. Cheetor watched him leave, wanting to say things but finding he had no words. He knew Optimus was doing the right thing, but he feared for him, and he feared for being without him. He felt safer when Optimus was in base. He was, in his mind, the only bot strong enough to keep Rampage at bay. Depth Charge would have been a comfort if he were online, but the mantabot was out for the count. Cheetor knew his desire to have Optimus close at hand was a selfish one, but he was beginning to really suffer from the uncertainty and fear.

He forced himself to turn around and go to Rhinox. He needed to know what was happening, although, much to Cheetor's discomfort, there really wasn't much to tell at this stage.

Silverbolt jerked. He'd fallen asleep and he'd not realized it until something woke him. He was wide awake now and alarmed as to what had startled him. Perhaps it was instinct. He squinted at the gloom, trying to see if there was something there. The whole forest seemed to be alive with movement. If something was lurking in the shadows, there was plenty of cover for its advancement. Silverbolt shivered.

The more he stared, the more his unease increased. His wolf fur was prickling down his neck and back and his ears were twitching at every snap and groan from the thrashing trees. He felt heavy with dread. Something was definitely wrong, he could sense it.

Then he saw something. Something large peeked briefly above the line of bushes several meters ahead of him. Silverbolt started, then froze. He scrutinized the area, eyes wide and terrified.

When nothing happened for several long moments, he began to get restless. He wanted to move. His eyes could be playing tricks on him, but then there could have been something there that was now creeping up on him. Unless it hadn't seen him...

Silverbolt decided backing further into the brush and covering himself up was his best option now. If he lay low and kept hidden then he might stand a chance. As quietly and controlled as possible, Silverbolt began edging back slowly, gaze fixed on the bushes ahead. The spindly branches and thorns scratched him as he moved, and then he hit something. Something cool and hard. Silverbolt felt a cold and hot flush go through him as the terror gripped his throat like a vice. He was petrified to the spot, mind racing on what to do, but fear got the better of him. Silverbolt let loose a scream and rushed forward, only to have something sharp grab his back legs and pull him towards it. He clawed desperately at the ground as he felt his body being lifted.

"NO!"

Rattrap froze in mid-step. Something suddenly felt terribly wrong. He looked over his shoulder. Black and green flickers crossed his vision, as his malfunctioning infra-red flashed and sputtered. He caught glimpses of the forest behind him and saw nothing out of the ordinary. But still, something felt amiss.

He shook his head and turned back to walking forward. He had to get out of here. He was getting too nervous and skittish for his own good. He remembered walking alone down alleyways in the bad parts of town, where he'd lived most of his life. Twice, he'd been stalked and attacked, and twice he'd survived solely by acting quickly and keeping a cool head. After a while, he'd developed a sixth sense for trouble and was able to slink away into the shadows and elude those out to get him. The setting was different, but the situation was not not. He was prey in a hostile environment, and he had to keep one step ahead of the predator to make it out alive.

While the feeling of danger did not ebb away, the pang of alarm did as the night wore on. Rattrap calculated he had been travelling for a megacycle and a half and that meant the edge of the forest was not far. Once he was out of it, he'd be able to drive over the barren terrain leading up to the Ark crash site. He looked forward to reverting to vehicle mode and speeding away as fast as possible.

He wondered whether Optimus was out looking for them. The Maximal leader was considerably stronger in his Optimal form than he'd been before and so he should be able to hold his own against Rampage should he encounter him, but then, the crabbot was very clever at disabling his enemies. It was Rampage's intelligence that made him all the more frightening. Rattrap wasn't sure he felt comfortable knowing his leader might be out in this storm searching for him. He wanted to be found by him, of course, but the possibility of Optimus falling to the mass-murderer loose in these woods didn't bear thinking about. Without him, there'd be nothing between them and Rampage until the completion of the weapon. While Optimus was with them, he was sure the crab wouldn't assault the base.

He'd been keeping such worries out of his head so he'd be fully alert while he travelled, but as he neared the end of the worst danger, he'd let his guard down enough to think about them. He snapped back to reality when, in a lengthy flicker of his infra-red he caught sight of a form moving through the trees ahead of him. Rattrap stopped abruptly. The guiding light of infra-red faded and darkness greeted him. "Damn it," he cursed quietly. He reversed a few steps and then changed course slightly, so he was walking wide of the area of movement. Confusing flashes of lightning and brief bursts of green-light broke up the darkness. In one of those flashes, he saw a ghostly grey shadow walking towards him. Rattrap stopped again and backtracked slowly, staring intently ahead of him. Another short flash of light revealed that the ghost was no longer in front of him. Rattrap shook his head in defiance and turned sharply to his right and started jogging forward. The thunder clapped and filled the air, masking any sounds of approach. The rain had caused areas of the ground to sink in and potholes and muddy ditches were everywhere, often hidden by masses of leaves and small broken trees. Rattrap had carefully been picking his way around these hazards, but now that he was rushing, he kept treading in them and hastily pulling out of them.

He clambered forward as he pulled himself free of a shallow sinkhole. He stopped to look over his shoulder. Not twenty feet away he caught a glimpse of something passing behind some trees. "Primus above," he whispered fearfully. He turned back and started running. It was obvious now that his hunter knew he was aware of being hunted. Fear was written in all his movements.

Rattrap's panting and hoarse, sharp breaths filled his audios along with the thunder and every snapping branch and crunch of bramble beneath his feet. His infra-red returned long enough to reveal a clearing ahead. The edge of the forest was within sight.

Rattrap stopped suddenly and rushed to his left, diving over a thick entanglement of brush and rolling forward, then stealthily leaping right and making a sprint for the edge. He hoped his sudden, erratic movements would throw off his hunter. Heading directly for the edge could have been heading directly into a trap. The last ten meters seemed to last an eternity, but finally he broke free from the nightmare of the forest.

He didn't stop to breathe in relief. He immediately transformed to vehicle mode and revved his engines to maximum power. He shot across the flat landscape and concentrated on nothing other than getting to the base. He couldn't stop, even if he'd wanted to. He was driven by terror.

Cheetor walked down the hallway back towards the blast doors. He'd just spoken to Rhinox and Blackarachnia and informed them of Optimus's return with Depth Charge and where the leader was headed now. Rhinox had told him that he'd found out what the problem with the power was and that he and Blackarachnia were going to need a few megacycles to sort it out. Cheetor was to keep post at the doors and wait for Optimus's return.

While he was glad that they'd found the problem, Cheetor was more than a little nervous of being stuck in the dark for such a lengthy amount of time. He came to the blast doors and stood guard. He tried to comfort himself by humming a tune he'd learnt long ago, when he was younger and more innocent. He'd seen so much in this war and it weighed down on his mind. After Dinobot died, he'd realized the fragility of his own mortality for the first time. The war had suddenly become much more real and threatening. He'd not seen what had happened to Megatron, but from the snippets of descriptions he'd picked up from hushed conversations between Depth Charge and Optimus, it had been especially horrible. He'd never really recognised the full threat of Rampage until recently. It was only when Depth Charge had arrived that he'd learnt about his history, and even then it had been hard to believe when he only ever saw the crab as a strictly controlled slave of Megatron's.

But now... Now that Megatron was gone and all the attention had very suddenly and intensely focussed on Rampage, he began to comprehend just how dangerous the crabbot was. Optimus would not be reacting so strongly, otherwise. Depth Charge was edgy at the best of times, but he now had a wild, deep look of terror in his eyes that alarmed Cheetor. There was a constant sense of urgency and unease in the air and it was having an effect on him. In the past few days, Rampage had grown into the monster he was fabled to be and Cheetor was afraid.

The hours dragged by slowly and Cheetor was lost in some thoughts of home when he heard a sharp crackle. He jumped at least a foot in the air in fright. He realized the noise had come for his comm. link. He stared at it with a degree of dread, then summoned the courage to answer it. "Cheetor here?"

Sounds of thunder and rain came through, garbled and broken with static and then a voice. "Ch--or? It's Rattrap. Let---in."

"Rattrap?!" he shouted into his comm., surprised.

"Let me in, kid!"

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Cheetor quickly set about undoing the various, heavy-duty bolts and then pried open the doors enough for him to see outside and double-check. He stared into the night and with the aid of his infra-red he could spot Rattrap speeding towards him, weaving around some of the rocks and boulders. Relieved, Cheetor pushed open the doors fully and stepped outside. He waved his right hand to signal to Rattrap.

The transmetal rat stopped twenty meters away and transformed to robot mode. His body visibly sagged as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Is Silverbolt with you?!" Cheetor yelled, looking around for any trace of the fuzor. Rattrap shook his head and started walking towards Cheetor. "Nah. We got blown apart. I dunno where he is," Rattrap hollered through the wind and rain. "Is Optimus in?"

Cheetor took a tentative step forward, uncomfortable with going any further. "He went out looking for you two."

Rattrap nodded and said, "Can't ya contact him ta call him back in or is the radiation still too----"

Rattrap's sentence ended in a choked cry as suddenly something emerged from the obelisk behind him and grabbed him. Cheetor gasped and watched in mute horror as Rampage side-stepped out from his hiding place in crab mode, holding Rattrap in the air in his left claw. Rattrap was wriggling and thrashing as much as Rampage's tight grip would allow.

"RATTRAP!" Cheetor shouted in dismay.

The small Maximal struggled against the crushing metal pincers he was held between. His entire body tingled with the desire to be free and animal instincts started taking hold. He felt a surge of panic going through him and cloud out intelligent thought. He had to get free!

"Silly Maximal," came a dark, husky voice above the wind and rain. "You let your guard down too soon. Thought you'd easily outrun me. But you forgot the river," he scorned softly.

Rattrap stopped squirming and looked at his captor for the first time in the eyes. Rampage stared up at him, jagged-toothed jaws glinting wet in the flickers of lightning. "It's not far from here. The rain filled the river nicely. I move fast in the water."

"Let me go, Rampage. You're outnumbered," Rattrap managed to say. He regarded the crab as coldly and confidently as possible.

"Like that stopped me before?!" Rampage bellowed, and then laughed haughtily. He clamped his pincer tighter. Rattrap gurgled as he felt things cracking and snapping inside him.

"I can snap you in half without even thinking. You deserve it for being out on a night like this. You should have left the ray alone. He's survived this long without your help."

Rattrap was unable to reply as he was too busy retching and wheezing. The pressure applied to his front and back was incredible. Rampage was literally squeezing the life out of him.

"BACK OFF, CRABBY!" a cry carried on the wind and then there was a bright flash of green light. Rattrap felt the unpleasantly familiar burn of a laser shot and Rampage flung him. He felt himself soaring through the air although he saw nothing of it. All he could see was black as his systems began to fail. Then he hit something and felt nothing.

Cheetor continued to fire into the crab even after Rattrap was free. He knew if he left Rattrap in his claw any longer he would have died. He had no choice but to blast him free. Rampage had not taken kindly to the interruption and was now scuttling towards him. Cheetor's laser shots exploded on the approaching bot's armour but did little damage. All he succeeded in doing was slowing his advance. He shouted into his comm. "Rhinox!!! Help! Rampage is attacking and he's just hurt Rattrap!" He backed up against the door and fired continuously, his entire body shuddering with the constant backlash. Rampage continued forward, completely disregarding the blasts. Cheetor felt glued to the spot. If he went back inside, Rattrap would surely die. But if he didn't...

"RHINOX!"

He felt someone knock past him and then Rhinox was there, firing his twin chain guns. Rampage stopped and recoiled a little as the Maximal scientist fired mercilessly. "Get Rattrap!" Rhinox ordered through gritted teeth. "Blackarachnia!"

Blackarachnia rushed up beside him and started using her eight leg guns. It took Cheetor a moment to register the order and then he transformed to beast mode and sped to where he'd seen Rattrap go flying. In the rain and dark he couldn't see him right away. Before he could get close, though, he felt a sharp pain in his side and intense heat and the next thing he knew he was skidding along the ground at speed.

Rhinox saw the catbot get blasted from the corner of his eye. No sooner had Blackarachnia joined the fray than Rampage had transformed and taken out his heavy artillery. Cheetor was the first to suffer it.

"We've got to get hold of Optimus! We can't hold up against him alone!" Blackarachnia shouted above the cacophony of blasts, shrieks and booms.

"Can't. Storm's prohibiting all long-distance communications ---grnngh!"

Rhinox was thrown back against the doors by a shot. Blackarachnia narrowly missed being hit herself as she leapt to the left and rolled. She was back up on her feet in time to leap again as Rampage squeezed off another round.

She transformed to beast mode and skittered over to some rocks and hid, panting furiously. She looked over to the doors and saw Rhinox keeled over but still firing. "Get inside!" she cried. Rhinox looked at her briefly and then a missile blew him through the doors and out of sight. "RHINOX!!" she screamed. There was a deafening explosion and the rock she was hiding behind broke up and smashed into her in bits, sending her twisting through he air. She landed in an awkward roll a few meters away, debris raining down on her. Pain wracked her body as she lay there, trying and failing to move. Her body felt broken and limp. A distant, haunting laugh drifted to her ears. "No," she moaned weakly and struggled against the paralysis. She managed to roll off her back onto her stomach, but her thin, spider legs were too battered and weak to support her. As she looked up, she saw a looming figure come over her.

Depth Charge lurched forwards, grappling at the air and staring wide-eyed into darkness. He sat in that position, panting in some impulse of panic. It took him a few seconds to realize his infra-red wasn't on. He switched over and to his surprise found himself looking at the blank screens of the Maximal computers. He was in the control room, on the main table. He was also completely alone.

"Wha--huh?" he uttered, confused. He paused and allowed himself a moment to calm down and then tried to figure out what had happened. He must have been rescued. Optimus was the only bot large enough to carry him back here. But there was no sign of the leader, or any of his Maximals. There was also no sign of power in the base. It was probably why he hadn't woken up in a CR. chamber. He was still damaged from his earlier fight, but internal repairs had done enough for him to function sufficiently.

He gingerly rubbed his back and felt the rough areas of his metal where he'd been hit. He remembered then that he'd been shot from behind. "That bitch," he murmured, immediately feeling aggressive again. He eased off the table and looked around. There was absolutely no sign of life. "Optimus?" he called out irritably. The silence that answered him was empty. The only sound was the muffled rumbles of thunder.

An immediate feeling of unease came over the manta as he walked across the room. He felt a cold breeze blowing against his lower leg as he passed the exit of the control room that eventually led to the blast doors. There should not have been any drafts coming from that hallway as the blast doors were meant to be tightly shut at all times. Depth Charge felt something knot inside him. Something was definitely wrong.

He turned down the hallway and quietly made his way to the base's exit. As he rounded the final corner he was blasted by a gust of cold air. He blinked in surprise and then saw the doors were open and heavily damaged. There was a gaping jagged hole in the left door. Depth Charge felt sick with dread. Ahead of him, past the broken doorway was only darkness and rain. An acute and awful sense of déjà vu overcame him as he stared into that concealing blackness. After an undeterminable amount of time, he willed himself to step through and into the storm.

The rain pelted against his face and body and the lightning hurt his optics due to the light-intensifying effects of his infra-red. He could smell the pungent scent of mech fluid and missile debris and see scorch marks on some of the rocks and boulders. There had been battle here, but there were no bodies in sight. Depth Charge was unable to stop a gasp when he felt something slither over his foot. He looked down and saw an arm draped over it. To his shock it belonged to Rattrap. The little bot was severely damaged and barely twitching. "Rattrap?!"

When he did not stir again, Depth Charge bent and picked him up carefully. He hurried back inside and carried him to the table in the control room. He lay him down gently and looked him over. His abdomen was crushed and his body charred and covered in gashes and scrapes. There were deep indents like teeth marks on his back and stomach. Depth Charge recognised them as the marks Rampage's razor-edged claws made.

He prodded the transmetal rat gently. "Rattrap? Are you online?"

Rattrap's optics flickered once and then went dull. His body rose as he drew in a deep breath. "Rattrap?"

"...'Charge?"

Depth Charge put a comforting hand on the injured Maximal's shoulder. "Yeah, it's me. Can you tell me what happened?"

Rattrap's body sagged as he exhaled in a long, trembling sigh. "R...Rampage..."

Depth Charge's hand tightened around the little bot's shoulder at the name. "Rampage was here? Where are the others?"

Rattrap coughed violently and ended up gurgling. His head rolled to the side and his fingers curled. "No! No, don't leave me buddy," Depth Charge said gruffly and put his hand under Rattrap's head. "I'll take care of you, but you've got to tell me what happened! Where's Optimus?"

Rattrap said something, but his vocals were too rough for Depth Charge to make sense of it. "What was that?"

Rattrap was obviously unable to see as his optics were still dim, but he rolled his head so he was facing him again. "Out...lookin' fer 'Bolt. Dunno...where everyone else is. Think they...fought back."

Depth Charge froze and stared intently at the broken, dying bot before him. The implications of Rattrap's words sent an icy chill through him.

"The power's down so I can't put you in a CR chamber. I'm gonna patch up some of your wounds manually, to stop the fluid loss, okay?"

Rattrap did not answer. He was too weak. Depth Charge set about finding some thin metal pieces and a welder. The primitive repairs he was going to perform on Rattrap would be crude and painful, but they might just keep him alive until he managed to get the power back on.

Finally he had found what he needed and started work on sealing the rat's more serious wounds. He only whimpered a little when he used the welder, but was otherwise silent throughout the process. When Depth Charge had done all he could, he carried Rattrap to his quarters and laid him down to rest on his recharge bed, hooking him up to some energon to keep his power levels up. He closed and locked the door and then headed down the hallway to do what he had been both longing and dreading to do.

The raybot stepped into the rain and wind and began a search of the immediate area. His scanners were not picking up any sign of Rampage in close proximity. He could see that the crab had been here, though. Tank tracks scarred the ground and missile shells littered the place. He found what he was looking for soon enough.

"Ohhhhhhh.... HRRR-NO!"

He fell to his knees beside the mangled corpse of Rhinox. Blackarachnia lay strewn in bits not far away. The flashes of lightning illuminated the bodies and highlighted the carnage. Depth Charge's fingers dug into the wet earth as he bowed his head, optics dark in grief and fury. Not again...by Primus not again...

Rattrap passed out shortly after Depth Charge put him in his quarters. He had woken now and felt terrible. His entire body was burning and certain areas felt as if they were boiling and melting. The scalding pain was only a dim echo of the melding process, though. He'd been too weak to let out more than feeble cries at the agony, but now, despite how awful he felt, he was a little stronger. The energon had sped up internal repairs and he was no longer leaking precious fluid. He wasn't a fan of that fish, but he'd done him a big favour tonight. Although...

"If ya hadn't gone off in da storm like that, none of this woulda happened," he thought miserably. He remembered then what had happened. He'd been blasted out of Rampage's claw and thrown against a boulder. He'd gone offline, but had come to briefly during the fight. He'd heard Blackarachnia screaming and intermittent firing from Rhinox's chain guns. Then he'd heard a single blast, the sound of metal being rent and the screams dying down. He'd passed out again, partly from his injuries and partly from shock. Perhaps passing out had saved his life. Rampage might have left him alone because he was not conscious to feel the pain of death. Rattrap wasn't sure. He also wasn't completely sure the others were dead. He'd been disorientated when he'd woken and lying in a ditch, out of view from the main fight. He'd not heard anything from Cheetor, so it was possible that the kid was at least alive, somewhere. Rattrap tried to comfort himself with these possibilities, but deep inside, he feared the worst.

He tried to move. He was able to strain upwards a bit before his body gave up and he fell with a soft thud back onto the recharge bed. He activated his optics and this time they lit fully. He found himself staring at a dully lit ceiling. The power was back on back-up, he could tell by the low light.

"You shouldn't move. There's not enough power for the CR chamber yet."

Rattrap was startled by the voice. He rolled his head to the side to see Depth Charge sitting on a stool across the room. The manta was not looking at him. He was hunched over, arms draped over both knees, gaze fixed on the ground. His entire posture was slumped and despondent.

"Depth Charge...what....what's happened?" Rattrap asked quietly, voice scratchy from all the dry mech fluid coating his voice box.

Depth Charge was stock-still. It took him a long time to answer, but Rattrap could sense there was something wrong and so he did not press the raybot.

"They're all dead, Rattrap. Rhinox, Blackarachnia...Cheetor."

Rattrap felt his throat close up and his body stiffen. He remained motionless, simply staring with wide, sad eyes at the sombre ex-Guardian. A long silence followed.

"...and Optimus?"

Depth Charge shook his head. "I don't know. He's not come back."

Rattrap turned back to staring at the ceiling, trying to calm his trembling spark. He fought the urge to scream.

"Why did you come after me?"

Rattrap blinked at the question, then bristled. He looked at Depth Charge angrily, only to find the raybot was looking equally as furious.

"You slaggin' bastard, Depth Charge! Why the hell d'ya think we came after you? Does it warrant explainin'?"

"Yes! I've been hunting X for stellar-cycles! I can hold my own against him! I didn't need you to come after me and endanger yourselves. You were idiots for leaving the base---"

"LOOK who's TALKIN'!" Rattrap shouted, and immediately regretted it. He started to cough and hot sears of pain went through him.

"I went out there to stop Myst from telling him what we had planned! If he became aware what we had in store for him, he would have---"

"DONE THIS!?" Rattrap snarled, despite the pain and bubbling mech fluid in his throat. Depth Charge made to say something, then fell silent.

"You're a FOOL, 'Charge! Too long have you been controlled by yer emotions. They've consistently clouded yer judgement, and now it's finally gotten people killed! If you had just stopped ta THINK fer a second, none of this woulda happened!"

"You don't know that!" Depth Charge interjected.

Rattrap rolled his eyes and snorted. "Would you LISTEN to yerself? You're slaggin' nuts!"

Depth Charge stood up and the sound of the stool grating on the floor was menacing The entire room seemed filled with his aura of anger. "DON'T you call me that! By the Pit, don't you DARE say that! I won't have you associating any of Rampage's characteristics with me!"

"Well why don't you explain the sense in goin' head first into a raging storm after some femme-bitch who might or might not know somethin'?"

Depth Charge started replying to that when he heard something. He stopped short and Rattrap began to add to his rant when Depth Charge indicated with an elaborate hand gesture that he be quiet. Both listened intently. Then they heard it; heavy footsteps.

"Rhinox?"

It was Optimus's voice. They exchanged glances and Depth Charge made to exit the room.

"What ya gonna tell him?" Rattrap asked tetchily.

"The truth," Depth Charge grunted and left the room. The doors did not close behind him. What power there was was probably reserved for more important functions. In any case, it allowed Rattrap to hear their voices echoing down the hallway.

Depth Charge rounded the corner and found Optimus looking anxiously around the control room. He'd obviously just entered it. The large Maximal spotted him.

"Depth Charge! What happened? Where is everyone?" he asked, distraught.

He stared into Optimus's wide eyes and saw the desperate fear and concern in them. He couldn't bear to keep him in suspense any longer.

"Rampage attacked, while I was unconscious..."

"No," Optimus said softly, dismay already creeping into his eyes.

"They fought him, but only Rattrap survive---"

"No!" Optimus cried sharply. Depth Charge paused and regarded the panicking Maximal. His gaze was no longer on him, but staring unfocusedly past him. "Rattrap's badly damaged, but I think he'll pull through. I'm...I'm sorry."

Optimus's body sagged and he looked at the ground, a disturbing look of shock and wild disbelief on his face.

Depth Charge started forward, wanting to somehow comfort him. He'd felt that same, powerful sense of loss that seemed to hollow out your entire being with its cold emptiness. "I'll make him pay, I swear it," he assured him adamantly. "I'll make him suffer agonies beyond what he can imagine before I---"

He was cut off when Optimus turned suddenly and slammed both his fists down onto the main table. The action shook the entire room and Depth Charge stopped short in his tracks. "They can't all be dead," he moaned, voice breaking. "Where are they? Where's Cheetor?"

Depth Charge struggled to remain calm. He was seething inside. The shock had subsided for him and anger had rushed to fill its place. He wanted to get revenge now, even more so in seeing how shattered Optimus was. He did not like him, but he felt for him. He was just another victim to suffer at the hands of that sadistic murderer.

"I put the bodies in the first storage room. I don't suggest going in there---"

But it was too late. Optimus had already fled down the corridor and was opening the door to the storage room. Depth Charge rushed after him as he disappeared inside. A terrible cry filled the air and slowly petered out to a strangled moan. He slowed to a stop and stood limply, listening to the ensuing sobs.

When he could take no more of it, he turned back down the hallway and headed for the exit. He wasn't going to leave; not yet. He was going to stand guard and pay close attention to his scanners, to make sure Rampage didn't come back. Then, when morning came and he was confident Optimus was together enough to take care of himself and Rattrap, he'd fly to the mountain he'd arranged to meet Inferno at. The weapon to destroy Rampage was incomplete, and the Maximal in charge of its restoration was dead, but he already had plans forming in his mind to work around this. He needed to contact Inferno first. He was going to need his help.

He settled against the wall and stared desolately into the early morning gloom, watching the rain and listening to the rumbling thunder. Dull throes of physical pain were still troubling him as he'd not yet used a CR chamber. He'd survive without one. The power was gradually restoring, thanks to Rhinox's initial repairs and his final touches, and drawing from the energon Primal had mined earlier. Hopefully in a few megacycles Rattrap would be able to use an R-chamber. He occupied his mind with thoughts on how he'd execute the plan he had in mind. He tried to forget the gruesome images of his butchered comrades. He'd seen such brutal killings before and he deeply felt he could take no more of it. He had to end this now, or very soon it'd all be over. He would not be another number in Rampage's countdown to victory, neither would he allow any more of his companions to fall victim to him.

Depth Charge told himself he wouldn't fail in this. He simply could not.