The Intergalactic Highway

Of course.

The eagle would be fast enough to just duck under him and slice at his legs. It kinda' hurt.

Steelclaw now found himself really missing his guns. She seemed to be able to do little damage to him, but he seemed completely unable to touch her. She wouldn't have been able to outrun a guass blast.

Valkyrie wrote:"Give it up and retreat Predacon. You're fighting a losing battle. I have no intension of causing you irreparable damage, if you retreat or surrender."

Well... he had seen 'bots get their heads ripped off and still live to tell about it, so her threat of irreparable damage seemed a bit presumptuous. He wasn't anywhere near done with this fight. But, perhaps she knew some secret method of deactivation. Well, it mattered little- even if he was damaged irreparably, it would not have been a good reason to give up a fight over such an important recourse.

"Nah, I'd rather not."

He was preparing for another perhaps futile assault when he heard an explosion. He looked off and saw Megatron standing in robot mode, energon radiation causing a painful-looking current to travel along his frame. In front of him was Primal, and behind Primal was a crystal.

With a hole in it. He could hear it whining, ready to completely destabilize and blow up. The rest of the energon around the mountain was bound to follow suit. Now that was a good reason to give up a fight. He looked to Valkyrie again.

"Actually, just give this situation a cycle or two and there won't be anything left to skirmish over."

* * *

Cheetor felt the little claws battering him, but when he heard the explosion and figured out what was going on, he realized it was time to quit. At least they had kept everything away from Megatron's crew. But there was a more pressing matter at hand.

Cheetor leaped off of Waspinator and looked around the battlefield.

"Time to fade heroes!"

* * *

Even from an enemy combatant, that was all the bidding Steelclaw needed.

He turned around and ran the other direction.

"I'll see you around." he shouted over his shoulder to Valkyrie.

M-mm-mech f-ff-ff-fluid?! P-pp-pain?! H-HURT?!

The fur on Saber's neck and shoulder went down when she saw Starshadow's reaction to the mech fuild.

GET AWAY FROM ME!!! GO AWAY!!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!! AHHHH!!!

She was concerned about Starshadow but she had to remain here with her fellow Maximal's.

"Time to fade heroes!"

Saber tore herself away from where Starshadow had taken off and went over to Optimus to protect him from any other Predicon attack.

Seeing Dinobot save Optimus from being hit by the missle surpised Skyfire. But of course as result the the missile hit the energon, it looked like it was going to blow any second now.

"Time to fade heroes!"

Skyfire didn't have to be told twice. She then began to retreat with the rest of the her comrades.

"It is NEVER over! NO!"

Megatron was insane! Optimus couldn't believe he was converting to robot mode and targeting him with his weapon. Any shot fired could blow that entire mountain to pieces, along with anyone still inside! But apparently, that's what he wanted to happen.

"For if I must die, I shall take you with me!"

Primal sat there helplessly, watching in horror as the Predacon leader fired off a missile directly at him. This couldn't be the end already. Could it? The gorilla began to cross his arms in front of his face, ready to take the full blast to his head as was intended, but it didn't happen. In a split second, Dinobot had miraculously jumped in and deliberately knocked the missile off of its path with precise control of his tail, missing Primal by a hair over his right shoulder. Grateful that he was spared for that moment in time, he was still in danger of losing his life. Watching the missile breeze by him, it impacted the mountain wall not far behind him and began a chain reaction of disrupting the raw energon. Although terrified at what was to come, thanks to Megatron, Optimus had to think fast and get his team out of there.

"Dinobot!" Primal called to him, seeing him lay there on the ground in a shallow pool of his own fluid. The velociraptor just saved his life, and even if he hadn't taken that action, Optimus wasn't going to leave him behind.

"Time to fade heroes!"

The Maximal commander heard Cheetor and looked at Saber-Fang as she approached him. He was thankful for her protection but right now someone else needed more help. "Saber-Fang," said Optimus, pain still pulling a great deal on his voice, "help... Dinobot." If the former Predacon couldn't get to his feet on his own, the sabertooth tiger should be able to wiggle herself head first under the lizard's body until he was draped over her back and then get the both of them out of there.

Looking up, he noticed Skyfire and called to her. "Skyfire! Grab Rattrap!" Primal could see the rat was still struggling with Venatrix, and he might not have enough time to get away from the blast without some assistance. Sky could swoop in and snatch Rattrap up with her talons before Venatrix could delay him from escaping.

Last but not least, seeing Valkyrie could retreat now as Steelclaw made the wiser decision, himself. Barely being able to stand, Optimus needed help. "Rhinox!" he cried out to his friend. He could climb on to the rhinoceros who could easily carry him out of there and to a safe distance with the rest of his Maximals. His leg still sparked and leaked a little fluid from Megatron's very deep bite, causing it to malfunction from the wires and circuits that his teeth had ripped through. Primal could suck up the pain just a little while longer. The sooner he got away from all of that energon, the less pain his unshielded injury would produce. Not much less, of course, but better than what he was feeling right then.

Meanwhile, farther away from the rest of the Maximals, Rattrap wasn't ready for such a powerful swing from Venatrix's tail. Still holding a grasp with it, the Predacon panther managed to pull him right off of her back, and at the same time, he released her tail with a holler, and landed hard on to the ground with his stomach, sliding toward some energon crystals. Braking himself to a stop before he reached them, Rattrap shook his head and tried to focus as quickly as he could, standing back on all fours again. He could hear Cheetor and Optimus yelling something, and slowly noticed several of the Predacons retreating, ignoring him completely. What the heck's goin' on? he thought lazily. Hitting the ground as hard as he did nearly knocked the wind out of him. Darn cat.

"Skyfire! Grab Rattrap!"

"Right" Skyfire replied after Optimus gave his order. She then flew back to where Rattrap was and grabbed him and her talons and flew back in the directions her fellow Maximals were retreating in.

"Man, this guy is heavier than I thought he would be" Skyfire said she flew.

Megatron fell to the ground as the mountain started to shake. On the outside, he was immobile, lying there while his systems attempted to reboot. His optics faded for a moment befroe powering back on.

With no call for retreat, the others had to make the decision for themsevles, which they undoubtedly would. Megatron himself was focused on getting back up, but it was proving to be difficult. He could feel, if not see, the Maximals retreat and te singing of the energon crystals - ohhh, all that energon wasted!

With a mighty effort, he managed to gain control of his body again, but his pain receptors switched on and he shouted, fighting the fiery sensation of build up away. With a roar, he managed to reach the edge of the mountain and jump, just as the mountain began its explosion.

Rhinox nodded On it! he then rushed towards Optimus without even thinking, he came to a abrupt stop allowing Optimus to climb on, then started to move after the ape climbed on. Alright, lets move! he then shouted charging towards some rocks and crashing through opening up a new path off the mountain.



__________________________________


Tarantulas laid on the ground still twitching, his body trying to cope with recovery after being literally flattened by the miniature rhino, though as the events were under such a short time, it was unlikely for him to snap back into shape.

"Saber-Fang," "help... Dinobot."

Saber nodded then went over to Dinobot and walked under him so that she supported his weight on her back, with some effort she lifted him up.

Alright, lets move!

Saber was right behind Rhinox, as she ran she wondered how Starshadow was doing, but she shook her head, she could worry about Starshadow some other time right now she just needed to get Dinobot to safety.

The whole mountain was shaking! Scorponok nervously watched as the other Predacons had already left or started to retreat. He better do the same. Taking a look at all the energon, which was about to pour out its energy in exponent portions...

What a waste.

Scorponok looked around noticed his leader....

Dalgaroth wrote:Megatron fell to the ground as the mountain started to shake. On the outside, he was immobile, lying there while his systems attempted to reboot. His optics faded for a moment befroe powering back on.

With no call for retreat, the others had to make the decision for themsevles, which they undoubtedly would. Megatron himself was focused on getting back up, but it was proving to be difficult. He could feel, if not see, the Maximals retreat and te singing of the energon crystals - ohhh, all that energon wasted!

With a mighty effort, he managed to gain control of his body again, but his pain receptors switched on and he shouted, fighting the fiery sensation of build up away. With a roar, he managed to reach the edge of the mountain and jump, just as the mountain began its explosion.

"Megatron! Megatron!"

Scorponok watched Megatron jumped off the mountain. All Scorponok could feel was the energon blowing him off the edge of the mountain. Rolling down the side of the mountain and eventually hitting the ground, he still saw Megatron and rushed towards him, following him.

Steelclaw was almost off of the plateau when something caught his attention in the corner of his vision. He looked over to his left and saw it was Tarantulas twitching, without any apparent capacity to run.

The energon was whining louder and louder, and every moment was another one where the crystals could have blown up. Steelclaw stared up at some of the crystals.

"Oh boy." he said nervously. He shuffled his feet oddly as the idea in his head of dragging the scientist off of the battleground conflicted with the thought that came only a micro-cycle later- that there was no time. The internal war was solved as he shuffled faster and faster- he had to get Tarantulas. Finally he broke into a full run and came near his ally.

He attempted to put his mouth lightly on one of the legs, but without enough friction to hold onto to the leg, his teeth slipped off because of the spider's considerable weight.

"Don't kill me in my sleep." Steelclaw requested before clamping down full power on the leg. A crunch resounded as the exoskeletal structure on that area of the leg snapped and caved. Steelclaw then quickly shuffled off, holding on to his ally as best as he could.

Coming to his senses, Rattrap watched Venatrix carefully until he realized what was happening. The entire mountain was beginning to shake, rocks falling down and the energon igniting. Holy swiss cheese! He could see Megatron in his robot mode, no doubt the idiot who fired the missile, attempting his escape from the blast. Where were the other Maximals? Rattrap only saw a few left. Saber was helping Dinobot, but he didn't know why the lizard was laying there. Not too far from them, he saw Rhinox getting Optimus. So the monkey didn't get scrapped after all, but he was seriously injured. Valkyrie was still buzzing around in the air. That left him. Was he forgotten? The rat's little legs wouldn't carry him fast enough to evacuate. Just when he thought he was doomed, he felt a grip on the back of his neck, and he was suddenly jerked off of the ground before Venatrix could pounce on him and tear him apart; if that would've been her next move. Either that or save her own hide from the explosion.

"Woohoo hooo! See ya, Whiskers!" Rattrap called down to Ven, waving a little paw as good riddance. "Ain't eatin' rat tonight, are ya?" He stopped teasing her as he watched her get smaller and smaller, realizing how high he and Skyfire were now. He gulped and looked up at the bald eagle.

"Man, this guy is heavier than I thought he would be"

"Hey!" the rodent called at Skyfire. "You want heavy? Try pickin' up Rhinox." He grinned but it was short lived as they flew away from the mountain to regroup with the others, his black eyes staring down below. Please, don't drop me. Please, don't drop me. Please, don't drop me, he thought, dangling in her grip.

On it!

As soon as Rhinox came to his aid, Optimus pushed himself to his feet, grabbing a hold of the rhinoceros. He growled from the pain of his injury, but the ape used his good leg to stand on and his arms to pull himself up over Rhinox. Straddling his back, Primal closed his eyes only for a moment, as the agony from all the moving shot through him like a hundred bullets.

Alright, lets move!

Taking off as quickly as he could, every step Rhinox made wasn't exactly the smoothest, which made it feel like someone was pounding Primal's wound over and over again. All he could do was deal with the anguish and focus on holding on to his friend, especially when he would blow through some rocks. Clenching his teeth from the pain, Optimus glanced over his shoulder to find Saber-Fang right behind them with Dinobot, and Skyfire in the air with Rattrap. He didn't know where the Predacons went because his only concern was getting his own comrades out of there.

Optimus had to take a breath before calling out to the other eagle. "Valkyrie! Let's move!" He cringed from his leg and lowered his head as debris fell around them while they exited the mountain and hurried down the side.

Waspinator felt the great weight leave him, allowing his chest to expand gratefully with air. Unlike his fellow Flyer, the wasp-bot could fully fly. Leaping into the skies, he whizzed over Terror-bot, extending three claws toward him. Sure Terror-bot would be hard to carry, but Waspinator had a good spark, even if he desired world conquest.

"Wazzpinator help Terror-bot?" tilting his head slightly, he wriggled his small wasp toes so Terrorsaur got the message.

----

Dimly, far-off... A loud boom that shorted his audios into static, then what he was sure his deathbed began to quake. At least he would die with honor, on the battlefield.

Something furry touched him, smelling of sweat and mech fluid. Or was the mech fluid part him? His half-functioning processor couldn't distinguish the difference between scents. But he did know that right now he looked like a helpless wimp who relied on a Maximal to walk. Suddenly seething, he pushed away from Saber, digusted that he had even touched her. "I... am able to walk by myself, beaver bite." he snapped- slightly cross-eyed-, referring to her huge fangs. Then he hobbled unevenly. after Rhinox, veering wildly off to the right then the left.

Terrorsaur was trotting just fine, but his wings ached and when he heard Waspinator's words he didn't care if he could trot, he took his chance!

"Get me outta here!" he yelped, and with a leap he grabbed the little legs and held on with with his fingers. He looked back at the exploding mountain but ,as the realization hit him, was suddenly more concerned about whether the wasp could carry him... "Go! Go! And don't drop me or you're dead!"

As Saber continued she noticed that Dinobot was coming to, she then heard a growl and was pushed away.

"I... am able to walk by myself, beaver bite."

Saber just raised an eye brow, she knew guys like these back on Cybertron.
"Ok, for one if your going to call some one like me beaver bite, you better be looking for a fight, but seeing how i'm not in the mood at the moment i'm gonna let you off the hook." Saber said rolling her shoulders to relax them.
"And second when you need some one to carry you, don't come crying to me." She growled before walking ahead of Dinobot her ears back in irritation.

((Respect Saber's authoritah! Lol))

(( OOC: All right, all right, I'm here! I was wondering if anyone was going to post for their Maximals before me because some of them left the mountain before OP did, and I don't know where they're regrouping without one of them saying so. Also, since OP is riding Rhinox, NK has more control over our movement than me. I'll post something, though. ))

The explosion was enormous, to say the least. Energon waves pierced the air in all directions, not to mention the debris that was scattered about for miles. Optimus had laid close on his stomach to Rhinox's back from the shockwaves and heavier rocks that fell. The raw energon waves hammered his unprotected injury, causing him to growl deeply, but the unbearable pain began to subside as the air cleared.

The gorilla slowly sat up on the rhinoceros's back, looking back over his shoulder at the skyline where the mountain used to be just moments before. It was completely anilated. They were lucky that they got out of there just in time.

"I... am able to walk by myself, beaver bite."

Hearing Dinobot's voice, Primal turned his attention to him and Saber-Fang.

"Ok, for one if your going to call some one like me beaver bite, you better be looking for a fight, but seeing how i'm not in the mood at the moment i'm gonna let you off the hook." "And second when you need some one to carry you, don't come crying to me."

He watched Saber walk away from the raptor and past Rhinox, obviously irritated about Dinobot's comment. "I told her to carry you out of there... Dinobot," Optimus corrected the situation, taking a breath from exhaustion and damage. "If you need to be angry... with someone, let it be me. She was only following... orders." Slowly discovering the former Predacon's definition of honor ever since he fought him on the bridge, it probably seemed dishonorable to him to have been pulled out of death's grasp when he felt he should've died in the mountain as any respected warrior, but that's not how Optimus saw it. He wasn't going to leave a comrade behind, not if there was still time to save him or her, honorable or not. Besides, if Dinobot had died there in the explosion, he'd never get his "revenge" on Megatron. However, Optimus didn't expect him to show any gratitude for it. In fact, he should be thanking Dinobot for knocking that missile off of its course and saving his life. "Thanks," the Maximal leader said to Dinobot as the four of them approached where Cheetor had settled himself a safe distance from the explosion and waited for the other Maximals to show up.

(( OOC: I don't think my post is ready for OP to acknowledge any Maximals from afar (in the OC thread) who are trying to communicate with them. I can fit it in my next post, though, if the OC's don't mind waiting a little longer. Unless someone else playing a Maximal would like to bring it up in theirs. Doesn't matter to me. ))