Killing Me Softly

Part Two

By: Sapphire

PG L

Had the Maximals been aware that today was their day of reckoning, they would have been more tense that morning.  Rattrap and Optimus were far from relaxed, but even they did not grip the seriousness of Rattrap's failed attempt to learn what Megatron was planning.  

Cheetor bounded into the control room in an exceptionally good mood.  He considered himself a positive bot at the best of times and so good moods were not a rare thing for him.  He was a little jaded now and then; war did that to you, but for the most part he was happy in the company of his fellow Maximals.

Depth Charge, however, did not find himself in a good mood regularly and Cheetor's boundless energy and hopefulness wore on his patience very quickly.

The manta-ray bot had just finished hearing about Rattrap's mission in a private meeting between Optimus, Rattrap and himself.  It was still quite early in the morning when the meeting finished and no sooner had Depth Charge turned away from the two than Cheetor entered the room smiling.  If only the catbot knew what a dire situation they could be in...  But he was told to keep quiet for now.  Optimus was planning on holding another meeting later when he'd inform everyone of last night's events and hopefully, together, they'd brainstorm a way to expose Megatron.

"Hiya Depth Charge!  Did ya sleep well?" Cheetor asked.

Depth Charge was about to reply that no, he hadn't slept at all, but Cheetor lost interest in the answer as soon as he finished the question.

"Big bot, what are we doing today? Am I on patrol this morning?"

Optimus was weary from a sleepless night and fought to keep his voice steady.  "No, Cheetor.  You're staying in today.  We all are."

Cheetor transformed to robot mode and the catty grin he'd been wearing was no longer.  "Why?  What's the matter?"

"Pop Op's gonna fill ya in later.  We're just waitin' fer da others ta wake up," Rattrap answered for his weary leader.  Rattrap was certainly tired after the stress of last night's adventure, but he'd slept the whole afternoon before so he was better off than Optimus.

"Did something happen?  You guys look worried," Cheetor observed.

"Oh!  You noticed," Depth Charge snorted sarcastically. Optimus shot him a warning glare, but couldn't maintain the _expression for long.  He turned tiredly to Cheetor.

"Yes, but like Rattrap said, it's for later.  What you can do is take the monitors for a while.  Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Sure," Cheetor replied quietly.  The catbot may be young and perhaps a little too enthusiastic at times, but he was not stupid.  He knew when things were amiss.

Depth Charge harrumphed and rolled his optics while Optimus just stared blearily at the mantabot.  Rattrap looked at them both.  "You guys are both real cranky.  Look, we ain't gonna have da meetin' fer at least another hour.  It can't hurt ta get some sleep in da meantime."

Optimus hesitated on that suggestion but when he saw Depth Charge nodding it seemed to sway him.   If the manta bot was tired, then he certainly must be.

"All right.  You make sure no one leaves the base, okay Rattrap?"

"'Course."

Depth Charge headed out of the room.  Optimus glanced about as if looking for any excuse to keep him here, when in reality he knew there was nothing demanding his attention.  As if reading his thoughts, Rattrap said:  "Go on Optimus.  We'll be okay without you fer an hour."

Optimus nodded softly, turned and left.

Rattrap sighed quietly and stared blankly at the monitors Cheetor was watching.  He mentally ran through last night's escapade and tried to look for clues.  There had to be something that he'd missed.  There had to be a link.  He tried to put pieces of information together, hoping they'd fit and the picture would become clearer. Surely it was there; Rattrap was almost certain he was missing something important.

But what?

Waspinator was another bot who'd had very little sleep that night.  For the most part he'd been on edge, listening out for Megatron while also busying himself cleaning up the terrible mess Rattrap had made of the laboratory.  He'd patched up the holes in the vents and in the outer wall before he'd contacted Rampage.  After that he'd hovered around the corridor of Megatron's quarters for a bit, keeping a wary vigil on the tyrant until he was satisfied that he must be asleep.  Only then did the wasp go to his own room and lie down on his recharge bed, exhausted, but unable to rest.  His mind was a whir of thoughts and worries.  What was going to happen to him?  He was involved in a plan that he knew nothing about.  He was grateful to Myst and, to a degree, Rampage as well.  They had helped him when no one else would.  But he'd been forced into an uneasy alliance with them and he knew nothing about what was in store for him.

There was also the worry that Rampage had not returned yet.  Megatron could have been monitoring his comm. transmissions to the crab.  If the Predacon leader found out that he was working with Rampage in any way...

Waspinator shuddered despite himself.  He feared Megatron even more than the maniacal crab.  He knew and had seen first hand how ruthless he could be.

Then there was Myst.  As far as Tarantulas was concerned, she was on her way out.  If Rampage was too late and she was dead, where would that leave him?  In serious jeopardy, he figured.  He was possibly of no more use to the crab and so he'd lost the only upper-hand he'd gained so far in this war.  Megatron would soon find out that he was planning on betraying him and then it would all be over.

Or possibly worse still, Rampage could still want to use him, only without Myst's supervision.  Waspinator was sure that, under her watchful eye, no harm would come to him.  He trusted her because he could see the genuine kindness in her face.

Lastly, it was painfully obvious that Megatron was planning something huge.  Yes, he'd let on in a meeting that they were all going to go on an 'excursion', but he'd also made it clear that some of them were going to get just a little hurt along the way.  Waspinator didn't have to guess who was going to be first in the firing line.

Megatron's plans were usually pretty good and it was mostly flukes of very bad luck that spoiled them.  Megatron also lacked a bit of foresight at times because he was so blinded by his own arrogance, he couldn't think that there'd be any flaws in his schemes.

Waspinator knew that regardless of whether they worked or not, Megatron's plans always got him hurt.  He was tired of being the scapegoat for when things went wrong, and every time there was something on the horizon, he was filled with a sense of dread.  In fact, Waspinator was dreading the next hour almost all of his life here on earth.

Whatever happened next, he was going to make sure that he did not end up the loser in the game.  He simply wouldn't allow it.  He'd play his cards safely for the time being, but when the right opportunity to get out of this precarious situation presented itself, he would take it.

With that self-reassurance, Waspinator finally allowed himself to fall asleep.  He'd awake to a ruckus not long after.

Tarantulas was not a fan of water. He disliked sea water most of all.  His body was not coated properly against it and the salt rusted his metal.

The Nemesis lay under a hundred feet of water, so he really had no choice but to go through it if he wanted to get to it.  He'd built a submersible and had painstakingly edged along the ocean floor, building tracks as he progressed to the huge sunken ship.  The track line was now complete and it allowed him to travel to and from the Nemesis with ease. Slowly but surely he was repairing the damage.  It wouldn't be long now until the ship was fully functional.

That was what he'd needed the parts for.  As soon as he'd returned from the Darkside he'd set to work using what Megatron had given him to fix the ship's main console.  However, there were still some essential parts he was missing that apparently the rodent had destroyed.  Tarantulas hated waiting for replacements, but he couldn't push his luck with Megatron.  The Predacon had been very tired when they'd finished the weapon and Tarantulas had grudgingly agreed to let him sleep and return later that day for the parts.

He suspected Megatron was going to launch his super-attack today.  The tyrant also hated waiting and there really was no point in delaying the assault on the Maximals now that the weapon was complete.  This worked well for Tarantulas.  He'd not been asked so far to help in the battle and if he was, he simply wouldn't pitch.  He had bigger plans to attend to.

The spider slammed the console panel shut and sat down in a huge chair.  It was designed for Decepticons, which were considerably larger than their descendants.  Tarantulas felt small and insignificant when he first sat down, but soon his ego filled the whole chair as he thought about what he was going to be doing soon.  He would man this ship and when that happened, it would be the end for the Maximals and Predacons and the beginning of a new era for him.

He sighed and stared at his handiwork.  The console was fixed and all that needed tending to now were the thrusters.  They'd taken a hammering from the crash and while he'd repaired the major damage, small but important parts had splintered off from them and they needed to be re-added. The parts were long gone now and so he needed what was left of his promised load from Megatron to complete them.

He grumbled and leaned his face on his fist.  Yes, he certainly hated waiting.  He hated being this tired, too.  He'd not slept a wink in 24 hours.  

'Bah! There's no time for sleep in this war,' he thought.  He leapt off the chair and headed for the exit.  Even though he wasn't going to involve himself in Megatron's attack, he did think it wise to monitor what happens.  He was counting on the Predacon leader to keep everyone occupied while he completed his work on the Nemesis.

As long as he got the parts he needed, he was content.  For now he'd go to his lab and keep watch on the Predacon base.  As soon as Megatron emerged from his quarters, he'd demand his parts. The sooner he got them the better.

Rampage pulled himself out of his daze.  He had been dozing off and forcibly waking himself up a number of times over the past two hours.  While he knew that he could indeed hold his own against an attack, he wasn't worried about himself.  He was worried about Myst.  She was in an especially vulnerable position with her chest gaping open like it was and her being too weak even to run if she had to.  The last thing he wanted was that sadistic spider sneaking up on the pair of them while they were asleep and taking her from him.  That would be the last straw.

He decided to stay fully awake now.  The sun was up in the sky and the dull grey light of earlier had changed into a warm, soft yellow that filtered down through the trees.  The twittering of the birds filled the jungle now that day had firmly set in.  They'd have to get moving soon.  It wouldn't be long before Megatron woke up and he didn't doubt that he'd make him pay for leaving without consent.  He had to deliver Myst to the Maximals and get back to base.

His optics darkened at the thought of the Maximals.  Rampage knew that this was as good as goodbye.  As soon as she was in their hands, they'd tell her the truth about him.  If she was anything like the average bot was, she'd freak out and her reaction would be the same as theirs; she'd hate and disgust him.

Only, as far as he was concerned (and this was going on what little social experience he did have with other transformers) Myst was not your average bot.  It was why he liked her so much.  There was the possibility, however small, that she may not hate him when she found out.  That maybe, just maybe, she could understand and...forgive him.

Rampage frowned.  He didn't think what he'd done was wrong.  It was, apparently, his single biggest fault.  He had no morals.  He felt no regret for all the lives he'd taken on Omicron and thereafter.  According to Depth Charge and everyone else, that was what made him sick.  That was what made him someone to be feared and reviled because a bot with no morals, a bot who simply couldn't discern right from wrong, was not a bot at all.  It was a monster.

But she hadn't called him a monster.  She'd called him a person.  She had always treated him as a person.  Granted, she didn't know his full history, but the fact remained that she saw humility in him and surely that meant that he wasn't a monster.  Surely that meant there was some normality and sanity in him?

Rampage, despite what he stubbornly told himself, did care about that.  He was happy to roam free and do as he wanted.  He was happy, like Myst, not to be a part of society.  He was happy to be an immortal and therefore special...but he was not happy to be so completely alone.  While he enjoyed the relationship he had with Depth Charge and the respect and fear other bots had for him, it was a refreshing change once in a while to have one person talk to him as if he wasn't a thing.  To have an intellectual conversation with him without being overwhelmed with anger or disgust or terror.

Myst provided him that, and he liked it.  So to give her away to them and in essence give up the only chance he had at achieving that, well...it was not something he wanted to do.  But he had to do it.  He'd lose her altogether if he didn't.  For some deep-seated reason he felt in debt to her.  He shouldn't feel that way, if one were to look at things on the surface.  After all, he'd provided her with energon and protection while she had not fulfilled her end of their deal.  No, he felt in debt to her because she had given him something for more important than that.  She'd given him her friendship.  The least he could do to repay her kindness, however brief it was, was to give her another chance at life.  How she chose to live it once she heard the news about him was up to her.  Rampage had already settled down to the fact that more than likely, she'd want nothing to do with him after.  It hurt, but then everything did.  He was a bot doomed to unhappiness and he knew it.

He turned his head to the right to look at her.  She'd snuggled up to him in her sleep and her head was resting on his shoulder.  His hand was still partially inside her to keep the feed of energy constant.  She was right: he did feel drained.  It was asking quite a lot of his spark, immortal though it may be, to constantly repair her.  And he had felt her pain even when she didn't.  She was not aware of it while she was asleep, but Rampage had to tune into her physical anguish all the time in order for the connection to work.  He didn't mind, really.  He was used to feeling others' pain.

He brought up his left hand and very gently stroked her cheek.  Her metal was smooth and cool.  Her facial expression was calm as if in a dreamless sleep, but his touch caused a faint smile.  He wondered why.

Two noisy birds squawked at one another and fluttered clumsily out of the tree they were in.  The noise disturbed them both.  Myst stirred.

"Hmm?  Wha--Rampage?" she murmured, her eyes half-opening.

"Just birds, although I think we should leave now."

Myst's eyes closed again and she sighed.  "Do we have to?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes."

Another sigh and her shoulders sagged.  "Stupid Maximals."

Rampage smirked and shook his head slightly.  "Yes they are, but it's where you must stay, for now."

He shifted away from under her and gathered her up in his arms and stood.  Myst blinked up at him and watched as his breast pates snapped closed.

"Primus, you really did keep the feed going all this time?" she uttered, copying his action.

"It's no big deal," Rampage dismissed. He looked away from her and narrowed his optics as he scanned the jungle ahead of them.  The coast looked clear...

"So what are you going to do about...about getting your spark back?" Myst queried uncertainly.

Rampage started walking forward and she wrapped her arms around his neck for extra security.

"Waspinator.  He's still in debt to me and I could still use him."

Myst found that mildly surprising.  She did not think he was seriously intending on using the little Predacon at all.

"And then what?"

"And then I find Tarantulas.  I'll need him to tell me where your converter is, and to merge my spark.  Of course it'd be nice if you could stand watch when he performed the operation, but I don't suppose you'll want to, by that stage."

Myst frowned.  "Why?"

Rampage's expression went grave.  'Because by then you'll know about me,' he thought, but he never answered out loud.  Myst decided not to push the issue.  When Rampage didn't want to speak, it was best to respect that.

"Thank you," she murmured.  Rampage's pace faltered for a moment, but he quickly resumed walking.

"Thanks for everything," she finished.

He was silent the rest of the journey.

Megatron awoke with a start and almost immediately got to his feet.  Considering he'd only had four hour's sleep he really shouldn't be feeling this energetic.  It must be the excitement of the day ahead that was making him so aware.

He did his routine room check to make sure nothing was out of place and then he checked for Rampage's spark cage.  Yes, it was still there.  It was always a small relief to see it glimmering at him from its jagged-toothed container.  He took it and put it in his subspace pocket and then left his room.

No sooner had he stepped into the corridor than his comm. link bleeped. He opened the channel.

"I want my parts now."

Megatron grumbled at Tarantulas's demand. "Fine."  He cut the connection and frowned crossly.  He disliked being on the receiving end of orders, but it was in his best interests to deliver on Tarantulas's request.  It would only cause him more headaches if he didn't and the spider took matters into his own hands.

"Inferno!" he bellowed.  Within seconds the antbot had scurried down the passageway and stood to attention before his leader.

"Yes, Royalty!"

Megatron took out a holopad with a list of the parts Tarantulas had wanted.  He touched several lines on the list to highlight what the spider still needed.

"Take this list and put the parts specified into a container and bring it to the control room," he ordered and gave Inferno the pad.

Inferno glanced over it briefly and then saluted.  "At once my Queen!"  With that he took off down the corridor in the direction of the storage room.  It'd probably take about a half megacycle for the bot to sort through all the equipment down there and find the specific parts, but Megatron knew it would take anyone else twice as long.  Inferno, for all his faulty programming, was fast and efficient.

Megatron walked to the control room and barked his second order of the day.

"Quickstrike, wake up!"

The little fuzor awakened in a flurry of arms and legs and tumbled off his chair.  He scrambled to his feet and faces his commander with a dazed expression.

"Yes bossbot!"

Megatron glared at him.  "Contact everyone and have them come here.  It's time for a meeting."

Quickstrike wavered for a few moments as he wondered whether or not Rampage had returned, but he couldn't try Megatron's patience any longer and so he opened all comm. channels.

"Quickstrike to all units.  Mee'n in the control room.  Report immediately."  He turned to the Predacon leader once more but got no approving look from him.  Instead he got another glare.

"Did you check everyone was inside the base?" he asked irritably.

"Uh, no, I'll do that," Quickstrike stammered and turned back to the computers.  Megatron didn't trust him and so he came up quietly behind him, but the fuzor was still too sleepy to notice.

"Yep everyone's---"

"Rampage is missing!" Megatron snapped.  Quickstrike fell of his chair again.

"You idiot!  How dare you lie to me?" he raged at the fuzor.  Quickstrike scrambled back in fear.  "I'm sorry bossbot, but crabby made me swear not to tell.  He were gonna kill me if I did!"

"And what did you suppose I was going to do if you didn't?" Megatron growled.

Quickstrike gulped and shrugged helplessly.  Megatron scowled at him furiously for a few tense more moments before relaxing slightly.  There was no point taking out his anger on the fuzor now.  It was ultimately unimportant.  He'd just make sure Quickstrike bore the brunt of any retaliation the Maximals gave today when they attacked.

"Tell Inferno not to bother coming to the meeting.  He needs to concentrate on his first assignment," the Predacon commanded as he noted Inferno's signature moving obediently through the base towards them. Inferno always followed a consecutive order.

Quickstrike cautiously approached his chair again and climbed back on.  He did as he was told while Megatron turned away from him and took something out from his subspace pocket.

Rampage was only two hundred metres away from the Maximal base and was just about to contact them when he was forced to his knees.

He just managed to put Myst down before submitting entirely to the excruciating pain that throbbed in his chest.

Myst managed to sit up and she stared at him in alarm.  "Rampage, what's wrong?!" 

The crabbot keeled over, howling in agony.  Waves of blue energy rippled through him and he clawed at his chest.  "Mega...tron...." he gasped.

Suddenly the pain stopped and Rampage just caught himself from falling forward.  He panted and waited for the inevitable bleep from his comm.  It came a second later.

"Thought you'd go for a stroll, did you?" came Megatron's smooth, condescending voice.  It was the first time Myst had heard him and even from just listening to that voice she instinctively knew Megatron was an evil bot.

"I'm coming back," Rampage snarled.  His tone of voice was obviously not appreciated as another wave of pain gripped him.  He cried out and fell to the floor, rolling onto his side and curling up somewhat.  Myst wanted to do something to help, but she knew that there was nothing she could do and it was best that she hide her presence from the bot torturing Rampage on the other side.

"That's beside the point.  I ordered you to stay within the base and you defied me.  Again."

The pain seemed to intensify as Megatron emphasized his point. Rampage gasped and his shut eyes flew open as he clutched at his chest.  Myst reached out to touch him but withdrew her hand before she got too close.  Touching him might make things worse.

"J-just...give me...a few more cycles.  I'll...b-be back...soon...very soon," Rampage wheezed.

The pain lingered an agonizing moment longer and then ceased.  Rampage's whole body sagged afterwards and he breathed heavily.

"You come back to base right now.  You're stalling a meeting!  If you take a second more than ten cycles to get here, you will suffer for it.  Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Rampage muttered with effort.

"Megatron out."  

The connection died and Rampage heaved a sigh.  He allowed himself a few moments to recover.

"Primus," he heard Myst exclaim from out of his view.  "That's brutal."

"No kidding," Rampage grumbled as he regained himself.  He pulled himself to his knees, still suffering the echoes of pain that coursed through his spark and filled his being.

"Rampage, I had no idea---" she began but was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps.  She turned to the source of the noise and a moment later, Depth Charge burst through the trees.  His optics widened for a moment, then narrowed at the sight of Rampage.  He brought up his gun.

"Wait!" Myst cried and held up her hands.  Depth Charge paused and glared at her.  "I don't even want to know what you're doing here, but X is in my territory and he's not welcome."

"I know," Myst spoke before Rampage could.  Rampage sat back and watched her explain the situation.

"But he came here with good intentions this time, I swear."  Depth Charge immediately looked sceptical and adjusted his gun.  "He came here to bring me to you!" Myst panicked.  

Depth Charge froze at that statement and looked at her intently.  "What?"

Myst shot a glance at Rampage who merely stared at her inquisitively in response.  She turned back to Depth Charge.  "I'm dying.  Tarantulas attacked me and took my power converter.  Rampage has healed me for the moment, but the deterioration's starting aga---"

"Wait a cycle," Depth Charge interrupted.  "He healed you?"

"Yes, yes" Myst dismissed his curiosity impatiently.  "Anyway he needs you--I need you to keep me on life support for a while he retrieves my converter from Tarantulas.  I won't survive alone and that's why he's brought me here to you...if you'll have me," she added pleadingly.

Depth Charge continued to stare at her incredulously.  He slowly turned to Rampage.

"Is this...is this true?" he battled to ask the crabbot.

Rampage nodded slowly.  "Yes.  Believe it or not, Fins, I honestly didn't plan on hurting this one.  Quite the opposite."

Both Myst and Depth Charge looked confused at that statement, but it was the Maximal who spoke first.  "Then what were you planning on doing?"

Rampage got to his feet slowly and held up his hands to show he meant no harm.  "Look, there's no time to explain.  Myst's in a lot of trouble and she needs your help.  So stop being a suspicious, revenge-driven brute for a change and act like a Maximal.  Take her in, put her on life support and give me the time I need to get back what she's lost.  I'll only be a few days, at most."

Depth Charge was completely taken aback by Rampage's behaviour.  The crab was showing him a side that until now, Depth Charge had assumed he didn't have.

"All right," the Maximal replied, "But---"

"No time for buts, just take her!" Rampage urged.  He bent down and gathered her up in his arms and offered her to Depth Charge. The mantabot hesitantly took her.

Myst stared wide-eyed at Rampage as he passed her into Depth Charge's grip.  His face wore a fixed grim expression as he did so and he refused to acknowledge the urgent questions in her eyes.

"Rampage," she uttered and grabbed loosely at his hand.  Rampage stepped away from her and her hand slipped from his when he moved out of reach.  Somehow that simple loss of touch filled Myst with sadness.   Rampage was radiating regret and misery but he was refusing to show it.

He gave Depth Charge a steady but faintly pleading look.  "Do it, Fins."  After that he transformed to tank mode and rumbled off into the jungle.

Both Myst and Depth Charge stared after him.  A few minutes later, Cheetor and Silverbolt came rushing up behind them.  Depth Charge turned to the two and ignored their surprised expressions.

"Get the life support systems ready. We've got a patient."

Megatron turned to his Predacons, satisfied now that Rampage was on his way back.  He'd question the crab later about what he was doing so close to the Maximal base, but right now other things were more important.

Waspinator and Quickstrike looked up at him expectantly.  Megatron wouldn't usually be so fussy about having Rampage back with him but he was painfully lacking in troops.  Tarantulas was no longer aligned with him, but when the spider came to collect his parts he'd try his luck at getting him to join in the effort.  Depending on what suited him, the scientist sometimes agreed to assist. 

"When Rampage returns I will explain in full what's happening.  In the meantime, I want you to arm yourselves well.  There's going to be a battle and it would be better for you both if you had enough ammo to last you."

They both nodded and left to retrieve their weapons and ammunition.  Megatron watched them go and then opened a comm. channel to Tarantulas. He didn't bother with an introduction.

"Just to let you know, Rampage is on his way here too, so you'd do well to hurry and avoid crossing paths," he warned the spider.

"I'm almost there.  Are the parts sorted?"

"Almost.  Megatron out."

The Predacon leader walked absently over to the console and drummed his fingers on it.  He was feeling tense but excited.  Today he would annihilate the Maximals in one fell swoop.  Of course he'd field test the weapon first.  He'd blast the doors to smithereens before he tried it on any Maximals.

One hit from the weapon, if it worked like it was supposed to, would completely destroy any Transformer in its path.  Half the problem with this war was that their weapons were ineffective against each other.  Unless applied in force and quantity, their laser fire usually did nothing but injure or knock a bot into stasis lock, allowing time for the enemy's comrades to come to their aid.  What Megatron had devised was a simple solution.  A one-hit, one-kill weapon that was not only built like a tank but was also very accurate and quick to recharge.

He would get his moment inside the Ark and this time he would make sure that no Maximal survived it.