- Winner of Best Co-written Fanfic and runner-up for Best Battle Sequence '04
Beast Wars Knights:
A Knight in Shining Armour
By: Sapphire
Airazor gazed over the fields that lay ahead of her. She could see much from her position on the balcony of her room. It was a beautiful day. The sun was high and bright in the sky, and a gentle zephyr wafted up from below, bringing with it the sweet scent of the flowers that blossomed in the castle gardens. Rhinox maintained them so well that there was never a season where there weren't some kind of flowers. In this region, it never snowed, so even in the cold of Winter certain flowers grew. It was nice to walk through the gardens and she couldn't wait until she was stronger on her legs. At the moment, she was still recovering from her illness...and the death of Tigatron.
She sighed wearily and put her head in her hands.
"Airazor? Are you all right?" Rattrap asked from his seat beside her.
She nodded.
"I'll be fine. I'm just tired," she said.
"Maybe you should go back to bed?" he suggested.
She looked up at him with a faint smile.
"No, I'd rather stay here, thank you."
Rattrap shrugged as he stood up.
"Well, if you need any help, just ring the bell on your dressing table," he said.
"Thank you, Rattrap."
He bowed his head slightly and let the lady be. Once he was out of sight, she closed her eyes and let a single tear slide down her cheek.
"Tigatron," she whispered.
Cheetor was on guard duty today for a reason. He was awaiting the arrival of his cousin. Another soldier on their side, even if it was only for a few months, would help them in their war against the Dark Prince.
He shielded his eyes with his hand and gazed across the landscape. Any day now....
"Cheetor!"
The Golden Squire looked over the other side of the wall into the gardens. There was Rhinox, smiling up at him. In his hand he held a long, shimmering silver-blue sword.
"I've finally finished for you! It's made of a hard steel. It should work well on the battle field."
Cheetor grinned down at him.
"You never cease to amaze me! A wonderful gardener, an excellent medic and the only decent blacksmith for miles!" he chuckled as he left his post momentarily to descend down the stairs. He met up with Rhinox below.
He handed him the sword.
"Ahhh," Cheetor said as he took it and cut the air a few times.
It shone elegantly in the light as he held it vertically in front of his face.
"It's wonderful! Thank you," he said, giving Rhinox a warm smile.
The large man nodded with satisfaction.
Cheetor eyed the bandages around Rhinox's injured stomach from their last battle.
"Are you sure you're all right to be doing such strenuous tasks?" he asked.
Rhinox frowned.
"Now now, don't you go worrying about me! I know how to take care of myself."
"Of course you do," Cheetor replied with a wink, and headed back up the stairs.
"Let me know when your cousin arrives," Rhinox called as he walked towards the entrance hall.
"I will!" Cheetor yelled back, now at the top of the wall.
He returned to surveying the grasslands ahead.
In one of the dark halls of Migrazor, Megatron was standing and listening to Terrorsaur's latest scout report.
"I put on my disguise I always wear when on scout patrol, so he didn't recognize me by the descriptions his cousin might have given him."
"Cousin?" Megatron asked.
"Yes, his name is Silverbolt and he's coming to visit The Golden Squire,
Cheetor. I asked him for how long, and he said a few months! I don't
mean to alarm you, Prince, but he was clad in a royal armour and had about him a
strong and noble presence. He looks like a knight, but he had on his back
a bow and a quiver of arrows too! Quite the fighter, from what I
saw."
Megatron scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I see. Did you ask him if there were any others following his route?"
The Red Knight nodded.
"I did indeed. He said he met a fellow traveler on the road who was on his way north, past our castle. He told me that he befriended this traveler, named Quickstrike, at a cavern he stayed at for two nights before continuing on his journey. Quickstrike wanted to stay an extra day, so he's probably a few hours behind Silverbolt."
The Dark Prince suddenly smiled.
"Is that so? Well, Silverbolt may be a lost cause now he's in Maximal ground, but perhaps we could intercept this Quickstrike fellow, and persuade him to join our side?" he thought aloud.
Terrorsaur shrugged.
"Maybe."
After a moment's silence, Megatron finally looked Terrorsaur in the eye, whereas before he'd been staring ahead, his eyes clouded with thought.
"I want you and Waspinator to await Quickstrike's arrival into Predacon ground, since he is passing by. When you see him, offer him a free night's stay and supper. When he's in our castle, I will approach him."
Terrorsaur nodded, then frowned.
"Are you sure Waspinator's up to it? I know Blackarachnia survived the fall from the bridge pretty much unscathed, thanks to her rope skills, but Waspinator fell all the way into the river! He nearly drowned...." Terrorsaur trailed off. He felt sorry for the little soldier.
"Bah!" Megatron exclaimed.
"He may have a phobia of water now, but that doesn't mean he can't walk on dry land! Take him with you, whether he wants to go or not."
The Red Knight sighed and bowed. He turned and left, holding back soft curses as Megatron had an unbelievably sharp ear. He'd been caught a few times while muttering under his breath.
The Dark Prince watched him leave. He snorted and walked over to his throne.
"Speckles, get off," he said firmly, as he eyed his pet cat curled up on his seat.
Speckles rolled over lazily and flexed her claws.
"Purrr."
"Speckles, don't make Princy angry now...."
The cat closed its eyes, opening one casually to give Megatron a smug look. She knew Megatron adored her and would never harm her, so she got enormous pleasure testing his patience. She curled up in a ball again, ignoring him.
"Speckles...."
Later that day:
It was now late afternoon and Cheetor was growing disappointed. He honestly thought Silverbolt would have arrived by now.
He heard someone coming up the stairs and he turned around to see Dinobot emerging from the tower.
"Afternoon, Dinobot," Cheetor said, trying to be cheerful.
Dinobot gave him a slight nod and stood beside him, hands on hips.
"Any report on Predacon movements in the visible area?" he asked sternly.
"No," Cheetor replied, rolling his eyes. Dinobot was not looking at him, but was watching the view. He wasn't the friendliest of people and it was nearly impossible to have a conversation with him, unless it involved battle plans or history, neither of which Cheetor was interested in.
After a long pause, Cheetor stopped staring despondently at his feet and looked at Dinobot.
"So, are you just up here for the fresh air or-"
"Look," Dinobot interrupted him, pointing towards the horizon.
Cheetor squinted as he saw someone approaching the castle on horseback. As the rider drew in, he recognized him.
"It's Silverbolt! Lower the bridge, Dinobot! I'm going down to meet him!" he exclaimed excitedly and ran down the stairs.
Cheetor left the staircase and sprinted towards the castle gates and opened them. He waited as Silverbolt rode towards him. The draw bridge was lowered and the Silver Knight crossed it, slowing his horse down to a trot.
"Cousin!" Cheetor laughed and Silverbolt dismounted in front of him.
Silverbolt wore a glowing smile as he approached his younger relative. They embraced and Cheetor gave him a hearty pat on the back.
"So good to see you! How was your trip?" he asked, pulling away.
"It was long and tiring, but I'm here now!" he responded.
Cheetor took his horse by the reigns and led it to a stable.
After he'd secured the horse in its stall, he indicated with his arm the entrance of the castle.
"Well, then, let us go inside! Optimus and Rhinox have both been preparing a great meal for us all! Tonight, you will be well fed and have a warm bed to rest in," Cheetor assured him.
Silverbolt looked very relieved and the two of them headed inside.
Dinobot watched them from the wall with a sigh.
"I suppose that means I'm on guard duty now. I should have known better than to come up here when the boy was expecting someone."
He sat on a stool inside the tower and looked out the window. Deep down, he didn't mind that much. He was actually rather glad Silverbolt had come, for if he was as talented a fighter as Cheetor claimed him to be, he could prove a valuable ally in the days ahead.