Mystery Solved
By: Sapphire
PG 13 (Violence)
Writer's Note: Heed the age restriction.
Tarantulas entered the Darkside in a hurry. He didn't mean to look rushed and flustered when he entered the control room, but he couldn't help but feel nervous knowing that Rampage was coming up behind him.
Megatron glanced at him briefly upon his entrance. "Go to the storage room. Inferno's there and most probably has your parts lumped together by now. You can help him find the last few and then take what's yours."
The Predacon leader turned back to his computers and stared at a map, seemingly fixed on the forest that bordered near the Ark. Tarantulas wasted no time and headed directly for the storage room. When he got there, he found Inferno beside a crate with all his desired parts packed neatly within. The ant was looking at a list on a pad when the spider entered.
"The Royalty alerted me just a moment ago that these were for you," Inferno stated. He gestured at the crate. "All but one item are in there. I just need to find the---"
Tarantulas snatched the pad from Inferno and scowled at the list. One item was high-lighted. It was the most important piece of equipment he needed, too.
"Have you searched for it?" Tarantulas asked irritably.
"I have looked everywhere. I don't think we have any left."
"You MUST do!" Tarantulas tossed the pad, which Inferno caught agilely. He began rummaging through storage crates.
"It's my job to look for it, and you have no authority to---"
"Idiotic ant! I've found it!" Tarantulas backed out from under a shelf and brought with him a complex piece of machinery, the use of which Inferno was not sure. He'd only had a vague idea what the thing looked like and seeing as this was a particularly rusty, dirty one he wasn't surprised he'd missed it.
"Fine, then put it in your crate and be gone, traitor to the colony!" Inferno snapped.
Tarantulas snorted haughtily and did just that. He made sure he closed the door behind him even though he knew Inferno was following him out.
Megatron eyed Waspinator and Quickstrike as they holstered their weapons and wrapped belts of ammo across their shoulders. Both looked set for some heavy-duty fighting, and that's what Megatron wanted to see.
Tarantulas walked into the control room with the crate held with some difficulty in front of him.
"Leaving so soon? I was hoping you'd join us for the party we're having at the Maximals' today," Megatron said to the spider.
"No thanks, I have work to do," Tarantulas replied with false politeness. He knew Megatron knew that he was up to no good, and now that Tarantulas had his parts their alliance was officially over. He realized at that exact moment he was somewhat vulnerable and so he stepped up his pace towards the exit. He nearly had a spark attack when Rampage appeared in front of him just as he was about to leave.
"Gah!" Tarantulas yelped and backtracked a few steps. Rampage glared at him venomously. His whole face seemed to darken, his optics had a wild and ferocious tint to them and his entire stance seemed hostile.
"I abhor you," Rampage stated lowly. Tarantulas quivered slightly.
"Let him pass, Rampage," Megatron ordered casually.
Rampage stepped aside but his hateful stare never left the spider as he cautiously circled around him and then scampered out. Rampage slowly turned to Megatron but the look of intense hatred never left his eyes.
Megatron shot a glance at his computer. "According to the timer I set when I ordered you back here, you've arrived precisely one second over ten cycles."
Rampage remained still, knowing exactly what Megatron was playing at. He was at his mercy and so he said and did nothing.
Unfortunately for him, Megatron was not in an amicable mood. He took out Rampage's spark and the crab tensed. "A deal is a deal," Megatron lilted and squeezed the spark cage in his hand.
Rampage crumbled to his knees letting out a guttural cry of pain. Waspinator shifted uncomfortably as the behemoth of a transformer was reduced to a beaten slave. Rampage barley managed to keep on his knees and he refused to give Megatron the satisfaction of seeing him curled up on the floor. Finally, Megatron stopped and Rampage slowly pulled himself up, hurting, seething and humiliated.
"Don't defy me again," Megatron warned. He glared at Rampage a few seconds longer before putting the spark cage back into subspace and turning to his troops. Inferno had since entered the room and was standing to attention beside Quickstrike.
"Now that we're all together, I'm going to explain what's to be done today." He paused to hit a button on the computer and a few moments later an unmanned hoverpad came floating down in front of him from the ceiling. It hovered at his midsection and upon it was something large, hidden beneath material.
"I have here the instrument that will turn the tide of this war against the Maximals," Megatron proclaimed confidently. "I will need all of you to play parts in luring out and distracting the Maximals while I execute the most essential part of the plan...with this!"
He removed the cover with a flourish and revealed the weapon. Waspinator buzzed slightly and Quickstrike let slip a small exclamation.
"That's sure one big weapon, bossbot!"
"What an astute observation, Quickstrike," Megatron snickered sarcastically. "But it is far more than just big, I assure you. It is extremely powerful and with it I...we Predacons shall annihilate our enemies. Today we will move out and you will draw the Maximals out as if it were a normal attack. I'll remain hidden until I pick the right moment to strike."
"What weapon do?" Waspinator asked curiously.
"It kills, Waspinator. Just like a weapon is supposed to," Megatron said bluntly. He dismissed any more questions with a wave of his hand. "We're going to attack today. Rampage will blast open the Ark's doors to draw out the initial retaliation. When the Maximals emerge to defend their base, you will break cover and attack. When I'm sure they're occupied, I'll make my move. Are we all clear?"
The three of them nodded while Rampage merely grunted softly.
"Good," Megatron said and he lifted the gun. His arms sagged a little under the weight and he secretly wished he didn't have to carry it the whole journey, but he thought it better for his image that he be the only one to handle the weapon.
"Won't they pick us up on their scanners?" Rampage asked, not bothering to hide the condescension in his voice.
"Usually, yes, but I have prepared for such a hindrance. Inferno has discreetly built and hidden a jamming station in a nearby forest. It is not yet active. When we are closing in I'll send a signal to the station and it will switch on, effectively masking us from their scanners for the remainder of our journey."
Inferno grinned. He was proud to have accomplished such a task without being discovered by the Maximals.
"I want to leave now, so we'll be there in time for the changing of the guard. The Maximals tend to change sentry at a certain time of day and that's when they're most vulnerable."
No on argued with Megatron's demand and so the five of them left the base. A short way into their journey, Rampage fell back and hinted at Waspinator to do the same. The crab knew that his moment was nigh, and he needed to instruct the wasp on what to do.
Myst had passed out somewhere along the short journey to the Maximal base. It was a mere two hundred meters, so she must have fallen into stasis lock pretty soon after she'd been passed onto Depth Charge. The energon corruption came back with a vengeance. Each time it seemed to bite harder.
She awoke lying on some kind of metal table. She felt cold, numb and nauseas. There was something hard and foreign sticking into her aching chest. The pain wasn't excruciating, but it was sore enough for her to feel uncomfortable.
She opened her eyes groggily and found herself staring up at a vaguely familiar face. The face was frowning.
"Sleepin' beauty's come to, I see," he said in an accent. She remembered him then as the bot who'd grabbed her when she was running from the fight at the energon mine. She immediately regretted waking up.
"Where...?" she whispered hoarsely. She cleared her throat. "Where am I, exactly?"
The scowling face disappeared as the bot leaning over her moved out of sight. He stayed in the room, however, as he spoke to her. "You're where you wanted ta be. On a lab table hooked up to some life support. Rhinox kindly didn't just stick you in da CR chamber. He put together somethin' more complex dat would sustain you better."
Myst grappled with the garbled thoughts and flickers of memories racing through her head. She felt very sleepy and dazed but something was nagging at her to stay awake. A sense of insecurity, perhaps? Yes, that was it. But why should she feel unsafe here? She was in a Maximal base, after all. What could be dangerous about---
Maximal lab tables were where Rampage was tortured! Bet HE didn't feel safe in a Maximal establishment surrounded by scientists!
The sudden thought made her sit up quickly. A computer beeped in protest and the Maximal bot was at her side in an instant. He pushed her forcefully but gently back down.
"Don't do that. You need ta stay still an' conserve yer energy. Dat is what dis is all about, after all. You do any activity dat draws on your energon reserves, you're only gonna shock yerself further."
Myst glared up at the bot still holding her down and he returned the glare. "What's sticking into my chest?" she asked gruffly.
Rattrap snorted and let go of her. "Constant feed of repair nanites. Dey'll ward off da systems deterioration fer a while, before dey get overwhelmed. You bettah hope your friend gets you back your converter in a few days, or you're as good as scrap."
Myst's optics dimmed slightly. Oh, yes, that was where he'd gone; to get his spark back and then her converter. Why did that fill her with a sense of dread?
"Y' know---" the bot began, but he was interrupted by another familiar voice from out of her sight.
"She's awake!"
The little bot with the accent glowered at someone. "Yeah, so?"
"So shove off, I want to talk to her."
"You're a real slagheap, 'Charge. You aught ta learn some manners--urk!"
Suddenly a great purple arm pushed the angered bot out of view and Depth Charge took his place. He too glared down at Myst.
"You're a fine one to talk, mouse," he muttered absently while he leaned over Myst. "Get out, I want some alone time with her."
"I'm gonna call Optimus, fish head. He wanted ta talk to her too an' he said soon as she woke up I was to alert him."
Depth Charge's head snapped up and he glared balefully at the offending bot. "Yeah? Well you didn't look like you were doing that when I walked in!"
The 'mouse' cursed colourfully and stormed out. Depth Charge made sure he was gone before he turned his focus back to Myst.
For a long time he just stared down at her, optics narrowed with both a curious and contemptuous look on his face. Myst was just about to inform him of how rude it was to stare, when he spoke: "It's not surprising that, after having affiliated yourself with Rampage, you've ended up desperate and dying."
Myst did not take that well. "Rampage didn't do anything to hurt me. Tarantulas did this!" she almost snarled.
"Really," Depth Charge replied flatly. He nodded slowly, averting his gaze as he thought. After a few seconds, he refocused on her. "So what exactly WAS he doing to you?"
Myst regarded the mantabot coldly. "He protected me."
Depth Charge snorted mockingly. "Good job he did of that!"
"It wasn't his fault!" she leapt to Rampage's defence.
Depth Charge glanced to the heavens and threw his hands up. "I can't believe this!"
Myst bit back the venomous words she was about to spit at him and settled for asking what he was so surprised about.
"I can't believe he actually managed to manipulate you into believing HE was a good guy. That he really, truly gave a damn about you. That sadistic freak..."
"What IS your problem?" Myst asked vehemently. The anger seemed to intensify the pain in her and a brief but noticeable wave of energy shot through her. She ignored it and continued. "Just because you failed at your job of keeping him in a torture chamber doesn't give you the right to judge him! You don't even know him!"
Depth Charge looked back at her sharply and Myst nearly gasped at the bright fury in his eyes. He had a wild look about him, somehow even more disturbing than the one Rampage got once in a while.
"Is that what he told you?" he asked, voice a pitch higher than normal, but soft.
"What?" she asked breathlessly.
"Is THAT what he told you?" he pressed. "That I... failed...to keep him in a torture chamber?"
"Yes, you hate-driven loony! Yes! I know what you...you Maximals did to him on Omicron!" Myst almost faltered at the end of her sentence. As soon as she had come to the word 'Omicron' a sudden, heavy sense of dread and nausea gripped her. She wasn't sure why, but the word conjured up deeply unpleasant feelings inside her.
Depth Charge stared at her incredulously in a moment of tense silence. Then a dark, gruff chuckle escaped him. He pulled back and away from her and shook his head, laughing sardonically. "Oh, oh you silly, deceived femme..."
Myst had had enough of his games and she slammed her fist into the lab table, denting it. The noise stopped his bitter, mocking laughter and reeled in his attention.
"Listen, I'm SICK of you probing me like some kind of specimen. Will you leave me alone? You're making me feel worse!"
Depth Charge leaned forward, an icy cold look in his eyes. "You really think Rampage was the victim there, don't you?"
"He was tortured for the first part of his life and then hunted ruthlessly for the rest of it. Yes, I think so," she replied sourly.
"And you think YOU know him better than I do?" he asked lowly.
Myst barely nodded, because she was beginning to feel quite uncertain. That look in his eyes coupled with the sheer volume of hatred emitting from him was making her think that she had in fact missed something.
Depth Charge leaned a little closer and blocked the overhead lights that had been shining dimly down on her. His silhouette made him look more menacing.
"Well, Myst," he began darkly, "I've got news for you..."
Inferno led the parade of Predacons, with Megatron following behind. Quickstrike was beside the tyrant and asking the occasional question about strategy as they sprang to mind. A little further back, Rampage rumbled onwards in tank mode and Waspinator buzzed alongside him in beast mode.
"Listen closely," Rampage said softly. Waspinator cautiously moved a little nearer to the crab. Rampage waited for Quickstrike to ask another question. He chose to speak to the bug only when Megatron was distracted.
"So we're coming down from the cliffs then?" Quickstrike asked.
Rampage took advantage. "Megatron's going to order me to attack the blast doors first, as you know," Rampage said to Waspinator.
"Yezz."
"I'm going to refuse to do that."
Both went silent when Megatron paused.
"--And then you'll use the rocks and obelisks as cover," Megatron continued answering Quickstrike.
"He'll take out my spark," Rampage whispered. "When he does, shoot it from his hand."
At first Waspinator thought he may have misheard the crab, but when Rampage glanced up at him expectantly he realized he had indeed heard him correctly. It struck a chord of fear deep within the little Predacon. He knew what was being asked of him, what would happen, and he didn't like it one bit.
But then again, if he weighed up the pros and cons...
If Rampage got his spark back, he would most certainly destroy Megatron, and that was perfectly fine with Waspinator. It was what would happen after that that worried him. No doubt the crab would behave true to his name and there was no guarantee he'd spare Waspinator just because he helped him. The only person Waspinator figured Rampage wouldn't harm was Myst and if he could somehow stay with her then he'd feel safer.
"Where fuzor femme?" he asked tentatively.
The conversation between Megatron and Quickstrike ended and Rampage fell silent. Waspinator had to wait anxiously for four long cycles before Quickstrike piped up again.
"So after we destroy them Maxis, what're yer plans?"
"On life support with the Maximals. She's alive, but she won't be for long unless someone gives her back her power converter."
"That's what spiderbot took from her?" Waspinator gasped. Megatron's posture suddenly tensed and he glared over his shoulder.
"What was that, Waspinator?"
The small flyer's mouth hung open for a few moments as he desperately sought for some excuse.
"Waspinator wondering why spiderbot not here to help..." he stated uncertainly.
"Tarantulas has long since left my command. He doesn't have to do anything for us if he doesn't want to."
"Waspinator understands."
Megatron scowled at him curiously for a moment longer, then faced ahead again.
Rampage realized that he and Waspinator were now in a suspicious light in Megatron's eyes and decided that he would no longer risk talking to the bug.
"Just do it. Shoot it from his hand when he takes it out, and you'll survive the day," he growled and rolled forward at a quicker pace, leaving the startled and worried wasp-bot in his wake.
Waspinator stared after him, his mind a whir of thoughts and fears. He knew the consequences of such an action could be very dire. If his attempt to shoot the spark from Megatron's grip failed, there would be severe repercussions from both him and Rampage. If it worked, there was nothing to stop the crab from killing him after he was done with Megatron.
But Myst was alive, and that meant the alliance between the three of them was still in tact. If Waspinator failed to do as he had promised, he'd lose Myst as an ally and he would most certainly be hunted and slaughtered by Rampage at a later stage for betraying that alliance. When it came down to it, every option was risky and the one he stood the best chance with was doing as he was told. Rampage might spare him if he lived up to his end of the deal and if Myst was alive, then, surely she'd make sure no harm came to him? Myst had been so kind as to help him in the first place, after all...
Waspinator made up his mind then and there and spent the rest of the journey bracing not for a fight, but for something far more terrifying.
Depth Charge had to restrain himself from yelling and breaking something as he told Myst the story of Rampage and Omicron. It was a very sensitive issue for him and he found recalling events to be extremely difficult. The emotions attached to them were what drove him to hunt the psychopath day after day, so intense was his hatred for him. However, he found some inner strength in him that allowed him to inform her fairly calmly.
"I was chief of security for the colony. I didn't know about X---Rampage. The laboratories were what Omicron was centred around. It was, first and foremost, a research facility. There were many bots living there, though. Not just scientists, but all the other guys needed to operate a colony. Security personnel, mechanics, technicians, youths in training at some of the smaller labs. It was very much populated and like myself, not everyone, in fact very few knew about the Protoform X project. They were innocent."
Myst listened closely to Depth Charge, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the slow but steady increase in pain in her body. The energon corruption was already starting to get the better of the repair nanites keeping her alive. She had a week at best on the life support, and about three or four days without it. Her concentration was fixed on what the bot hovering over her was saying. She wanted to trust Rampage, but she was not so naïve as to rule out the possibility that he could have lied to her. There had always been something amiss with him.
"One day, Rampage escaped the facility he was kept in," Depth Charge paused for a lengthy moment at the end of that sentence. Myst noted with intense curiosity how his whole posture seemed to slump and his eyes glazed over. There was so much pain coming from him and she realized that this was difficult for him to tell. It was that realization that heightened the sense of dread that had been hanging over her. Somehow at the back of her mind, she knew she was in for a very shocking revelation. And yet some distant, nagging voice in her head told her that she already knew what it would be.
"He..." Depth Charge looked away briefly, composing himself again. He turned back to looking down at her, but he failed to look her straight in the eyes. "He escaped and he killed all the scientists. Every last one. Then he...he massacred the rest of the population. He was so strong, the security bots were completely unprepared for him... Their weapons had no effect because he just kept self-repairing at this phenomenal rate it---"
His optics shut off completely and he drew in a deep, steady breath. "It was hopeless. They had no chance."
Myst's spark seemed to freeze in her chest. The air got caught in her throat and her entire body went numb. Depth Charge was not lying. As an empath she knew that. His emotions of pain and regret were far too acute for him to be fabricating this story. Not only that, but that nagging voice was no longer so distant. Vague memories of some 'disaster on Omicron' flickered in her mind and suddenly things started to fall into place. The shock still hit her with such force that she thought she would explode. Not long after, her emotions kicked in. In all the turmoil going on inside her head, Myst still managed to remain aware of what Depth Charge said next.
"I was the only survivor. I was trapped under a beam from the ceiling of the building I was in. I heard the screams and saw through a crack in the rubble just brief glances of the devastation. I saw a bot fall to the ground, chest torn open, mech fluid gushing out of his butchered systems. Slowly but surely the screams were cut short and the whole place fell into silence. X...X paused...he paused in front of the rubble I was under. I could see his legs...and I wondered then if he knew I was there. He lingered a moment and then he left. Now...now I know about his sixth sense and I know that he was aware of me. He left me deliberately. He left me to contend with the deaths of EVERYONE I was assigned to PROTECT!" Depth Charge nearly yelled the last few words.
Myst was frozen to the spot, eyes fixed on the large blue bot above her who was trembling from the gruesome memories he was reliving. She made no effort to block out the agony radiating from him. She let it mix with her own. Myst felt at that moment like her heart had been hit with a sledgehammer. There were no words to describe the horror, the betrayal and the guilt that wracked her in that moment.
"After that I vowed to hunt him down and bring him to justice," Depth Charge stated quietly. "But he didn't stop with Omicron. He hijacked a ship and went around to other colonies, hiding from me. There he killed others. He continued this pattern of murder for four years until I finally caught him. I brought him to the high council and asked he be destroyed. Instead they put him in a pod and gave him to Primal. He awoke here, and I tracked him down again."
Depth Charge knew there was nothing more to say. He had told her all that he knew Rampage had not, and now it was up to her to choose how to handle it. He couldn't help but gaze into her eyes for the first time since he'd begun his story. He was not surprised to see her optics were dimmed.
Myst battled to calm her nerves and her trembling spark. She fought to suppress the nausea and the desire to leap off the lab table and run screaming. She could not, however, block out the imposing presence of Depth Charge as he stared down at her, waiting for her reaction. She supposed he was looking for that sick kind of satisfaction one gets from saying "I told you so!". She wouldn't allow him that. He was not the only one who was a victim of Rampage now. She was too, and she had her own pain to deal with.
"Get out," she said quietly.
"What?"
"I said get out," she just managed to say calmly, but her voice had an edge of anger to it. She was on the verge of screaming.
"That's all? Aren't you even gonna---"
"Get out, get out, GET OUT!" she yelled and her optics relit in bright fury.
Depth Charge drew back, surprised and startled by her reaction. He hesitated a moment, then turned away from her and left the room.
Myst closed her eyes and allowed herself to breathe out a breath she felt she'd been holding for a century. She was dimly aware of approaching, running footsteps.
"Crimeny! What did fish head say to ya ta get you so riled up?!"
Myst looked up at the bot who'd been hovering over her earlier. "Not you again," she groaned.
He stared at her for a few seconds and then shook his head. "My name's Rattrap, an' what on earth were you yellin' about?"
"Where's your leader? Optimus?" Myst asked suddenly.
"He's catchin' some shut-eye, why?"
"Wake him and bring him to me. I need to tell him something very important."
Rattrap frowned and continued to stare at her. "Just DO IT!" she snapped.
He left her and went off at a jog down the passageway, from what she could hear. Myst realized that she had made a terrible mistake and that she had put the lives of all these Maximals in jeopardy. She knew from the little bits she heard about Megatron from Rampage, that the Predacon leader was planning something big. It was something that had required her power converter, and it was something that required Rampage at yet another meeting. It was just a hunch at this moment, but it was one that was more than a little worrying: Myst thought that Megatron was about to launch a very strong attack against the Maximals, but that was not what concerned her. What concerned her was that Rampage would use the opportunity to claim back his spark...and if what the mantabot had said was true, and she didn't doubt that it was, every bot on this planet was in very serious danger.
With a sigh the scientist plunked down his heavy crate of goods. He slumped into his chair for a moment and stared thoughtfully at the contents. He had everything he needed but some of the parts were slightly damaged and rusted and he knew that he had to make sure all of them were in perfect working order before he installed them. If there was even a small glitch during take-off, the already shaky ship might malfunction completely and plunge straight back into the ocean. As it is the Nemesis's ignition controls were iffy and the thrusters a little more battered than Tarantulas was comfortable with.
It was a nuisance and a setback, but the spider would have to clean and repair each and every part he'd obtained from Megatron. He couldn't afford to take any more risks. It meant that the Nemesis would only be fully active in about a fortnight, but Tarantulas was in no great hurry.
He swivelled around in the control chair and accessed the ship's computers. They were all working now and had been set up to read the frequencies of the transmitters he had all over the planet. He tuned into a station of interest - the Maximal base. He knew Megatron would be there shortly and a massive fight would break out. He was curious to see how well his weapon worked in battle and what the Maximals would do in such a dire situation.
Deciding he would multi-task, the scientist picked up a part from his collection, fetched his tools and made himself comfortable in the huge Decepticon chair. There he worked on repairing and cleaning the part while he checked the monitors. There was nothing like combining entertainment and work. He would be enjoying himself and accomplishing something important at the same time. Tarantulas liked that idea very much.
"We're getting close. Inferno, if you please?"
The ant-bot promptly transmitted the signal to the jamming station using a small handheld device he'd been keeping with him in subspace.
The Predacons all stopped and waited for Inferno to declare them invisible and able to move again. "Royalty, the light is green. The jamming station is active and we are now hidden."
"Excellent," Megatron mused happily. He turned to his troops. "Now I want you all to be very quiet. No speaking! There may be scouts on patrol. We might not be able to detect them because the Maximals have signature blockers."
Everyone hushed and they continued through the rocky, dry landscape, skirting past the forest that hid the jamming station, before making their way towards the cliff edge that overlooked the clearing in front of the Ark.
When they were only seven hundred meters from the edge, Megatron motioned for them all to stop and hide. There were plenty of boulders and obelisks around to use as cover and each Predacon found a hiding spot. Megatron looked across the twenty meter distance between himself and Rampage and gestured with his hand that the crab come to him. Rampage complied without a fuss, because this was exactly what he was hoping for. Assuming the wasp did his job, soon it would all be over...
Optimus looked a little groggy when he entered the control room, but he wasted no time in getting to the bottom of Myst's demand for him.
"What's the matter?" he asked the weakened femmebot before him. Rattrap came up beside the Maximal leader, a constant frown on his face.
"As you know, Tarantulas took my power converter," Myst began with some difficulty. She scolded herself for letting her emotions get the better of her and dismissed them for the moment. She had to focus. "He did so the same night Megatron held a big meeting. That's why Rampage was not around to protect me... Anyway, Megatron called another meeting earlier this morning. Now from what little I've gleaned from Rampage and because of the co-incidence of his being called in when it would suit Tarantulas perfectly, I think the two of them are working together. Megatron, or Tarantulas, needed my power converter for something, and I fear that something might be a...a..."
"A what?" Optimus pressed, a look of concern on his face.
"A weapon," Rattrap finished her thought. Myst nodded. "It makes sense," Rattrap went on. "All dem parts I saw... Megatron was buildin' somethin'. Maybe he needed a power converter ta finish it off."
Optimus mulled over this prospect for a moment before he spoke up. "And you say Megatron held two obviously very important meeting just hours apart?"
"Yes," Myst affirmed.
"Dat does NOT bode well," Rattrap said nervously.
"I think he's going to attack soon. Today, actually," Myst told them worriedly.
Rattrap glanced up at his leader unhappily. "What we gonna do, Pop Op?"
Before Optimus could reply, Myst cut in with some more information. "Wait... There's something else you should know."
Both of them immediately looked at her with intent curiosity. Myst shifted, uncomfortable with what she had to say next. "Waspinator and I are in an alliance. He's plotting against Megatron. If he's going to do anything to stop him, it'll be during the attack."
"Huh? Waspy?" Rattrap exclaimed incredulously.
"Shh," Optimus admonished, "Go on, Myst. Why and how would he do this?"
Myst wished she hadn't mentioned it, but she had worked herself into a corner now and she had to get out of it somehow. "I found him after one of your guys had shot him and left him for dead at the energon mine." Myst took some small pleasure in seeing the guilt flicker across both their faces. "The Predacons couldn't care less about him, especially Megatron. Rampage and I helped him back on his feet in exchange for his allegiance."
Myst paused. Now it was getting tricky. She had to warn the Maximals about Rampage's plot to get his spark back but if she let them know that she had been, at one point, a helper in that plan, they would find her repulsive. They might throw her out or worse... But then again, her defence was good. She hadn't known about Rampage at that time and what he was capable of with the rest of his spark. Her intentions had been to free a slave and help a friend.
"The thing is... Rampage and I were plotting a way to get his spark back from Megatron. We got Waspinator in on this in case we needed his help in the future. It was never made clear to him what he had to do, but I suspect by now he knows. The plan was---" Myst froze as she sensed an unexpected emotion. She tuned into it and realized what it was. Hatred. Intense hatred. There was also anticipation and...murderous rage....
It certainly wasn't coming from the bots in front of her and she was sure it was from none of the Maximals. Myst knew where this emotion was coming from. She recognised it, because she had spent so much time with the bearer. She also knew what it meant and what was about to happen.
"Oh no..." she trailed, panic rising inside of her.
"What? What is it?" Optimus asked, alarmed.
She looked up with wide eyes at the Maximal leader. "Brace your team. They're here!"
Rampage came up to Megatron and transformed to robot mode. The tyrant was crouched behind the obelisk, looking intent. He eased up to a standing position slowly, surveying the landscape over the edge of the obelisk. He shifted the weapon in his arms subconsciously as he was feeling on edge, nervous, excited and restless. Rampage could sense it all.
Megatron glanced over to Quickstrike and Inferno and waved his hand. The two bots left their hiding places and spread out, taking their attack positions. Waspinator remained put as he was going to be the aerial attack, while Quickstrike would attack from the left and Inferno the right, on the ground.
There was a very slight tremble to the pent-up sigh Megatron let out. He was alert and anxious. The moment he'd been building up for for the past few weeks had finally come. Without looking at him, he spoke to Rampage.
"I want you to go to the edge and fire into the blast doors."
Rampage had made sure he was a few paces away from Megatron, behind him. He knew Megatron was wary of taking out his spark box if he was too near for comfort and so he had made himself distant, but still within lunging range.
He remained still and waited for the inevitable angry response.
"Now, Rampage," Megatron demanded irritably.
Rampage snorted contemptuously and crossed his arms nonchalantly. "I'm so sick of you ordering me around. Why don't YOU do it? You've got a big enough gun, now."
Inside Rampage was seething. All the anger and loathing towards the bot in front of him he had pent up for the past few days. He'd always been forced to keep it suppressed because of that accursed cage Megatron had around his core-spark. However he could not reveal it now. He had to wait for the right moment, or else he'd ruin his opportunity. So he acted like he had always done in the past: cocky and stubborn.
"Don't try my patience, slave. Now is not the time nor the place," Megatron turned to look at him and it was very apparent he too was restraining himself from doing something violent...only Rampage didn't want him to restrain himself, not this time. This time he wanted Megatron to take out his tool of torture. He wanted Megatron to attempt to discipline him.
"You do it! Field test your stupid weapon."
"That would ruin my element of surprise. Blast it Rampage! Don't make this difficult for me now!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low and his temper in check.
"I just don't understand why we should follow another one of your pathetic attempts to overthrow the Maximals. Especially after all your other plans have failed. Have you even thought this through? There are so many things that could go wrong..." he taunted and gave Megatron a very subtle hint, but he knew the tyrant was too enraged to pick up on it.
"That's it, you asked for it!" Megatron snarled. He propped the back of the gun against the rock with his right arm while he reached with his left for his subspace pocket, looking down at his side momentarily. Rampage tensed. He shot Waspinator an anxious glance and to his great relief the wasp nodded.
Megatron looked back up at the crab and held up the spark box. Rampage fixed his vision on it and braced himself for a lot of pain. It was partly an instinctive response brought on by all the times he'd been tortured that way, but it was mainly because he knew that when Waspinator shot his spark cage from out of Megatron's hand, it was going to hurt like the Pit.
"I'm sick of your constant defiance," Megatron spat. It was that very second before he squeezed the sparkcage that Waspinator chose to shoot.
Everything happened very quickly after that. Rampage lunged, Megatron instinctively jerked back his hand as it suffered a very painful sting and he dropped the cage. Rampage was a half a meter from the ground when he swung out his hand and grabbed the cage, even as charges of blue energy wracked his body and the pain seemed to constrict his insides. As soon as he hit the earth he rolled and leapt to his feet, stubbornly refusing to give into the pain the blast had caused him. Megatron stood holding his injured hand and stared in silent horror and shock at the sight before him. He was still confused as to what had happened, but the realization dawned upon him when he saw an almost equally horrified-looking Waspinator standing at a loss across from him. The wasp looked utterly terrified.
Rampage pocketed his newly acquired core-spark and took advantage of Megatron's complete surprise and charged forward. Megatron readjusted his gun into a firing position as quickly as he could and squeezed off one shot, but it was too late. By the time the blast was fired, Rampage had ploughed into him and the shot went into the sky.
The first thing Rampage did was throw all his weight behind a punch into Megatron's face. The Predacon's optics cracked and his face crumpled. The second punch completely shattered the left optic and further dented his face. Megatron, despite his already horrific injury, managed to fight back. Rampage wasn't much bigger than Megatron but he was much stronger. So it was in vain that the tyrant kneed him in the stomach and belted him across the side of his head. Rampage made no sign of even feeling the blows. He was so driven by his lust for Megatron's blood that he was numb to all other things, including his own injuries. The crabbot punched him a third time, then fastened his hands around his neck and stood up, taking Megatron with him. Megatron kicked furiously, gurgling in protest. His hands clawed at Rampage's vice-like grip around his throat, but Rampage would not stop.
This was all taking place surprisingly quietly behind the obelisk and so neither Quickstrike nor Inferno were aware of what was happening. However Waspinator's shot and the ensuing blast from Megatron's weapon raised suspicions as they weren't part of the plan. Inferno hesitated on what to do, having not been given any orders. Finally, he decided that the Royalty would not have deliberately jeopardised his own plans by firing two shots. He took to the air and stealthily headed for the obelisk he knew his leader was behind. Quickstrike too was drawn by the odd occurrence and started climbing back up the rock face to see what was going on.
Rampage tightened his grip around Megatron's throat and in one swift motion flung him up and then slammed him down into the ground, hard. The earth actually tremored with the impact and Megatron landed on his front, facedown. Rampage raised his leg and plunged his foot down onto the small of Megatron's back.
Megatron cried out and weakly clawed forward, trying to worm out from under the pressure of Rampage's foot.
"You have no idea how delicious your pain is," Rampage said darkly. He was savouring this moment. He had dreamed of it for so long and now he was finally realizing that dream.
Rampage let up his foot and Megatron spluttered, coughing up mech fluid and still trying and failing to crawl forward. Rampage kneeled beside him and placed a gentle but menacing hand on the back of Megatron's head. "I levelled an entire colony. One by one, I extinguished the lives of my own kind without a single regret. I killed bots twice as strong as you with little effort. I am a master of death."
He lowered his face so that he was inches from Megatron's right audio. "But you can rest assured, my ex-slave-driver, that you will not live long enough to rue the day you picked on this psychopath."
Megatron spat blood and gargled a bit before he had cleared his throat enough to talk.
"Go..."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Rampage asked in mock politeness.
"....to the Pit."
Rampage blinked slowly and then erupted into a fit of laughter. "Oh, oh-hoh! Me? Go to the Pit? Yes, very nice of you to wish that on me Mighty Megatron, but you've neglected one important detail!"
Megatron pressed his hands into the earth and heaved himself up, only to collapse again when his broken back gave way. He panted, consumed by the agony of his shattered body. He was damaged, but not damaged enough yet for stasis lock. Rampage had done that deliberately, saving the final blow for last and while he was still awake.
Rampage stood up and nudged his foot under Megatron's side. He kicked forward and rolled the broken bot onto his back. Megatron looked up at him through one barely-functional, shattered optic.
Rampage tilted his head thoughtfully as his gaze wandered over Megatron's chest and abdomen. His eyes finally rested on a spot and he smiled. "Unlike you..." He curled his hands up into fists. "I can't die."
Rampage plunged his right fist into Megatron's stomach so hard that it went straight through. He dropped to his knees beside the Predacon and inserted both hands into the hole he'd made, and he pulled in opposite directions, effectively reaming the wound.
Megatron's guttural cry rang out and Inferno, who had been flying towards his position carefully and using the rocks as cover, threw caution to the wind and sped forward. He was there two seconds later and just in time to see Rampage rive Megatron's abdomen.
"How DARE you?!" the ant erupted and drew his flame-thrower.
Rampage looked up, temporarily woken from his concentrated murdering. "Take him down, Waspinator!" Rampage hollered and turned back to Megatron.
Waspinator had been watching in morbid fascination as Megatron was reduced from a fearsome tyrant to a broken, battered hunk of metal on the ground. He has seen what Rampage was capable of firsthand and he felt sick to his stomach for what he had done. He also felt a sense of terror so great that he would do anything to remain in good stead with the maniac cleaving up Megatron. He looked across at Inferno, who had turned to face the wasp confusedly when Rampage had yelled his instruction.
Waspinator felt like a zombie, driven by fear, as he aimed his weapon and fired.
Rampage heard the shot and was content enough with the situation to return to his activity. Megatron had, however, drawn on some last spurt of strength and lifted his arm. He punched Rampage in the mouth. Rampage recoiled a little, unable to ignore the aching pain that coursed through his jaw. The crabbot's casual expression faded and was replaced with an ugly one that expressed his true feelings - bitter hatred.
"Enjoy this taste of your own foul medicine," Rampage growled. He split Megatron's abdomen asunder and tore out the protective panels that hid his spark. He stuck his right hand in and closed his fingers around Megatron's rapidly-pulsing spark. Then, he squeezed. He did so slowly, to draw out the suffering, the agony that he knew only too well.
Megatron's scream ended in a trailed moan as Rampage closed his hand around his life-source. "ISN'T it FUN to have your essence, your life-force SQUEEZED slowly in someone else's hands, HUH? Isn't it nice to feel like you're being asphyxiated from the inside out? Can you describe the pain that comes with it? CAN YOU?"
Megatron arched, optics shut, hands clawing at Rampage's arms. His internal computer was blaring warning messages, but they went unheeded by Rampage. He knew exactly what he was doing, because he had done it so many times before. And, he had felt it himself.
"No, Megatron," Rampage lowered his voice to a sadistic whisper. "YOU go to the PIT." He clenched his fist shut and extinguished the spark. Megatron's body went limp and his arms fell to his sides. Rampage thrust his hand deeper into his systems, felt for the fluid pump and tore it out. Mech fluid went everywhere and Rampage stood up, letting the blood dribble onto the floor and over the corpse at his feet. He stared at it, watching the silver fluid coat his fingers and splatter onto the body that once held it. He was mesmerized by it.
"NO!"
The cry of despair forced Rampage out of his trance and he looked to his right to see Inferno, battered and missing a chunk of his leg, but still fully active. Behind him lay Waspinator, charred and unconscious. The wasp had done his best, but he was ultimately a useless fighter against bots stronger than him.
"You...you have slain the Royalty! You shall burn for it!" Inferno yelled furiously and he followed up his declaration with a burst of flames. Rampage walked forward, right into the fire. He felt it scorch his metal, melt his synthetic crab shell-skin and burn him intensely. He also felt his body repairing itself as it was damaged. Now that he had both sparks, he was healing more rapidly. Even though his spark was not yet whole, he was still stronger. He felt it.
Rampage walked right up to Inferno, steeling himself against the painful burning on his chest, and swatted him. He threw so much strength into the movement that Inferno was sent flying ten meters before he crashed to the ground, skidded and came to a halt. Rampage was not in the mood for fighting him any further, so he dropped Megatron's fluid pump and reached for his own gun. He fired several shots at the antbot as he tried to get up and knocked him into stasis lock.
The silence that followed was eerie. Only the wind could be heard whipping the dry terrain around him. Rampage breathed deeply, trying to calm his excited nervous systems. That had felt more than good.
"Don't make any sudden moves."
Rampage turned around slowly to face the speaker. Standing beside Megatron's limp body was Quickstrike. The little bot had managed to heft up the large weapon and was aiming it at the crab.
"You're one sick lunatic, crabby," he said with feeling, and fired.