2.Sept.06

Authors’ notes:

I’m speaking for the both of us since Syntia has just fallen on her face and won’t get up again for some time. Making last minute updates the day before the deadline does that to you. Being the better author of the two does that to you too. *Bows deeply to Syntia*

So, this is the joined effort of two people convinced they CANNOT write romance to write exactly that. Trying something new is a fantastic experience, especially when you’re sharing it with a friend :D. We tried not to make it very soppy and keep Astera from becoming TOO MUCH of a Mary-Sue. We would be REALLY happy if you would share your opinion with us! :DDDDDDD

Oh, and watch out for two very soppy Dinobot oriented (but not including Dinobot) deleted scenes after the fic ends. They’re from the special DVD edition ;PPPPPPPPPPPPP

Thanks goes to:

Sapphire and Miss Special for setting up the challenge in the first place.

My friend Nadya for being really supportive trough all of my whining, reminding me what my name was when I got too confused to remember it and helping me think.

The characters. For not running away from the things we did to them. ;P.

Anyone who decides to read this <3.

And, of course, each other (that means Syntia and Rainynight) for having so much fun with this thing.

Well, without further ado…

Of Mice and Preds

By: Rainynight and Syntia13

There are no sounds in space, and therefore the two missiles that were to tore them apart were just a deceptively silent traces on the "Stardancer's" radar. Two pairs of optics watched them in silent horror. The third pair of optics was locked on energy readings, one of the bot's hands dancing over the controls, trying to hasten the launch procedure, the other gripping the warp engine lever.
"Flint..." the voice was strained, and it had the right to be. The beeps on the screen were almost in the center now, and the speaker had more than one spark to worry about.

--TRANSWARP SYSTEM READY--

flashed the message, the same moment the alarms went off.
"Shouldn't have taken the job," the pilot hissed, jerking the lever all the way back.
The roar of engines and the bang of exploding missiles were only heard on the small ship, and when it disappeared, the space was silent again.

______________________________

The CR chamber hissed open and a very disoriented female robot took a hesitant step forward. Immediately, something big and black fluttered across the room and hit her chest.

"Mom! Are you all right?"

Astera stared down at the creature. A pair of huge black eyes, situated beneath twice as huge black ears stared back at her. After a nano of stunned silence its brow furrowed.

"Mom, it's me!"

Her optics widened.

"Speedster?"

"Yeah. This is my new best mode!"

"It's called 'BEAST mode'." someone corrected.

Astera looked up startled. The words belonged to a huge green robot.

She must have had a really bewildered expression on her face, because he smiled apologetically and stepped towards the exit.

"Don't panic, now. My name is Rhinox, nice to meet you. And I think I'll leave the two of you alone for a little while. I'll tell the others you're awake."

When he was gone, Speedster let go of her chest plate and dropped to the floor.

"Beast mode, best mode, who cares? The point is, it's pretty cool! You have one too, Mom, but yours is different than mine. I'm a bat, and you're a weasel."

"I'm a weasel?"

"Yah. Come on, try transforming. Say 'beast mode'."

"Well... beast mode."

A moment later the weasel stared at her organic paws.

"Right. I'm a weasel. What the Pit has happened to us? Where are we?"

"On Prehistoric Earth."

"What?"

"Well, remember when they fired at us just as Flint was trying to make a transwarp jump?"

"Yes. Speaking of which, where IS Flint?"

The bat's big ears flattened.

"He didn't make it."

"Oh..."

They were silent for a little while. They hadn't known their pilot well, but his death was still a tragedy.

"So", Speedster continued eventually, "just as the Maximals hit us we fell trough some kind of time anomaly and crashed here. But you know what? We found them! This is the Axalon! They battled the 'bots who stole the Golden Disk, and both ships were damaged, and they all ended up here."

"We... We found them? And Speedway?"

"Well... He's here all right. But I haven't seen him ever since I told him who I was. And he's not called Speedway anymore. Now he's known as..."

He was interrupted by a loud argument in the corridor outside.

"Rattrap, stop! Give her some time to..." a voice said.

The door opened and a metallic rat on wheels zoomed into the room, followed by the big green robot and several others. He skidded to a halt in front of Astera.   

"I dunno who ya are an' where ya came from but what ya've been tellin' this kid is pure slag! I ain't nobody's daddy!"

She drew away at this outburst, then took a closer look. He looked really different from what she remembered...

"Speedway?"

"No, it's Rattrap now. An' I'd like to know YER name!"

"Astera."

"Never heard it."

"No. You know me as Vortex. It was my... artistic pseudonym."

Realization flickered across his optics.

"Ye're a... dancer or somethin'? That would explain how we might've met. But it still doesn't explain why ya're after me."

"I told you." Speedster's rather bored voice sounded from the ceiling where he was currently hanging upside down. "You're my father."

"You got it wrong, kid!"

"No, he hasn't got it wrong! Rattle your rusty memory banks, will you? I was a dancer at Carabine's place. One night after my performance you offered to buy me a drink. You looked like crap so I took pity on you and accepted.

"What's wrong, Hon? Broken spark? Your girlfriend dumped you?"

"Neah. It ain't love. Never had a problem with dat."

"What is it then?"

"Life. One of my buddies was shot tonight."

"Sorry."

"Yeah. He was a good guy but we both got ourselves into some ugly business. He just wasn' lucky tonight. Might be me next time. The way things are goin', we're all gonna die."

"Optimistic, aren't you? Don't worry, it's gonna look better in the morning. It's just street life, that's how it goes."

He leaned forward and looked her in the optics.

"Listen, I've been here a while and I'm tellin' ya, the street ain't no good ta live on. You get used but it ain't no good.

So tomorrow's the day this 'bot begins a new life. Ya be smart and do the same. Don't forget what I said."

"I only intended to give you five nanos, and we ended up talking the whole night. Well, er, most of it anyway. And I didn't forget. How could I, especially since you left me a reminder?" She nodded towards the ceiling. "And I DID get off the streets. As did you, I see. So how's the new life, Speedway?"

Rattrap gulped.

"I think we need ta talk somewhere more private."

_____________________________________________________

"Dey shot at ya just because ya wanted ta leave da planet? Dat's crazy!"

"Yes. Things are not going well on Cybertron. My ex-partner, the 'bot Speedster used to know as his father, was recently killed by policebots. They said he was involved in some Predacon conspiracy."

"Was he?"

"I don't know. We've been separated for a long time. But I don't think so. The truth is, Cybertron is on the verge of a civil war. I'm a Predacon, I was scared. No one trusts Predacons these days. And I was mostly worried about my son. I thought... Well, it sounds stupid now but I thought if I managed to find you, maybe you could protect him."

Even as she said that she knew that she actually wanted to say 'us'. In the past stellar cycles the need not to feel alone had constantly tried to win over her common sense. She hadn't allowed it to so far, but she was starting to get tired of being a strong independent Predacon femme. Why the Pit shouldn't she get a little help for a change?

Short silence followed. He glanced at her sideways.

"Ye're sure he's mine?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't ya tell me earlier then?"

"I... Well, it was just one night in a bar. Didn't think you'd care."

Rattrap's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Didn't think I'd care. Right. An' what made ya think I'd care now, huh?"

She shrugged.

"I don't have anyone else to turn to. You seemed like a nice guy. I didn't think you'd refuse to help if I really needed it. And you didn't seem prejudiced against Predacons."

"Eh... Sure." he shifted. "All dat's irrelevant now. Sorry ta be da one ta tell ya but you've jumped from one war right into the middle of another. An' I... I need some time ta deal with all dis."

He quickly got up and exited Astera's new quarters, leaving her to stare indignantly after him.

In the corridor he bumped into someone.

"Watch it, vermin!"

He looked up.

"Oh, just what I needed! Yet another Pred! Dis base is fillin’ with dem! Can't decide which is worse. I don' have a kid from you I don' know of, right? But den again, she hasn' given any Golden disks to Megatron yet. So I really donno which of you is worse."

Dinobot growled. Rattrap ignored him and disappeared behind the corner. The raptor turned at the sound of a door quietly closing up the corridor the rat had come from.

___________________________________________

"I should have learned by now." Astera sighed, closing the door.

___________________________________________ 

"This isn't good." Optimus sighed several days later.

"What isn't, Big Bot? We haven't had any trouble with the neighbors for quite a while now!"

"It's not that simple, Cheetor. Predacons not attacking usually means they're up to something big and nasty." Rhinox pointed out. "And now when Megatron has the disk..."

"It's not just that." Optimus said frowning. "You know how Dinobot keeps talking about honor. Now that he has betrayed both sides at least once..."

"Aw, come on, Big Bot, don't be hard on him!"

"That's not what I meant, Cheetor. To me, he has just made a mistake. I'm sure even Rattrap will get over it after a while. But I'm not so sure about Dinobot himself."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know exactly. And then there's Rattrap. He constantly picks fights with Dinobot and he avoids Astera and Speedster like he's trying to pretend they don't even exist."

"You're not the only one who's noticed," a voice said.

Astera and Speedster entered the control room.

Rhinox patted the robot child's shoulder.

"Don't take it personally, my young friend. Rattrap is a good 'bot. He's just a little overwhelmed right now.

Speedster shrugged.

"It's OK. Hey, what are you working on? Can I help?"

Rhinox looked at the device in his hands.

"You know anything about communication systems?"

"Do I know anything? I'll bet you I'm the best young technician on this whole planet! What? I really AM good!" he smirked while the others laughed. "Mom says I have a gift. Well, actually, she says it's 40% a gift and 60% sheer enthusiasm. The thing is, it gives results. I was the one who repaired 'Stardancer'. She was good for nothing when we bought her."

"All right then, come and help me." Rhinox said still laughing.

"What a mess." Astera sighed while watching her son and the Axalon's technician happily occupy themselves with the prototype of an improved communication device.

"I knew seeking his real father out might be a mistake but I never thought I would end up in this much trouble. Are you sure my ship is no good?"

Optimus shook his head.

"I'm afraid so. The best we can do with it is use it for spare parts. Unfortunately, I don't even think there's enough there to make the Axalon fly."

"No way!" Speedster shouted from across the room. "You're not taking 'Dancer' apart! I can fix her!"

"I'm sorry but I don't think that's possible." Optimus said mildly. "And even if it was, you can't reach the ship right now, it's too dangerous. Neither you nor your mother can fight and I think  you shouldn't try to leave the base for now."

"What if someone comes with us to guard us?"

"It's not the best time for that. We are waiting for Megatron to make his move... Speaking of which..." he turned back to Astera. "We're at war here. And no one has anything against you being a Predacon but..."

"I have to choose a side in this war?"

"It will be necessary."

"All right. Listen to me carefully, Optimus. I will not side with Megatron because I will not side with criminals. I've had enough of this kind of stuff in my life. This does not mean I'm suddenly a Maximal. I don't have any fighting skills that might be of any use to you anyway. But even if I face Megatron in battle some day, I will still be a Predacon."

Optimus nodded.

"I understand." 

________________________________________

In the control room of the Axalon the same quiet argument had been going on for several days now. One of the participants was at the end of her patience, but the other one had proven to be unbelievably persistent.

"Mom, I can fix the ship."

"Speedster, will you stop already? You're not fixing the ship!"

"Mom, I can fix it."

"We can't even get there. Do you even realize what situation we're in?"

"Yes, we're stranded at the end of the world, and we want to get outta here. Mom, I can do it."

"Have you thought that we might get killed before we even reach the ship?"

"We'll ask someone to come with us and protect us. Did I mention I can fix the ship?"

Astera sighed in exasperation.

“Fine. If you can get someone to come with us, we’ll go. But I doubt it.”

"Great. Hey, um, Rattrap!" he called across the room.

The rat-bot turned.

"Huh?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Eh, sure... Hey, you've stopped callin' me 'dad'."

"Yah. I thought you didn't like it."

"Eh... Kid, I have nothin' against you, I just..."

"Fine. Just wanted to ask if you would come with me and mom back to our ship so I can fix it. It won’t take long and then we can all leave here."

"Temptin'. But I thought Rhinox said that ship ain't goin' nowhere."

"I did." Rhinox nodded. "From what I've seen, there's nothing I can do to repair it. But this young fellow seems to be convinced otherwise. And I must say he IS a rather gifted mechanic. But personally I still don't think he'll manage the task."

Rattrap frowned.

"If Rhinox says it ain't gonna work, it ain't gonna work. We can't go wastin' our time and riskin' our skins for nuthin'. Sorry, kid, find yerself somethin’ else to do." He turned back to his computer game.

Astera shot him a dark look. Not because he had refused, she could understand that. But he was treating her son with complete disregard. And she knew if anyone had a chance of fixing 'Dancer', it was Speedster.

"I will go," came suddenly from the corner.

Everyone turned to stare at Dinobot. Speedster looked around a little confused by their reaction. Then shrugged and beamed.

"Thanks, Dinobot! Then we're going, right, mom?"

"Well..."

"Of course ye're not!" Rattrap shouted.

Astera's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. We are. This might be our last chance before Megatron gets his hands on the ship."

"Ye're kiddin'!" Rattrap protested. "You can't go riskin' your lives fer that piece of junk that's never gonna fly again!"

Astera put her fists on her hips.

"We can't? May I ask why?"

"Because... Well, because... Well, Lizard-breath's goin' nowhere with my kid!"

"Oh, so now he's your kid," Astera said quietly.

Rattrap recoiled and looked around for help.

"Optimus, tell her she's crazy!"

"I won't force anyone to do or not do anything. Although I do think this is an ill-measured risk."

"We're going tomorrow." Astera said decisively and exited the room followed by a very happy Speedster. Dinobot followed shortly after.

"Rattrap, I think you slightly overdid it." Optimus commented softly.

'Eh, yeah, maybe I did.' the metallic rat thought. 'But ain't she stubborn! Still, she was right to get angry at me. Looks like I'll have ta talk to dat girl...'

______________________________________

"Astera! Astera, wait!" he caught up with her.

"What do you want?"

"Hey, don' snap at me like dat! Jus' tryin' ta help here!"

"We have different ideas of help then."

"Why are ya doin' dis? Just 'cuz ye're mad at me? The kid can't fix a spaceship!"

She stopped and spun around to face him.

" 'The kid' is my son. He has a name. And how do YOU know what he can or can't do?"

"Hey, it ain't my fault ya never told me he even existed!"

"From what I'm seeing, he's lucky I never did!"

Turning around, Astera strode down the corridor.

"Sheesh." Rattrap murmured angrily. "What did I ever see in her?"

"She's pretty," came a voice from the ceiling.

The rat jumped a foot high with a yelp.

"Slag it, kid! Eh... I mean, Speedster. Don' go scarin' 'bots like dat! How long have ya been up dere? I'll tell yer mother ya listen in on other 'bots' conversations!"

Speedster shrugged.

"It's not like I sneaked into your room. You were talking in a corridor, anyone could have heard. And it wasn't much of a conversation either. It was only slightly better than what you usually have with Dinobot. Which reminds me, why do you keep being rude to each other?"

"Huh. What do ya think?"

"Dunno. At first I thought you didn't like each other but that doesn't explain why you both look like all your ships have crashed after every time you actually insult each other."

"What? Ya got it wrong. If Scale-belly an’ me got offended every time we called each other names..."

"That's not what I meant. I said 'every time you actually insulted each other'. There's a difference. For example, I saw Dinobot leave the base a while ago. I could tell right away he had just had a real argument with you."

"Eh, what gave it away? Da murderous look on his face?"

"No. The gloomy contemplating look on his face. I've seen him like this several times before and it gives me the idea that he might actually be considering some of the things you say. Scary."

"Eh... Well, we... Oh, will ya get down from dere? My neck's startin' to hurt!" 
"Nah. I like it here. It's safely out of reach of angry bots." He smirked a bit saying that, and Rattrap felt the corners of his mouth twitching in response. "All right. Just be careful not to startle Chopperface like ya did me, ya might not survive dat. He's so paranoid he'd shoot ya on da spot."
"You're doing it again."

"What?"
"Being bitter about Dinobot. And he's not even here."

Rattrap stuttered, trying to form some coherent response, and gave up with an impatient wave of a hand and a sigh. "Whatever. See ya around, kid."
"Yeah," Speedster murmured, his ears dropping. "See ya".
__________________________________________

The next day found three transformers well on their way to the crash site.
"Well, she doesn't look that bad," Astera said with a small smile, when they finally reached it. "I don't know why Rhinox insi..." Her voice faltered as she looked at Dinobot's face. His eyes were glowing green, and he was obviously angry. Before she got really scared, though, he shoved her behind himself. "Take the boy and hide," he ordered harshly, moving forward.


"But mum, I wanna see!" the dark winged ball that was her son wriggled in her embrace, trying to peek above the rock they were using for cover. "You're not going anywhere!" Astera almost screamed. Sounds of laser and machinegun fire made her shiver. And to think she left Cybertron seeking safety... Fortunately the fight was brief. "A scurrilous spider," Dinobot's voice snarled with contempt. "You two stay where you are, while I make sure the area is safe."

By the time he was satisfied and got back to Stardancer, Astera was already sitting on its open hatch, and, judging by the sound of it, Speedster was inside and at work. The femme shrugged helplessly at the warrior's reproachful look. "I couldn't keep him in place. And anyway, I thought that the sooner he starts the better." Dinobot snarled and went inside. You never know, Tarantulas might have left booby-traps or spy devices behind.

There was a triumphant shout from the engine room, and he felt obliged to check it.
The engine room was a mess. Kilometers of wires where dangling from the walls and the ceiling, the air was still thick with the fumes of fused circuits, and most important of all, the space drive was busted. Even he, not a mechanic, could see that. It was a simple, two-traswarp-cells model, and there were two problems with it: A - the cells were uncovered, with no trace of proper isolation, and B - they were blown, only shards of them remaining. Why the boy looked so happy was beyond the warrior.

"See? See?" Speedster was pointing at the auxiliary stabilizers switching column. "That Predacon has repaired that, he knows that Stardancer can be fixed too!"
"Mmm, I wouldn't trust Tarantulas's judgment. This ship won't go anywhere."
Speedster sent him a hurt look. "Not you too!"
Dinobot wordlessly pointed to the shattered cells, and the young bot brightened up. "No, that always looked that way, 'cause--" he started tugging at engine's dented covers, "--I didn't know how to take them out, so I just put the new cells -help me here-  in here."

It was a small wonder the kid couldn't replace transwarp-cells, Dinobot thought pushing aside a big chunk of twisted metal. It was a task supposed to be done in a dock, with proper equipment and qualified workers. Dinobot had once witnessed the fallout of an amateur’s attempts on improving a space drive. The effect was... well, very much like the 'death of Optimus Primal' incident. Shaking his head at the memory, Dinobot noticed first broken coolant rods, then the cells Speedster had installed, and he went cold inside.
Two dots of light glimmered at him from inside of the glass tubes, which were suspended in an insane web of wires, inside of a...

"...refrigerator?" he asked weakly.
"Ah-ha. I've set the thermostat to switch it on when the optimal temperature is exceeded."
Dinobot felt something in his logic circuits sizzling, and the rest of the day he went by on automatic.
The buck transformer doesn't work? That's no problem. It just has to be moved right here, with its corner touching to the core-type converter, and then we have to activate auxiliary engines, and then core-type converter, and then the buck transformer, and when the power flow in engines hits 99,8 level, it will kick in.

The power line's broken? The fuse board is in the cockpit, and the generator is somewhere under that mass of wiring, chunks of insulation foam and bits of a wall. See, told you so. Now we just have to weld this cable to that wide blue one, can you help me, I can't reach it-- no wait! Dinobot! Dinobot, are you all right? I'm sorry, I meant that other blue cable. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. And these have to be connected right there. I donno what the rest of the wiring is for, I've never used it.
The navigation circuits are fried. But we can fly without them, right?
Err... the control console doesn't respond. Oh. The engine/cockpit connections have fused. Er, no, I can fix it. I'll just make a by-pass through the defense systems console, I've never used it anyway.
Yeah, I can see it doesn't work. No, wait, I have an idea. Here. Check if there's a phase. No?
How about this?
And now?

And now?

And if I... Hah! Told you it would work!
Oh come on, Dancer, please fly for me...

When the crippled ship slowly raised off the ground and set off toward the setting sun, a vague thought went through Dinobot's overloaded processor.

No wonder Tarantulas saw hope where Rhinox didn't. It takes an insane mind to sort through all this...

By the time 'Dancer' landed in front of the Axalon, everyone was waiting there, in varying states of bewilderment. The hatch opened, and Rattrap found himself under fire of enthusiastic 'I told you so' variety of shouting from the exited Speedster.
Looking a little worse for wear Dinobot was the last to exit the small ship. He had a haunted expression on his face, and sent Rattrap a very strange look.
The small bot scowled. "What?"
"I pity you," the warrior responded in a faraway voice, and without any further explanation, he went to recover in the soothing desolation of his quarters.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

You would have thought the next day the Maximal base would be filled with joyous excitement with everyone preparing to leave "that slaggin' dirtball" where they had been stranded for so long. 

But it wasn't just a matter of packing up and leaving. Or so the Maximals discovered as soon as they gathered to discuss the situation.

"I don' get it!" Rattrap protested. "What's dere to discuss? We get on da ship, we kick off da ground, an' before we know it we'll be back on Cybertron, bathing in our own glory. An' maybe some really strong liquid energon!"

Optimus shook his head.

"Rattrap, if I didn't know you... I'm sure you actually DO realize it's not that easy. We've stayed here too long. Too much has happened."

"What? We were ready to go when we thought da Preds were all dead!"

"But there have been some developments since then, and the Predacons are certainly not all dead." Rhinox remarked.

"Especially since Rampage is one of them."

"All da better reason to leave as soon as we can! Crab Legs can turn us all inta stone-cold dead slag!"

"But what if he escapes Megatron's control?" Silverbolt suddenly asked. "All Predacons will be in grave danger."

Rattrap's eyes narrowed.

"And? Don' tell me ye're really worried 'baut that wicked she-spider of yours. She's a stinkin' Pred!"

Optimus had to slam his hands on the table several times to be heard over their raging argument.

"Rattrap, can you last even a little while without picking a fight with someone? I thought you only had a problem with Dinobot! Speaking of whom..."

Dinobot was not present at the meeting. In fact, no one had seen him since he, Astera and Speedster had come back from repairing the ship the previous evening.

"He'll want to come with us this time, right, Big Bot?"

"I don't know, Cheetor, I doubt it. It was always his decision to make whether he goes back to Cybertron."

"But we can't leave him here with the bad guys! I already feel like we're deserting Tigatron and Airazor."

"They're not here, kiddo." Rattrap remarked quietly in a sudden silence.

"I know! But while I knew we were staying here I always felt like something could happen and they could be back... somehow..." he faltered. "I don't wanna lose Dinobot too."

"Cheetor... I honestly don't know what to do about Dinobot." Optimus confessed tiredly.

"I'll understand him if he doesn't want to go."

They all turned to look at Astera. She was sitting in the corner. Speedster, whom they had been unable to keep from attending the meeting after what he had accomplished, was hanging from the ceiling above her. But he had gotten bored ages ago and was now snoozing. Astera had been listening carefully but had offered no comment so far. Now she lifted her head

from gazing contemplating at the floor.

"I couldn't leave a fellow robot here when I know he will be killed for sure. But remember why I came here in the first place. There'll be no warm welcome for a Predacon on Cybertron. Dinobot is too proud to accept being treated like a common thief."

"But he's a Maximal now!" Cheetor protested.

"For you maybe. But for those on Cybertron I doubt that will change anything. And anyway, I doubt Dinobot will ever be more of a Maximal than I am. And I'm a Predacon."

"But... You're coming with us!"

Astera thought a little before answering.

"I have a son. He is my first priority. I don't really have an option. I don't know what it will take to convince Dinobot. But for me... Speedster is half Maximal. He might have a chance back there after all. I can't take that away from him."

Rattrap reset his voice-box, looking anywhere but at Astera.

"I, eh... I'll make sure da kid's alright," he said.

"Thank you." Astera nodded formally.

"As for Lizard-breath," the rat-bot continued, getting over the unusual embarrassment, "he can't be dat stupid, can he? He knows he can't survive here alone! And he should be here right

now instead of giving us dis old I'm-not-a-team-player slag."

Rhinox shifted. "Maybe he just needs to get his thoughts in order. A lot has happened lately."

"Ya mean, like him giving the Golden Disk to Megatron?"

Suddenly there was ringing silence. Everyone stared at each other.

"The Golden Disk." Optimus said slowly. "We have forgotten. We can't go back to Cybertron! Not while Megatron has the Disk! He could cause irreparable damage with it and not only to this planet!"

Everyone stared at Optimus, stricken by that revelation.

"Awww, man!"

Rattrap slumped in his chair. Optimus on the other hand stood up decisively.

"Yes, we have some unfinished business here. We'll have to kick some Predacon butt and get the Disk back before even thinking of flying off. Everyone, get back to your duties for now. And I'm going to speak to Dinobot. AND Rattrap," he added quietly after the bot in question had exited the room.

___________________________________________________________________________

Optimus Primal was a very troubled 'bot lately. Troubled and thoughtful. Troubled, thoughtful and distracted. So distracted that when he rounded a corner on his way to talk to Rattrap...

 "Ow! Sorry, Rattrap!"

 "Sheesh, careful, Big Banana!"

'What's wrong with me?' Optimus thought bewildered. 'This whole situation is starting to wear on my nerves. I don't usually stomp my crew.'

He reset his voicebox.

 "Rattrap, I need to talk to you."

 A little way up the corridor, behind a corner, Astera stopped in her tracks.

'What's with these corridors? Someone's always having important conversations in them! How are 'bots supposed to move around the base without interrupting one? Still I better not interrupt this one. Rattrap may be hard to corner the second time, and Optimus is looking

serious."

She turned to go back in the direction she had come from but a thought struck her. Well, maybe it wasn't exactly right but this WAS a corridor. 'Bots should know better than to talk here if they wanted to keep the conversation private. Plus, she was a Predacon. She was

SUPPOSED to spy on other 'bots' business. At least that was what most Maximals thought. She was ready to oblige them this time. She wanted to see how Rattrap would react to this confrontation. As angry as she was with him, she had considered the possibility that maybe he wasn't so hostile towards EVERYONE. He certainly hadn't seemed so when she had

first met him. Maybe her presence here made him nervous. Thinking from his point of view, she'd be nervous too.

She carefully peered around the corner.

The sore expression on the metallic rat's face spoke volumes. 

"Alright, fearless leader, but only if ya spare me da inspirin' speach. Jus' shoot."

"Er..."

Optimus had to scroll a few paragraphs down his scenario.

'Let's see... Rattrap, you're a valued member of this crew but... No. Despite our differences we are all robots and... No, try something else. The benefits of being a father... Oh, no, no, no! Definitely not!'

"Why are you acting like this?" he asked finally.

The rat's eyes narrowed.

"Ya mean besides da fact that dere's a Pred around every corner dese days?"

Astera's hand shot to her mouth to stifle a giggle. 

'I'm sure he didn't mean that literally, but there you go,' she thought leaning closer to the wall.

"Yes, I mean, besides that!" Optimus retorted scowling. "Rattrap, you agreed to accept Dinobot back. It was up to you to refuse. But since you didn't, it's not fare to make him feel guilty. And Primus knows you don't REALLY hate him. So why? Is there an actual reason for all this? Because despite all provided evidence, I can't believe you're just being a paranoid narrow-minded idiot for the sake of it! And not only towards Dinobot but we'll talk about that later. Now I want to know about him."

 The shorter Maximal lowered his gaze but didn't answer. Optimus' optics softened a bit.

"There is a reason, isn't there?"

There was a reason. Upon hearing it both Optimus and Astera couldn’t help suddenly forgetting a certain rat’s rather inexcusable behavior. After listening for a while, Optimus sighed and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

"I'm sure it meant a lot when you decided to forgive him. And now you're acting as if you never did. Despite what he might say I think that matters to him."

There was no reply. Deciding he had said enough, Optimus patted his friend's shoulder and left him to his thoughts.

Astera risked a quick glance around the corner. Rattrap was looking at his feet. Suddenly he seemed a lot less hostile and somewhat sheepish.

She allowed herself a small smile.

'He's actually looking cute right now! So. He's not that bad after all. Maybe I DID see something in him, and it's the same thing I'm looking at right now. A good person under all that attitude. And maybe, just maybe... No, wait, wait, wait! Is that all it takes? A veiled confession of being hurt emotionally and a faintly embarrassed look not even directed at me? Is that all I need to forgive everything else?'

She thought about it for a moment.

'Yes, it obviously is!' she concluded, suddenly feeling light-hearted for some reason. 'Girl, you're in deep trouble. Same trouble you were in stellar cycles ago. No, forget that! Think of something else! I can do some good for example. Maybe go and talk to Dinobot. Maybe even

repeat this whole conversation to him in case Rattrap takes ages to work the courage to do it himself.'

With that thought she started towards Dinobot's room on the other side of the base.

___________________________________________

Honor.

It was the one thing that had guided his life, given it sense. The one thing that had justified actions that were otherwise considered cruel, selfish and generally wrong. Whatever his deeds were, they weren't unhonourable. Until now.

Kneeling on the floor he surveyed his sword.

Astera's arrival had stirred thing up quite a bit. The result was that Optimus and his crew now had the means to leave Earth. He had returned to Optimus because the Maximals had a use for another warrior. But now they were going home. To a planet he could never return to. They didn't need him anymore.

 ______________________________________________

Astera knocked on the door for the third time. Still no answer.

"Dinobot?"

Nothing. Finally, she pushed the door open.

"Oh, no..." she breathed, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "This just spells trouble."

The room was empty. The computer screen was on and an image of a golden disk Astera was sure was the one everyone kept talking about was displayed on it. Something about the scene made the hairs on her beast mode's neck rise.

It was a gut feeling. Something bad was going to happen.

She jumped as she heard a knock on the door.
 

"Yes?" she answered automatically.

A surprised-looking Rattrap stepped into the room.

"Oh... I didn't expect you!" she said a little stupidly.

 His optics widened, then narrowed.

"An' who WERE ya expectin'?"

"Wh-what? No one!" she could practically feel the frost in his voice.

"Yeah, dat's why ye're in his room. Alone. An' answerin' the door. Should've known. Dere were certain signs."

"What the SLAG are you talking about?"

"It's logical after all. Huh, whaddya know. Optimus was wrong. I guess ol' Chopper-face doesn't have much time for remorse if he's spendin' it with ya."

He started to turn towards the door when Astera's hand yanked him back and slapped him across the face.

"You-you... You slaggin'..." she was so furious she was gasping for air. "You didn't even bother to ASK why I was here! And just when I had started to think... Just when I had decided to give you another chance! I should've known better! I should've known better than to expect

anything! I should've known better than to come looking for you! I should've known better than to get involved with someone like you in the first place. Once a street rat, always a street rat! You can never count on them! My son does not have a father!"

She pushed him aside and ran out slamming the door.

Rattrap stared into nothingness for several moments, then banged his head on the nearest wall.

 "Aw, man! What's (bang) wrong (bang) with (bang) me?!"

Dinobot and Astera having a secret affair? Why hadn't the idea sounded so laughable a moment ago?

'She's right! No matter how many chances I get, I keep messin' up 'till it's too late. What do I do now?'

But his legs were already carrying him out of the room, moved by the half-conscious conviction that he had to find Astera and tell her at least one sentence that didn't sound rude or insane or both.

Maybe something along the lines of  'I'm sorry.'

_________________________________________________
 

As he wheeled quickly towards the exit of the Axalon Rattrap kept his

optics on the ceiling in case Speedster was once again hanging there.

He should talk to his son too if he got the chance.

BANG!

He crushed into someone. It turned out to be Speedster.

"Were you looking for me?" the robot child asked merrily. "Everyone's bumping into people they're looking for today. Optimus bumped into you and you bumped into me."

Rattrap blinked, still recovering.

"How do you know Optimus... Oh. Do you ALWAYS listen in on conversations?" he asked a little angrily.

"Yes, unless someone specifically asks me not to listen to a particular conversation. It's the only way to learn what's going on since no one ever tells me anything. And if I hadn't listened to that one I wouldn't know that you aren't a total momforbidsmetosayit."

"Oh... Ya think so?"

"Yeah"

"Well, good, 'cause..." he took a deep breath. "I don' mind being called 'Dad' that much."
By the way the boy's optics brightened, he judged he'd said at least one thing right today.

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Dinobot leaned on the rock, wheezing. It had been a long run from the Predacons, and keeping pace with the flyers was not an easy task for a land-bound transformer. For the first time in a long while the warrior thought longingly of his Cybertronian alt-mode. It might have been crude, but it had wheels.
He forced his fuel pump and ventilation system to quieten, while straining his audios to hear Megatron's gloat-monologue.

"...my theories concerning the Golden Disk had proven true..."
Dinobot hissed. He knew what said theories were - that the record of the future events the disk held would alter along with altered reality - and if that was correct--

"... the human race is destined to emerge from this valley... but no longer, noo..."

--then it was too powerful a weapon to leave in Megatron's hands.

As the first shots sounded in the valley, Dinobot opened a link to Optimus.
__________________________

"Oh man, how come I am da one wit' wheels, but she's still faster dan me?"
The plain studiously ignored the question and a following muffled grumbling.
It wasn't actually a matter of speed - Rattrap just wasn't that good of a tracker, and finding a Predacon femme who didn't want to be found proved difficult. The piercing beep of his comlink made him swear under his breath. Now what?

**Optimus Primal to all units - head to the coordinates 5-2-6/9-1-2 at high speed. Dinobot needs back-up. Optimus out.**
"Oh PERFECT! Dey're doin' it on purpose, I just know dey are." Rattrap zeroed in on the bearings and sped off. A whinny "why me?" trailed after him.
_______________________________________________


The fires were spreading across the valley, when a slender figure snaked down the cliff wall. She really shouldn't be here, Astera thought, making her way toward the sounds of battle. She was not a warrior, not even a Maximal - but Dinobot wasn't one either, and if he was taking on Megatron's entire gang, he had to have a good reason. Plus, they were a long way from the Axalon - if she didn't join him, Dinobot would be on his own. And she knew too well what it was like to be alone - she wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy. Well, maybe except Rattrap...

She sneaked in the shadows - something her weasel beast mode seemed to be made for - and finally spotted the warrior - one side pressed to the rock, the other protected by a whirling shield, eyes blazing with laser fire, he looked like he had the situation under control - until a yellow something with too many legs crept behind him and transformed, rising a... well, she presumed it was a weapon. Without thinking she hit the comlink.

"Dinobot, behind you!"

***

All that the supposedly helpful warning did for Dinobot, was distract him. He'd known QuickStrike was there, and had a perfectly well thought through strategy for dealing with him. A strategy that was based on the knowledge that he only had to worry for himself - meaning he didn't have to worry - and which now wasn't worth a slag. Snarling, he abandoned the perfect offensive position he'd had, to draw the Predacon firepower away form the femme - and then he snarled even more, as he realized what he was doing. Primus, had he gone completely maximalish...

And of course, Astera tried to follow him. **Stay where you are!** he radioed her, but it was already too late - she'd been spotted, and now he had to withdraw to join her. If he didn't, she'd soon be made into a metal salad.

He sprinted to her side and pushed her rudely to the ground. "You're making yourself a target!" he growled, crouching behind a boulder and once again opening fire at the aggressors. "Find yourself a cover!"
"Right," she breathed, and rolled to lie behind a thick tree. Then she retrieved a gun she'd got from Optimus and inspected it doubtfully. Never before had she had to participate in an actual fight. The closest she ever got was watching the bar brawls. Oh, well, it couldn't be that difficult, could it?

Yes, it could. No matter how hard she tried, all her shots were doing was confusing the enemy. Tarantulas had actually looked around to check what on Earth she was shooting at - which Dinobot promptly took advantage of, sending the spider-bot tumbling to the ground, so it wasn't a complete waste of ammo... or so she hoped.
____________________________


Back in the Axalon, Speedster was on tenterhooks. It wasn't fair of Optimus to leave him behind! Those were his parents out there! He had a hard time enough coping with the death of a mech that brought him up - what if he had to go through it again? But Optimus simply wouldn't listen to his protests.
At least Rhinox showed some compassion, and granted him full access to the ship’s systems - so now he sat on the very edge of a chair, staring hungrily at the radar screen. The four blips on the radar screen were heading north-east fast - and then one by one they flickered and disappeared.
Out Of Radar Range.
Now all he could do was wait until they appeared again - hopefully upped to seven.
____________________________


"We need to fall back," Dinobot barked a command. He didn't mention anything about cover fire - with the femme's aim, it could kill him. Astera didn't question his order - she knew better than to argue about something she didn't have a clue about. At the mech's signal she jumped to her feet and raced to the next safe-spot.
That is - the spot that was temporarily safe from Tarantulas and Blackarachnia - but it happened to be in a perfect view of a certain trigger-happy tank.


Rampage took a precise aim, waited for the femme to notice him, and pulled the trigger with a satisfied smirk, sending two rocket missiles soaring. Oh, he loved it when his prey knew the death was coming!

In a split nano Astera's mind went through a whirl of panicked thoughts, starting with 'I'm going to die', passing through 'It's all Speedway's fault' and ending with 'What will happen to Speedster', and then something hit her to the side with such force and speed, that for a long moment she was sure that it was the missiles. Only after she heard them exploding somewhere to the side she dared to power up her optics, and stared into the very angry and frightened face of Rattrap.
"Wh't ar'ya doin' 'ere?!! Y'wan'a get killed?!"

Apparently the accent she found so alluring when they had first met was getting heavier when he was upset. She thought, a bit hazily, that it was cute - and then her processor registered what exactly he was saying. Combined with the still burning memory of their previous encounter, it was enough to set her off.
"It's none of your business what I'm doing!" she yelled, pushing him off herself. He started to say something, but she didn't let him. "Since when do you even care?!"
"Look, I--"
"Vermin, take your girlfriend out of here!" Dinobot cut in harshly.
"I'm not his girlfriend! And he's not taking me anywhere!"
"Astera, look--" Rattrap tried.
"I do not care what your relationship is, just get out of my way, both of you!" the warrior growled, barely audible in the whine of his own lasers.
"Look here, Chopperfa--"
"We don't HAVE any relationship!" Astera almost howled, waving her gun at the tall bot.

A strayed missile exploded on a cliff wall above them, spraying them with sandstone pebbles. Rattrap grabbed his head exasperatedly. "A valley full of mad Preds, an' I don't even 'ave back-up. Will ya two SHUT UP?!" He managed to actually catch their attention, and went on with this before they could interrupt him again. "Astera, I'm sorry, Dinobot, I'm sorry too, now lets just ALL get out of here! Please?"
"I cannot abandon this place," the warrior stated calmly.
"Why da Pit not?!"
The muscled arm shot out, pointing something further in the valley. "Humans, vermin. Or at least what will once become humanity. Megatron is out to destroy them - that is why we're only being attacked by a few of his troops."

Squinting and setting his vision to the highest settings, Rattrap managed to perceive distant figures, trying to run away and stay hidden at the same time. "Humans," he said flatly. "I hate humans." He covered his face again.

During the last five cycles - when he was racing to put one very stubborn femme out of the missiles way, to be precise -  his entire universe had shattered to pieces and rearranged itself - a very stressful experience, let me tell you. The one he'd never expected to happen to him, but here it was.

He didn't need a bunch of helpless bipeds in a burning valley and a suddenly protective Dinobot on top of that.

"Great. Perfect. Fine. So what do ya propose we do, -an' ya'd better include us surviving in the plan- ya stinkin' excuse fer a warrior?"

The opening snarl was a bit longer and fiercer than usual. "An excuse of a warrior I may be, but I do know where my duty lies." The crimson optics flashed with green as he fired again. "Take your femme to safety, vermin, I shall remain here. Farewell." The last world was uttered so quietly, that Rattrap was sure he wasn't meant to hear it, but he heard it all the same. 

He knew Dinobot well. Probably better than anyone else, and the calm response screeched like a rusted nail across his processor.
No comeback. A dead seriousness. A goodbye.
He knew what to make of this, and, slaggit, he wouldn't have it.
He uttered a few words that, judging by the look Astera sent him, definitely fell into 'sheforbidsmetosayit' category, and charged.

Dinobot was more than a little startled to suddenly find himself on the ground, with the Maximal's gun shoved into his face.
"Y'can ferget 'bout it, Lizardlips, 'cuz I'm not leavin' ya here fer da Pred's ta scrap ya! Dat's MY fraggin' privilege! Got it?!"
It would be interesting to know what Dinobot’s response might have been, but they never found out, what with the explosion tossing all three of them to the air and all that.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

"There they are!" Three shapes swooped down from the sky. "It's Dinobot and Astera, Optimus!"
Perched on Optimus' hover board, Rhinox risked a quick glance down and immediately regretted it. "Can you see Rattrap?" he asked, shutting off his optics and gripping tight to the board's edges.
Cheetor and Silverbolt circled, searching for the missing Maximal. "There! What is he doing?"
__________________

"Oh man, oh man, what am I doin'?" the metallic rat whined, though he knew precisely what he was doing. He was making Rampage mad to lure him away from the terrified squishies. Dinobot wanted to do this, but in a flash of terrible stupidity, Rattrap said that he was the faster one, so he would go. That wasn't all he'd said, but rest of it was unrepeatable. 

He run circles around the infuriated tank, yelling every single insult he'd ever heard, and then screamed as Rampage transformed, jumped, and grabbed him.
Luck was with him that night, though, and instead of being cruelly disemcircuited, he was tossed away with all the tank-bot's might.

"IIIieeiieIEEieie-am-gonna-dieeeee!" he informed the air rushing past him, and then curled into himself, bracing for the frame-breaking impact. It didn't come.
He risked opening his optics, and groaned, mentally banging his head with a blunt instrument.

Why couldn't Rampage just kill him and be done with it? It surely couldn't be worse than dangling upside-down in Cheetor's grip, almost directly above a rather amused looking Astera.

Things definitely couldn't get any worse.

___________________________________________________

Megatron frowned at the new development.
With all of the Maximals in the way, the chances of  putting early humans on the extinct species list were depressingly low. Accursed Autobot spawns, may they--

...

ALL of the Maximals.
The purple bot scrutinized the battlefield briefly to make sure he hadn’t miscounted them, and smiled. Well. Time for a little change of plans.
He ran a mental inspection of his troops.

Rampage and Inferno - a perfect diversion team.
The spiders - their technical skills would be useful in the endeavor he had in mind.

QuickStrike - a good - maybe not diversion, but certainly a distraction.

Waspinator - no brain nor brawn, but loyal enough to watch Megatron's back - which could be useful with Tarantulas around. Speaking of the demon...
He rose to the air and made a drop on a dark shape climbing inconspicuously in a crevasse. "Escaping from the battle, Tarantulas?"

The spider in question cursed under his breath. Yes, he was fragging escaping from the stupid battle. He didn't want to be in it in the first place. The whole idea was idiotic, and the only reason he was here was that he needed CR after Dinobot had forced him away from the spacecraft, and Megatron got hold of him before he managed to clear off.
"Remaining here now is pointless, Megatron," he grated in, what he hoped, was a respectful tone of voice.

"For once we agree on something, my dear treacherous arachnid." Megatron grabbed the spider unceremoniously by the neck and took off, radioing Waspinator and Inferno with a special set of orders.
Waspinator's were concerning finding Blackarachnia and delivering her to the certain area.
Inferno's were: unleash the Pit itself.
_______________________________________

_______________________________________


"For the rrrroyalty!!!" the trees burnt. For the royalty burnt the bushes. And for the royalty the femme screamed, falling to the ground.
"Astera!" Amazing, how fast Rattrap appeared at her side. "Where?"
"The leg," she wheezed. "I'll be fine."
"Sure ya will," he agreed, glancing over his shoulder at the advancing flames, and his voice only shook a little. "Come on."
Astera raised a hand, expecting him to help her up, and gasped in surprise as she was scooped up and carried away in his arms. "Rattrap, I can walk myself," she said, but only half-heartedly. For the first time in her life she was being treated like a silly, helpless movie heroine, not a strong and independent Pred femme, and, Primus, it felt good.
The bot carrying her came to a stop in the middle of a small clearing, and looked around frantically. Flames, flames, flames.
"Cheetor! Get us OUT of here!" he screamed skywards.

The femme hid her face in his shoulder, trying to suppress a sudden urge to giggle. Here she was, in the middle of the Pit, with the crackling wound in her leg, held in the arms of her knight in sooty armor, who, judging by the edge in his voice, was on the verge of panic. None of it was funny. Not funny at all. She sniggered, and he looked down at her, alarmed. "Hey, ah, r'ya all right?" She raised her optics to meet his, full of fear and concern, and opened her mouth to say something stupid and soppy, that she knew she would regret... and choked on a cooling spray that descended on them in a colorful curtain.

"The way out for the happy couple!" Cheetor's voice joked from above.
"Save it, kiddo," Rattrap grumbled, making his way through the burned-out foliage, zeroing in on the familiar rattle of Rhinox's chainguns.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________

"That was a piece of energon crystal," Cheetor said almost disappointed.
Inferno and Quickstrike were lying unconscious and bound at Optimus's feet, and the massive form of Rampage had just yielded to the Maximals’ combined firepower.
"Dat's just 'cuz we've done all da difficult parts for ya," Rattrap muttered, emerging from among the black tree trunks and leaning against one of them.
"You can put me down now," Astera said without much conviction. He nodded absently and didn't.
"It was too easy," Optimus said, frowning. "Were is the rest of the Predacons?"

They looked around, half expecting Megatron to jump in then and there.
"They could be off hunting for humans, sir," Silverbolt offered uncertainly.
"We would have heard the gunfire, but all is quiet."
Cheetor shuddered. "Too quiet."

A second of tense silence passed, and Rhinox inhaled sharply. "Oh no." He and Optimus looked at each other in sudden understanding. "Axalon," they said together.
Rattrap's and Astera's optics widened. "Speedster!" they exclaimed in unison.
Then the small bot made two hasty steps and shoved the femme into Rhinox's arms. "Take care of her," he said, and in a whine of engine and a whirl of ash, he was gone.

_______________________________________________________________

 
The radar beeped, and Speedster jumped in his chair. "Finally! I was beginning to worry..." his voice faltered, as he gaped at the four yellow signals. Predacon signals. He searched the screen desperately for any specs of red, and found none. He lunged for the radio.

"Mom! Dad! Rhinox? Optimus? Anyone!" The steady hum of static was the only answer. Speedster had no way of knowing that all Maximals were at the moment in a deep valley, the walls of which were jamming the signal, and for a moment he felt very scared and very, very alone. And then he set his jaw determinately. They were somewhere out there - he refused to believe otherwise - and perhaps needed his help, and help he would give.
It would be some time before the Preds arrived - and when they did, he'd be ready.
_____________________________________________________________

The best and shorter way to describe Megatron's state at this moment in time would be 'spitting mad'.
The more precise one would be 'scorched, battered, slightly dazed, dripping with a green paint AND spitting mad.
So all right, the Maximals' auto-defenses shot at them, so fine, the small spaceship they had come here for was landed close to the Axalon in such a way that its entrance was protected by Sentinel's force field, so ok, Tarantulas disappeared the moment Megatron stopped watching him - all of this was unwelcome, but not unexpected. Lots of other things were.

For example he'd never suspect that the roof hatch may open for a second, letting out an armada of party-balloons with a small time bomb tied to one of them. When the bomb went off, the balloons popped, releasing the gas. The explosion ignited the gas... Well. Inferno would love this. Megatron didn't. He'd been directly above the roof hatch at the time.

And landmines. Paint filled landmines. Blackarachnia had found those. Apart from the annoyance of it, it apparently made them easier to spot for Sentinel's sensors.

And the electro inducing midair tripwires Waspinator had flown into.

And the uncannily precise salves of rocks being shot at them from the few makeshift turrets around the base...

This last one thing made Megatron pause and think for a moment. These things weren't running on automatic - someone was activating them whenever the Predacons were in range. Someone who knew exactly where they were... someone who could see them... someone who was hidden somewhere... over... THERE!

Quick as a hawk, the purple bot descended on his pray and made a grab.

"Hey!"
"Who, by the Pit, are you?" the tyrant growled, shaking something that looked like a ball of black yarn with floppy wings.
"Let go of me!" the ball of yarn demanded in a childish voice. Megatron scowled with disgust. A kid. Wonderful. He was wondering what he should do with his captive, when a shot scorched the boulder a few inches from his head.

"Get yer hands off my son," someone seethed. The purple bot looked to the side and down, into a set of burning red optics.
"Your son?" he repeated, and laughed. "How delicious."
In one move he raised his tail-gun...

...to the child-bot's head, in a classic hostage situation move, demanded of Rattrap to drop his weapon, and when the Maximal complied, he scrapped them both...   

No. Fragging. Way.
/blam, blam, blam/, barked Rattrap's rifle, hitting the Predacon's shoulder, and Speedster chose that precise moment to shriek.
No, not an 'I'm small and afraid' kind of shriek. It was an offensive, glass-shattering high-pitched kind of shriek.
Megatron staggered with a yelp, pressing a hand to his audio. The freed bat hurriedly flopped to his father. "Dad! Where's mom?"
"She's fine-- Look out!"
Rattrap jumped forward, grabbing an armful of fluttering fur, and spun around, taking the full blast of Megatron's furious shot on his back.
"Oh, bugger," he murmured, falling to his knees. "I'm fine," he assured the pair of huge, frightened eyes gaping up at him. He swayed and sputtered, feeling the energon leaking into his ventilation system. "Perfectly fine," he repeated. Something heavy landed near them with a thud.
"You shouldn't lie to a kid, vermin," Dinobot informed him before charging his former commander.
"The cavalry arrived!" Cheetor whooped cheerfully above.
"Well," Rattrap sighed with relief, "nice to see ya guys." And this was when his processor shut down. No, he didn't exactly go off-line. He later remembered hearing everything - Dinobot wrestling with Megatron and getting shot in the back by Blackarachnia, Blackarachnia getting snatched and dropped from high altitude on Waspinator's head by Cheetor, Cheetor getting berated for it by Optimus, and Waspinator complaining about the cruel universe out to get him. He heard it all. He just wasn't able to process it properly for some time.
His coherency came back about the time when Megatron found himself cheated of his victory again, and didn't take it well.
"...but YOU will not use this ship either!" he roared, charging his weapon with all available power, and aiming at 'Stardancer's' engine.

At Rattrap's side, Speedster jumped to his feet. "No way! You're not scrapping my Dancer!" He snatched the rifle from his father's limp hand, and raised it, frowning and biting his tongue in concentration.
"Hold yer breath 'fore pullin' da trigger," Rattrap murmured, before realizing that encouraging the kid to use the gun was not the best idea ever, but he didn't manage to vocalize his doubt, because Speedester did hold his breath, and pulled the trigger.

The shot seared past Dinobot's head, past Optimus's hover board, past Stardancer's nosecone, and hit straight into Megatron's left rotor.
Behold, how the mightiest fall...

Optimus swooped down to the snarling tyrant. "It's over, Megatron, surren--"

"Never!" He might have been outnumbered and crippled, but his weapon was still online, so there was only one thing that could happen now. Megatron jerked his arm up, the tip of tail-gun almost touching Primal's chestplate and--

*ZAP*
--a stasis web wrapped around him, rendering him offline. Optimus blinked at it in wonder.


Tarantulas subspaced his launcher and smiled politely at Optimus... at Optimus's wrist cannon. "What are you playing at, Tarantulas?"
Ah, yes. The explanation time.
"That's lieutenant Tarantulas, of Predacon Secret Police. At your service."
A little late maybe, but he'd always made a point of being at the right side. The winning one, that is. And the one with the working spacecraft at their disposal.



Dinobot snorted contemptuously and turned away from the scene. Disgusting, really. He could only hope that Rattrap wouldn't think of comparing him to the shifty spider. Speaking of the rat... "It was about time you woke up, ve--" he started, turning to face the small maximal and stopped dead. He took in the gun in Speedster's hand, and the beam on his face, he drew the only logical conclusion, and he felt a bit weak.

He limped to the two bots, and firmly took the gun away from the kid. Then he very slowly sat down, very slowly leaned back, and landed on the ground head to head with the rat-bot. The whole motion was more a controlled collapse that anything else, and Rattrap couldn't help sniggering.
"There's nothing funny in this, rodent," the warrior said in a huff. "I saw his mother shooting. Thank Primus, he doesn't take after her."
"Yeah," Rattrap agreed rather proudly. "He takes after me."
"The Bane Of My Existence Junior," Dinobot agreed resignedly, his optics dimming slightly. Above them Speedster stifled a laughter, and the corners of the warrior's mouth twitched. "What a marve... marvelous..." his voice trailed off.
"Hey, eh! Chopperface!" Rattrap tried to sit up, alarmed, and landed back on the ground with a grunt, as the whole world started spinning. The last thing he heard was Speedster's worried voice. "Dad! Dinobot! Oh, ssssscrap and rust, I wish I knew how to swear properly..."

________________________________________
________________________________________

Rattrap powered up his optics and smiled lovingly at the sight in front of him. After a 'bot has been seriously injured and the last thing he remembers is slipping offline, the inside of a CR-chamber really DOES seem like the most beautiful thing in the world.

Astera's face would have been nice too, but seeing that instead of the CR door would probably mean he was dying and saying last goodbyes. Although, since he was fully repaired now...

This time he didn't have to go and accidentally bump into the person he was looking for.

When the CR opened she was right there, trying to look like she was just passing by.

There was a moment of silence with the two 'bots looking seriously at each other.

"Eh... Hi?" Rattrap managed.

Astera popped an optic ridge and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Are you always this articulate?"

His features relaxed into a goofy smile.

"Neah, I usually play da part of da dark silent hero."

She laughed and moved forward to hug him.

"I'm so glad you're all right."

Suddenly Rattrap's brain went haywire trying to determine what kind of hug this was.

Was it just a friendly hug?

Or an I-forgive-you hug?

Or, perhaps, an I-just-might-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you hug...?

All right, so the last one was just wishful thinking, and too much for a hug to mean anyway. Still, he'd like to know, only how to ask something like that? Er...

He finally opted for asking "How's Dinobot doing?"
OK, so he was a coward.

Her face turned serious again as she let go of him.

"It's pretty bad. I heard Rhinox say he'll never be able to live trough that one."

The metallic rat's jaw dropped.

"What?! B-but..."

He had never considered the possibility that he might survive and the raptor might not.

"Where is he?" he asked, his throat constricting.

"In his room. I expect everyone else is there too."

She followed Rattrap trough half of the base to Dinobot's quarters. Upon opening the door, they encountered a scene that was truly... disturbing.

Dinobot really couldn't be expected to survive something like this.

The ex-predacon was sitting on his sleeping platform, looking half murdering, half bewildered, while both Cheetor and Speedster were practically on top of him.

Silverbolt looked about ready to join them.

Optimus was saying something about Dinobot's heroic efforts battling the Predacons the previous day and his unquestionable value to the team.

Rhinox was evidently trying not to laugh at the whole picture. From the looks of it, he was barely hanging to control.

Behind Rattrap, Astera burst into a fit of giggles. The rat made a sound that just might have been a badly covered sigh of relief and it drew others' attention to him.

"Hey, dad!"

Speedster let go of Dinobot's neck to come hang on his father's.

"You know, he woke up just a little while ago and he locked himself in here and he wouldn't open the door until Rhinox threatened to ram it!" the robot child complained. "And he's still being stubborn about coming with us!"

Rattrap looked skywards.

"Chopperface, when're ya gonna stop terrorizin'... or rather, maximizin' us with yer stupidity? 'Cuz dis self-sacrificin' stuff is considered completely maximalish!"

Dinobot got rid of Cheetor with one movement and crossed his arms.

"I am not going back to Cybertron to be locked up or worse- to live on maximal charity, vermin!"

"Well, ah, dat's just fine, 'cuz I'm not goin' back ta Cybertron either. I'm takin' Astera and Speedster somewhere safer!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Eh, of course, whoever DOES want to go back to Cybertron, we'll drop 'em off first... we'll need to go dere to get rid of Tarantulas and Megatron's merry gang, anyway."

 Optimus looked thoughtful.

"Hmmm, after what we've heard from Astera, Cybertron is looking a lot less appealing. I wouldn't want to step from the Beast Wars right into a civil war..."

 "Whatever we do," Speedster chipped in, "can't we just do it together like..."

"One big happy family?" Optimus suggested.

"Yuck, no! I was going to say 'a team'."

Optimus smiled.

"Well, whoever agrees that we stay together no matter what, raise your hands."

A number of hands shot up.

Rattrap was staring fixedly at Dinobot. Everyone waited. 

"Oh, all right!" the warrior growled finally. "After all, you'll soon get yourself scrapped if I'm not there to save your sorry hide, vermin."
This time it was Rattrap who didn't come up with a smart retort. Instead a small smile found its way to both of their faces, and was soon reflected on the faces of everyone else in the room, and suddenly it was as if someone had pushed a magic reset button, and all was as it used to be in the good all times - only a few months ago, before the whole mess with aliens, disks and betrayed trust happened.
One big happy team indeed.

___________________________________________________________________

Rattrap was in for yet another important conversation. Strangely enough this one didn't occur in the corridors of the Axalon.

Astera was sitting near the waterfall, resting her back against a comfortable rock.

'At least the setting's romantic this time,' he thought nervously as he approached. She saw him coming when he had almost reached her, and stood up.

"Eh, Astera," he began, "I really need ta know where we're standin' now, ya an' I."

"Oh!” she looked surprised. "So you didn't hear me?"

"Hear what? When?"

"The things I said to you while you were offline?"

"Eh, no... Dat's probably 'cuz I was, ya know, offline."

"Yes. Right. I've watched too many melodramatic movies."

Rattrap shifted uncomfortably, his spark suddenly fluttering with doubt.
And he regretted that HE hadn't watched enough melodramatic movies. Maybe then he would know what Astera was getting at. Why would you want to talk to someone while they're offline unless there's something unpleasant you don't want to say in their face?

What if it was something along the lines of: 'Dear Rattrap, although you are totally unfit for a lover, I've decided that you are a nice person and I'm going to let you visit our son. We'll

arrange visiting cycles with my lawyer.'? Brrr! Or even worse: 'after the display of recklessness, cowardice and foul language I've witnessed, I think you're...'   no, he didn't even want to finish that thought.

"Could you repeat it now?" he asked carefully, his internal wiring slowly rearranging itself into a painful knot.

"I don't think so. I think it was a few cycles long."

That bad? Oh, man...

"Could you give me a shorter version?"  'Fast and merciful? Like a shot to the head? '

"Well..." she hesitated.

Suddenly Rattrap lost his patience. This conversation was ridiculous!

'Da way she feels doesn't change da way I feel, and I'd better just be over with it...'

"I love you," he blurted out determinately, looking as if he was waiting for the universe to come crashing down on his head.

Astera raised her optics to meet his and a wide, radiating smile spread trough her face.

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Huh? What?"

"What I said to you. That sums it up."

It took him a moment to realize what she was saying and then...

Not much could be said about that kiss. It wasn't wildly passionate and no unusual techniques were used. But it was a kiss neither of them had ever received.

It was comfortable and reassuring and held the promise of something more than one enjoyable night. You could even go as far as saying that it was an I-just-might-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kiss. And no, that’s not too much for a

 THE END

No, wait! For especially enthusiastic readers (yeah, right, like there ARE any) here are some scenes that were deleted because they strayed too far away from the plot.

//This happens right after the meeting’s over and Optimus says he should talk to both Dinobot and Rattrap.//

But instead of leaving right away, he waited for the others to depart until there was only him and Rhinox left, along with a sleeping Speedster on the ceiling.

"Aren't you going?" Rhinox asked after they had just sat there in silence for a while.

"Yes... Except I have no idea what to say to Dinobot. He's so... I want to make him feel accepted and I want to respect his beliefs and I just plain want to help the situation somehow. But I just don't seem to be able to get trough to him."

"You shouldn't feel responsible for him finding it hard to fit in."

"But I AM responsible, Rhinox. I am responsible for all of them. I chose to be. That other occasion Rattrap mentioned, when we were really close to going back... When Dinobot said he would stay, didn't we let go too easily?"

"We were respecting his wishes."

"Yes, we were, but we were also singling him out. What if Cheetor had said he would stay? Or anyone else. Would we have left him? Do we really accept Dinobot as a friend? If he regarded us as friends and not mere comrades would he have betrayed us?"

"Optimus, you're digging too deep," Rhinox said mildly, putting his hand on his younger commander's shoulder.

"I know. But I can't shake the feeling that I'm not digging deep enough. When Astera came, she reminded me there wasn't that much of a difference between Maximals and Predacons. I thought I knew that all along but apparently... I forgot somewhere along the way. I'm just trying to figure out how to act because I feel it really matters now. And I wish Dinobot

and Rattrap were on better terms. Just now that argument of theirs might turn out more serious than it looks. Look at how they're both acting. Rattrap's really been at his worst lately. And his attitude towards Astera and his own son worries me too."

"Well, then you should be talking to all of them, not me." Rhinox concluded.

"I suppose I should."

And with a sigh, Optimus Primal, commander of the Maximals, exited the control room, wishing more than ever he was someone else.

___________________________________________

//And this is Optimus and Rattrap’s actual conversation. The one Astera and Speedster heard.//

"Ya know how we always fight an' insult each other?" the rat asked without looking up.

Optimus nodded, feeling a bit silly. "It's a little hard not to know that."

"Yeah. But it was all... Like a big joke, right? I mean, yeah, I kinda was suspicious of him for being a Pred at the beginning, and he IS a chopper-face but then... Ya know, fearless leader, I was always goin' on about how he couldn't be trusted and how he would betray us

but I wasn't-wasn't... I never thought..." he struggled for words for a moment. "He actually did it, Optimus! He betrayed m-us!"

The look in the smaller bot's optics as he finally looked up caught Optimus unprepared.

So that was it. Now he actually thought about it, it seemed obvious. In order for something to affect you that much you had to care about it.

It was the answer to Rattrap's behavior as well as one of the questions he had voiced in front of Rhinox. Even if some of them didn't see Dinobot as something more than a mere comrade, one 'bot obviously did. He had seen him as a friend he could trust for reasons other than honor and duty. And that revelation left him searching for the right thing to say.

"He didn't really betray us, Rattrap. Or you. Yes, he had the intention to. But he didn't. He could have killed you when Megatron ordered him to. You know he had plenty of time. Instead he chose to desert Megatron a second time, knowing that we may not want him back. I think that's more proof that we can trust him than being born a Maximal."

Optimus thought the words trough as he said them. For the first time everything seemed so clear. Now confident about his own view on the matter, he continued.

//And here we go back to what’s in the fic :D)

Well, that’s all from us! Bye!

THE END

(THIS TIME FOR REAL ;P)