"Dis is crazy," Rattrap whispered to himself. His hands were busy on the console in front of him as he spoke, though. Crazy or not, he didn’t have a choice. And, like Optimus had once said, ‘Sometimes crazy works.’

Depth Charge was in sight of the Security Team guarding Rampage’s cell, looking like he was just walking by for one more paranoid inspection, when everything went berserk. Alarms screamed, computers scrambled themselves, computer screens went haywire, showing information that held only the vaguest hint of things going on. The guards tensed as areas of the Center called desperately for back-up in helping them contain experiments gone wrong or let loose. This area of the Center had just as many alarms screaming and lights flickering wildly, but it was obvious that other areas had been hit harder.

"Go! I’ll stay!" Depth Charge ordered when he saw the conflict in the Security Team between staying at their assigned posts and going to help. The guards gratefully left guard duty to their Chief, who they trusted to keep Rampage in his cell.

Except the ray-bot had no intention of doing so. Waiting until the last of the Security Team was out of sight, Depth Charge ripped the machinery off of Rampage’s spark-box and keyed the cell door to open. He still wasn’t sure this idea wouldn’t get him, and others, killed, but he couldn’t leave someone behind to be tortured. Not even this ‘bot.

The exhausted transformer inside the cell was laying on the floor, apparently unable to even get up anymore. He didn’t even look up as the noise outside entered his cell.

"Rampage!" Depth Charge hissed. "Get up!"

The crab glanced up with an effort. "Depth Charge..?" he asked in confusion when he saw the worried look on his enemy’s face.

The Maximal knelt by him and pulled one of the crab’s arms over his shoulders. "A little help would be appreciated," he gritted out while he strained to lift Rampage’s heavy bulk.

The Predacon weakly attempted to get his feet under him, completely confused by Depth Charge’s actions. "What are you doing?" he managed to ask as the ray half-dragged him to the cell entrance.

"I’ll explain later," the ray said curtly. He eyed the distance of the corridor and mentally measured how much farther he would be able to make it with Rampage almost limp with lack of energy. Not far enough, he concluded. They had to make it to the landing pad, and the crab was too heavy. Depth Charge cursed to himself and turned to the crab leaning against him helplessly. "Can you at least walk on your own for the length of this corridor?"

Rampage blinked at his question. "I...don’t know," he answered hesitantly. "Fish Face, what--?"

Depth Charge snarled something non-repeatable at the uncertain answer to his question. "Slaggit, I’m breaking out of here and taking you with me," he growled finally. "If you can’t make it to the shuttle, we’re both scrap. Got it? Now, give me a straight answer! Can you make it to the end of the corridor on your own, or do I leave you here to Dr. Kilju?!" His time was running out. The A.L.H Research Center could do a computer systems purge at any moment...

Rampage stiffened, staring incredulously at his worst enemy. Then he cast another look at the corridor. "I think...maybe," he said after a brief second of consideration. Hope was giving him a bit of energy on its own, he thought humorlessly. Or at least his mind was working again despite his fatigue and low level starvation-pain. "I might be able to make it farther if I could transform to my beast mode," he said. "More legs will make it harder to collapse, and I’d have less distance to fall if I did," he added quickly when Depth Charge gave him a suspicious look.

The Maximal regarded him cautiously for a moment, but the need to hurry won out over his wariness. Depth Charge quickly reached over and keyed the transformation lock on Rampage’s shoulder loose. The Predacon immediately dropped into his crab mode and slowly began creeping towards the far end of the corridor, wavering slightly but staying on his feet. Depth Charge sprinted past him and to the end of the hall, looking both directions for any Center personnel or complications.

Rampage struggled to keep going forward. It wasn’t a matter of determination; he had every intention of escaping. No, he just simply didn’t have the energy. It felt like he was walking through thick glue that was drying every time he put down a leg. Each movement cost him precious energy, and black dots danced in his vision as his optics began to shut down from the lack of energon. Without the pain of his spark being compressed, his body was insisting on going off-line...and he had a feeling that whatever Depth Charge reason for rescuing him was, it wouldn’t prevent the ray from leaving him behind if he slowed him down too much. Rampage couldn’t go back to that cell, back to Dr. Kilju’s ‘tender mercies’.

He’d kill himself first.

"Fish...Face," he gasped. Up ahead of him, Depth Charge glanced back impatiently. "My spark...crush it..."

The Maximal was shocked at Rampage’s request, but the reasoning behind it flew through his thoughts as he saw the crab sinking gradually closer to the floor as his legs gave out. Depth Charge had to keep him online...but if he squeezed the spark TOO hard, Rampage would collapse from the pain. So he had to put only THIS much pressure on it....

The crab keened softly in pain and staggered, but he stayed on his feet, dragging himself farther.

"C’mon," Rattrap urged his fellow Maximal despite the fact that Depth Charge couldn’t hear him. "Check in soon...we gotta get movin’ before dese guys get organized again!"

The armored space craft surrounding the Center’s moon were thrown into chaos, receiving orders that countermanded previous orders, and then countermanded THOSE orders as computer systems went crazy. Rattrap had already made two course corrections, taking the Cutting Edge completely out of the A.L.H Research Center’s orbit. When the Center shuttle assigned to the starship had complained, Rattrap had done his ‘I’m with Stupid’ act and told the irritated and panicked shuttle captain that he was just following orders from groundside.

The shuttle had been ordered away from the starship before anyone could ask any more questions.

"Now, Depth Charge," Rattrap muttered anxiously, watching the armed space craft around the ship divert their courses and speed towards the opposite side of the moon, where apparently something big was heading off-planet. "Now would be good!"

<Shuttle to Cutting Edge! This is Depth Charge! Rattrap, where--"> Rattrap flicked his receiver on. "Get your skidplate up here NOW!" he yelled. "We ain’t got anymore time!"

Depth Charge barely looked to the side, where Rampage was slumped in the co-pilot’s chair, as he guided the shuttle through the sky. The crab wasn’t a threat. After transforming back to his robot mode, he had admitted that his optics were completely off-line. That meant that besides supporting the Predacon and keeping a look-out for ‘problems’ (as in, Security Teams or other escapees), he had been forced to guide the blind Predacon’s faltering steps so that he wouldn’t stumble and fall. As soon as Rampage had collapsed into the chair in the shuttle, he had gone off-line.

And now...

*Capt’n Minnow, I’m gettin’ targeted by da automatic defenses here!*

"Send the ship’s identification codes," he told Rattrap as he kept most of his attention on his piloting. Docking a shuttle on a moving starship was a complicated maneuver that he did NOT want to mess up.

*Uh...I did, and now I’m receivin’ orders ta bring da ship back inta orbit.*

"From Admiral Jirex?" Alongside the starship, but not too close...

*No, from the automatic systems.*

"Transmit the orders you made in case of something like this." Set the shuttle on auto-pilot and match up the airlocks...

Rattrap’s voice was acquiring an edge of controlled panic. *They ain’t buyin’ it!*

"I’m on my way." Depth Charge sprang from the pilot’s seat, but then hesitated. "Rattrap, could you maneuver the ship in front of the shuttle if I detach it from us?"

There was a pause. *Eh...yeah, I think so. You had better get outta dere quick!*

"I’m working on it!" The ray-bot paused long enough to program some simple orders into the shuttle’s auto-pilot before hauling Rampage out of the airlock and into the Cutting Edge. Once the airlock closed behind them, Depth Charge dropped the unconscious crab and ran for the ship’s bridge.

"About time!" Rattrap yelled as he slid to a stop next to him. "We’re gettin’ targeted like crazy! Dey’re gonna start firin’ any second!"

Depth Charge lunged across the bridge to another seat in front of another console. The screen on it showed the blip that was the shuttle detaching itself from the starship and dumping speed to fall behind the ship. "Get that shuttle between us and the guns then, Mouse," he said grimly. "I’m downloading the Transwarp jump coordinates--" He grunted as the ship bucked, throwing him from his seat. "What was that?!"

Rattrap groaned. "Da shuttle’s scrap!"

The ray-bot climbed back into his seat. "Slag! What are they shooting at us with?!" He set the coordinates quickly, checking and rechecking.

"You don’t wanna know, Capt’n Minnow. Let’s just say we’re gonna die."

He sneered. "Very funny, Mouse. I’m going to initiate jump in Three--"

"We got incoming!"

"Two--"

The Cutting Edge twisted in a desperate effort to avoid the weapons fire. Rattrap was struggling to control a starship designed to be manned by an entire crew, and most recently rewired to be manipulated by a handful of people. There were only two transformers available. Having only him at this console slowed the reaction time of the ship considerably.

"One--"

Rattrap did his best, but it was ultimately a futile, though heroic, effort by the rat. One of the weapons’ platforms kept the starship in its targeting sensors as the ship avoided the rest of the automatic systems, and its weapons’ fire hit the Cutting Edge dead on.

The console in front of Depth Charge sparked violently while the ones beside him caught fire or exploded. He was hurled from his seat again while behind him he heard more explosions and Rattrap’s scream. Focused on one goal, he scrambled up and slapped his hand down on the activation button, seeing that the coordinates he had so carefully entered into the computer were scrambled but opting for leaving to go anywhere instead of staying and dying.

The stars outside the bridge viewscreen blurred together as the Transwarp drive kicked in. Barely a moment later the spangles of light separated again and briefly seemed to get close enough for him to reach out and touch before snapping back into focus.

It was that simple, and Depth Charge’s shoulders relaxed slightly as it really sank in that they had really escaped from the A.L.H Research Center. They were safe! Sure, he had no idea what coordinates they were at, and most of the Cutting Edge’s computers were probably fried, but Rattrap and him could repair things like that. They could even lock up Rampage, who was most likely still off-line down by the airlock.

The ray-bot climbed to his feet and turned around to congratulate Rattrap. The words died unspoken.

"Oh, Primus. No," he whispered instead.

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