Beast War Chronicles Betrayal of Trust By: Eliot Lefebvre (aka Stormcloud)
"Primus, if you exist, don't make me lose." "Apparently, Primus doesn't exist," said Stormcloud as he blasted Rattrap into oblivion. Again. LOCKHEED DEFEATED DEATHGRIP OBLIVION! 56,000 BONUS POINTS LOCKHEED WINS THE DUEL "Somehow, this last loss has just taken the ranting out of me," said Rattrap sullenly. Stormcloud leaned back and laughed. "You know, Rattrap, when they coined the expression 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again,' they DID mean to quit eventually." "I *will* beat you one of these days," grumbled Rattrap. "Such confidence is unbecoming of such a pitiful warrior," said Dinobot, walking into the room in Velociraptor mode. "Well what do you know? Ol' Mister Social Skills has decided to show up. What's the problem, Dino? Someone turned off your heated sleeping rock?" "How do you know I have a sleeping rock?" asked Dinobot angrily. "Oh, I had to watch you sleep once. And you're so darn cute when you curl up like that, too. Makes me just want to make you into a plush toy." "Oh, I'll turn you into a STUFFED toy, you foolish rat!" He glanced over at the computer screen. "What...is that?" "The last shred of my dignity," replied Rattrap. "I was not aware you had any in the first place," said Dinobot, transforming and inspecting the screen. "This is not a game for a true warrior." "In that case, it should suit you just fine," said Rattrap, leaning against a wall. "Grrrrr..." "Why not give it a try?" suggested Stormcloud. "You couldn't possibly do worse than Rattrap." "Hey!" yelped Rattrap. Dinobot nodded, then sat down and gripped the unfamiliar controller. "I will give it an attempt," he said as he selected Psycho. FIVE MINUTES LATER... KEYLOCK DEFEATED PSYCHO OVERKILL! 67,000 BONUS POINTS NO RESISTANCE! 13,000 BONUS POINTS KEYLOCK WINS THE DUEL Growling at his defeat, Dinobot picked up his sword and rammed it through the monitor. "*I* should have thought of that," said Rattrap. "On edge?" asked Stormcloud sarcastically. "It is none of your concern," replied Dinobot. He stalked out of the room. "He seems normal," said Vixen. "For him, anyway." "You call it normal, I call it psychotic," said a small racoon as it slipped into the room. "Who the slag are you?" asked Rattrap, narrowing his gaze. The racoon unfolded, and a large, slender female stood over him. "Bandit, commander of Covert Ops, at your..." she looked over Rattrap, "...here." "WHAT?!? I'M commander of Covert Ops!" "Not anymore...umm...what was your name again?" "Rattrap, you stupid slut." "WHAT did you just call me?" "A slut." "I'M a slut?!? What rock did you crawl out from under?" "The same that you did." "Stuff it, or I'll kick your ass." "Oh no! The racoon is charging! Halp! Halp!" "YOU'RE one to talk! You're a RAT, for Primus's sake!" "At least some people are afraid of rats!" "Some people are afraid of lint balls, too!" "Shut up, bitch, or I'll make you SOOOO sorry..." "YOU'LL beat ME?!?!? This knife could split your head like an overripe watermelon!!!" "Oh, no! I'm scared! Look at me, I'm shaking like a warp-drive generator!" "I'll make you scared, you hunk of slag..." Bandit and Rattrap sprang at each other, trading blows. Stormcloud leaned back and watched the battle. "You ARE going to do something, aren't you?" asked Vixen. Stormcloud nodded, then cupped his hands around his mouth. "I only want to see *one* of you alive after this!" he shouted. Vixen glared at him. "That WASN'T what I meant, Stormcloud." Chuckling slightly, Stormcloud watched over to the two of them and picked them both up be the scruff of their necks. "That's quite enough, children. Now, Rattrap, apologize to Bandit." "No," replied Rattrap. Stormcloud tightened his grip. "OUCH!! I mean... er... sorry." "Now, Bandit, apologize to Rattrap." "mmphsorryhrmm." Stormcloud thought for a minute. "I *suppose* that's an apology. Now, you two play nice from now on, or I'll tell Optimus Primal and you'll have to go in time out." He cocked his head to one side with a bemused grin. "Now, considering that the two of you are both obviously smart-asses, I'd think you two would get along quite well." "Not a chance," said Rattrap. "Cold day in Inferno," said Bandit. "Best I can get," he said, dropping them. Rattrap angrily transformed into a rat (well, it's kind of hard to transform angrily, but you get the idea) and stormed out of the room as only a rat can. Vixen, meanwhile, was talking with Bandit. "How did you manage to get the job of Covert Ops commander? It looks like you're fresh from the pod." Bandit shrugged. "Primal thought that Rattrap was a little too...well, covert. It's no good having a commander that's never around. Besides, talk in a ridiculously high voice, lean seductively against a doorway - heck, I probably could've gotten the job of Commander of Sitting Around and Eating Energon Ops." Vixen cocked an eyebrow. "You did NOT actually do that, did you?" "No," replied Bandit, smiling. "He just thought I and my knife were better suited to hold the position." "Ahem," said Stormcloud. "You talk to your knife?" "You talk to Rattrap. Who's to say which is better?" Stormcloud laughed. "That's for damn sure. I just wish that you hadn't started that fight with Rattrap. Then again, he deserved to have a little of his thunder stolen." "Quite true." Stormcloud sat down for a moment. "I wonder what's eating at Dinobot. Besides the usual, at least." "Head lice?" suggested Bandit. Stormcloud did not reply, still thinking. * * * * * * * * * * Megatron slouched in his chair. He was getting used to sitting there. Not that he enjoyed it. Things had been *far* too quiet on all fronts. Especially Blackarachnia and Terrorsaur. Two months, and not a single uprising. At least, not one that he could actively label. He *knew* in his gut - an organ that he had found myriad uses for - that the two of them, alone or together, were conspiring against him, but if he couldn't point out any *facts*, it would hurt his power, not help it. Something Megatron did not want. He shifted again in his seat. *God, I would almost rather be interrogated!* he thought. *At least that way SOMETHING would be happening!* More and more lately, he found his thoughts drifting to Dinobot. The bond he had with Dinobot - well, aside from a few troops, no- one knew about it. No-one that were an immediate threat to him, certainly. Megatron fidgeted again. *By Primus, would something please HAPPEN?!?!?* * * * * * * * * * * Trailblazer crouched behind the bush, waiting. Not a sound from anywhere. Finally feeling safe, he raised up, reloading his weapons. Looking up, he saw the tree directly in front of him toppling. Springing forward, he transformed and galloped away from the tree, barely avoiding it as it crashed into the ground. Transforming back to robot mode, he drew his rail gun, and cautiously paced about. "Collapsing a tree on me?" he called to his opponent. "Not very honorable!" Trailblazer immediately regretted that as Dinobot pounced on him from behind. Remembering how much damage the large claws on his feet were, he tossed Dinobot off and fired a few slugs at Dinobot. Dinobot flipped backwards, then lanced out with a pair of eye beams. Yelping, Trailblazer rolled to one side, stopping behind a rock. "Submission is the logical option, Trailblazer!" called Dinobot as he continued to pound the rock Trailblazer hid behind with eye beams. Trailblazer popped up and fired a pair of slugs in Dinobot's general direction, then dropped back down as a pair of beams skimmed over his head. "This is pointless!" yelled Trailblazer. "You can't win!" He dodged out to one side, firing at Dinobot. The large robot bounded away from the slugs, but was caught off-gaurd as Trailblazer rammed him with a full-body tackle. A sword cut into Trailblazer's side. *That was bright,* he thought, ducking below another sword swipe. *This guy is DESIGNED for close combat.* He gave a low sweep kick, but Dinobot sprang up and brought his rotor down on Trailblazer. Trailblazer fell back, and Dinobot assailed Trailblazer with blows. ~That's enough, Dinobot,~ said Optimus Primal over the comm to the training room. ~Time.~ Dinobot ignored Optimus and continued to assail Trailblazer. His sword stabbed deep into Trailblazer's leg, and then tried to hit him in the head with his rotor. Trailblazer barely moved aside in time. ~Dinobot! Time!~ Another stab cut into Trailblazer's torso, narrowly missing the motor control center. Trailblazer cried out with pain. Dinobot raised his sword for a final thrust, but Trailblazer weakly kicked him away. ~TIME!!!~ Trailblazer tried to raise his rail gun to take a shot at Dinobot, but the large gun was knocked out of his hands by Dinobot's rotor. Dinobot kicked Trailblazer in the face with a roundhouse kick, then raised his sword over his head to deliver the killing slash. ~Rhinox! Grimlock! Get him out of there!~ Before Dinobot could even react, twin eye beams had knocked the sword out of his hands. Turning, he saw Grimlock standing there, almost a white mirror of Dinobot. Before he could react, Dinobot was knocked down by a charging Rhinox, who knocked Dinobot over and then transformed. Grimlock then rushed over to hold Dinobot down. Vixen and Skydive rushed in, and together hefted Trailblazer off to the med room. "I... am fine," Dinobot said to Rhinox and Grimlock. "You can release me." Grimlock snorted. "Sorry, but most fine people don't try to kill their teammates. No dice." Rhinox looked quizzically at Grimlock. "'No dice'? Where on Cybertron did you get that expression?" "It's an Earthern expression," explained Grimlock. Optimus Primal walked over to Dinobot. "Dinobot, what the hell were you trying to do? You're with the Maximals now! Have you forgotten that?" Dinobot sunk his head (sort of, it's hard to sink your head when you're being forcibly restrained). "I apologize, Optimus. It will not happen again." "Frankly, Dinobot, I don't know if you think an apology is going to make everything all right, but we are ADULTS! Nearly killing a teammate merits a little more than an apology!" He turned to Rhinox. "Put him in the brig for the night. With any luck, he'll calm down." Rhinox nodded and led Dinobot off. * * * * * * * * * * "Why did you do it?" asked Rhinox of Dinobot as he led him down the corridors. "What possessed you to try and kill him?" "I was simply praticipating in fair, honest combat against him," replied Dinobt with a smug arrogance evident in his voice. Rhinox shook his head. "Dinobot, this is the Maximals, not the Predacons. We don't try to kill our teammates. That sort of power politics does not apply here." "In my upbringing, the weak die so that the strong can lead," said Dinobot. "That is a universal theory. Even on Earth, which you consider to be so peaceful, their scientist Darwin studied the theory." "Dammit, Dinobot, quit being so damn arrogant!" shouted Rhinox. Dinobot looked at Rhinox; it was very unusual for the large Maximal to get angry. "You stride in here as if you're in charge of the entire fleet, and expect us all to comply to your every particularity. This is NOT the Predacons! I don't care if you were brought up with the Predacons - I don't care if you were brought up by the Quintessons, slag it! YOU are going to have to change! NOT US! If WE had come to you, you would rightly expect us to change. But you are NOT in charge! YOU came to us! And unless you start acting like your willing to give a little, then your going to wind up at a point where you finally wind up WITHOUT anybody to pull your butt out of the fire! Are you so narrow-minded that you can't see that?" Dinobot said nothing as the two of them reached his cell. "Fine," growled Rhinox, shoving Dinobot into his cell. "Stay in there for a while. Forever, for all I care." He flipped the switch on, and the force field crackled to life. "I'm sick and tired of trying to be your friend and companion. Unless you try and be accomdating yourself, you can just rot in Inferno." Rhinox stomped out of the brig. Dinobot simply sat and thought. * * * * * * * * * * Bandit watched as Vixen rushed past her quarters yet again. "Hey, what's all the hubub about?" she asked Vixen, her curiosity aroused. "Dinobot just went psycho on Trailblazer. He's badly beaten up," replied Vixen. Bandit put a hand over her mouth in shock (a very un-Bandit-like manerism). "Is he going to okay?" she asked, worried. Vixen nodded. "I think so. I still need a bit more equipment to test him, though." "Mind if I come?" asked Bandit. "I suppose so," said Vixen. "Why? Do you have a relationship with him?" Bandit glared at her. "I fail to see how that's any of your business." Shrugging, Vixen headed back off towards the med room. "As the closest thing to morale officer around here, I simply figured that it might be useful in the future. If you don't want to tell me, though, that's fine." As the two females headed towards the med room, Vixen half- tried to probe Bandit's mind. *Shame on me,* she thought to herself, but she persisted, trying to dig into Bandit's inner thoughts. The mental defenses that Bandit had were far from formidable, but they were something that would require time to break, so Vixen abandoned the effort and simply continued heading for the med room. * * * * * * * * * * Jetstorm knelt down before his commander. "Yes, my liege?" he said to Megatron, head bowed in respect. "Jetstorm. Have you received the transmission?" asked Megatron. He smiled. Jetstorm was not the most powerful of the Predacons in hand-to-hand combat, but overall he was an excellently loyal trooper. "Yes, lord," replied Jetstorm. "It sounded somewhat rushed." "What would you expect?" replied Megatron. "Are Inferno and Scorponok ready for this mission?" "Of course, my lord." "Good. I want you to lead this mission." "But lord...I am not worthy..." "Jetstorm, I have been meaning to promote you for some time now. Scorponok does not have the personality or the leadership qualities to inspire a dung heap. And Inferno has no leadership skills, only a blind faith in my orders. No, Jetstorm, you are the best Predacon to lead this mission." Jetstorm was about to protest, but stopped himself. "Yes, lord." He stood and walked out of the room. Megatron smiled. "You're coming home..." * * * * * * * * * * Dinobot heard the force field deactivate, and picked up his weapons. It was time. "Your time in here is up," said Rhinox, standing in front of the brig. "Hopefully at this point you can keep from killing anybody." Dinobot nodded and walked out of the room. Rhinox grabbed Dinobot on the shoulder. "Dinobot... about what I said before... I was just angry, and..." Rhinox was cut short as Dinobot rammed his sword through him, disabling Rhinox's motor control center and comm unit in on quick thrust. Blood and energon leaked out of the wound. "Don't apologize, Rhinox," said Dinobot. "You were right." As Rhinox slid down the wall, his eyes seemed to cry out, *Why?* Dinobot ignored Rhinox and continued down the corridor. Grimlock lanced out with a pair of eye beams, barely missing Dinobot. Snarling, Dinobot lanced out with his own eye beams, knocking Grimlock back. Grabbing Grimlock's sword, he thrust it through Grimlock's motor center, immobilizing him. Continuing down the hallway, Dinobot took a sharp turn and came upon Sentinel's control panel. Raising his sword and rotor high, he slammed them into the terminal, tearing it apart vigorously. Soon, the terminal was reduced to a smoking pile of chips and paneling. Dinobot activated his comm. "I've disabled Sentinel, Jetstorm. You can begin your assault." * * * * * * * * * * Jetstorm nodded as he received the transmission. Turning to Inferno and Scorponok, he said only one word. "Attack." Without pause, the two Predacons unleashed their weaponry upon the Axalon. Jetstorm converted to dragonfly mode and flew along the ship, disabling the guns mounted on the rop. Withing seconds, Inferno and Scorponok had blasted a hole through the Axalon's hull. Jetstorm flew in, and fired at K-9 and Claw Jaw, blowing them back. Inferno also flew in, and Scorponok launched his tail as a sort of grappling hook to pull himself up into the ship. "Where's Dinobot?" asked Scorponok irately. He didn't like being ordered around by anyone other than Megatron, and felt personally insulted by having a subordinate in charge of the mission. "Right here," replied Dinobot, holding up his sword. On it was speared a very suprised and angry Cheetor. Dinobot held up the dripping body like some sort of bizzare trophy, then let it slip off. "You... won't... get away... with this..." Cheetor managed to croak out weakly. "Sheesh!" said Scorponok. "Do heroes have to sound stupid like that? 'You won't get away with this,' ha! We already HAVE gotten away with it!" Dinobot lept out of the ship. "Let's get going. The other Maximals will be here soon," he said, coverting to Velociraptor mode and dashing into the underbrush. Scorponok sprang out and converted to scorpion mode as well. Jetstorm flew out of the hole, and Inferno fired one last shot down the hallway, then turned and flew off. * * * * * * * * * * Dinobot strolled into the Soundwave, a toothy smile playing across his dinosaur mode's face. He still remembered the ship perfectly. He strolled almost lazily down the familiar corridor towards an even more familiar place. Transforming to robot mode, he saw Megatron standing there, smiling. "Welcome back, Dinobot," he said. Dinobot smiled as well. "It's good to be back, father." * * * * * * * * * * "His FATHER?!?!?" said Rattrap as Vixen fused another patch of metal to his shoulder. "Man, that's a suprise. Just when you think you know a guy. Ow - Vixen, I think you hit a wire there." Rhinox sat on a repair table as Skydive repaired his motor control center. "If I had been more accomadating..." he moaned, his head hanging low. Vixen glanced over at Rhinox. "Rhinox, practically the only person that Dinobot communicated with was Optimus. Stop blaming yourself." "I can't," said Rhinox. "I still should have tried to accept him more." "Rhinox," said Rattrap, "you are sounding less intelligent by the minute. Dinobot wasn't a team player, he was just a spoiled brat." Rhinox did not reply, his head sunk low. "I guess it was inevitable," said Cheetor. "I mean, Dinobot didn't even WANT to be accepted. He always acted as if he wanted to keep us as far away from him as possible." Airazor walked in with a worried look on her face. "Rhinox? Are you all right?" she asked. "Yes," he told her. "I just was immobilized. No major damage done." "Having a sword rammed through you is hardly minor," said Airazor, a slight smile on her face. "What happened?" "I'm not entirely sure," replied Rhinox. "I let Dinobot out of his cell, and the next thing I know, I've got a hole in me." "Ditto on this end," said Rattrap. "Only Mr. Social Skills beat me up with his rotor first." He yelped as Vixen fused another patch to his shoulder. "Vixen, I really think you're hitting my wiring." "I am not," she said. "You just have a low threshold for pain." She finished welding the last patch. "Try to stay in your beast mode for a while so that the wound can heal. Eat plenty of energon, get a lot of rest, and don't leave the ship if at all possible." Rattrap hopped down and transformed. Vixen had patched up the wound enough so that his rat mode could still function. "You aren't going to let me have any fun," whined Rattrap. "That's my job," she said, smiling. "Now move it." Rattrap grumbled, then scurried away. Rhinox began to get up. Skydive held him down. "Not you, Rhinox. You'll need a couple days in the CR Chamber." Rhinox nodded. Skydive led him over, and Rhinox stepped into the chamber, then deactivated his higher brain functions as the chamber began to repair him. * * * * * * * * * * Dinobot sat in the command chair, twirling around a small dagger. Straightening his arm, he hurled the dagger across the room and hit a target dead on. The door beeped open, and Blackarachnia walked in. She glanced over at the twenty or so daggers that Dinobot had embedded into the wall. "Aren't you the mature one," she said sarcastically. "I have no quarrel with you, female," he said curtly. "Nor should you have one with me. Now leave." Blackarachnia was taken somewhat aback. "I guess you really don't know good until it's gone," she sighed. "I rather liked the days when Scorponok was next in line for the leadership. At least he listened to me. Briefly, but he listened." "Female warriors are not a concept I understand, nor one that I care to," said Dinobot. He turned away, as if to signal the end of the conversation. "And what is *your* problem?" she asked him. "*I'm* the one who's supposed to have monthly cycles." Dinobot raised an eyebrow at her. "Never mind," she said. Dinobot shrugged and hurled another dagger into the wall. "Not to mention," she added with a smirk, "traitors are not a concept I understand." "Ahem," replied Dinobot. "YOU don't understand TRAITORS?" "To the cause," she added. "The point is, as someone who's used to being an outcast, I can tell you that you are hardly going to be popular." "I never was," he replied, hurling another dagger into the wall. "I just thought I ought to warn you," she said. "After all, you came back here to have a better life. You aren't going to have a trip down easy street." Dinobot looked at Blackarachnia. "Why are you helping me?" he asked suspicously. She shrugged. "Guess it's the Maximal in me." He nodded. "I would prefer to be alone," he said flatly, turning away from her. "I will comply," she said, getting up. "But don't forget WHY you defected in the first place." She left the room. Dinobot growled and blasted the wall with an eye beam. * * * * * * * * * * Rhinox slowly regained conciousness as he emerged from the CR Chamber. He stepped out tenatively, testing the repaired body. It felt like everything was in place. Flexing a little, he stepped fully out, reactivating all of his systems. Vixen looked him over. "Good, you're back to normal. Does your body feel all right?" "Yes," he replied. "The chamber did an excellent job." A soft hiss of escaping air came into the room. Rhinox turned as Grimlock stepped out of another chamber. "Looks good, Vixen. Did you need to do any reconstructive therapy?" "I had to with both of you," replied Vixen, regulating the flow back into the CR chamber to recharge it. "Dinobot knew where he was aiming - he severed your motor control center precisely. I had to reconnect all the bonds." Rhinox said nothing, simply hung his head. Grimlock looked at him oddly. "You aren't still upset about Dinobot, are you?" he asked incredulously. "It was my fault..." moaned Rhinox. Grimlock put his hand on Rhinox's shoulder. "Listen, Rhinox, when I was still on Earth with Prime, things were always cut-and- dry. You either were a friend or an enemy, and that was that. But the Maximals aren't like that. We let in everyone, from all walks of life. When you let all those people in... suddenly, the world isn't all black-and-white. There are so many shades of grey then. Sometimes you have to accept that you can't save everyone." "Please, no more 'When I was with the Autobots..' stories," complained Vixen. "That was then, this is now. Different times call for different solutions." "I was with the DINObots," corrected Grimlock. "Allies of the Autobots, but not the Autobots." "Either way, it's the same to me," replied Vixen, finishing correcting the flow to the CR chamber. Rhinox did not reply. Grimlock looked at him with worry. "You're back up," said Optimus Primal, walking into the med room. "I was wondering if you could get Sentinel back up. The Predacons probably won't attack again for a little while, but I think we'd all feel a little better with the security system back on-line." Rhinox nodded. "We'll get right on it, sir." Grimlock nodded as well, and the pair of them walked out of the room to the control panel for Sentinel. * * * * * * * * * * "And this is the - Dinobot, are you listening?" Dinobot returned his attention to the hovering globe. "Sorry. Go ahead." "Apology is unnessecary," replied the globe. "Now, as I was saying, this is the security system control panel. This array right here controls the Red Sector, the most heavily attached area. The weapons are - Dinobot!" By this point, Dinobot was barely paying any attention to the training drone. "Sorry. My mind drifted again." The globe floated slightly closer to Dinobot. "What is your problem, anyhow? You appear to be preoccupied with something. State the nature of this disturbance." "I really don't want to -" "STATE!!!" Dinobot jumped back slightly. "All right... I was just thinking about the Maximals." The globe twirled vertically once, its signal to show that it understood. "This was something that Megatron had expected would come up," it beeped, extending a small microphone. "He wants you to share all and any data on the Maximal battle strategies." Dinobot grimaced slightly. "I'm... not really sure that I know exactly what to say about them at the moment..." "Five percent chance of truth." "Be quiet!" snapped Dinobot, grabbing his sword nearby. "I only barely tolerate a stupid rat, and will most certainly NOT tolerate insults from a floating globe that can't even TRANSFORM!" "Resistance will not be tolerated." "Neither will you!" growled Dinobot, leaping at the globe. As he swung his sword at the drone, it made an odd zigzag manuever and darted out of his way. Dinobot's sword embedded itself in the floor, and he snarled. He barely lept aside as a blue bolt fired from the sphere and slammed into the floor. Dinobot yanked his sword roughly out of the floor and swung it up at the drone. As the drone drifted away, Dinobot fired his eye beams at the drone, making it wobble slightly in its flight. With a roar, he rammed his sword through the drone. Sparks poured out of the hole. "Resistance - >kkkkkk< - resistance - >kkkkkk< -" The drone's voice faltered slightly, but continued. "Resistance will - >kkkkkk< - will - >kkkkkk< - resistance -" Reaching in, Dinobot yanked out the internal workings of the drone. "Shut. Up." he snarled at the dead mechanism, punctuating each word as a sentence. "Megatron isn't going to like that," said Scorponok tenatively, looking at the destroyed drone. Dinobot whirled around on his heel, snarling. "But nobody's stupid enough to tell him, ARE THEY???" he growled, sword in hand. "Err... no," replied Scorponok, stepping back a couple steps, then transforming to scorpion mode and scuttling away as fast as he possibly could. Flopping back in his seat, Dinobot stared at the dead drone. He picked it up, tossing it into the air a couple times, then he got sick of it and blasted it away with his eye beams. He leaned back again and sulked. * * * * * * * * * * Rattrap gave a slight push, and the small platform he was on rolled out from underneath the computer console. He grabbed another hexagonal quadronut driver, then converted to robot mode and screwed the rexnut into place, holding the keyboard in place. "It's set, Rhinox," he said. "You can try to hook it up again." Rhinox nodded and reached behind the console, fiddling with a few wires. Fusing one into place, he turned back to Rattrap. "Try the outer plasma array," he said. Rattrap nodded and pressed a button. A flash of light burst out, and Rattrap was flung against the wall, sparking. "N-n-n-no way, R-R-R-R-Rhinox," he jittered, the electricity shorting out his vocal cords. Stormcloud leaned over to inspect the wiring. "Here's the problem," he said, pointing to a bundle of wires. "You forgot to ground this one right here, and you wired this one directly up to the button, not the circuit board. Extending a small fusion laser from his palm, he fiddled with a few of the wires. "Should be fine now." He reached up and pressed the button, and the screen popped up a display of the weapons. "Yup. That'll do it." "W-w-w-what's wrong, R-R-R-R-Rhinox? Y-y-y-y-you don't-t-t-t-t seem to b-b-b-be your n-n-n-normal self," said Rattrap, trying to get up as his body spastically contorted. Rhinox sank his head. "I just still feel responsible for Dinobot's betrayal." Stormcloud put his hand on Rhinox's shoulder. "Rhinox, that wasn't your fault. None of us could have stopped that. It was inevitable." "No," said Rhinox, shaking his head. "It wasn't inevitable. I could have prevented it. I could have tried to help him. I could have tried to console him. I could have made him more accepted. I could have -" "No, you couldn't have," replied Stormcloud. "When I first saw Vixen's death, I thought that it was my fault somehow. The fact that I had called her along with me, the fact that I hadn't stopped her - I could think of a million nonexistent reasons. Afterwards, though, I realized that I was simply trying to find some justification for her death, not forming actual reasoning. "A lot of the time, things happen beyond our control. But we don't *want* them to be beyond our control. So we assume that somehow, the blame falls to us, because we did something wrong. We just need to step back and realize that these things were out of our hands when they happened." "I know, Stormcloud," said Rhinox. "I also know that I still feel like scrap. Knowledge is not always power." "Hey, guys!" snapped Nightpounce, sticking her head out from behind the console. "Are we going to stand here forever, or are we going to get Sentinel back on-line?" Rhinox nodded, and began to wire another console. "Try the upper massdrivers..." * * * * * * * * * * Lazorbeak leaned over the outcropping. "Why the hell are we still here?" he asked of his companions, absent-mindedly tapping his foot. "Defenses operative... think Megatron. Scout and confirm... Insecticon's duty," said Insecticon, his tooth-filled mouth making small clicking sounds as he talked. Well, Lazorbeak was fairly sure it was Insecticon, but it could be a clone. "I doubt that they have their defenses back up," replied Buzz Saw, polishing his launcher. "They got trashed by Dinobot. Personally, I think that what we should be doing is attacking and KILLING them!" He clenched his fist in emphasis. Lazorbeak shook his head. *Why me, Primus?* he thought with anger. Insecticon suddenly leaped into beetle mode, mandibles clicking furiously. "Detect movement... 30 klicks... closing," he said excitedly, rotating to face the general direction of the Soundwave and waving his antenna. "Transmitting data... now." "Can we engage them?" asked Buzzsaw, his mutant head flipping on in anticipation of a battle. "Querying..." replied Insecticon. He remained silent for a few seconds more, then turned away from the Soundwave. "Engage enemy... orders Megatron." Buzz Saw had transformed before Insecticon had even gotten the whole sentence out of his mouth. (Well, mandibles, but you get the idea.) Shaking his head at his battle-crazed ally, Lazorbeak transformed into his pterodactyl mode and glided after Buzz Saw. By the time that Lazorbeak had caught up with Buzzsaw, the deed was already done. Two Maximals were sprawled across the ground, either dead or en route there. One was standing, a scowl on his face, with bonds around his arms and legs. "You are an idiot, Buzz Saw," said Lazorbeak as he landed. He recognized the survivng robot. "You are a complete idiot." "Why -" began Buzz Saw. He was cut short as the Maximal in front of him changed into a Predacon. An angry Predacon. "Lazorbeak was right the first time," said Snapper, shredding the bonds. "I spent FIVE WEEKS in that stupid hologram, just to convince those two to come with me to investigate the Soundwave. And you manage to screw it up in less then five minutes." "Ummm..." said Buzz Saw, scratching his head, "'Sorry'?" "SORRY?!?!? You ruin all that time undercover and the best that you can come up with is SORRY?!?!? Damn right you're sorry!" Snapper advanced menacingly. "You're about to be VERY sorry!!!" Lazorbeak held the two of them back. "Cut it out, both of you. We have other things to worry about. Snapper, do you know if the defense systems are up again or not?" Snapper laughed. "If they were, would you still be standing here?" "Then let's thrash the ship!" said Buzz Saw happily, charging. "Who's going to stop us?" He was cut short as a blast hit him squarely. "We are," replied Prowl, his cannon in hand. Behind him, Ironhide and Silverbolt stood at the ready. "Ah nevah DID think that a Maximahl would take a name lahke 'Snapjahw'," said Ironhide, his weapons fully charged and ready to fire. "I don't think I'll put up with that stupid accent any longer!" replied Snapper. He ignited the small rockets housed beneath his shell and shot towards Ironhide. Ironhide ducked down, then came up, digging his tusks into Snapper. Snapper did a barrel roll, causing him to flip Ironhide over and slam him into the ground. Ironhide shook the shock out of his head, then got back up and fired a blast of liquid nitrogen at Snapper's thrusters. The thrusters froze, and shattered as Snapper hit the ground. Flipping up, Snapper reached behind himself and grabbed his tri- barreled blaster. Ironhide began to run away, but Snapper pounded out with beams from the blaster, slamming into Ironhide. While flying was not normally among Ironhide's skills, Snapper's cannon had a tendency to teach robots how. Buzz Saw was barely fased by the blast. What he was, however, was angry. He narrowed his gaze at Prowl, and charged forward, his launcher at the ready. Unfortunately for Buzz Saw, any Transformer alive since Prime landed on Earth, even a strategist, was far more than Buzz Saw's equal. As Buzz Saw charged, Prowl gracefully flipped backwards, then sprang into a flying roundhouse kick. He hit Buzz Saw squarely in the back, slamming the Predacon into the ground. Flipping his acid pellet gatling cannons onto his shoulders, he raked a stream of fire along Buzz Saw. In most cases, a Predacon simply would have layed there. Buzz Saw did not. He stood up and charged forward, ignoring the holes being dug into his chest by the acid pellets. Grabbing Prowl's head, he began to press his hands together, trying to crush Prowl's head. Silverbolt was reluctant to, but he transformed into eagle mode and swooped up and away from Lazorbeak. Lazorbeak, intrigued, transformed as well, following after Silverbolt, his weapons charged and at the ready. With a mighty flip, Silverbolt trasnformed in mid-air, flipping over and grabbing onto the back of Lazorbeak. Drawing his blaster out of subspace, he pressed it into Lazorbeak's back, then pulled the trigger. As Lazorbeak cried out in pain, he twisted into a barrel roll. Silverbolt tried to hold on, but he lost his grip and fell off. He transformed into eagle mode, but Lazorbeak had turned towards Silverbolt and lanced out with his lasers, ripping through Silverbolt's wings and sending him plummeting to the ground. Stumbling to his feet, Silverbolt and Ironhide looked at each other. Prowl grabbed Buzz Saw's arms and yanked them away from his head, then tumbled over tow his companions. "Shall we?" he asked. "Ya better believe it!" said Ironhide. "Merge tah form MAGNABOSS!" Leaping up, Silverbolt flipped over into a pair of legs. Ironhide leaped as well, and slammed on top of Silverbolt, forming the body. Flipping around, Prowl slammed onto the body to form a pair of arms. The head flipped up and around, and Magnaboss gazed down upon the battlefield. "Bad," said Lazorbeak. "Very bad," said Snapper. "Let's kill it," said Buzz Saw. "Why don't I kill you?" asked Magnaboss, aiming his cannon. He lanced out once with it, slamming into - and right through - Buzz Saw. "We'll be going now," said Lazorbeak, grabbing Snapper and Buzz Saw. Flapping frantically, he flew back towards the ledge where Insecticon remained. "Attack... failed," said Insecticon. "Megatron be... unhappy." Snapper grabbed Insecticon with his powerful claws. "Insecticon won't tell Megatron, or Insecticon will be a *dead* mechanism!" "Logical. Insecticon... say nothing... about loss." The Predacons began the long walk back to the Soundwave. * * * * * * * * * * While Powerpinch was currently on patrol, he was not enjoying it. Therefore, he wasn't paying much attention to it. A Maximal he could notice, but he did not notice - or care - about a small racoon and rat scampering towards the Soundwave. He shrugged - how much damage could a little racoon do to a - Powerpinch lost his train of thought as he fell to the ground. Standing behind him, Bandit withdrew her knife. "A knife in the back?" said Rattrap, laying in the security codes to enter the Soundwave. "Hardly original." "The idea was to get in the damn ship, not to be original about dispatching gaurds," replied Bandit, polishing her knife. "As I recall, getting in is your -" The door slid open. "We're in, aren't we?" he asked her, smirking. "How the hell...?" Another smile. "I never said I was ALWAYS a Maximal. Decepticon security codes still work on this thing - it's an older model." Bandit said nothing, only slipped inside. Rattrap gave one last glance outside, then stalked in after her. "Any idea where Dinobot would be?" asked Bandit of Rattrap. Rattrap stood, drawing a map in the air. "Lesse now... hmm... ah... there we go! Go straight for two corridors, one left, one right, third door on the right." "How are you so sure?" asked Bandit. "Because Chopperface told me where his old quarters were." "Ah." Bandit converted to racoon mode and scampered along the path, Rattrap following behind her. The door loomed before the two. Transforming, Rattrap beeped into his room. "Who is it?" snarled Dinobot. "Housewarming comitee," replied Bandit, drawing her knife. The doors slid open, and the pair of spies slipped in. "What in the world are you two doing here?" asked Dinobot in shock. "Getting you back," replied Bandit, grabbing one of his arms. Dinobot whirled to face her and kicked her in the chest, sending her tumbling backwards. "Security!" called Dinobot into the intercom. "We have two intruders! Repeat, we have two -" Rattrap blasted the comm. "What the slag are you DOING, Scales-For-Brains? We're trying to help you out here!" Dinobot made a low sweep kick, tripping Rattrap. He reached down around Rattrap's neck and slammed him against the wall. "What in the world makes you think that this is helping me out?" he hissed. Rattrap was about to reply, but was cut short as Swampsnap and Inferno entered the room. "These two the problem?" asked Swampsnap as Inferno restrained Bandit. "Yes," he said. "Take them away." Swampsnap nodded and restrained Rattrap. "You traitorous piece of slag!" shouted Rattrap at Dinobot. "I thought that maybe you were really a good guy, that you were a worthwhile person, but BOY was I wrong! I tell ya, Chopperface, if I get out, I'm going to come down here and make a wallet out of your face just so I can put it in my back pocket and SIT on it! I'll shove your eyes down until you can get a good view of your brain! I'll tear off your limbs and then play GOLF with your head! I'll -" Rattrap and Bandit were dragged down to the brig, Rattrap still ranting about what he would do to Dinobot. Dinobot simply stood there and listened. * * * * * * * * * * "...and cut them off here," finished Dinobot. Megatron looked over the battle plan. "So basically, you are proposing we strike directly at the front of the Axalon." "Exactly," replied Dinobot. "I know how the Maximals think. They know that we're likely to go for the cautious method, strike at an especially vulnerable point. If we make a brazen attack here, we can knock out the main comm systems and a lot of their equipment." "The element of suprise?" asked Megatron cautiously. "Please, my son. That's so cliche." "It's how we knocked them out the first time, remember?" noted Dinobot. "Most cliches get that way for a reason." "True," replied Megatron, rubbing his chin. "It is an interesting plan. Go find Razorclaw - I'd like you to talk it over with him." "Why?" "You may be many things, Dinobot, but a tactician you are not. Razorclaw is, however. Just your luck, he also specializes in just this kind of attack." Megatron leaned back. "Now go and get some input from him." "But -" "Are you questioning my authority, Dinobot?" Dinobot paused. "No," he replied at length. "I'll go find Razorclaw." Turning, Dinobot left the room. Megatron smiled. "You have much potential, son," he said to himself. "You may make a great leader yet..." * * * * * * * * * * "What's this?" "This?" replied Stormcloud. "It's Shockwave's file that I uploaded from the computer." Optimus Primal raised an eyebrow. "According to this, he died at the Battle of Unicron almost 300 years ago." "The files need to be updated a little, sir." Stormcloud continued to search through the databanks. "Aha! Here it is. The Sentinel installment program." He clicked on the program and began to run it. "Good work, Stormcloud," said Primal. "We'll all sleep a little better knowing that Sentinel is back on-line." Stormcloud nodded. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Primal?" "Yes?" "How well did you know Dinobot?" he asked. Primal scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That's a tough one. The first time I really met Dinobot, he showed up on the bridge of my ship and challenged me for leadership right after leaving the Predacons." He chuckled. "Needless to say, I was a little impressed." "After that, he joined us, but... he never seemed to really be a Maximal. He seemed to take more the name than the cause. But he never really made any effort to become a normal Maximal. Still, from what I knew of him, it doesn't seem like he would turn around and stab me in the back, figuratively or litterally." Stormcloud nodded. "It seemed the same way to me, too. I mean, yeah, Dinobot was antisocial, rude, and bad-tempered, but he was honest, at least. Something about his whole 'betrayal' just seems wrong." "Trust me, I didn't think it up," said Primal. "Rattrap's betrayal was enough uses of _that_ plan for my tastes." Stormcloud was about to reply, when the ship suddenly rocked under the impact of fire. "We're under attack!" he said. "Sentinel can't pick them up - they must have knocked out the sensor array!" Springing up, he headed down to try and repair the scanners. * * * * * * * * * * Bandit sighed. "Okay, I've got one." "I'll bite," said Rattrap. "Is it... alive?" "Not anymore." "Unicron?" "Lucky guess." Rattrap leaned back. "I wonder how the hell we'll get out of this one." The force field in front of them crackled and shut off. "What in Inferno..." gasped Bandit, walking slowly out of the cell. Standing there was Juliet. "Why?" asked Rattrap. It was a simple enough question. She shrugged. "Maybe I just don't want to destroy you just yet. Or maybe some of Tigatron rubbed off on me." "Thanks..." said Rattrap, unsure of exactly what to say. "Forget it. Now get going, before I change my mind." Neither Bandit nor Rattrap needed to be told that twice. * * * * * * * * * * "I'm NOT getting impaled again!" snapped Cheetor as he dove away from a stab from Razorclaw. Grabbing his quasar cannon out of subspace, he fired twice at Razorclaw. The Predacon spun into the air away from the blasts, then returned the fire with bursts from the rifle housed in his claw. "It goes well, don't you think?" said Jetstorm to Dinobot as they watched the battle unfold in front of them. "We'll have to listen to your plans more often." "Jetstorm?" "Yes?" "Do me a favor." "What?" Dinobot rammed his sword through Jetstorm. "Don't scream," said Dinobot flatly. "It's irritating." "What are you doing?!?" shouted Megatron, shocked. Dinobot whirled around and swung his sword at Megatron. Megatron, caught off gaurd, only barely moved his massive claw up in time to avoid being hit. "I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago!" said Dinobot. With amazing speed, Megatron lunged away from the sword. "You're defecting AGAIN?" he growled, amazed. He aimed one of his hip launchers at Dinobot, but Dinobot transformed and sprang at Megatron's chest, slashing with his powerful claw. "I never defected a second time," said Dinobot. Grunting, Megatron shoved Dinobot off of him. Dinobot transformed again, and lanced out with his eye beams. The beams struck Megatron's shoulder, leaving a small burnt spot. Megatron growled and traced a path of fire with his T-Rex cannon. Dinobot contorted furiously to avoid the shots. "What do you mean, you never defected a second time?" asked Megatron. "You defected back to us!" "No," replied Dinobot, whipping his rotor out of subspace. "I simply acted as a Predacon, to see if what I've been missing was there." He cautiously paced, baring his weapons in a dangerous manner. Blasting out with his hip launchers again, Megatron toppled a nearby tree. Dinobot sprang out of the way, but Megatron simply fired on it and destroyed it. "And what did you find, my son?" "That the Predacons are a hollow cause," replied Dinobot, leaping forward with his rotor sppinning and slashing with his sword. Megatron desperately moved his claw to parry the assailing blows. With a roar, Megatron smashed Dinobot away with his T-Rex cannon. "And what are you saying, then?" asked Megatron, grabbing his son with the mouth of his cannon. "What is going to happen?" Dinobot spat. "You fool! It's ALREADY happened! Are you so blind? Your troops are against you. Your son is against you. EVERYONE is against you. The Predacons cannot survive without turning on each other! I refuse to be a part of that!" "I'm sorry you feel that way, my son," said Megatron, tightening his grip. "Because now, you won't be a part of anything." Dinobot could feel himself being slowly crushed, as the teeth dug into him. He gritted his teeth, prepared for his honorable journey to Inferno. "You aren't going to kill him JUST yet!" said a familiar voice. *No,* thought Dinobot. *Primus, please, anyone but HIM...* Dinobot opened his eyes. It was Rattrap. "Under normal circumstances," said Rattrap, "I'd let you kill him. But I've still got a score or two to settle with him." "I will not pay attention to you, rat," said Megatron. He looked away from Rattrap, then dropped Dinobot in suprise as a demolition charge hit his back. "That's a good thing," said Rattrap, smirking. "If you don't pay any attention to me, I can just kill you without any problems." Megatron turned back to growl at Rattrap, his claw snapping in anticipation. He jerked up in suprise as he felt Dinobot's sword pierce his back. "Please, Meggy, you're making this WAY too easy," taunted Rattrap as he fired at Megatron's head. Megatron growled. Picking up both Rattrap and Dinobot, he slammed them both into the ground. Turning away from him, he began to head towards the Axalon. "Forgetting someone?" asked Rhinox as he slammed into Megatron's side. Transforming, he whipped out his chaingun and began pumping lead into the now-confused Predacon leader. Megatron snarled at the three of them, then charged. * * * * * * * * * * Stormcloud aimed his flashlight at another batch of wires to check the connections on them. "Hmm... this one's good... this one too... this one... aha!" Grabbing the offending wire, he pulled out a small welder and reattached the wire to the appropriate panel. Reaching up, he simply flipped the scanners back on. * * * * * * * * * * Before Megatron completed his charge, three fusion blasts pounded into his back. Turning, he saw the Axalon's defenses reactivating and firing on his troops. "How in the world did they do that?!?" asked Megatron in anger. "No-one can -" From his other side, Megatron was assaulted by fire. Turning, he saw the three robots lancing out at full force. Megatron snarled. "Retreat!" he yelled, then transformed and galloped off. The other Predacons were more than happy to oblige. Rhinox walked over to Dinobot. "Good to have you back, Dinobot," he said. Dinobot smiled. "Good to be back." * * * * * * * * * * Trailblazer stumbled somewhat clumsily out of the CR Chamber. He was greeted by Bandit wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. "Good morning to you, too," he said, somewhat suprised. "Isn't your husband home, though?" Bandit laughed. "Shut up, Trailblazer," she said. "Just come with me." The pair of them walked out of the med room. Vixen watched them and smiled. "Hey! Vixen! Wounded people here!" complained Rattrap. "Be quiet, Rattrap!" snapped Dinobot. "She is allowed to have some time with her thoughts." "Yeah, but when she's repairing useless Go-Bots like you!" "Some good YOU are! You're supposed to be a spy, and yet you can't even get into the Soundwave without someone noticing you!" "Hey, Chopperface, in case you didn't notice, we were TRYING to make you notice us! If I didn't want you too, you couldn't see me!" "Not that that would help, since your mindless banter would serve to locate you." "Well, thank you Mr. Personality! I hardly see you with some brilliant idea!" "Don't worry, you come up with enough stupid ones for the both of us." "Oh, now you're grouping us together?" "I am higher ranking then you -" "- and ya STILL can't be in charge, 'cause nobody wants a stupid PRED with all the personality of a PRETZEL in the big guy's chair!" "And we all remember the inroads against the Predacons we made with you in charge." "Why, I'll -" Stormcloud put his arm around Vixen. "Looks like things are back to normal." She nodded. "Unfortunately." * * * * * * * * * * "Rhinox!" Rhinox turned to see Dinobot running after him. "What is it?" he asked. Dinobot sank his head. "I wanted to apologize." Rhinox raised an eyebrow. Dinobot continued. "When you said all those things, about me needing to change... you were right. I haven't tried to change. But that's not because I want to be a Predacon again, it's because I'm proud that I was one." "The Predacons are my heritage. Megatron is my heritage. I thought that what I wanted was to return to those things, but I was wrong. I simply am pround of the fact that these things are integral parts of me. You, Rhinox, are proud of the fact that you're a Maximal. I'm proud to be one to, but I'm still proud about being a Predacon as well." "I guess the real reason I refused to change is that I didn't want to accept either part of me as their own piece of me. I knew that both existed, but I didn't want to be either. Maybe I can be a little more understanding of others." With a nod, Rhinox put a hand on Dinobot's shoulder. "Your biggest problem is that you always think that someone's about to take over your place in life. You worry so much that you figure everyone is an enemy. Relax, for Primus's sake." Dinobot nodded. "I suppose you're right, Rhinox. Though I'm not very fond of the idea." Rhinox thought for a moment. "Well, maybe this is it. Some people act nasty and mean and vindictive and so forth because they were abused or they had a hard life. However, some people act nasty and mean and vindictive because... they're just jerks." "Personally, I liked the first idea better. It didn't involve me being a jerk." Rhinox shrugged. He began to walk down the corridor. "Actually, if you really want to make yourself look better, you could start by apologizing to all the people that you impaled." Dinobot thought for a moment. "Sounds like a start," he said. "I can't remember offhand who I stabbed and who I didn't, though. Do you?" Rhinox grinned. "How many days do I have?"