He wasn't sure how long he'd been out. Long enough for internal repairs to begin fixing the massive damage he'd taken, but that didn't narrow things much. And at this crucial time, every moment was as important as the last.

He picked himself up from where his nearly-destroyed body had fallen. As servos resisted movement and gears voiced their reluctance to operate, he tried to take his mind off the physical pain he felt by thinking things over.

He'd been unconscious for awhile, and no one had come to help him. That could mean a number of things. Optimus might've been killed, preventing him from warning the others about Megatron's impending assault. Maybe Optimus had gotten to the Ark in time, only to be destroyed along with the others by the Nemesis. Maybe everything had turned out all right, except that they'd forgotten or left behind their injured comrade.

That last possibility didn't sit well with him. It was a very un-Maximal thing to do. They would never have left him behind, had they thought there was even a remote possibility he'd survived.

One could say it was a miracle he'd come back online, but the Vok were probably the real ones to take the credit. They were the ones to have given him his power, which likely included defense as well as offense. Since he'd taken the full force of the Nemesis' beam, he couldn't blame the Maximals for thinking him dead. Then again, maybe he was dead, but he couldn't see how one could be dead while looking and feeling like a scrap heap.

He checked himself over. His wings barely operative. His legs and arms seemed to work, albeit grudgingly. He couldn't see clearly through his cracked visor, but at least he could see. His weapons were offline, but he couldn't see himself getting into a fight, anyways. He couldn't summon the energy to create so much as a puffy, white cloud. All in all, he was defenseless and only slightly mobile.

He muttered the command words to change himself to beast mode. That way, internal repairs would be more effective.

Tigerhawk began his journey to the Ark, assuming it hadn't been destroyed.

 

The blast doors were open, which initially alarmed Tigerhawk. When he found the entire area completely deserted, his fears were lessened, though his unease wasn't. His comrades hadn't been slaughtered, but there didn't seem to be any recent sign of them.

After receiving no response from his inquiries over the comm, he retired to the CR chamber, useless to anyone in his condition. The walk back had been uneventful, but extremely taxing, and he still wasn't sure how he was still alive.

He emerged some time later, feeling better, physically. There still wasn't any sign of life anywhere around, Maximal, Predacon, or otherwise. Rocks and rubble had been moved, as well as crates and equipment, but his fuzzy memory banks told him they'd been like that when he'd gotten back to the Ark. The only thing that had changed was his level of functionality.

If there were any more answers to be found, they would be elsewhere.

Tigerhawk left the Ark, choosing the path the Nemesis had taken on its trip to the Ark. Maybe if he backtracked, he'd find something.

The jungle initially revealed no answers, but Tigerhawk wasn't one to give up easily.

He paused, listening to the quiet rustlings of the jungle creatures. Nothing seemed out of place, except...

Drum beats. And the faint smell of recently burned forest. The proto-humans may know something.

Tigerhawk stood, making his way to the human's homes. It was good to have allies, no matter how unevolved they were.

 

As Tigerhawk approached the humans' encampment, the damage the Nemesis had caused was apparent. There was scorched forest everywhere. Two proto-humans guarded the way to the encampment, armed with their crude spears.

As Tigerhawk approached in what he hoped was a friendly manner (they still didn't know what to make of something as unnatural as he), but the humans stopped him from entering their ground, crossing their spears over the path.

"I mean you no harm," Tigerhawk gently told them. A human answered, but Tigerhawk didn't understand what it said.

"I only want to talk," Tigerhawk continued. He tried to step forward, but the humans blocked his path and shook their heads at him. "I just need to find out what happened."

He was trying to respect their customs, but this was getting frustrating. The humans were usually so friendly towards the Maximals, why were they choosing now to be unhelpful?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a buzzing voice say, "Fan harder! Waspinator does not feel breeze!"

Waspinator! Tigerhawk was heartened to hear a fellow Transformer's voice, despite Waspinator's faction. But what was he doing here?

"I need to talk to that person," Tigerhawk told one of the humans. The human thought about it a moment, conferred with his partner, and left.

Several moments later, the human came back and beckoned Tigerhawk to follow. The human took Tigerhawk to dais surrounded by humans carrying fruit and large leaves. Waspinator lounged on the dais, basking in the humans' attention.

"The Great Waspinator grants visitor audience," Waspinator said lazily, not bothering to look at Tigerhawk.

Tigerhawk decided to wait and hear what the wasp had to say before resorting to threats and force.

"I thank you for your generosity," he said, playing along.

Startled at hearing Tigerhawk's voice, Waspinator sat bolt upright in his chair. He'd apparently been expecting someone else, probably another human.

"Tiger-bird-bot come to slag Waspinator," the wasp sighed, resigning himself to his fate.

"No," Tigerhawk denied. "I've only come to talk."

"No slagging Waspinator?" Waspinator was skeptical.

"No slagging Waspinator," Tigerhawk confirmed.

"What tiger-bird-bot want to know?" Waspinator eyed Tigerhawk carefully. Tigerhawk cringed inwardly at the awkward nickname.

"What happened here?"

"Tiger-bird-bot not know? Was not with Maximals friends?"

"I was not."

"Ant-bot and Two-head want to use fleshy-bot home as new Predacon base. Waspinator quit Predacons, so Waspinator get slagged. Big ship fly over and shoot at fleshy-bots and Ant-bot and Two-head. Fleshy-bots take Waspinator as their leader." There was a hint of smugness in Waspinator's voice.

"Where are Inferno and Quickstrike now?"

"Alllll over." Waspinator giggled to himself.

"You didn't help them?"

"No one ever help Waspinator."

"Where are the Maximals? The Nemesis?"

"Waspinator does not know. Waspinator thinks Maximals went home. Nemesis is not functional."

Tigerhawk absorbed this information, nodding slowly. If the Nemesis was no longer a threat, at least for the time being, there wasn't much to worry about. If what Waspinator said was true, most Predacons were accounted for.

"What Tiger-bird-bot going to do?" Waspinator asked, possibly afraid Tigerhawk would slag him after all.

"I am not sure," Tigerhawk admitted. "I think... I think that Inferno and Quickstrike should not remain in their present states."

"Whaaaat?"

"You know as well as I that dismemberment is not fatal. Even if the Beast Wars are over, I'm still a Maximal, and it is my duty to respect all life."

"Tiger-bird-bot has a gear loose."

"Maybe so," Tigerhawk said. "I could use some help."

"Waspinator not help salvage." Waspinator crossed his arms and turned away.

"Suit yourself." Tigerhawk shrugged. He couldn't blame the former Predacon.

 

After several megacycles of hunting, Tigerhawk felt confident he'd collected all the pieces of the fallen Predacons. Both their sparks were still clinging to life, but they wouldn't have lasted much longer. Quickstrike was in worse shape than Inferno, though both were going to need some serious time in the CR chamber.

That, of course, meant they'd need to be taken to the Ark. It wasn't an idea Tigerhawk liked, but he'd gotten this far and giving up on them would be going against his beliefs.

Besides, he was Tigerhawk. He was more than a match for the both of them.

 

Time for the Predacons in the CR chamber meant time alone for Tigerhawk. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't have minded being solitary for so long, but then, he'd always had friends to visit on the rare occurrence he'd get lonely. Now, it was just he and a couple Predacons.

He focused his attention on the future. He was literally playing with fire-- Inferno and Quickstrike were hard to handle, to put it mildly. Inferno's unflagging loyalty would make him difficult to reason with, and Quickstrike's notorious lack of loyalty would make him treacherous. Both possessed lust for battle, but now there was no one to fight.

Shortly after Tigerhawk decided how to deal with them, one chamber opened, revealing an extremely disoriented Inferno.

"Royalty! No! It is only your loyal soldier!" he cried, shielding himself from an attack that never came. After several moments of waiting, he looked out from between his arms and reacted to the situation in front of him.

"Maximal! Prepare to burrrrn!" He reached for his flamethrower only to find it wasn't there.

Tigerhawk was no brilliant strategist, but he knew to disarm a pyromaniac fire ant before he woke up.

"Fool! You think that will stop me?" Inferno jeered, right before launching himself at Tigerhawk, who sidestepped, let Inferno run into the wall, and pinned the deranged Predacon to the floor.

"Listen to me!" Tigerhawk demanded. "The Beast Wars are over! Your Royalty has either been taken away or has forsaken you!"

"Impossible! My Queen would never abandon me!"

"Then how come it was I who put you back together?"

"The Royalty must have been detained! Captured!"

"If that is so, then you must stay calm and go about this rationally!"

"I must save my Queen!"

"Running around here shouting insults is not going to get that done!"

Inferno stopped flailing for a moment.

"What do you care about the Royalty, Maximal?"

"I have no interest in saving Megatron--"

"Then you will burrrrrn!"

"--but I believe we may share a common goal."

Inferno was quiet, apparently contemplating this.

"You want to help your leader," Tigerhawk explained, "but it appears he is not on this planet anymore. So we must find a way to leave Earth."

"And what is in it for you, Maximal?"

"I do not believe it would be in Earth's best interests for me to remain here."

The second CR chamber hissed and slowly began opening. Tigerhawk took his foot off Inferno's chestplate and held his hand down to the Predacon. Inferno regarded the Maximal for a moment, then got up under his own power.

By the time Inferno had vertically oriented himself, the CR chamber was fully open and Tigerhawk was braced for the worst. Since Quickstrike's weapon was attached to himself, he was nearly impossible to disarm without damaging him.

"What the-- Where the--" Quickstrike frantically looked every which way, confused by what he thought was an abrupt change in scenery.

"Do not be afraid," Tigerhawk said, knowing he was probably wasting his time.

"What're you doin' here?" Quickstrike demanded, then took a good look around. "Alright, what am I doin' here?"

"I salvaged you."

It took a moment for Tigerhawk's words to sink into Quickstrike's head.

"That's the slaggin' funniest thing I ever heard!" he laughed, wiping away a nonexistent tear. "Hey blenderbutt, what say you and I slag this guy?"

Tigerhawk did not react to the snake head that was pointed at him. Instead, he looked to Inferno, who was considering his options.

After a tense silence, Inferno accused, "You presume to order me, drone?"

"What? No, I was just suggestin'--"

"Slagging the enemy of the colony could be harmful for the Royalty!"

Quickstrike lowered his weapon, totally befuddled.

"Did I miss somethin'?"

"I would say so," Tigerhawk decided.

"Well then, care to fill me in?"

"The Maximal has pleaded for our help in rescuing the Queen," Inferno said.

"And you believed him?" Quickstrike asked.

"That's not exactly correct," Tigerhawk said. "I was merely asking for your help. I believe we could work together to leave this planet. Unless you want to stay?"

"I ain't got no reason to stay here if the only things to fight're fleshies. They're only fun fer so long."

"Will you aid me?"

"What'd you tell 'im?" Quickstrike asked Inferno.

"I have not reached a decision," Inferno admitted. "How do we know you will not betray us?"

"You have my word as a Maximal that I will not harm you unless you attempt to harm me first. I cannot say what will happen if-- when-- we reach Cybertron."

"I don't trust Maxies," Quickstrike said.

"Nor do I," Inferno agreed.

"Then that gives us something in common," Tigerhawk replied.

Inferno nodded. "Very well, enemy of the colony. For the sake of the Royalty, I give you your alliance."

"I'm in," Quickstrike added. "So how're we gettin' off this dirt ball?"