21.Jan.06
A/N:
Ok, so I make no profit, and don't own the Beast Wars, only the twists I added.
And I
dedicate this chapter to Lady Dementia, cause I admire her works, cause I can,
and cause I want to. Questions? :-)
Part Three
By: Syntia13
Rust
opened one optic and yawned. He felt lazy. Scorponok had just informed him
through the comlink that he had half a mega-cycle before his shift on monitor
duty began. Too short a time to go out and wander, too long to just lie around
and do nothing. He took out his EK-box and inspected tools. Some needed
sharpening. He was about to do just that, when Waspinator came in.
"What
Doggy-bot doing?" he buzzed.
Rust
growled. That does it!
He
carefully closed the box and subspaced it, then lunged. Waspinator only had time
to scream once before the bigger bot knocked him over, sat on his chest and
punched him hard in a place that seemed about right.
It was.
Two halves of helmet swooshed to the sides, revealing Waspinator's face, young
and frightened.
"Rust,"
he growled, leaning over wasp bot, left fist raised threateningly. "Not
doggy-bot, not crazy-head. Rust."
Green
optics stared up at him in terror.
"Say
it!"
"R-r-r-rust,"
wasp-bot stammered. His face was practically radiating fear.
Rust
cursed inwardly. He really hated himself right now. But once you started...
"One
'R' only. Rust".
"Rust,"
Waspinator whispered meekly. He wasn't usually so easily scared, but there was
something in those burning, blue optics that paralyzed him. If he could only
turn his gaze away from them, maybe he could fight back...
"Good.
Now say: 'What are you doing, Rust'. NOW!"
"W-what
Rust doing?" and he cringed as his audios registered what his mouth said.
Rust's
optics narrowed for a nano, then he smiled.
"Good
enough." He jumped to his feet and pulled the smaller bot up. "Just
remember what my name is, and you'll have no troubles with me."
As soon
as he was free, Waspinator raised his hands and shut his helmet closed.
Rust
turned to hide a smile.
Wise. Your face is way too expressive to show to all the bad guys around.
Then he
realized something. When his helmet was off, Waspinator's voice was different.
Higher pitched and with no trace of buzzing. Just a normal voice of young bot.
There must be some device installed in that helmet that altered it.
Pretending to be older, are you? I wonder how young you really are...
But he
didn't ask. If the kid had chosen to disguise himself, it was his private thing.
***
One of
the screens flickered and went offline. Megatron looked at it across the bridge,
from where he was searching the archives, and growled. The equipment was falling
to pieces; it required constant repairing and maintaining. If they didn't repair
every fault immediately, they would soon be out of working machinery. But he and
Tarantulas were busy searching data for their newest project, Scorponok had
holed up in his lab, muttering shyly about a behavior changing viral again, and
Blackarachnia, still annoyed about her forced enlisting, declared she'd show
them how the wars are won and disappeared in a hold somewhere. But then again, a
bot don't have to be an engineer to repair a simple screen. Megatron hit his
comlink. "Rust!"
***
Waspinator
shut his helmet. How did that crazy wolf know about it? He glared at Rust
hatefully. He turned his back as if Waspinator wasn't there.
I'm
fed up with being a punching bag, I'm fed up with being ignored!
He very
slowly reached for his weapon.
"The
last bot that tried to shoot me in the back spent a whole week in CR-tank,"
Rust said without turning. Waspinator's hand jumped away.
How
does he know?
Before
he could wonder, there was a beep.
**Rust!
Report to the bridge**
"Coming,
sir."
And he
went. But he turned in the door.
"Wasp..."
"What?"
Waspinator snapped defiantly.
"Next
time someone pins you to the ground and is stupid enough to lean over you, use
those optic lasers of yours and melt his slaggin' head to the Pit."
The door
closed. Waspinator stared at them in amazement.
___________________________________________________________________________
"With
two new Predacons, we might be forced to leave the base unmanned sometimes, so I
need you to make it impregnable," Optimus had said after Rattrap's big day,
and Rhinox was working on it since then. It was quite a pleasant task, since
their armory was full, and he only had to decide where to place each component
and how to connect it to the system. Now he was almost finished; Sentinel only
needed the last few lines of programming, and--
"What
kind of defense grid is that?" Dinobot snarled in disgust. "This toys
will not stop a Predacon in battle mode!"
Rhinox
frowned, but beside that he didn't acknowledged the remark. He didn't have to,
Rattrap was present. The green bot was probably the only Maximal in entire
universe who appreciated the rat's big mouth, because it was never turned
against him, and he could work in peace while Rattrap was talking the intruder
to death. He concentrated on the codes, barely aware of an argument in progress.
"...
Yeah, lethal, right, like that Big Bad Rust ya were trying to scare us wit'. How
come he never showed up, huh?..."
___________________________________________________________________________
Big Bad
Rust sneezed, creating a small cloud of dust. He was currently in disgrace. Just
because he'd blacked out the entire base for a few mega-cycles. It's not like it
was his fault! He'd told Megatron this
was likely to happen, but would he listen? Noo, repair the screen, that's an
order, Rust! And then he goes postal because of some lost data.
And as a
result, Rust was first used as a stress-relieving target, and then sent away to
salvage some parts for Tarantulas. With Terrorsaur as a company. The red bot
wasn't too happy.
And Rust
was bored. It was a state he rarely experienced while on the move, but now he
couldn't vary his run with any turns or jumps, because his movements were
limited by his backpack and a platform attached to it. The latter was his
private idea, and he was rather proud of it.
He'd
dragged one of hovering platforms to Scorponok, and asked very politely (and he
really didn't know why scientist was so nervous. Really. Big blaster? What big
blaster? Oh, this one? Nah, I'm only waving it to emphasize that I'm in a hurry,
what with Megs on my heels and all...) to modify it a bit and weld some boards
to it, converting it to a kind of pack sledge.
It would
be useful when they reached their destination, but for now it was a hindrance.
Hmm, maybe it would be more interesting if it were weighted? Or... Oh, here's a
thought!
"Oy,
Terror!" he bellowed to the skies. Then he sighed and activated his comlink.
"Terror!"
**What?**
"Come
down here."
**Why?**
"Cause
I'm asking you."
**Go
slag yourself.**
"Don't
make me shoot you down."
That got
a reaction.
That
crazy wolf had proved to be an excellent gunner in aerial fights, and Terrorsaur
didn't want to find out if he was as handy with a blaster. He landed at a safe
distance and shot Rust a hostile glance.
"What?"
The Wolf
grinned and motioned his head towards the platform.
"Hop
up"
"What?"
"You
heard me. There's no point in us both getting tired, is there?"
Terrorsaur
blinked. What was that fur-ball playing at? There was no way he was just
offering a ride out of the goodness of his spark. But on the other wing, what
mischief could he have planned? It was just a platform... unless he'd installed
a shocker or something in it.
Rust
scratched the sand impatiently.
"Well,
move your leathery skid-plate in there and let's go!"
His
dislike for effort finally won over his suspiciousness, and dactyl-bot flopped
to the platform.
"You're
in there?"
"Yea..."
"Then
hold on."
His
contemptuous sputter turned into a screech, as Rust shot forward at higher
speed.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Oh,
gimme a break!" Rattrap moaned. It wasn't funny anymore! How did he ever
end up in this situation?
I've
chosen a really bad moment to become responsible!
He
scrambled madly up the ladder.
"I
should've stayed at Vespa3! Next time some guy asks me if I wanna interestin'
job, I'll just turn and run!"
The
hatch he reached was locked. He didn't waste time for pleasantries.
*BLAM*
...and
the corridor entrance was open.
--Intruder,
you are required to stand down--
"Shove
it up yer--"
Three
disruptive guns appeared up above.
Rattrap
squeaked, turned, and ran.
Outside
the base Rhinox raised his hand to stop the others from shooting. His shield
proved to be just as resistant as he’d intended it to be. If the rest of the
system was as efficient... The fact that Rattrap had survived in the Pred's base
wasn't at all comforting. Megatron didn't have so good a defensive system.
Rhinox
absentmindedly converted more power to dumpers, while the others beastmoded. He
activated his comlink again, establishing a constant link to Rattrap, then tried
to modify the signal so that it would cut through the jamming field. If he could
contact Rattrap, he could tell him what exactly he should do. AND he would know
if small bot was all right.
There
where many friends he'd lost to a 'friendly fire'. He didn't want a repetition.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Optimuzz
Primal izz coming!" Waspinator buzzed in alarm, speeding towards two
Predacons.
Scorponok
sighed. And the tunnel seemed so secure just a moment ago!
"What
did you do now?"
"Waspinator
not do anything! Optimuzz made ambush!"
Blackarachnia
snorted impatiently. "Forget it, he'll never find us here! Besides, he is
already too late, all is set up, and I only need to--"
Crouched
behind one of stalagmites, Tigatron gripped his gun. Attacking three Predacons
single-handedly might be considered dangerous, but he didn't see it that way.
His predator side was insisting that none of the creatures was a threat to him,
and he believed it more than what his logic circuits were telling him. So he
ignored the logic, and gave up to the tiger. That strategy had yet to fail him.
"*growl*
You three are going straight to the scrap heap!"
___________________________________________________________________________
A huge
shatterfield wheezed and fall silent. A small bot on the floor opened one optic
cautiously.
"Heh,
I ain't dead!"
He
relaxed his fingers, gripped on a piece of cable he'd slashed at the button just
a nano ago. Amazing, but it worked. The Friend or Foe program was on-line, and
friends were safe from it. Speaking of friends...
Rattrap
wriggled from under the beam and activated his comlink to report his success.
Rhinox's comlink was open still, and Rattrap heard the others before he spoke,
and what he heard--
He
laughed silently.
Huh,
I am just in time for my own funeral banquet! I wish I had a recorder!
___________________________________________________________________________
Somewhere
in the desert two bots were enjoying themselves. Rust because he was testing his
muscles and endurance, Terrorsaur because he was doing the exact opposite.
Laying quite comfortably on his back, with his eyes closed, he reveled in
idleness.
"Oy,
Terror!"
"What
now?"
"How
did you meet Megatron?"
Pterosaur
opened his eyes in surprise. "What?"
"Do
you always make people repeat themselves?"
"Huh?"
Rust
sighed.
"Do
you al--"
Terrorsaur
growled.
"No.
And I won't talk about that stinking--"
"Warning,
dactyl - if he asks me what you said about him, I'll tell him."
Silence
followed.
Rust
waited for some time, till he got too bored.
"So
how did you meet him?"
Terrorsaur
started muttering curses. The platform stopped and he hastily got to his feet,
in case Rust was going to attack him. He wasn't, but he was grinning an
unnerving, wolfish grin.
"Let
me put it that way, bird. I'm curious, and I'm bored. You can either tell me
what I ask, or you can provide me with entertainment of different kind."
And he grinned even wider.
Terrorsaur
narrowed his eyes at the obvious threat, but then he shrugged. What the Pit, he
didn't have anything else to do.
"Ever
been on Gladius?"
Rust
resumed trotting. "Sure. Great gladiators' fights, cool clubs, easy cash to
make. Why?"
Pushing
aside surprise that the wolf had
visited the asteroid, Terrorsaur laid on his back again.
"I
lived there. Fought in the arena sometimes, more often just made bets. And one
day I met a guy in the pub, he's all smiles and free drinks and all, and he says
that he saw me fighting, asked, where did I learn that move I used?... And he
keeps buying drinks, and then I wake up and they tell me that I've challenged
that guy, with all the cash I had as a wager, and I lost. All nice and legal,
cause I've signed all papers. No one gave a slag that I was drunk at the
time."
Rust
chuckled. "He probably bribed the juror. But why are you working for him,
then?"
"..."
"Hallo,
anyone in there?"
"Cause
I've challenged him again, all right? I wanted my money back. And I had to sign
a 10 stellar-cycle's service warrant to equal the wagers."
"And
you lost again."
"Yea."
And the worst part is, he did that cause I was a flyer with a good aim and no place to go, and he needed someone like that to be his shield. His slaggin' cannon fodder. A scapegoat in case things went awry.
For a
Predacon, that was the worst insult.
___________________________________________________________________________
Rattrap
entered the lift and glanced back with a smug expression on his face. "Yer
Sentinel Expert's leavin' the buildin', children, but if ya need him, just call
'im!"
Dinobot
growled. "It's been six solar-cycles, vermin! Would you stop your gloating
already!"
"Yer
just jealous, Scale-belly, 'cause ya could never..."
Optimus
sighed in relief when the lift muffled their bickering, and turned to look at
Rhinox, who was watching monitors, as he did almost all the time.
"Something
wrong, Rhinox?" amazing how Optimus could see his frown even if he was
sitting with his back to him.
"I'm
not sure. Our scanner shows something...weird. Like a small energy disturbance.
As if the scanner couldn't decide if it found something or not. And now that I
think of it, it's not the first time, I just never paid it any attention before.
It can't be anything natural. It changes location all the time, and disappears
and appears randomly. It could be just an instrument error but--"
"--but
we can't take any chances. How long has it been out there?"
"Hmmmm"
Rhinox pondered "at least since Rattrap's
'betrayal'... " he gave Optimus a look, and maximal leader sighed. He'd apologized for that three
times already, and Rhinox could really give him a break...
"But
it could have been there earlier, only there was too much interference then to
notice. This signal is very faint even now. See, it disappeared again."
"Hmmm.
Well, our unhappy couple is heading that way, so I'll just let them know to keep
an eye for anything unusual."
"Unusual?
What's unusual?" Cheetor arrived on the scene, and was determined to make
his star shine brighter than any other. Optimus finally assigned him to
'mysterious signal hunt' just to have him off his back. When a delighted Cheetor
left the Axalon, he radioed Dinobot and filled him in, asking to keep an eye on
both unusual things and hyperactive
cheetahs.
___________________________________________________________________________
When
Cheetor found two patrollers, they were at the stage of cutting remarks, heading
fast to straightforward cutting. His arrival eased the tension, and they went on
in silence, which allowed them to detect Tarantulas and Scorponok some time
later. They were busy setting up some kind of machinery on a small clearing.
"So
much for our mysterious signal," Cheetor murmured, disappointed.
Dinobot
smirked. At last, something he was good at!
At his
command they scattered, (Rattrap muttering something about bossy Preds under his
breath), surrounded the two scientists quietly and opened fire almost at the
same time.
Tarantulas
cursed as the first shots smashed his scanner to ashes. Slag it, he was so
absorbed he lowered his guard completely! How foolish of him!
"Maximals!
We must retreat!"
Scorponok
clicked his claw and shot a missile. "But what about--"
"Forget
it! It's not important!"
That
coming from the very person who had insisted that they had to check the energy anomaly. Scorponok shook his head. That
spider was so unpredictable! But retreating seemed to be a good idea. He
launched a few more missiles and ran.
"Whoohoo!
Dat was all too easy!"
Rattrap
threw a bomb after the fleeing scorpion.
bleep
**They have fled, stop playing and return to base, vermin.**
"See
ya dere, Chopper-boob."
His
comlink beeped the end of transmission, and Rattrap took a baseball-style swing
to throw one last bomb for a good riddance...
...and
he heard the swish of air...
...and
he saw the incoming missile...
...but
he had no time to do anything about it.
Dinobot
snarled at the sound of explosion, but out of annoyance, not worry. The rat
should learn not to waste their resources like that! He shook his head and
started toward the base.
At the
charred clearing Rattrap blinked and groaned.
"Oooooow.
Oh man. Dat hurt."
He
reached for comlink.
"Rattrap
to base, I need--" The comlink was trashed. "Oh great. What
else?" He tried to get up. It didn't work. He beastmoded and tried again.
Didn't work either.
"Hey,
ah, Chopper-face? Cheetor? Are ya here somewhere?!" He waited for an
answer.
"Oh
come on, bots, I need help! Where are ya?!" He feebly scrambled to get on
his feet and squeaked in pain. "Slag, I'm gonna die here, move yer
skid-plats an get me back to base!"
He
continued yelling for some time, alternating pleading with curses.
The
bushes nearby rustled--
"Oh,
finally, took ya long enough--"
--and
from among them came out the very worst thing that an injured rat can see.
A cat.
___________________________________________________________________________
Tarantulas
stopped and checked damage reports his internal computer provided. Nothing
serious, he won't even need CR-tank. But he was still angry. To let Maximals
sneak up on him like that, that was unforgivable! He was a PSP officer, for
Primus's sake! He should never let anything distract him to the point of being
careless. And yet that was what happened. He frowned. Well, someone would pay
for this, in not very distant future.
I wonder if the Maxis were there by accident, or were they looking for the same thing I was...
He
looked back at Scorponok. At least that fool wasn't complaining about being
ordered around. If Tarantulas heard once more that whinny 'I'm second in
command', he'd blast the scorpion's head of.
"He
shouldn't command me, I'm second in command," Scorponok muttered under his
breath. But it was more a habit that actual protest. He knew all too well that
his command only extended to the outer walls of the base. In battle, he was
powerless, and, to be honest, helpless. He wasn't good at quick decisions, and
was secretly grateful when someone else was taking over. He wasn't always like
that, but... the past was the past. No point looking back.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Oh
slag, now I'm really gonna die!"
Rattrap
watched the red animal anxiously. Oh man, that thing was almost as big as him!
And it looked hungry too. It took a step toward him, and Rattrap's beast's
instincts freaked out. "DINOBOT! CHEETOR! HELP!"
The cat
tilted its head and came closer.
"I'm
not yer snack, get lost!"
The cat
stopped and leaned forward cautiously, sniffing at him. He wasn't sure whether
it was a good thing or not. Was the smell of metal strong enough to discourage
the feline despite his organic parts?
Feline
jumped to him, poked him and jumped back. It hit exceptionally sore place and
Rattrap screamed. "YA #^&%*$ *%&$$%,
GET AWAY FROM ME!"
The cat
blinked, then slowly came closer. Rattrap waved his paws despite the pain, in
futile attempt to shoo it away. "Will ya &$^##^* off, ya
$^&@#&?!" A paw extended and smacked at his belly experimentally.
"*&$%#%#
^$&$^^&$$^&&%*%#$@#@$#%*($#^%! Chopper-face, help! I'm gonna die and get eaten!"
Even if
the cat suffered indigestion afterwards, it wouldn't help him a bit. He was badly damaged already, any more injuries, like
pulled out internals for example, would result with critical energy loss, and
his spark would slowly extinguish. And if he was really unlucky, he'd stay
conscious till the end. He gulped at the thought.
He
struggled desperately as claws sank into his side and the cat pulled. The
combined force of both actions rolled him to his front. That meant that his most
vulnerable parts were now protected, but it also meant that he couldn't see what
that blasted animal was doing.
"Go
chase some birds, slaggit!" he moaned in desperation.
He felt
his attacker's front paws on his back, and whined. "Come on, please?"
Come on,
come on, it'd be too stupid to die like this...
The
weight on his back shifted, and he felt hot breath on his neck. "Oh,
slag..." he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
The
weight shifted further.
"Oh,
you're such fun," purred a voice straight into his ear.
___________________________________________________________________________
Optimus
was more than a bit worried now. Cheetor and Dinobot returned almost
simultaneously half a megacycle ago, reporting a 'successfully repulsed Predacon
attack,' and Rattrap still wasn't there, and what's worse, his comlink was dead.
"Dinobot,
we're going to look for him. Cheetor, you are--" His comlink beeped,
interrupting him.
**Optimus,
I've picked up Rattrap's signal, but there's something wrong with readings--**
"Just
give me some coordinates, Rhinox, we can worry about tech problems later."
Dinobot
snarled something about having priorities messed up, but followed their leader
nonetheless. Cheetor ran along, carefully keeping at BigBot's side... after he
ordered him not to race forward alone. They were approaching the jungle, when
something emerged from the thicket. All three of them gasped.
Have you
ever seen a little kitten, trying to drag a soft toy bigger than itself? It's
really cute sight, and it's a pity that Maximals didn't see it that way. But
then again, the animal in question was a fully grown cat, and the thing it
dragged looked like remains of their friend. It is allowed to overreact a bit in
situations like that.
"Vermin!"
"Rattrap!" "Leave him alone, you--!" Cheetor reacted most
violently, transforming and pulling out his gun in one swift move.
"Cheetor
wait! You could hit Rattrap!"
The cat
looked up at them, released the burden and sat on his hind.
"Why
all the fuss? It's not like I'm gonna eat him," it said in young, feminine
voice. Rattrap opened one eye. "Take me away from 'er," he moaned.
Rhinox
leaned over the screen and frowned at what it showed him. Rattrap's signal
wasn't flickering anymore, but instead exactly the same weird energy disturbance
he picked up before appeared near it. He shook his head and touched the button.
"Optimus,
you should be careful. There is something strange right next to you--"
**It's
OK, Rhinox, we can see her**
"Her?"
**We'll
be back with you in few cycles. Optimus out**
Optimus
knelt next to Rattrap, trying to pick him up as gently as possible. Rat's yelps
of protest told him he wasn't succeeding. He glared at the cat suspiciously.
"What happened?". She didn't even blink. "Don't look at me, he
was like that when I found him".
"The
Pit I was!"
"OK,
so maybe you were damaged a bit on the way. Not my fault. You're heavy."
"I
was-- OW! Watch it, Ape!"
"Shut
up, Ra--" Optimus started automatically, but then shook irritation off.
"I'm sorry. What happened?"
"I
got hit by a missile, nearly died, someone
left me behind, an den she
appeared," Rattrap summarized, wincing.
Dinobot
snarled at the 'someone' comment, but stayed quiet. Somehow, the rat managed to
put him to shame again. He'd been in charge for this patrol, and it was his
responsibility to make sure everyone came back safely. And he failed. He'd
underestimated the rat again, assumed that he was overdoing it, and didn't check
if he wasn't in trouble. The Raptor tapped his talons, frowning, his warrior's
pride suffering.
Optimus
absorbed the info, making a mental note to talk with Dinobot later, and looked
at the cat.
"Well,
thank you for bringing him here," he ignored Rattrap's sputtering and
continued. "My name is Optimus Primal. I am commander of Maximals here. And
who are you?"
The cat
had already stood up and started walking toward him, but now she stopped
abruptly and took few steps back, suddenly wary. She glared at them
suspiciously, her tail slashing air.
Optimus
raised optic ridges in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"Shouldn't
YOU know? I was in your crew."
He
blinked. Well, of course she had to come from one of the pods, and therefore had
to be part of his crew, but...
"Yes,
I suppose, but your beast mode originates from Earth, and stasis pods often
change voice and appearance." That
what happened to Tigatron and Blackarachnia, he thought. None
of them look like any bot that signed the Axalon's contracts...
The cat
didn't fully understand what had been said, but tone of voice was enough to calm
her down. "Oh," she said and sat down, tail wrapped around her, to
think it over. "Not Kitten, then," she murmured to herself. She stared
at the ground for a moment, then looked up. "Kittar", she stated.
"Oh,
how highly imaginative-- OW!"
The
meaning of word "imaginative" was mystery to her, but she recognized
sarcasm and chose to ignore it. "Easy to remember, though" she purred,
much to Rattrap's annoyance. "And what's your name?"
Rattrap
gritted his teeth and pretended to be deaf.
NOW she asks me. NOW she talks.
"He's
Rattrap. And I'm Cheetor. And this is Dinobot, and there is Rhinox back at the
base..."
The
teenage bot was all to eager to pass any information he could. It didn't
discourage him one bit that Kittar only nodded acknowledgement. Her attention
was divided between young bot's babbling, and very complicated argument going on
between the other three males. As far as she understood, it was about letting
her on the ship, the males' state of mind, their appearance and lineage and what
they thought of that. She finally considered it too confusing and diverted her
attention back at Cheetor, and by the time they reached Axalon she knew almost
everything there was to know about it's crew. But there were still some
surprises left, as she soon discovered.
It
puzzled her when Optimus stepped onto piece of metal and looked toward her
expectantly. "Well, come on" he said after a moment, when she didn't
react.
"Go
on, injured and ladies first!" Cheetor encouraged her jokingly. She walked
closer hesitantly, not sure what was expected from her. She sniffed at the metal
suspiciously before stepping on it, and then hissed wildly and got ready to
fight as it moved. The bigger bot
obviously noticed her nervousness, because his voice was set at 'it's-all-right'
tone when he spoke. "It's just a lift".
Humph.
Whatever that was.
She
forced herself to relax. She also refused to flinch when something really big
moved nearby, opening something big and hollow. She was warned about him, after
all. And the hollow thing looked familiar... Kittar tilted her head
thoughtfully.
"This
is--" Optimus started to explain, but she interrupted him. "CR. I
remember CRs." She dashed past surprised Rhinox and whirled inside the
machine, inspecting it. "This one's pretty old, though" she concluded
with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Er,
Kittar... Do you mind?" "Hmm? Oh." She jumped out of CR and on
the round table in two moves. "Here you go"
"I
demand 'nother CR-Chamber, who knows where she's been!"
"Shut up, Rattrap..."
Kittar
smirked and watched as rat was put into CR despite his protests, then shifted
her gaze at the thing...lift...when it brought up the young bot, Cheetor, and
the big lizard, Dinobot. She found the sight rather peculiar. Who would have
thought there is such a long way between head and feet... She smiled. Then her
smile faded. She didn't like the way Dinobot was looking at her. She wasn't sure
if she should file him under 'rival predator' or rather 'superior predator'. She
certainly wouldn't like the latter...
And
suddenly she yawned. And then again. Gee, was she tired....
"Sweet
dreams!" Cheetor joked. She nodded at him, mumbled "Thanks",
curled up and fell asleep. She was dimly aware they were trying to talk to her,
but she ignored that. She wanted to rest and resting was what she was going to
do. Whatever they wanted could wait.
________________________________________________________________________
Rust was
laying on the sand, under the merciless sun. His sides ached terribly, and
Terrorsaur was still tormenting him.
"Stop
that!"
"...and
though it's hard to belieeeeeeeve!..."
Wolf
burst into helpless chuckles.
It
wasn't that the song was one of the dirtiest he'd ever heard.
It
wasn't that one stanza was about various things that can happen on a dog sledge
race, which fitted the situation nicely.
No. It
was that whatever crimes that song might have committed in the past, it
certainly never deserved the things Terrorsaur's voice was doing with it.
Terrorsaur
was having fun. Singing was his tested and trusted way of annoying the slag out
of anybody. He'd used it to get to Rust, and was quite surprised when, instead
of shouting to slagging ‘shut up!’, the wolf went into a laughing fit, but
that was even better. He couldn't hurt him, when he was rolling in the dirt.
The
Pterodactyl continued singing, deliberately going as far off key as he could.
Rust
continued laughing.
________________________________________________________________________
Dinobot
growled. It was almost four mega-cycles since Optimus let that cat into their
base, and they still didn't know anything about her. Couldn't Optimus see the
whole thing reeked of a predacon trap? He wouldn't be surprised if the damn
animal blew up suddenly. It wouldn't be beyond Tarantulas's skills to build an
animal-like walking bomb. But would Primal listen? Nooo. 'Let's let her sleep'
indeed! He glared daggers at ball of red fur sited on command desk, and as if in
response, it finally stirred.
Kittar
decided she'd slept enough. She arched her back and stretched, making sure every
single muscle in her body was in place, then she sat, wrapped her tail around
herself and examined her surroundings. Yep, everything was still in here. A CR
humming quietly in background, three bots looking at...something green and
shiny, and lizard-Dinobot glaring at her. With that 'not-very-friendly' look on
his face.
"She's
awake" he informed his comrades, and they turned to her.
"Whoa,
welcome back, Sleeping Beauty!"
She
smiled at Cheetor. Whatever 'sleeping beauty' was, he made it sound like
something nice. And she liked being treated nicely.
"Kittar..."
She looked at Primal expectantly. "This is Rhinox". She nodded. She
knew that already. "Cheetor already told you who we are?" She nodded
again and waited.
"Now
you should tell us something about yourself" demanded Dinobot, tapping his
talons against the floor impatiently. Kittar tilted her head and eyed the
freshly-created scratches. Definitely superior. Not good. Not good at all. And
she didn't feel too comfortable in this enclosed space either. Hmmm. Maybe she
could figure out how to make that lift-thing move again...
"Kittar?"
it was Optimus. "Can you tell us?"
"Yeah,
like, where you came from, and how you found Rattrap" Cheetor's voice was
full of enthusiasm, and at least his question made sense. Her name was Kittar,
and she was a cat. What else did the other wanted her to tell 'about herself'?
"I
came from the desert," she said. They seemed to wait for more, so she
jerked her head in direction that seemed about right. "Somewhere over
there".
"Well,
there is a desert in that direction.
Was that where your pod crashed?"
What's
a pod?
"Maybe"
"*snarl*,
what do you mean, 'maybe' ?"
She eyed
his talons again. "I don't really remember" Which was true enough...
"Do
you remember how long ago you came on-line?"
On-line?
"No"
"How
did you know where to find us?" That surprised her.
"I
didn't" That surprised them.
"So,
like, how did you ever get here?"
Ah, that
was easy. "I followed the spiders"
"WHAT?!!!"
They all bellowed at the same time, they're faces showing shock and, in
Dinobot's case, anger.
She
flinched at the volume, and reacted to the anger. Reaction included bristling
her fur and hissing in lizard's direction. Superior or not, he was going to
regret if he tried anything! He apparently did, but Optimus beat her to him. His
hand clasped over Dinobot's mouth, cutting of some kind of...battle scream?
"Stand
down, Dinobot!" He turned to face Kittar. "What spiders were you
talking about?"
She
blinked, then let her fur fall back in place. She was confused. They didn't know
what spiders were? But then why did they react so strongly to the word?
"Those
little metal thingies with legs" she explained, lifting her paw few inches
above the table, to indicate how big little thingies were. "There where a
lot of them" she added helpfully.
"Do
you mean those little arachnid flash-lights?" What on Cybertron is an arachnid? "They did shine at
night" she confirmed. That seemed to calm everyone down. Weird. She’d
have to investigate this later.
"Why
did you follow them?" she decided that she liked that rumbling voice. It
sounded almost like purring.
"It
was fun chasing them" she said. She meant to say more, but then changed her
mind. The whole story would take ages.
So she simply skipped to the end.
"But
then I got hungry and went off to hunt a lunch, and when I got back I couldn't
find them anymore. So I just wandered around for some time. And today I heard
some noises, so I went to see what it was, I didn't find it, but I heard Rattrap
screaming."
She
rubbed her muzzle with her paw. "He was really loud".
"I
believe he was" Optimus said with a smile.
"*snarl*,
he was most probably calling for help" Dinobot growled in disgust.
"That
too," Kittar admitted. "But mostly it was 'oh slag, I'm gonna die'
". She repeated the phrase exactly how she remembered it, intonation and
all, and all Maximals suddenly burst out laughing.
Ah,
that's more like it! She liked laughter! She promptly joined in.
"He
said other things too--" she started after their amusement subsided a
little, but Optimus cut her off. "I
think I know what it was like, Kittar, and you shouldn't repeat that."
Cheetor
chuckled.
"Eh,
what's so funny kiddo?" Kittar
turned her head to look at the speaker... And erupted on her feet, hissing
madly, her fur standing on ends.
"Huh?
What's wrong wit' ya? 'part from being a cat?" the stranger said...in
Rattrap's voice. That puzzled her enough to smooth her fur and take a step
toward him. She stopped at the edge of table, craned forward and sniffed at him
gingerly. The smell was right too...
"Why
do you look so different?"
"Huh?"
Huh?
"You were a rat. Now you are robot!"
"Well,
'course I am a bot! I've transformed!"
She just
looked at him blankly. Rattrap shrugged. "Beast mode!" Kittar jumped
again. Whatever he did, it looked extremely weird. But at least he was a rat
again. "Maximize!" And
here was the bot. Humph. She didn't like it at all!
"You
don't know how to transform, Kittar?" She glanced at Rhinox, but stayed
silent. "Kittar?" She licked her paw, and then cleaned her muzzle.
" 'allo,
anybody in dere?!" She snorted at him in irritation. She heard Optimus
sighing. "Kittar, don't you--" "No". So she didn't know something. Big deal!
"How
can ya be a transformer and donno know 'bout transforming, huh?"
"Hey,
I didn't even know I wasn't a cat before I first heard a Cybertronian
speak!"
"Lucky
for me I was shoutin', den," Rattrap concluded bitterly. Kittar gave him an
odd look, but didn't comment. He was going to say something else, but Optimus
cut in.
"Kittar,
you just have to say an activation code. Your name and 'maximize' for bot mode,
and 'beast mode' for... well, the beast mode. In which you are now."
She
looked at Optimus doubtfully. He spoke again-- "Beast mode" --and
changed into gorilla. Kittar snorted. She didn't like the creatures, one of them
roared at her in the jungle!
Cheetor
didn't have to demonstrate anything to her, his name and chest plate said it
all. And Rhinox... when she looked at him from this new perspective he was quite
obvious too. But that whole transformation-thing seemed too weird. Not to
mention painful. Hmmm. Oh well...
"Kittar,
maximize" She glanced down at herself. Nothing happened. "Not
working"
"We
can see dat, fur-ball. Maybe ya should try 'terrorize' instead."
The
others looked shocked.
"RATTRAP!!!"
And here
they go again, getting upset at nothing. She chose to ignore them.
"Kittar,
terrorize" No shifting body parts. "Not working either." She
looked at Rhinox, who seemed most balanced of all the males. "Why did he
suggest this, and why is it a bad thing?"
"
'Terrorize' is an activation code for Predacons, and Rattrap should know better
than to suggest you're one" he frowned at rat-bot.
"What,
she sure behaves like one!"
Predacon.
Sounds familiar... Where did she hear the word before? She suddenly realized
Rhinox was speaking to her.
"--some
malfunction. That would explain why our scanners didn't pick you up, or rather,
couldn't identify you" He motioned toward...big metal thing with lights.
But the word 'scanners' stirred something in her memory. "If you don't
mind, I'd run few tests to check what's wrong."
"Rhinox,
even the lift startled her. She may find your lab a little...scary." Kittar
snorted at Optimus. She wasn't startled! She was...surprised. And he didn't have
to remind her of that anyway.
"I
can go with them! I'll show her how everything works!" Cheetor dropped to
beast mode (Kittar winced) and hopped to the door, eagerness written all over
him. Kittar jumped down from the table and followed. Behind her she heard
footsteps of the rest of Maximals.
It
turned out that the laboratory was quite a few corridors away. That's why, as
she found out later, the Maximals moved their CRs to their command center.
The door
opened with a soft hiss, and Cheetor turned to her, explaining, "So here
is--"
"It's
a Med Bay!" Kittar interrupted, her voice exited, eyes lit. "I know
all this stuff!" In one jump she landed on bowl-like machine in the center
of the room and sniffed at it vigorously. "It's for deep internal
scans!" She jumped down and ran around the lab, sniffing at it and naming
everything she saw.
"Tool
rack, spark monitor, life functions monitor, emergency and normal energon
feeders..." It went on and on. She finally turned to them, looking
delighted. "Oh, I LIKE this place!"
Optimus
and Rhinox exchanged glances. "Well, so much for scary..." Primal
murmured.
Kittar
jumped on the scanner again and from there straight on Rhinox's shoulders.
"So whaddya wanna do?"
Rhinox
only grunted. The rest of Maximals gasped, both at her action and her accent.
"If
you could get down, Kittar, and lay on the scanner, I could begin--"
"Ya
got it!" She jumped again, and froze in 'sphinx pose' in the middle of the
central machine.
The
Maximals exchanged exasperated glances, and Dinobot threw his hands up in
overdramatic gesture. "Oh, marvelous!"
Red cat
blinked at him. "What?"
"Er,
Kittar, it would be better if you didn't speak like Rattrap" Optimus
ventured.
"Oh?
Why?"
"Some
'bots here might find that...annoying."
"Really?
Which one?"
Me, Optimus thought privately. One
Rattrap is more than enough... Luckily, he didn't have to say anything. Twin
'Me's came from behind him. Apparently Rattrap didn't like copycats as much as
Dinobot...
"Humph."
Kittar rubbed her muzzle. "OK," she said reluctantly, then looked at
Rhinox. "Well, go on." He
nodded and pressed some buttons. Scanner went 'ping-hisss-beep-ping', and its
screen lit up.
"You
can--" he started and immediately there were a lot of pounds of cat on his
shoulders. Her whiskers tickled his cheek when she craned her neck to stare at
the readings. He patiently allowed her to settle. "Can you understand all
this?" he asked.
"I
recognize the diagrams, but--" she rubbed her muzzle against his head
"--either you've changed your alphabet, or I have lots of education to catch up."
"I
don't think that is the case" he replayed in amused voice. "There are
some partially damaged chips in your hard core and processor, and your comlink
and transformation unit are fried. Nothing serious, CR should fix it in no time.
Shall we?"
"Sure."
She had nothing against using CR. She rubbed against his head again. "Let's
go."
"Eh,
ya forgot what yer legs are for?" Hmmm, this little bot seemed to not like
her. She wondered why.
"She
must be tired after carrying you, Rattrap" Rhinox rumbled, trying to walk
with a new fur collar. He had to hunch his shoulders and bow his head in order
to do that. He just hoped she wouldn't be too embarrassed at the memory after CR
fixes her logic circuits....
"Carryin'?!
CARRYIN'?! She slaggin' dragged me! And she almost broke my neck too!"
Ah, that
must be why he's upset. Well, too bad, how sad. He'll have to live with it. And
with her as well. She made herself little more comfortable and purred.
________________________________________________________________________
CR
opened, and Rattrap sputtered. "Haven't ya slept enough, fur-ball?"
He'd been informed what happened while he was being repaired, and it did nothing
to calm his temper. She'd scared him half to death, dragged him through the
jungle like a sack of rusty nuts, banging him on what felt like a thousand
roots, and then just slept like an innocent little angel!
The red
ball of fur uncurled and yawned. "Huh? Oh." She stepped out of machine. "Kittar,
maximize."
It did
work this time. A fem-bot of yellows and oranges appeared. What hit Rattrap most
was that she was tiny. About three
inches shorter than him, and slender.
She
looked down at herself and flexed her fingers experimentally. "Hmm.
Interesting."
Rattrap
shivered. The way she pronounced the word seemed... familiar, somehow, but he
couldn't quite place it. She giggled suddenly, and he tensed. If she'd dare to
tell anyone...
"What's
so funny, eh?"
"I've
just realized how strange some of my reactions had been." She inspected the
room, looked at the monitors, and smiled. "And I can read."
Rhinox
and Optimus smiled.
"Fortunately
the your datatrax were only--" Rhinox started, but she interrupted him.
"--only
inaccessible, not corrupted or damaged, and the CR has successfully rewritten
them to repaired chips." She grinned, exposing two small fangs. "I
know."
"Wow,
that was cool!" Cheetor was gaping at her admiringly. She grinned again,
and returned to inspecting her body.
"What's
that?" Cheetor asked as she pulled out something resembling a hair-dryer
with a small screen on the handle.
"LSD,"
she responded, and at his blank look, pointed it in his general direction.
--Three
life signals detected--
"Oh.
But what is it for?" "For seeking survivors, at battlefields,
accidents sites and such."
She
subspaced it and moved her left arm. A broad screen slid out of it, and rested
on her forearm. Rhinox moved closer, interested. "A mobile life functions'
monitor?"
She
nodded. "Yep. RT-385. Da best one dere is," she stated proudly.
"Stop
talkin' like me," Rattrap growled. She flashed him a toothy grin, and
raised her arm towards him in scanning motion. Then she frowned, and tapped the
screen.
"Hmm,
malfunction?"
Rhinox
glanced at it as well, but everything seemed all right to him. "Why?"
"It
says: all systems normal. Can't be right."
Cheetor
chuckled, and even Optimus had trouble hiding the smirk. Rattrap fumed silently.
The help
came from unexpected source. Dinobot was watching the scene silently, leaning
against the wall in robot-mode, arms crossed. Any other day he'd probably join
in a group Rattrap-teasing, but today, he felt, he'd done enough. After all the
rat had been through lately, he deserved some respect. So he decided to change
the subject, and snarled to get attention.
"Don't
you have any weapons, cat?"
Amber
optics looked up at him. "Weapons? What for?"
"*snarl*
We are at war here, cat!"
Kittar
blinked. A war? Well, OK... She opened both writs compartments and looked
considerately at eighteen blades, sharp enough to be used as scalpels, concealed
in them. Hmm... If she clenched her fist like that, with fingers positioned like
that--
--three
daggers swished out from between her knuckles. She poked the air experimentally
(Cheetor and Rhinox took a cautious step back), then pushed two blades back into
her arm, turned to Dinobot and made a throwing gesture--
*zzzzip*
--and
the dagger buried itself halfway in the small spot on the wall, about five
inches from warriors face. He snarled, pulled the blade out with minimum effort
and tossed it back to small femme. She caught it out of the air, looking at him
with respect. He hadn't even flinched, and was strong. Maybe a phrase 'superior
predator' wasn't misplaced after all.
I wonder how good he is at hunting.
"So,
whom we are at war with?" she inquired, hiding the dagger.
There
was some explaining, showing her files they had on Predacons, touring the base,
giving her quarters (opposite to Cheetor's, far away from Rattrap's, he made
sure of it), and she finally tired of all those bots around.
"I
want to go out now," she said, heading to the lift. She laughed silently,
activating it.
Optimus
shook his head lightly. "You shouldn't go out alone, Kittar, you don't know
the area and--"
"I
want to go out," she repeated patiently, stepping on the platform.
"I'll go with her!" Cheetor volunteered, and hopped to join her.
"*sigh*
All right, but don't go beyond scanner range." "You got it, BigBot!"
When two
cats disappeared, Optimus turned to the warrior.
"Dinobot,
we need to talk." Dinobot snarled, but nodded and followed him off the
bridge.
Rattrap
watched at monitors as Kittar and Cheetor started racing, and muttered something
under his breath.
"Something
wrong, Rattrap?"
"Da
nastiest an ugliest femme I've ever met, an she has ta be in my team," he
repeated, audibly this time.
"Rattrap!
Even if she was clumsy, she was only trying to help you."
"Yea,
well, she could've said so, she could've said anything,
before I'd made a total fool of
myself."
He
wouldn't tell that to anyone else, but this was Rhinox. The only bot who ever
treated him seriously.
"Do
ya know what's it like, ta lie wounded in da jungle an see somethin' like dis
approaching ya?" he gestured to the monitors angrily.
"Hmm,
I guess it's similar to what you feel when you lie wounded on the battlefield,
and hear someone approaching without knowing what insignia they wear."
There
was a brief silence, then Rattrap smiled.
"I'm
overreactin', aren't I."
"Maybe
a bit," Rhinox smiled. "And why do you say she's ugly?"
"Well,
ya can't say she's pretty, can ya."
Rhinox
made a neutral gesture. He didn't really think of it. After all, outer shells
didn't really matter.
________________________________________________________________________
"I
won!" Cheetor was panting heavily, but was delighted. Finally he had a
company for some serious racing. He'd won, but barely. Kittar sat on the sand
nearby and rubbed her muzzle, frowning slightly. Then she suddenly jumped to
him, slashed at his side and jumped back.
"Hey!
What was that for?"
Hmm,
what for indeed?
"Nothing."
"You're
angry I won?"
She
tilted her head, and thought it over. "Maybe. Yes, I think that's it."
She frowned. "Do you think that's normal?"
Cheetor
was watching her, half bewildered, half amused. "I donno. Do you always
react like that?"
She
looked at him blankly. "Always? It's the first time I've lost."
"With
me, but on Cybertron? Or wherever you come from?"
She gave
him an odd look. "I came from the desert. I've told you that."
"Yea, but... you don't remember what was before? I thought CR fixed your
memory! You remembered about your monitor and that it was the best..." he
was worried now. "You do remember that, right?"
"Sure.
I can even tell you why it is the best," she brightened up, as she started
saying... things.
"Whooa,
wait, I can't even understand half the words you're using!"
She
looked disappointed. "You don't?"
"Jumping gyros, I think only Rhinox would! How can you remember all
that and nothing about yourself?"
"Hmmm..."
Kittar stared at the ground, making thoughtful faces, which made Cheetor laugh.
"The
pod." She said finally. "There is something about the pod that
explains that, I'm mechy* sure, but I can't remember. I'll have to check if you
have some data on it in your computer."
She
jumped to her feet. "Come on, let's race back!"
"You
don't have to tell me twice!"
________________________________________________________________________
Rattrap
stretched and shut down the computer. He'd said aloud what was bugging him, beat
the computer at poker, and now he was in much better mood.
"Well,
goin' to get some recharge, see ya late--"
The
lift's door opened behind him, and he found himself laying on his front, with
something heavy on his back.
"I'm
back. Missed me?" purred a voice straight into his audio.
Tadaaaam!
So how
do you like it? Come on, you've spent at least half an hour reading, spend three
more to flame me or praise me or whatever!
*Oh, and
for the record, "mechy" is equivalent of "bloody"
And
there will be no more new characters, only Rust and Kittar, promise :)