For what seemed the thousandth time, Tarantulas examined the records of the short battle. There were the Maximals...the normal exchanges of fire...there!

He stopped the recording, rewound a few seconds, and replayed it. Here was Megatron's attack on the Maximal rat, and then the unexpected intrusion of the new protoform. An odd technique, the explosive, and effective at least this time, combined with the distraction.

Tarantulas rewound once again. Where had the hummingbird bot come from? Not the main lifts, they would have seen it. She'd seemed to come from around the other side of the Axalon. A secret door, perhaps, or damage of some kind. He'd look into that later.

Just now he was far more interested in the way she had behaved. That hesitation, for instance. Simply that she wasn't used to fighting, or something else? There had been something odd about her optics...he tightened the screen on them, played it forward slowly.

They flickered, changing color at an astounding rate that simply wasn't normal. Blue, red, silver, and back again, in an _expression which showed fear and astonishment and relief in changes almost as swift. Tarantulas chuckled softly. So his experiment with the pod hadn't been entirely a failure after all.

The Predacon programming he had implanted into the protoform should have remained submerged for far longer; that it hadn't was disappointing. It ought to have existed separate from the original Maximal personality, something he could activate when needed and control for whatever purpose came about. Still, it was only the first trial, after all. There was time. He would find a way to control the protoform, and all the better if she was almost entirely Maximal as he did it...and it seemed despite the programming conflicts the hummingbird had to be undergoing, she had still managed to stay more or less true to the original personality.

The project had come about through his experience in controlling Blackarachnia, and a fortuitous discovery of a nearly-undamaged pod. He'd had to tell Megatron a little, of course, but most of it he kept to himself... The change in eye color was a side effect he hadn't been able to get rid of, but it shouldn't cause a problem.

Tarantulas ran his claw across a metal hemisphere. When the time came, he could get into the newcomer's mind just as he had Blackarachnia's, and be within the Maximal base unsuspected. He considered trying it now, but restrained himself. Better to wait just a little longer, to let the bot gain the Maximals' trust and to learn a bit more about her. Because one detail on the playback had stuck worryingly in his mind:

Her eyes had flickered between not two colors, but three.

Zephyr stared out at the dusty plain, where the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon. 'You really think they'll manage it?' she wondered to the other two who shared her mind.

'If they can't, what did we come here for?' Duskwind retorted. 'I still think we'd be better off with the Predacons...'

'They would never have let me live, Duskwind, or Dawn either. Maybe not even you; too much of a security risk, hidden Maximal tendencies and all. Talk sense.'

The crimson-eyed personality let out a long sigh. It was getting easier to share control, and Duskwind wasn't sure she liked that. 'Maybe. What kind of life will we have here, though? They'll never trust you, for the same reason. And Dawn's a misfit wherever she goes.'

'Thank you ever so much for that vote of confidence,' interjected Dawn acidly. 'We'll manage. We're all misfits right now, but we'll manage. And aren't the clouds beautiful over on the horizon?'

The other two shook their head in unison. The human was undoubtedly the strangest of them, though somehow she'd also become the one who had the last say in decisions.

A voice from a few feet away interrupted their silent conversation. "Eh--nice sunset, isn't it?"

Zephyr looked up with a smile for the short Maximal. "Yeah, it is. And it's something all of us can agree on, which is unusual."

Rattrap's _expression flickered. Oh, way to go, Zephyr berated herself silently. Remind him of all the reasons he can't trust you, can't be friends with you. Somehow, Rattrap's approval and acceptance had become very important to her over the scant week she'd been in the Axalon. Part of it was spillover from Dawn, who for some indefinable reason really liked the rat, though she rarely had the courage to speak up around him; part of it was from Duskwind's guilt at that first, violent attack. But part--oh, all right, most, she admitted to the quiet blue-eyed presence, most of it was her own feeling.

Apparently sensing Zephyr's distress, Rattrap sat down beside her. "Must be hard, huh?"

She nodded, not speaking.

Rattrap shifted a bit. "Look...Zephyr, I know you're worried about things. Rhinox is the best at this sort of thing, though; if he can't separate you, no one can. And afterwards--you came here of your own free will, I won't let any harm come to any of you. Even the Pred."

Harm could be defined several ways, Zephyr thought, but didn't press the question. It was a guarantee better than she'd expected, even if Rattrap was speaking only for himself and not for all the Maximals. "Thank you," she murmured. "That means a lot to me."

The Maximal looked over to meet her unstained silver optics, and smiled. They watched what remained of the sunset together in silence, and neither Dawn nor Duskwind said a word from the back of Zephyr's mind.

It was rare for Dawn, Zephyr, and Duskwind all to sleep at once; in fact, they hadn't done it since those first blackouts. Even at night, it was simpler for one to remain awake, both for practical reasons, such as quicker response in emergencies, according to Duskwind, and for privacy ones. They just found it nice to have a few cycles in which to think without the other two eavesdropping.

So they took turns. It happened to be Duskwind's turn to have control that night, though Zephyr had rather wanted to switch. It had taken Dawn's rationalization that Zephyr would want to have control tomorrow as well, and that wouldn't be quite fair to Duskwind, to convince the Maximal to leave well enough alone.

Dawn, Duskwind mused, was turning into quite a diplomat. It was a good thing, because without her the constant arguments would have paralyzed the Maximal and Predacon, both unwilling to do anything the other suggested just on principle. With her to coax, convince, and occasionally bully--well, it wasn't perfect harmony, but they could function.

What would have happened if we'd gone to the Predacon base instead? wondered Duskwind suddenly. Would we be separated by now? The Predacons, she knew from Dawn's unexplained familiarity with the situation, had more resources and were more inclined to attempt strange experiments. It was quite likely that the three of them would have been in their own bodies by now. And yet...Duskwind was startled to realize that she didn't want Zephyr or Dawn hurt, as they surely would have been in that case, held hostage or reprogrammed.

Duskwind let out a sigh. I'm going soft, she told herself, shifting uncomfortably on her metal slab of a bed. Maybe it was Dawn's constant explanations that had bridged the gap between Maximal and Predacon, or maybe just the fact that none of them could really have hidden any secret plans, but she was almost beginning to trust the two who shared her mind.

It was a very un-Predacon-like habit, and it made Duskwind afraid that more than just thoughts and emotions were creeping over the boundaries. What would happen if they actually started to merge? She could almost get used to the present situation, but a permanent joining...she wanted to be alone in her own head!

She shifted again, beginning to feel awfully drowsy. Maybe it would have been better to let Zephyr take this night after all...she'd spent the day awake, mostly arguing. Duskwind reached for the feel of the other two minds, but found only the faint background hum of a recharge cycle from Zephyr and the strangely vivid images of Dawn's sleep. She ought to wake them, before she fell asleep...but she was so very tired...

Duskwind fleetingly thought that this couldn't be quite normal, but before more than a vague uneasiness registered, she was unconscious.

Moments later, the hummingbird bot's optics opened again. They were brightly green.

In the bridge of the Axalon, Rattrap was asleep on sentry duty...again, Tarantulas knew from the memories he'd so far managed to retrieve. He stifled a low chuckle. Hardly surprising that the rat neglected his duties, but useful nonetheless.

There were indeed more than a few oddities about the newest addition to the Beast Wars, but his low-level surveillance had paid off; none of the three minds had any idea he was there, since he'd come when the Predacon personality over which he had some control was solely in charge. Not even she--Duskwind, she called herself--would know what had happened once he was gone, as long as he was careful in what he did and how long he stayed. Veiled beneath her energy signature, Tarantulas could hide even from Sentinel.

He didn't intend to do anything on this first trip beyond gathering information, both about the Maximal base and about the transformer he'd created. Tarantulas had expected to have full access to all three sets of memories, but that was the strangest anomaly. The third personality was so different from anything Tarantulas had seen before that it was difficult just keeping her from noticing his presence, much less tapping into her memories, and both of the other personalities had become contaminated in places with the same alien programming.

Tarantulas crept quietly away from the bridge and deeper into the ship. If possible, he wanted to avoid being seen. He didn't think much of the general intelligence level of the Maximals, but it might lead to awkward questions later...not to mention the probable shift in eye color and voice, a dead giveaway for him if he wasn't careful.

Yes, this had definite possibilities. He'd have to consider which course of action would give him the most advantage...but this little hummingbird might just be his key to power.

Duskwind awoke in the same instant as the other two, a confusing jumble of images clouding her thoughts. Had something happened...no, the Predacon remembered, faintly ashamed, she'd fallen asleep.

'You fell asleep?' Zephyr demanded. 'Without even waking one of us up? Duskwind...'

'I know, I know, I'm sorry,' she responded irritably. 'I couldn't help it. Not my fault someone kept me awake arguing all day.'

The Maximal bristled and would have burst out in anger if Dawn hadn't intervened once again. 'It doesn't matter, Zephyr,' the human said rather wearily, 'it was her turn and she fell asleep, it doesn't affect you. You have control today, don't start it off with a fight.'

'Oh all right,' Zephyr agreed rather sulkily, then sighed. 'I'm...sorry, Duskwind. I'm feeling a little upset for some reason this morning.'

Duskwind felt the same way, oddly tense and irritable, but wasn't about to let the Maximal know if she could help it. 'Apology accepted. Go on, get up. It's your turn after all.'

A little more cheerful, Zephyr stood and began to leave their quarters. 'Rattrap said maybe he could take us on a short patrol today,' she reminded them. 'So behave. They'll never let us go if we're arguing.'

Dawn and Duskwind chorused silent agreement, knowing it to be true; the periods of silence with optics flickering between personalities made the Maximals rather wary, and the three didn't seem to be able to hide the signs of heated discussion. All were looking forward to getting out of the Axalon for a little while; it was a nice enough place for being a wrecked ship, but after a week of confinement it had grown slightly dull.

Rattrap was waiting for them on the bridge. "Ready ta go exploring?" he greeted.

"Oh yes," Zephyr replied fervently.

The rat grinned at her enthusiasm and looked to Rhinox. "Okay with you, big green?" he asked.

Rhinox nodded absently. "Optimus says you can," he rumbled, "'s long as you don't stay out too long. And be careful."

"Of course," agreed Rattrap. Zephyr let out a cheer and darted for the lift with a speed born of her hummingbird beast mode, transforming as she went. Rattrap followed, with a muttered aside to Rhinox: "Keep an eye on our signatures, will ya?"

Even in beast mode, Rattrap noted, the hummingbird's eyes took on faint shades of the personality in control. At the moment it was Zephyr's silvery gleam; had been so far today, as he thought about it.

It had become a touchy subject, the newcomer's multiple personalities; never quite mentioned by the Maximals for fear of alienating her, and rarely brought up by the three themselves, perhaps in an effort to fit in. Rattrap had never been much for delicately avoiding a subject, but this was a little different.

Never trust a Pred, he'd thrown that in Dinobot's face more than once, but how did you say it to someone sharing the body of a Maximal? And, he admitted ruefully to himself, a Maximal he'd begun to like...Zephyr was sweet, helpful, not to mention shorter than he was, and almost seemed to like him in return. If Rhinox ever figured out how to separate the three...well...who knew? It was possible.

Of course, that brought up the question of what could be done with Duskwind and Dawn...a misfit Pred and a delusional, supposedly human girl. Separation might just cause more problems than it solved.

He glanced ahead. Zephyr was cheerfully hovering over one of the clumps of wildflowers which had become more frequent as they drew closer to the nearby forest. Her rapid wings gave a low, not unpleasant hum, very different from the high-pitched buzz of an insect Transformer. "Rattrap?" she called, "do you know what these are?"

"No," he replied, with only a cursory glance. "Some kinda plant."

"Well, that's obvious enough," Zephyr commented with a small laugh. She looked over the red-gold blossoms again, let out a faint sigh, and turned away. Beast mode instincts, she thought. But they did look like they'd have a good deal of nectar...

'You're getting sidetracked,' Duskwind noted. 'Cut it out.'

'Sorry.' The Maximal flitted back toward Rattrap. "What exactly are we looking for, anyway?" she inquired.

"Preds mostly, or any sign they've been here. It's not likely this far in, but sometimes--"

His comm went off. "Rattrap," Rhinox's voice came though, sounding rather anxious, "I'm seeing three Predacon signatures not far from your position. Looks like Blackarachnia, Inferno, and Megatron."

Rattrap let out a low whistle. "Megs himself? Wonder what he wants, comin' in so close."

"Best guess? He's testing our new ally. Be careful."

"I hear ya. We're headin' back." Rattrap clicked off and looked at Zephyr. "Sorry ta cut your little vacation short, but with Preds around we can't risk it."

"I understand," she agreed, wondering whether she did.

'Three of them, two of us, and we're not much help in a fight. He's right.'

'But is that the only reason?'

'Duskwind, you're way too suspicious,' the human chided.

'Possibly. And you're naïve. What's your point?'

Zephyr sighed in exasperation, and only just kept from doing it aloud. 'Can we not discuss this right now? I'm trying to concentrate here.'

There was a silent wave of apology, contrite and sullen respectively. Zephyr smiled at Rattrap a bit diffidently. "Back to base, then."

He raised an optic ridge in faint uncertainty and nodded.

But they hadn't gone far when the first shots hit. Rattrap let out a muffled curse and dragged the hummingbird behind the shelter of a fairly large rock, transforming as he did so. Zephyr followed his lead, activating her hand laser and wishing it were a bit more effective.

'Give me control,' Duskwind demanded. 'You know I'm a better fighter than you are.'

Zephyr wasn't fond of that idea. Who was to say the Predacon wouldn't take this chance to switch sides? She cast about for a plausible reason to refuse. 'They'll see our energy signature change. Can't risk it yet.'

'Better that than Rattrap dying! Come on, Zephyr, you can't even use my weapons.'

'So tell me how. We don't have time to argue now, Duskwind.'

'Zephyr's right about that,' Dawn put in. 'If it gets bad and Zephyr can't handle your weapons, come in, Duskwind. Otherwise leave it to her.'

'All right, fine,' Duskwind muttered sullenly. 'Long as she remembers.'

Duskwind's earlier comment made Zephyr wonder a bit whether perhaps she wasn't the only one with unexplained feelings for the rat. There was no time for thinking it through now, though. The brief argument had already delayed them enough. Inferno's flamethrowers and Blackarachnia's bullets were chipping steadily away at their rock, and there was Megatron to worry about as well, wherever he'd gotten to.

Zephyr lowered her own laser and drew out Duskwind's more powerful gun instead. She thought she saw Rattrap throw her a brief glance of suspicion, but there was no time for that either; she peeked around the edge and began firing.

Her aim wasn't great with the heavy weapon, but a lucky shot clipped the ant's arm and Rattrap's better accuracy sent the flamethrower spinning away moments later. Zephyr shifted toward Blackarachnia, trying to steady the gun against the rock.

We can't win this. The thought came with a terrible certainty, and all three personalities knew it. They were very little help at this range, especially with Zephyr the only one who could have control without giving away their secret. The other Maximals couldn't possibly get here in time...but if they...

Rattrap noted that Zephyr's fire had stopped and began to look over toward her--to be stopped short as the barrel of a gun pressed sharply against his head. A brief scan revealed what he already knew he would find: four Predacon signatures, surrounding him.

Four. He turned slightly to catch a glimpse of the hummingbird holding him captive. Her eyes were bright red and held a purely Predacon look of contempt...but in their depths he thought he saw a silver glimmer of shame, and--apology. Rattrap shut his optics in anger and despair. So Duskwind had tricked everyone after all.

The Predacon hummingbird blinked calmly up at the numerous weapons aimed at her. "You might want to take his explosives," she suggested to Megatron. The Predacon leader had approached them from behind, unnoticed. In the next moments he might have been able to kill them both.

Megatron frowned at her. "I'll do that. And yours as well, if you please. Are you suicidal, or have you an explanation for this?"

"Check my signature," she shrugged. "I'm Predacon, obviously. Though whoever programmed my pod didn't do much of a job of it. I've a Maximal persona trapped in here with me. I convinced the little idiot we should work together, and I've been lying low. Now that I have a chance to come across without a half-dozen Maximals shooting me first, I'm taking it. My name's Duskwind."

"And your...Maximal persona?"

"Whining about broken promises." Duskwind sighed. "You'll want to check out my story, of course. Do you intend to kill that one, or hold him for bait?"

The Predacon leader stared suspiciously down. He wasn't about to believe the cool-voiced little bird, but it was possible. Her signature showed in his optics as Predacon--not just an overlaid activation code, but Predacon throughout. And the rat's posture spoke eloquently of betrayal.

Well, he'd intended to capture them both anyway. If she wanted to come along, it would save him the trouble of dragging her. He signaled Blackarachnia, who promptly fired a dose of cybervenom into Rattrap. Duskwind showed no sign of dismay, merely withdrawing her weapon and offering it handle-first to Megatron. He accepted it, along with the various disarmed explosives she also handed over, and gestured politely for her to precede him. "This way, if you would, my dear."

"Well?" Megatron asked impatiently. "What have you found?"

Tarantulas let out an inaudible hiss. "There are certainly some...abnormalities in her programming," he began. "The Maximals' interference with my work has caused a secondary personality to form, as she said. It's impossible to tell which is dominant, but from my observations--" he looked up, noted Megatron's _expression, and finished hurriedly, "Duskwind's telling the truth."

How dare she ruin my plans like this, his mind was seething, but he wasn't enraged enough to throw away what was still a potentially valuable weapon. If she could get Megatron's trust, it might be better yet. He still didn't know how that third personality had formed, but its presence might give away his tampering if he told Megatron. Not like he told Megatron much of anything anyway.

The subject of the conversation was unconscious in an R tank, while Tarantulas ran his tests. Duskwind had been quite willing to submit to whatever tests Megatron felt necessary to prove herself. Almost eager, Tarantulas thought, as though she wanted to know more about herself as much as they did...perfectly possible. The hummingbird had to be horribly confused.

Even more so than he was. How had the Predacon persona managed to gain control? Unless the Maximal was far weaker than he'd anticipated...Tarantulas chuckled. Yes, that was probably the case. There was, after all, no way a Maximal would voluntarily let his Predacon creation take control.

"What are the chances of her...Maximal side...regaining control?" demanded Megatron.

"Impossible to determine. Though since it hasn't yet, probably fairly small."

The Predacon leader nodded. "Begin work on a shell, then. Maximal--no real weapons--and include some way to control it from a distance. We'll separate them, and get both a warrior and a tool against the Maximals."

Tarantulas chuckled again. "Immediately, Megatron."

"For me to control it from a distance," Megatron clarified, staring at the spider intently.

"The thought of doing otherwise never crossed my mind." Close, but wrong again, Megatron...

They drifted within the tank, offline but not entirely unconscious. Dawn slept within, hidden from the Predacon sensors by the activity of the other two, a near-continuous trading of thoughts not far from an argument.

'How do I know you weren't telling the Preds the truth?'

'You know because you've been prying at my mind ever since, Zephyr. Shush.'

'If Rattrap dies from this plan of yours...'

'Then we will all be dead shortly after, no doubt, if not before. I don't want him hurt any more than you do, astonishing as that might seem to you.'

A pause.

'No. I believe you. About that, anyway.'

Duskwind paused in mild shock. She'd expected another rebuttal, something about the events of the day. 'I know you don't trust me,' she said cautiously, 'but we do need to work together. If you can believe me on that, it's a start, at least.'

The Maximal stifled something like a bleak laugh. 'He's...a confusing subject. I don't know who was first, but we're all falling in love with the rat. Hadn't you realized?'

'No! I--' But, Duskwind realized with a sinking feeling, Zephyr was quite right. Whether the emotion had leaked or they were all to blame, there was a tenderness when she thought of Rattrap that couldn't be explained away as either friendship or guilt.

It would never work. Even if by some miracle they all survived and more unlikely yet Rattrap felt the same, he would choose one of them. He would choose Zephyr, if anyone. She was a Maximal and most suited to him. Duskwind was Predacon and more likely to be shot down, if they were ever separated.

She tried to block the feeling, convince herself that it was a leak and not really hers, and couldn't. It didn't seem to matter where the feeling had originated; by now it was her own as much as it had been Zephyr's or Dawn's.

'It was the human, wasn't it? I knew there was something strange about the way she felt--!'

Below their level of semi-consciousness, they felt a stir of blue. 'Shh!' Zephyr snapped. 'Do you want them finding her? She's the only chance we have of getting him out.'

'I know that. I came up with the plan.'

'Then be quiet, unless you want to ruin it.'

Duskwind managed to follow the advice for a moment (time was meaningless while they half-slept) before bursting out again, 'You know what this means?!'

The silvery personality couldn't hide a shiver of fear. 'It hasn't gone far yet. It's reversible.'

'You hope it is,' Duskwind said grimly. 'We've begun to merge. If it goes much farther, they won't be able to separate us. Ever.'

Megatron watched closely as the little hummingbird was raised from the healing fluid. He knew Tarantulas well enough to see when the spider wasn't telling him something, but this time had very little idea what it could be.

He'd watched the monitors for a while after Tarantulas had gone off to start work on his new assignment, since the Maximal persona would have been most likely to attempt a takeover while Duskwind was vulnerable; and there had certainly been a great deal of activity between the two. But her signature was firmly Predacon for the moment.

Duskwind looked about, appearing faintly disoriented, then launched into a softly humming flight from the lift platform. She transformed with a murmured "Terrorize" and approached him with proper respect.

He said nothing for a moment, but her polite demeanor made it clear she was waiting for him to speak first. Rather a pleasant change from the majority of his troops. It would be almost a pity if he had to kill her.

"The readouts confirm your claims. We will have your secondary personality removed as soon as possible," he informed her.

She relaxed slightly, and said "Thank you, sir," with a very genuine relief.

Megatron noted with interest that it seemed to be more at the thought of separation than the proof of her truthfulness. But then it had to be an immense strain on her, keeping control. "Tarantulas is preparing the form now. Until it is complete, you have the run of the base--but do not leave it."

Duskwind nodded. "Understood, sir."

With a final nod to the newcomer, Megatron left the room, headed for his control platform. He'd see what she chose to do. He wasn't foolish enough to let her off without a bug attached, after all.

Duskwind watched the Predacon leader leave. 'He'll have attached a bug, you know.'

'Of course,' Zephyr agreed sourly. 'You Preds and your plots. Not like we need to talk, anyway.'

'But it'll be a nuisance when it comes time to rescue Rattrap.'

'Thought you had that all worked out.'

'I do, I do. But you'll be doing that part, too. Can you manage?'

'Trust me. We don't have much choice.'

The plans had undergone a swift change with the realization that their time as separate entities was running out. What had been a relatively simple plan to gain some measure of trust, then sneak Rattrap out while under Dawn's lack of signature had been moved sharply forward: the rescue had to be completed before they were separated, and the separation could not be delayed or faked. It left no time to find the planted bug or gain Megatron's trust. The revised plan relied heavily on their skills at acting--and, again, on their cooperation.

Zephyr sighed mentally. 'I'm not going to like this, though...'

And, Duskwind admitted very quietly, neither would she. 'Never mind that. We have to wake Dawn up now.'

The intense heat from below informed Rattrap immediately on waking up that he was in a cage above the lava pits--again. This time, though, he quickly verified, they'd taken away his lock picks. And posted a guard; Inferno stood at the edge of the lava, flamethrower stiffly over one shoulder. Not much chance of distracting him.

Blackarachnia's cybervenom had left him with a pounding headache that worsened when he moved. But somehow, Duskwind's betrayal hurt more.

He'd let his guard down. He'd known better than to trust the Pred. But it was so hard to think of Zephyr as a threat, he'd forgotten about Duskwind. And, honestly, even had he remembered the Predacon...well, she had saved his life in the battle around the Axalon, when it would have been easy enough for her simply to stay out of it.

Dinobot's proven trustworthiness had perhaps taken the edge off his suspicion. But he ought to have known better.

Never again, Rattrap promised himself. No one would trick him like that again. Assuming he lived through this.

A voice from below attracted his attention. The hummingbird had come in and was speaking softly to Inferno. Probably come to gloat, Rattrap decided. "What are you doing to Zephyr?" he demanded of her, surprising even himself with his vehemence.

The _expression Duskwind turned up to the captured Maximal did nothing to change his opinion; her crimson optics held only contempt. "That," she said after a measured pause, "is between the two of us and none of your concern. One would almost think you had feelings for the weakling."

She held his gaze for a moment more, and carelessly flicked back the brown, downy feathers about her face. Her hand brushed her audio sensor on the way. Then the Predacon spun on one heel and left the area.

Rattrap's jaw clenched. Zephyr had compromised with the Pred, allowed her to stay, even spoken up for her, how dare Duskwind--

A stray thought finally found its way through, and he stopped in sudden shock. The two of us?

And she didn't mention Dawn in front of Megatron...I've never seen any of them make that gesture before. She was trying to tell me something. Audios--she's bugged, obviously.

Unwilling to trust again and unable to quite repress hope, Rattrap settled back in the cage, and wondered what had caused the change in the hummingbird's _expression near the end of her little speech. A note of something like pain had entered it, just before she left...

'Do you think he understood?'

The rest of the thought was suppressed, but Dawn and Zephyr both heard it well enough: because I don't think he did.

The Maximal knew lying was impossible now, and couldn't bring herself to say what she thought she had seen. 'It doesn't matter, really. We know where he is, we'll be able to get him out when the time comes.'

A silent, disdainful sniff from Duskwind; yes, maybe to their plan it wouldn't matter, but just then that seemed far less important than other things.

'I think he got the message,' Dawn said firmly. 'It'll be hard convincing him later, maybe, but he understood.'

Duskwind pried suspiciously at the blue thoughts and could find no trace of deception. 'This isn't like me,' she muttered. 'I shouldn't be...feeling this way. I still think it's your fault,' she added accusingly to the human.

'Possible,' Dawn admitted. 'I'm sorry for it, if I did.'

Again, the Predacon felt nothing but sincerity; Dawn truly regretted the pain she'd caused. Unless she was just really, really good at faking it. 'Never mind, then. All right. Part two. Your turn, Zephyr. Make it look good.'

'Should we find a Predacon first? No point acting without an audience.'

'Your act, you choose. But do it quickly.'

There was a silent grin. 'Why, Duskwind! I'm flattered. Didn't think you trusted me that much.'

'Don't get used to it.'

'No fear of that.' Zephyr looked about, through Duskwind's concealing control. The hummingbird transformer set off deeper into the Predacon base.

Spying on his new recruit, Megatron decided with something between pleasure and annoyance, was incredibly boring.

After the briefly interesting confrontation with the Maximal rat, the little bird had proceeded to spend a good twenty cycles wandering aimlessly through the base--possibly getting to know the layout of her new home, or perhaps exploring for less innocent reasons, but nothing he could really be suspicious of. She had introduced herself to Quickstrike, who was unfailingly polite to the new femme, and then run into Waspinator. The two were evidently kindred spirits, because they had now been talking for a megacycle about the nutritional value of flowers, no less.

Megatron sighed. It looked rather as though Duskwind, like Inferno, was affected somewhat by her beast mode--though not to such an extent, obviously. Still, a fascination with flowers and sweets wasn't too terrible a thing to have; if all else failed maybe he could bribe her. It worked with Waspinator on the rare occasions the speech-impaired Predacon failed to do as he was told.

Just then, her inane babble trailed off midway through a sentence. Megatron looked up, startled. What had--

"Is something wrong with humming-bot?" Waspinator buzzed, something like genuine worry in his tone briefly catching Megatron's attention.

Silence for a moment, a faint rustle of feathers as though Duskwind was shivering uncontrollably. Then, "No...no, Waspy, thank you, nothing is wrong," came though the open comm. "I just...I'll...I'll see you later, all right?" And another rustle, then a thud as though the hummingbird had collided with a wall on her way out.

Frowning, Megatron leaned forward. Something was certainly amiss with the newcomer, though it was understandable enough that she would deny it. Most likely the Maximal portion was making an attempt at control. If she succeeded, even briefly, it might cause no end of trouble in the base...although how exactly he could affect a mental battle of that sort he had no idea.

He brought up the security cameras in that section to catch a glimpse of the bird, still stumbling her way down a hallway. She didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, though the general direction could lead to the control room, perhaps to seek help.

Abruptly, her form froze. A final shiver, and then something had very definitely changed: her stance was tentative, she held close against the wall in anxiety, the way she walked was almost a nervous dash. But no longer toward him--the opposite way--and Megatron realized only then that she was just a short distance from the holding cells. If he scanned the newcomer now, he knew with a sinking feeling, her signature would be Maximal.

Abandoning the monitors, he grabbed for his comlink. "Inferno!"

"Yes, my Queen?" the ant replied promptly.

Megatron didn't bother with his usual denial of the title. "A Maximal is--"

There was a deafening explosion through the comlink--then nothing but static.

The Predacon leader cursed and bolted downward. Maybe he could still get there in time...

Rattrap absently stared out through the cage bars, mind sifting over various improbable escape scenarios. Whatever the Preds had planned for him had evidently been delayed by Zephyr's strange situation, something he supposed he should be grateful about. That was difficult, however, when he still didn't know what they were doing to the gentle Maximal personality of the hummingbird...or what, exactly, Duskwind's role in all this was.

He glanced over toward Inferno, still standing ramrod straight beside the entrance. The ant seemed to be saying something into his comlink, Rattrap noted curiously. Orders from Megatron, probably, and unlikely to do him any good.

Something small and black skittered across the floor, and a startled Rattrap watched it come to rest no more than a foot from Inferno. The subsequent explosion blew the Pred to the opposite wall in several blackened pieces. Rattrap stared, bemused--that was normally his style.

Zephyr's slight form emerged from the corridor, darting above the lava to his cage. Swift hands attached another explosive to the lower corner of the bars. "Watch out," she advised.

Rattrap obeyed, scrambling to the opposite side as the hummingbird triggered the blast. A large portion of the cage broke away, dropping to melt in the lava below. "Zephyr?" he asked hopefully.

She gave a quick, nervous jerk of the head, silver optics wide in fear. "Come on! He'll already know, and I'm not sure how long I can keep control!"

"Can you carry me over the lava?" Rattrap demanded, leaving the important but less urgent questions for later. At her nod, he jumped to cling to her shoulders, trusting her judgment of her own abilities.

The sudden extra strain on her small jets sent the pair on a wildly tilting downward course, but Zephyr retained power enough to land safely. "Go!" she gasped the moment they touched down.

"I can't leave you here," he protested.

Zephyr shook her head frantically. "She's a Predacon, we'd turn on you, delay you, you have to go now!"

Hating himself for it, Rattrap fell into vehicle mode. "We'll be back for you, Zephyr," he promised, hoping desperately that it wouldn't turn out a lie.

"They'll be expecting you," she warned, "be careful--now go!"

Rattrap looked up at the femme for an agonizing moment...and saw her optics flicker, silver to red. "Go," came another whisper, strained but infinitesimally different from Zephyr's voice. And then the hummingbird shuddered convulsively and reached for her gun.

Tires squealing, he tore down the corridor as laser blasts impacted around him, a shrill "Maximal scum!" echoing through the dark base. Out through one of the numerous breaches in the outer hull Rattrap darted, mind spinning faster than his wheels.