~{ Beast War Chronicles }~ ~{ Changes }~ By Eliot Lefebvre "We need a base, and we need it now," said Optimus, looking over the campsite the Maximals had managed to rig up. "Any suggestions?" "Always," said Nightpounce, once again trying to rise from the masses of medical machinery that she had been strapped to. As a couple tore loose, she winced in pain, and Skydive rushed to assist her. "Will you stop doing that?" snapped Skydive as he reattached Nightpounce. "Much more and I'll be forced to strap you to the table." "I'll *live*," snarled Nightpounce. She turned back to Optimus. "It's a very simple procedure: go back a few weeks and do everything the same, but don't destroy the Starrunner. See?" "I didn't destroy it, though," replied Optimus. "They did." He made a vague gesture towards Ground Zero, Trailblazer, and the pencil box-sized memory container that was Bandit. Trailblazer and Ground Zero looked at each other. "We didn't destroy it either," replied Trailblazer. "Y'see, it takes a lot of energy to blow up a space ship, but virtually none to bury it..." The look of suprise on Optimus's face was something completely indescribible. "You... buried... the Maximal flagship?" "Yeah. Why?" Optimus couldn't figure out whether to celebrate or to bellow. "Where?" he finally announced. "Right under us," replied Ground Zero. "Why?" Optimus was completely dumbfounded. "Start digging," he managed to croak out at last. "Why?" asked Ground Zero. "So that we can start a jazz club," sighed Optimus. "Oh," replied Ground Zero. "Wouldn't it be smarter to use it as a new base?" "Just dig, GZ," said Vixen as calmly as she possibly could. * * * * * * * * * * The explosion tore into Drill Bit. Flying backwards, the fairly compact Predacon bounced off the rocks and out of the tunnel, followed by the somewhat belated cry of "Fire in the hole!" Diving off the ledge, Transquito transformed into mosquito mode, followed by Bloodclot. Transquito transformed to pincher mode, and Bloodclot held him as Transquito closed his pinchers around Drill Bit, catching the Pred in mid-fall, and more importantly, preventing him from smashing through one of the precarious working platforms scattered around the canyon. Setting Drill Bit down, Transquito and Blooclot flew back up to the hole while Drill Bit began to wander around in one of his typical "let-me-die" walks. (You know the kind - he was in one of those for most of the latter quarter of "Fire in the Sky", and most of "Power Play", too.) "Good blast," Transquito affirmed. "I think the column is ready for the elevator installation." Blooclot nodded and drew out a large stash of equipment. Fitting a large circular anchor around the hole just blasted, he attached three high-magnetivity cables to the anchor, then tossed them down to the level below. Flatline took them, then attached them to another anchor on what would be the ceiling down there. The main car was slid into the column, and the cables shot it up to Blooclot and Transquito. Transquito fit an anchor on the ceiling, then pressed a few buttons. The elevator moved smoothly up and down between the levels. Sitting on the ground, Blackarachnia watched the operation continue. The energon safety field had already been modified to protect most of this canyon, and ever since, the Predacons had been working feverently to set up the new base, centered in these cliffs. The progress had been steady, but it was difficult to make a space-going vehicle become an entire city. Then... there had been her. She lost all of her troops - Megatron was keeping a VERY close eye on all of them, and she doubted that she would ever get a delicious opportunity like that again. She had been stripped of her high rank. All in all, everything had gone about as wrong as it could go. She was just satisfied that things would STAY this way for a little while. * * * * * * * * * * Fractyl was thoroughly miserable. As a pair of the mercs he was forced to ride with crashed into each other yet again, he sighed and tossed his book into the small pile of equipment that was clearly marked as HIS. *Megaplex must be out to get me,* he thought. *These morons couldn't make WORSE escorts.* (Not THAT kind of escort, you pervert!) Sighing, he stood and walked over to the captain, Treadbolt. "Are we nearly there yet?" he asked as Instigator and Aquasting collided again. "As a bit of a footnote," he said, "could you get your crew to act CIVILIZED?" "Yes, and no," replied Treadbolt. "We're about fifteen cycles from the planet... but trust me, making these folks act civilized is like trying to convince a fish to walk upright. Just doesn't happen." Fractyl sighed. "I just decided not to pay you full price," he said at last. Treadbolt's response was cut short as a flashing light went on. "Someone's in the engineering room," he said. "Skyshadow, Airhammer, Wingsmash, go see what the hell got in there." The trio of officers rose from their respective seats, Skyshadow breaking off a card game with Packrat. As they walked doown the main hall, Fractyl sighed as Aquasting smashed into Instigator. Finally, he whipped out his rifle and blasted both of them repeatedly, sending them flying back. Grabbing his book, he sat down angrily. "Leave them like that for a while," he snarled, "or I won't even pay you half." * * * * * * * * * * "Starrunner, activate." The Starrunner had been resting for a long time, and it was obviously none too happy to be reawakened. With a creak and a grind, the generator started back up, and the lights to the massive ship came on, row by row. The consoles around Optimus lit up as the buttons and screens illuminated and beeped to life. "Still running," gasped a suprised Neogene. "Amazing. I would have thought this old heap wouldn't be able to run a toaster." "You maintained it well," noted Optimus. "Computer, scan for matchs of crew roster Primal-7." [ONE CREW MEMBER NOT PRESENT.] "Who?" [SENIOR STAFF MEMBER RATTRAP -] Optimus felt something vaguely like a lump rise into his throat. "Computer, delete Rattrap from crew roster." There was a beep. [CREW MEMBER DELETED.] Regaining his composure, Optimus switched on the shipwide comm. "This is Optimus Primal, addressing all crew members. Our first priority is to find the entire crew quarters. If you find a place you like, beep the computer about your wherabouts, and then report to the bridge." He thought for a moment, then added, "It's the big room with the wide entryway." "Nice speech," said Neogene as Optimus switched off the comm. "I was riveted." "Shut up," sighed Optimus as he headed towards the main bridge. *I swear to Primus, it's the arrival all over again.* * * * * * * * * * * Skyshadow creeped through the engine room, stealth cloak active. Tuning his scanners to the most fine distinction possible, he moved with barely a sound, almost seeming to seep through the room rather than walk. A sudden snap in his scan told him his quarry was near. Whipping his head around, he saw a barely-distinguishable dark form, nestled in the engine. Activating his pincher, Skyshadow lunged out and snapped it shut around the stowaway, smashing him against the wall. "Who are you?" growled Skyshadow as his comrades gathered closer. The odd-looking Transformer attempted to pry the pincher loose. "My name... urk... is... Thoughtstealer," he replied, giving up on prying Skyshadow's claw loose. "Why the Inferno are you on the ship?" snapped Quickstrike. With a sudden twist, Thoughtstealer twisted and bent, snapping his head from his body. As the two fell apart, the body landed, balanced, and grabbed the head, then firlmly reattached it. "Because it's a decent ride, and I couldn't make cab fare." Wingsmash growled. "Nobody gets a free ride on this ship, pal." "What are you going to do? Turn around and go home?" asked Thoughtreaper mockingly. "Face it, short of killing me, there's not much you can do to get rid of me." There was the distinctive sound of guns being cocked. "Then we kill you." "Ah, no, sorry," replied Thoughtstealer. "I've tried, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't take." He made a gesture towards himself. "Go ahead, shoot me. Trust me, it's a waste of energon." The mercenarys stopped, looked at each other, and at length shrugged. "Fine," said Skyshadow, putting his weapon back in subspace. The others followed suit. "Just don't blow the ship up." "Blow up my ride? Now that wouldn't be very intelligent," remarked Thoughtstealer. The others sighed and walked out of the room, as Thoughtstealer tried to calm his fuel pump. *It's a good thing that they decided not to call my bluff. Otherwise, I would have to quickly explain everything with several holes in my person.* * * * * * * * * * * Optimus strode into the medlab at long last. It had taken him over two megacycles to find the lab, the first megacycle because he didn't know the layout of the ship, then another megacycle to get the computer to understand the command "show map", which Trion had apparently failed to program into it. "How are our patients recovering?" he asked. "Very poorly," replied Vixen, sighing and leaning against a table. "Where is Skydive, anyways?" "Training session for the Aeriomals," replied Optimus. "Can't you activate RATCHET?" "Not yet," replied Vixen. "Razorbeast and Hamstor are busy installing all of the imaging equipment. Besides, it's not so much that I need a hand as it is that I want a second opinion." "Why?" asked Optimus. Vixen sighed and brought up a display on the main screen. "The damage that Cheetor, Rhinox, and Airazor sustained was so severe that the DNA bonding was severely disrupted in some of their parts. I've tried to repair the damage using the CR Chambers, but the body simply isn't suited to recombining." "Just prime," muttered Optimus. "Any ideas?" "Yes," replied Vixen. Optimus said nothing for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Oh, you do have ideas. Sorry - I've gotten kind of used to having Skydive around." Chuckling, Vixen changed the display. "When Dinobot was back with the Predacons, he did manage to pick up a bit of information - including a VERY interesting project that Tarantulas and Igaunus were undertaking. Apparently, they managed to acquire enough information about the workings of the stasis pods to devise an armor system to allow mechanical systems to operate normally despite this planet's energon fields. It was only halfway developed, but with Stormcloud, Rhinox, and Skydive working on it - with my input, of course - they managed to refine it enough for usage on ourselves. I think that if I play with it a little, I can engineer the armor to re-bond the beast form with the robot, and even make some improvements to the basic design. It'll alter the beast mode somewhat, but -" Without warning, Optimus suddenly doubled over, sparking. "What - the - how -" "This can't be energon exposure," said Vixen, beginning to panick as she helped Optimus to the CR Chamber. As the chamber closed, Vixen activated the shipwide comm. "This is CMO Vixen to all active personel: our leader has been rendered inactive. We will need to find a temporary commander..." * * * * * * * * * * The entire staff sat at the table. "What are we going to do?" asked Stormcloud to the general assembly. "Well, protocol dictates that the second in command will take over when the CO is rendered inactive," piped up Nightpounce. "Rhinox is second in command," sighed Dinobot. "I'm aware of that!" snapped Nightpounce. "That is precisely WHY we have a problem." Everyone looked towards Neogene. "If I wanted the position of commander, I would have taken it upon arrival," said Neogene flatly. "I'm not in charge, and I don't want to be." "Hey! He's just inactive for a little while!" insisted Vixen. "I think that I can repair all of the damage done to him within a little while. It'll just take a bit of time." "I think everyone is forgetting the obvious," sighed Polar Claw. "According to protocol, leadership falls to the third in command if both the CO and second in command are redered inactive." "But - Polar, you're needed with the rest of the arctic squadron," countered Seachill. "I and Tigatron intended to stay anyways," said Polar Claw flatly. "Wolfang has been given temporary command of the arctic squadron. Besides, Optimus will probably back on-line before the day is out." Everyone mumbled their general consensus. The Maximals slowly filed out to go about their duties. * * * * * * * * * * Wolfang looked over to Icebreaker and Seachill - the only two other remaining members of the Arctic Squadron. "Is everything prepared?" he asked grimly, checking the supply list. "Yeah," replied Seachill, activating an anti-grav sled. "Let's go make a new home." Seachill and Icebreaker began to head northward, sleds following. Wolfang transformed and prepared to follow them. "Wait," said a voice behind him. Wolfang turned to see Razorbeast and Hamstor approaching him. "What do you want?" asked Wolfang gruffly. He wasn't exactly on buddy-buddy terms with most of the crew, but these two were among the worst. "Er... look, you mind if we tag along?" asked Hamstor. "We've got some... er... business to attend to." *Yeah, right,* thought Wolfang. "Fine," he said aloud. "Just don't get in the way." The two nodded, then dashed off after Seachill and Icebreaker. Wolfang sighed inwardly, then started off after the others. * * * * * * * * * * "Can you repair them or can't you?" Flatline nodded. "Yes, I can, thank to the information Igaunus stole while he was in the Axalon. This... armor that the Maximals has devised should hold them together all right. Of course, it's somewhat risky, but since they'd die otherwise, it's sort of a win- win scenario!" "The procedure will work," snapped Megatron as he transformed to robot mode. He glanced idilly around the small cavern room that they were now using as the medical area. It was somewhat odd, seeing the Soundwave's equipment blended almost seamlessly into the rockface. "Or it might not," added Flatline. "It will work," insisted Megatron, "because yoou are going to perform it on me as well." A stale silence hung in the air. "Er, yes, right." Megatron prepared to enter the CR Chamber, but then a though occurred to him. "Flatline, bring up Insecticon on the main viewscreen." Nodding compliantly, Flatline activated the viewscreen. The hideously twisted face of Insecticon appeared in front of the screen. "Insecticon... prepared... to report," he croaked. "What is the status of the Maximals?" asked Megatron, hoping to hear that they were all stuck in beast mode. "Maximals... appear... to have found... new base," replied Insecticon. "WHAT?!?!?" shouted Megatron, dumbfounded. Then he remembered. "Ah, yes. The Starrunner. I should have known that thrifty little Optimus would have found a use for that. Continue." "Group... left base... two cycles... ago. Appeared... to be... Arcitc Squadron... but... Tigatron... and Polar Claw... not present." "Ah, good," said Megatron with a smile. "Apparently, Optimus must be incapacitated. I didn't think he would have noticed that virus..." "Virus, sir?" asked Flatline. "A good tyrant always has a backup plan," said Megatron with a sinister smirk. "During the battle, I managed to hit Optimus with a dart filled with a sample of a rather nasty virus found only on this planet. More likely than not, his beast mode will be utterly destroyed any moment now." Flatline and Insecticon nodded in unison. "Should... Insecticon... engage Maximals?" "Of course slagging not," snapped Megatron. "Observe them, keep tabs on them - but do not attack them." "Understood. Insecticon... out." Megatron nodded and stepped into the CR Chamber. * * * * * * * * * * "Firing approach thrusters," said Wavequake as he pressed the button. "We'll touch down in ten cycles." Treadbolt stood, grabbed a few energon credits from his subspace pocket, and handed them to Packrat. "Alright, here you go. Really, though, you'd make a lot more money if you joined us." "You're just saying that because I'm the only one who traced the flight path of the Soundwave and the Axalon, and you don't want to pay for that information," replied Packrat as he snatched the credits. "Yeah, that too," admitted Treadbolt with a sheepish grin. He shrugged and turned towards Skyshadow. "Any unusual enviroment conditions we should know about?" "Unfortunately, yes," replied Skyshadow. "This place is overloaded with energon. We'll need to bond with organics to block out the harmful effects." (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I realize how the last three paragraphs simply REEK of Plot Convenience. Go along with it, 'kay?) "Great," sighed Treadbolt. "Okay, aside from Packrat and Mister 'The-Normal-Conventions-Of-Society-Don't-Apply-To-Me' -" Fractyl nodded in acknowledgement "- we're all triple changers, so I suppose we'll have to give up a mode -" "Hold on," said Quickstrike. "What if I re-engineer the modes to bond TWO animals? That way, we could have ground AND air superiority without giving up a mode." "Was that but possible," snapped Treadbolt. "In case you'd forgotten, genetic engineering is ILLEGAL -" "The HUMANS deem it illegal," corrected Quickstrike. "Since when have we done what the moronic humans tell us to?" Treadbolt thought for a moment. *It would be nice to not have to give up a mode...* he thought. "All right," he said at last. "Everybody pick out TWO beasts and give them to Quickstrike, then head down to the CR Chamber - except for you two," he said as he gestured towards Packrat and Fractyl. "You only get one." Quickstrike grinned evily and turned back to the console. *He's so easily manipulated,* he thought, shaking his head. *Now, let's see... what do I want to be..." * * * * * * * * * * Fractyl stretched out, twisting in the thermals. He had always enjoyed his aerial mode, but this - this was something else entirely. It was such a different experience, to fly like this as opposed to flying as a jet. *Back to work,* he thought. Turning, he locked his scanners on the energy signature of the Soundwave's generator. With a mighty twist, he turned towards it, gliding along the air currents. "Hey! Nobody comes in this airspace without Megatron's permission!" shouted Buzz Saw, transforming to robot mode and firing on Fractyl. Fractyl sighed and transformed in flight, firing his rifle in a wide strafe. Rocketing upward, Fractyl let loose a barrage of shots in Buzz Saw's general direction. Although Buzz Saw was larger and more powerful, this time it only served to make him an easier target, and he was knocked backwards as the laser pulses exploded aganst his body. "Moron," sighed Fractyl. "Give him some credit," said Jetstorm from behind Fractyl, letting the ominous sound of his launcher loading echo through the sky. "How was he supposed to know he was facing off against one of Megaplex's elite warriors?" Fractyl froze. "I am one of his elite SCIENTISTS," snapped Fractyl. "The foremost geologist in the Predacon ranks -" "Same difference," sighed Jetstorm. "Let's see... geologist... so you would be... Fractyl, wouldn't you?" NOW Fractyl was suprised. "Yes," he replied. "How did you know?" "Jetstorm," replied Jetstorm flatly. "Former head of Megaplex's Amber Gaurd, and elite air commander." Fractyl slowly turned to face his assailant. Yes, it was Jetstorm. Although he looked slightly different, Fractyl could still recognize the frail-yet-powerful body, the intentionally grotesque head, the sharp optics, the perfect tapering for aerial fighting. "Why are YOU on the planet?" asked Fractyl, still suspicious, although reassured to see another member of the Elite present. "Working for Megatron," replied Jetstorm. "Truth be told, I think that he might have made the right choice by taking the Golden Disk. There's a lot of stuff to be gained here, even if it might be at a great cost." "That's what Megaplex thinks," said Fractyl. "He's assigned me here to... keep tabs, so to speak, on this situation." "How did you get here?" asked Jetstorm as he turned to head towards the Predacon Base. Fractyl flew alongside him. "With a group of mercs," replied Fractyl. "Not an experience I'd like to repeat, I might add." "I can't blame you," said Jetstorm. "Come on. Megatron's going to want to meet you." "Wait," said Fractyl suddenly. "What about that other warrior?" "Buzz Saw? He'll crawl back to base in a couple megacycles," replied Jetstorm. "He really is a moron, anyways." The two Predacons chuckled, then flew at full speed towards the Predacon Base. * * * * * * * * * * "I've got our quarrys on scanners," said Aquasting, lumbering out of the ship. "Lesse now... we oughta split up to speed this process up." "I agree," said Treadbolt, experimenting with his beast mode. "Alright... Wingsmash, Wavequake, Airhammer... you're with me. Quickstrike, you take Aquasting, Skyshadow, and Instiagtor." "So who does each group go for?" asked Skyshadow. Behind him, Instigator and Aquasting renewed their game of smashing into each other. "Umm... Quickstrike, you'd better take Onyx." Quickstrike nodded. "Understood." He folded into his hideous scorpion-cobra mode. "Move out." Skyshadow, Instigator, and Aquasting all transformed as well. Skyshadow and Aquasting took to the sky, and the four lumbered off in the general direction of the Predacon base. "I really think putting those four together was a BAD idea," said Airhammer. He said it to no-one, but it was obviously directed to Treadbolt. "I know, but they're the most likely people to make it through," replied Treadbolt. He glanced in the general direction of the Starrunner. "We'd better get going." The four mercenaries transformed and headed for the Starrunner. * * * * * * * * * * Thoughtstealer lumbered out of the CR Chamber in his new spider mode. "Hmm," he said. "Demented... twisted... evil- looking... ominous... yes, I like it a lot." He thought for a moment. "A new name is in order. Let me see... I no longer steal thoughts, but reap them from this planet's bountiful harvest... Thoughtreaper," he announced at last. "And it even has a nice ring to it." Scuttering out, Thoughtreaper went about his business. * * * * * * * * * * Polar Claw stepped into the medroom. "I don't think I've ever been here," he sighed, glancing around semi-wistfully. *Could've had all of the jobs, all of the time... but no, you had to pass up the promotion for moral reasons. Never do something that stupid again.* "Of course you've never been here," replied Vixen. "Most of the crew hasn't. The Starrunner was ridiculously underhanded, and that means most of us have no idea where everything is." "I meant to the medroom in general," replied Polar Claw, shaking his head. *Is she always like this?* "Um... er... well..." *I suppose I'll have to fill in the blanks here,* thought Vixen. She turned to the main screen, brought up a display, and began to manipulate it. "Well, we think we've figured out what happened to Optimus - me and RATCHET, that is." The holographic medic waved nonchalantly from a biobed. "Great to be back, folks. Love what you've done to the place." Vixen shrugged, then turned back to the display. "Apparently, Megatron had some sort of bio-weapon developed that actually managed to damage the beast mode so severely that the robot half actively tries to destroy the mode to protect itself." "Any ways to counter it?" asked Polar Claw somewhat hesitantly. "Sort of," replied Vixen. "You see, I managed to cure the virus, but the dosage was so intense that a lot of Optimus's systems are permanently set to try and kill the beast mode. I have to bond him with the armor that I was discussing with Optimus earlier - RATCHET has sort of nicknamed these new forms 'Transmetals'." Polar Claw nodded. "Anything else?" "Yes," replied Vixen. "I looked over the design specs for the Transmetal armor, and figured out that if I altered it somewhat, I could contain a third vehicular mode without risking energon overexposure. I've already set the CR Chambers to start constructing Bandit a new body in this style, and Stratosfire has already reported to be refitted. Ground Zero and Trailblazer volunteered to be converted as well." Again, Polar Claw nodded. *I'm starting to even like this,* he thought. "Keep me updated on this - it sounds like there are other applications for this technology -" The alarm klaxxons wailed to life throughout the massive Starrunner. "What is it?" asked Polar Claw of no-one in paticular. "Alarm signalled due to intruders in Security Grid Omega," replied the computer. "Oh." *Forgot it could do that.* Polar Claw rose and began heading towards the exit, hitting his communicator. "Ironhide, get a security team together. We're under attack." * * * * * * * * * * "Once, just _once_, could we NOT go into a situation where we get shot at?" "Shut up, Wingsmash," snapped Treadbolt as more weapons fire exploded around the mercs. Bringing his own laser lance to full power, Treadbolt raked the ground with the beam, and the Maximals rolled aside to avoid the deadly ray. "We can't sit here forever," sighed Wavequake. Turning on one of his seismic disruptors, Wavequake attached it to the ground, then braced himself. The disruptor went off, sending a massive quake through the ground at the Maximals. Ironhide stood his ground, but Grimlock and Skyvine were knocked off their feet. "Got 'em!" exclaimed Wingsmash eagerly. He began to advance towards the fallen Maximals, with Wavequake storming towards Ironhide. "Wait a minute..." began Airhammer. "I counted five Maximals before..." Without warning, Panthor and Blacpanther dropped onto Wingsmash and Wavequake. Wavequake tried to shove the much smaller Blacpanther off of him, but she clung fast, dropping to the ground and taking Wavequake with her. Panthor punched Wingsmash in the head, then sprang off of the mercenary and drew his quasar cannon. Before he could do anything, Treadbolt fired his wing missiles at Panthor, knocking the solid black Maximal away. Airhammer swept a quick spray of quasar bolts towards Ironhide as Airhammer transformed, and Wavequake broke free of Blacpanther's grip. Flying backwards, Panthor activated his rockets and righted himself, then flew towards Treadbolt with his quasar cannon firing relentlessly. Wavequake stood, and was assaulted by both Grimlock and Blacpanther. Airhammer swooped in on Ironhide, but the large Maximal blasted a gamma ray at Airhammer, knocking the merc out of the sky. Wingsmash regained his footing as well, then charged at Skyvine. Treadbolt flipped backwards, then brough his laser lance to bear and knocked Panthor out of the sky. Wavequake made a massive two-fisted swing, knocking Blacpanther and Grimlock backwards. As Airhammer landed, the former head of Autobot Security saw his advantage and took it. Charging forward, he extended his tusks to full length, and caught Airhammer between them. As the merc struggled to transform, Ironhide screeched to a halt and drew his gamma club back out of subspace, then hit Airhammer soundly on the head. The merc struggled, then passed out. Skyvine did not have the experience advantage that Ironhide had, but he did have the definite size advantage. Towering a good meter over Wingmash, Skyvine picked up the smaller merc and simply slammed him into the ground. WIngsmash went limp. Treadbolt and Wavequake turned to face Ironhide and Skyvine. Charging their weapons, they unleashed a massive stream of weaponry towards the pair. As the Maximals took cover, a patch of ground behind Treadbolt and Wavequake slid open to reveal Neogene and Bonecrusher riding a lift. The two mercs turned, but it was too late to react. Bonecrusher hit Treadbolt with a mouth missile, then slammed into the merc commander with his shoulder. Neogene armed himself, and slowly circled with Wavequake. Wavequake finally made a lunge, and Neogene dodged, then fired on the massive robot. Wavequake fell to the ground, unconcious. As Ironhide and Skyvine shackled Airhammer and Wingsmash, Bonecrusher and Neogene took care of Treadbolt and Wavequake. "Maximals four, Wackos zero," said Blacpanther as she and the others got back to their feet. * * * * * * * * * * Quickstrike continued to scutter along towards the Soundwave. "Once we get there, those clods won't know what hit 'em..." "We're not going there for a full-frontal assault, Quickstrike," said Skyshadow in a calm, measured tone as he glided through the air. Behind him, Aquastrike laughed deleriously as he smashed through a pair of trees. "Hahahaha... um, sorry, what were talking about?" Instigator laughed. "'Ey! Everybody! 'At bloke's so dumb, 'e can't even remember what we're doing! C'mon, let's laugh at 'im!" Quickstrike and Skyshadow both sighed. Instigator and Aquastrike were the basic equivalent of rowdy college frat boys that had the brains of soda cans and the weaponry of several small nations. "CUT IT OUT!" Quickstrike and Skyshadow yelled in unison. The two mercs shrank, but began giggling soon afterwards. "Hold it!" bellowed Inferno from the ground, drawing his cannon. "Land immediately or face the wrath of the agents of the Royalty!" Skyshadow transformed, and motioned for Aquasting to do the same. Aquasting transformed, and his large, awkward body smashed into Instigator. Before either of the two could start something, Quickstrike transformed as well, and the others simply transformed and stood silently. The four mercenaries stood in a line. Standing in front of them were Inferno, Lazorbeak, Manterror, and a badly damaged Buzz Saw. Both sides were twitching towards their weapons. "Go ahead, punk," said Quickstrike, increasing his accent even more. "Make my day." Lazorbeak went for his blaster. Skyshadow whipped out his pincher. Inferno drew his cannon. Quickstrike's snake arm whipped up. Buzz Saw brought out his launcher. Intsigator brought his cannons to bear. Manterror poised to flip out a razor disk. Aquastring let out his launcher. They all fired. Quickstrike carefully opened one optic. The mercs and Preds were both still standing, guns out and smoke rising to indicate the discharge. "Now," said Skyshadow. The Preds slowly tipped, then fell backwards. "Impressive, yessss," said a deep voice. The mercs turned to see it's source. A gleaming gold Tyrranosaur stood before them. Behind stretched a brightly reflective silver tail, waving idlly back and forth. On its sides were huge purple fans, slowly rotating. A sharply angled, bright purple head sat atop this, cocked to one side imperiously. Without a sound, the mechanical monstrosity flipped, split, and folded, and before them stood the shining Predacon leader. "Feel free to draw," Megatron said sarcastically. * * * * * * * * * * There were arguably a few things bad about the landing site that the mercenaries had chosen. One thing was that it was more or less a polar bear in a coal shed to most scanners. Another was the fact that it landed while venting its plasma ducts, causing it to produce an extra-noticible evergy signature. The most notable, however, would be the fact that it was at best a kilometer from the Decepticon base. "Are we THERE yet?" moaned Cutout. His sleek sportscar mode was not suited to this terrain, and he knew he would look simply TERRIBLE when he got back to base. Of course, he might not have Nightdagger around to impress anymore, but there were other females, and he was an attractive male Decepticon. He could hardly be expected to wait for her to get back! "For the last time, YES!!!" grumbled Rebound and Roadrunner. Neither of them much cared for the vain demolitionist. He claimed he wanted to keep as clean as possible, yet he wanted to get as close as possible to the ship "for theatrical value". When this was pointed out to him, he looked confused and asked, quite honestly suprised, "You mean you aren't going to carry me?" "You're just jealous," snipped Cutout, transforming. "All right, we're close enough. Come over here." Rebound landed and transformed. Roadrunner screeched to a halt and transformed. Cutout handed them each an explosive. "Now, both of you run along and place these under the ship's engines." "Hey!" snapped Roadrunner. "You said we were close enough!" "'We' are," replied Cutout, perfectly calm. "But you two aren't. Now run along and do your jobs." Grumbling overabundantly, the two warriors took the explosives and started towards the ship. A megacycle later, they returned, charges planted. Cutout, meanwhile, was comtemplating how he would look with a gold paint job instead of his bronze one. "Ah, good, you're back," he said, standing. Drawing a small control unit from subspace, he pressed a button. The charges went off, and the mercenary ship exploded in a plume of smoke and flame. Roadrunner and Rebound watched fascinated. Roadrunner had a feeling that most of this was just to show off in front of her - among other things, Cutout was a notorious womanizer. *Still, * she thought, *if this was meant to impress me, it's working.* Rebound wasn't thinking about anything like that. Since he was male, to him, Cutout merely was an irritating gearhead that was overly vain, and somehow managed to Join with virtually every female on Cybertron. "Come on," he said, turning. "Shardwing and Twistout gave us our orders..." Cutout, meanwhile, was busy talking with Roadrunner. Of course, they both knew his intent, but she seemed willing in this case, for whatever reason. Cutout's mind, however, was already thinking about how broken up Shardwing must be over Nightdagger's disappearence... and how conveniently he could become a shoulder to cry on... * * * * * * * * * * With a gentle hiss, the CR Chamber opened to reveal the medroom. Vixen and RATCHET both looked towards the results, and gasped in suprise. "Well?" asked Cheetor, admiring his sharp angles and his silver bracers. "Do I look as cool as I think I do?" Rhinox stood, bright blue and silver. "This will take some getting used to..." Between the two of them stepped Optimus. More slender, more compact, Optimus's powerful form looked almost legendary. "This is... incredible," breathed Optimus in shock. All three looked towards Airazor's chamber, and were suprised to find that it remained shut. "Is something wrong?" asked Optimus, stepping forward. Still shocked at the incredible sight of the Transmetals, Vixen seemed a little slow in reactivating the main display. "Her body doesn't appear to be taking to the Transmetal body very well," she replied. "She'll be fine, but she'll be in there a little longer." Polar Claw stepped in. "Vixen, I wanted to discuss -" He noticed the Transmetals. "Primus," he breathed. "I take it he got temporary command?" asked Primal. Vixen nodded. "Glad to see you back in action," said Polar Claw with a nod and a hint of cynicism. "If nobody minds, I think I'll be heading back to my squad about now." Primal nodded. "All right. Try to get the base up as soon as -" Before Optimus could finish, Polar Claw had already exited the medroom. Practically knocking over his crewmates as he approached the exit, Polar Claw transformed as he was brought up to the surface. "What's that all about?" asked Rhinox. "It's a long story," replied Optimus, still admiring his body. "Vixen, can you give us the briefing on these new forms?" "Certainly," she replied, bringing up a display. "The bonding of the quantum metal to your systems altered you in both beast mode and robot mode. You're no longer subject to energon overload, and you also gained a semi-third mode. Cheetor, you'll find your cheetah mode is capable of extending wings and flying. Rhinox, your rhino form can convert to a sort of rhino-tank. And Optimus, your gorilla mode can use a hoverboard, giving you a flight ability in both modes." Optimus nodded. "I'm looking forward to seeing us in combat. Any other orders of business?" "Yeah," replied Vixen. "We've got four unknown intruders in custody, and we were hoping to try and figure out why they're here. Care to join in the fun?" "Certainly," said Optimus with a nod. Almost on cue, the lights flickered a bit. "Slag it! I thought that engineering was working on that! Where the Inferno are Razorbeast and Hamstor?" "I have no idea," replied Vixen. "They seem to have deactivated their comms." She sighed. "Something tells me that whatever they're doing, it'll end in me having to fix them, and then I'll get to spend even LESS time with Dives..." Optimus chuckled. "Marriage becomes you, Vixen," he said, heading towards the brig. Vixen and RATCHET both looked at each other, then waited a moment. Optimus ducked back in. "Er... do either of you know how to get to the brig?" he asked sheepishly. * * * * * * * * * * Wingsmash rammed into the force field again. Thrown back into the opposite wall, he brushed himself off, then rammed full-barrel towards the force field. "Reminds me of you," chuckled RATCHET to Grimlock. The Maximal Security Chief whirled around to see the holographic doctor idilly sitting there, leaning against a wall. "How the devil did you get here?" growled Grimlock. "Well, Razorbeast and Hamstor made some modifications while they were working on the lighting system," replied RATCHET. "I can now project from any light fixture on the ship. Right now, I'm projecting from that bank up there." "That one?" asked Grimlock, pointing at it. "Yep." Grimlock blasted the fixture repeatedly with his eye beams. "Snappish," shouted RATCHET before he winked out. Optimus and Vixen strode into the room. Optimus glanced up and noticed the destroyed light fixture. "Was there a power surge?" he asked. "Sort of," replied Grimlock. "Here to interrogate the prisoners?" Optimus and Vixen nodded. "Would you like to have the honor...?" asked Vixen. "I've never been very comfortable with the procedure." Grimlock nodded in response, then stood, fixed his gaze upon Treadbolt, and shut off the forcefield. Treadbolt was suprised enough to let Grimlock get in before he began to react, but by the time he had taken a defensive posture, Grimlock had already slammed the merc against the wall, charging his eye beams ominously. "Who sent you?" asked Grimlock. Any qualms Treadbolt might have formed about telling the truth were quickly shoved from his mind as he recalled stories about how vicious the legendary Autobot was. "Xenadon of the Decepticons," he replied. Vixen strained her mind and quickly scanned Treadbolt. "He's telling the truth," she announced, fighting a slight sense of nausea. "When did you get that sort of telepathy?" asked Optimus, suprised. "I've been practicing," she replied. Grimlock was not terribly interested. "What is your mission?" he growled, putting a little more pressure on Treadbolt. Treadbolt squirmed. "Look, if it's all the same to you -" "It isn't," replied the three Maximals in unison. Treadbolt gave the best facsimile of a shrug that he could under his current conditions. "Fine. I don't know. I'm just commanding the four of us. We were sent here to scout, but we don't know why." Vixen did another mind-scan. "I don't think he's lying," she said, gripping the nearby bulkhead. "I'm not entirely sure, though - I'm not a paticularly powerful psion." Optimus nodded. "I trust your judgement," he said. "Grimlock, you can let him go now." Grimlock seemed to pout. "If you ask ME, any interrogation session where the subject doesn't get harmed is a sorry excuse." "Well, YOU can get harmed if you want," suggested RATCHET, projecting from another light fixture. He turned to Optimus and Vixen. "Are there any rage management seminars on the ship? I think Grimmers could use a couple of 'em." "Shut up," snapped Grimlock, dropping Treadbolt and exiting the cell as he turned the force field back on. He headed towards his quarters. "What do you mean by that?" asked Optimus as he and Vixen headed down the hall. RATCHET followed behind, switching light fixtures frequently. "Well," he began, "I was just innocently talking to Grimmers before you came in when..." "Any ideas on how to get out of here?" asked Wavequake when the four mercs were certain the Maximals were out of earshot. "Yeah," replied Treadbolt, nodding his head towards his right hand. Treadbolt had managed to place his hand on one of the projectors on the top of the doorframe before Grimlock activated the field, giving him a small opening to stick his arm through. Withdrawing his hand until his claws rested in the projector groove, he let loose a minor electrical discharge, temporarily frying the field projectors. He quickly stepped out as the field re- initialized itself, sealing him off from his cell. "Nice work," admitted Wavequake. "I try," replied Treadbolt. Repairing his weapons, he aimed his wingtip missiles at the control panel and blasted it. The force fields snapped off, and the mercs took the opportunity to step out of the cells, repairing their weapons as they came out. "Don't you think that they'll figure out we escaped?" asked Wingsmash as he looked at the sparking control panel. "With any luck, they'll be distracted for a little while, and we'll be long gone by the time they have a chance to look," said Treadbolt, tossing laser lances to the rest of his crew. "Now come on. We'd better get back to the ship." * * * * * * * * * * "So we're agreed, then," said Megatron with a slow nod. "Of course," replied Quickstrike. "The four of us enlist under your command, provided that we are given approriate payment when we depart." "I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Megatron, standing. He looked over to his fellow Transmetals, Waspinator and Tarantulas. Flatline had not finished with Terrorsaur, but for all Megatron cared, he could wait for a while. "Now, I want you to prepare for an immediate assault. With the combined force of the Transmetals and Fuzors, the Maximals cannot possibly hope to triumph!" "But with so many more troops -" began Tarantulas, slightly nervous. Megatron rapped his cannon against the air, letting it charge ominously. "Optimus will not attack us with greater numbers. He's just that foolish. With any luck, his crew will still be largely disorganized." "And if that fails?" asked Quickstrike. "I'm not going to go on a suicide mission, and I doubt my troops will be very keen on the idea either." "That's where _I_ come in," said Headlock, standing next to Megatron. "I've re-wired a magna-pulse generator to temporarily impair the motor control center via the beast mode. Transmetals and Fuzors are immune, however, because the Transmetal armor blocks the signal, and the fused beast modes don't provide a clear enough passageway to the inner robot. Still, it should leave us facing a handful of robots." "What about you?" "I won't be there, I'll just be operating the controls," replied Headlock. "The seven of you will be the REAL heroes. You'll be winning the Predacon's greatest victory ever." Megatron nodded in confirmation. "For better or worse, this assault will be a defining factor in the Beast Wars..." * * * * * * * * * * Snarl double-checked the scanners. No denying it. "We've got incoming!" he exclaimed. "Four airborne, three ground-based, all approaching at high speeds. Three of them appear to have Transmetal construction, and four are constructed with beast modes similar to those of our current prisoners. Two of the airbornes are carrying what looks like a magna-pulse generator!" "Activate perimiter artillery," said B'boom with practiced calm. "Bring shields to full power, bring ship to alert status 5, get structural readouts, and do it QUICKLY!" As Snarl was about to comply, many miles away, Headlock pressed a single button. A massive explosion discharged from the generator. As Snarl reached to begin the series of events that would carry out B'boom's orders, he froze silent, still concious, but unable to move. Optimus noticed the change as Vixen froze in place. "What the devil?" he asked. RATCHET was inspecting her as best he could. Optimus looked up. "Vixen?" he asked. Optimus was suprised. She'd never had this level of power before... The Maximal leader nodded. Turning, he dashed down the hall to find Cheetor and Rhinox. The holographic medic looked up. "I was unaware that telepaths could contact holograms." RATCHET nodded. "What do you need me to do?" Once again, RATCHET nodded. "I'm on my way," he said, winking out to the medroom. Vixen just had one more thing to do. Letting her full power surge out, she contacted a most familiar mind. Another psychic message surged with hers, and the link was cemented. replied Vixen, feeling his mind intertwine with hers. * * * * * * * * * * Treadbolt had planted a camera in the tree they had hid behind earlier, and activated it now. "Looks bad for the Maximals," he said. He felt a lump in his throat. "Treadbolt, you've got that look in your eye," said Airhammer, waggling a finger. Treadbolt sighed as he changed course. "We're heading off to help them," he announced. *Boy, I'm gonna hate myself in the morning..." * * * * * * * * * * Optimus, Rhinox, and Cheetor launched themselves out of the ship, weapons drawn. "Let's rock," said Optimus with a narrow glare. "Kill them, preferably slowly," said Megatron dismissively. "We outnumber them more than two to one." "Not quite!" shouted Wavequake. The Predacons turned to see the four mercs facing them, weapons bared. "Treadbolt!" exclaimed Quickstrike, walking towards the merc leader. "I assume that you came to help the winning urk!" The next word was theoretically "side", but it would never be spoken, because Treadbolt had already hit Quickstrike with a fierce assault. Optimus was unsure about trusting these mercenaries, but he didn't seem to have much choice - or chance - otherwise. "Maximals, ATTACK!" he shouted. Waspinator transformed to his jet mode. "Wazzpinator KILL!!!" he exclaimed. "Oh, get slagged," snapped Cheetor. Transforming to beast mode, he extended his wings and took off towards Waspinator. Waspinator was puzzled. "Cat-bot is... flying. Why must world make life hard for poor Waspinator?" Streaking towards Waspinator, Cheetor extended his claws. Waspinator dove, and pulled up hard, but was somewhat out of practice flying jets, being used to the high agility of his wasp mode, and his shots went wild. Cheetor was also a little clumsy in the air, but the force of his jets allowed him to more or less use the same tactics in the air as on the ground. Rolling towards Waspinator, he slammed into the jet-insect, sending both of them tumbling through the air. Cheetor banked and brough himself to a stop, but Waspinator simply turned and fired, tearing into Cheetor. Tarantulas saw the situation, and took an action that came naturally to him. He transformed to vehicle mode and tried to streak away from the battlefield. With a bound that one would not expect from such a massive Transformer, Rhinox catapaulted towards Tarantulas. Reaching into subspace, he yanked loose his chaingun and began firing. Tarnatulas was knocked off balance, but quickly transformed and tried to activate his leg-guns. Massive numbers of bullets streamed forth, blackening the sky as they headed for Rhinox. Rhinox cringed at first, but found that his armor could shrug off the bullets like raindrops. He advanced towards Tarnatulas, but the scientist was fast enough to dodge Rhinox's blasts, leaving the two of them locked in a stream of bullets. Airhammer preferred to avoid confrontation whenever posssible, but he could see that was unlikely. However, he was terrified when he saw the large, burly Aquasting come barreling towards him. "Destroy..." hissed the burly robot as he transformed. With uncompromising brutality, Aquasting struck Airhammer in the back, nearly snapping the beast mode's spine. Transforming, Airhammer let loose a swath of missiles, then dived and banked away, hoping to find some sort of terrain advantage. As he saw Aquasting close in, however, he realized that he was not going to find one in time. Aquasting's hard body collided with his, and Airhammer felt his metal skin crumple and split. Feeling himself black out, Airhammer unloaded upon Aquasting with his missiles as Aquasting hit him again and he fell unconcious. Instigator transformed and started towards where Aquasting stood over Airhammer, figuring that he could get in an easy kill. Before he could reach his destination, however, Wingsmash slammed into him in beast mode, then transformed and attacked. Pleased, Instigator brought up his arms to meet the charge and grapple. He preferred close combat to that long-range junk. His block, however, was misplaced as Wingsmash lowered his head and rammed his former teammate in the gut. The two tumbled backwards, trading blows ferociously. Instigator rolled onto his back and snapped his legs straight, kicking Wingsmash off of him, and then brough his cannons to bear - the long-range junk was good for SOMETHING. Wingsmash rolled to one side to avoid the blasts, then leaped towards Instigator and tripped him, snapped off the cannons and resumed trading blows. Wavequake charged blindly into battle, looking for something to smash. Decloaking behind him, Skyshadow slashed into the large mercenary's back, taunting him to engage Skyshadow. As Wavequake turned, Skyshadow reactivated his cloak, then transformed and glided over Wavequake's head. As he transformed and decloaked, Skyshadow was suprised when Wacequake backhanded him away, knocking him to the ground. Undaunted, Skyshadow let loose with a couple of plasma blasts from his claw, then cloaked and dodged to one side. Wavequake expected the nimble robot to come up behind him, and swung behind himself, but Skyshadow decloaked to his side, stabbed his claw into Wavequake's side, and let loose a massive plasma burst into Wavequake, sending the massive merc to his knees. Treadbolt let go of Quickstirke, and saw Optimus having trouble with Megatron. Transforming, he glided over to help. Optimus brough his megacannons over his shoulder and unloaded upon Megatron, and Treadbolt unleashed his powerful wing missiles. However, Megatron had always been extremely powerful, and the Transmetal armor only increased that. He was taking damage, but suprisingly little, and he rapped his cannon against the air as he blasted Treadbolt. Optimus took the opportunity to draw his gun and fire, but Megatron recovered quickly and blasted Optimus with his shoulder cannons. Treadbolt took to the sky again, and he and Optimus circled Megatron cautiously. The Predacons and Maximals regrouped. Wingsmash broke away from Instigator, and Rhinox knocked Tarantulas away. Only Treadbolt, Wingsmash, Rhinox, and Optimus remained for the Maximals, but all of the Predacons remained, albeit battered. "Once again, Optimus, the odds are in our favor," hissed Megatron with an evil grin. "It is time to press that advantage." Before Megatron could say anything more, four energon darts whisteled past the Maximals and shredded his shoulder. "What in Inferno is this?" snapped the Predacon leader, looking towards the source of the darts. A very familiar voice answered him. "They're called energon darts," said a slightly taller, slimmer, more robotic and compact, and both beautiful and deadly Bandit, her characteristic half- smirk displayed towards the Predacon leader. Behind her were Trailblazer and Ground Zero, both reworked as well, and hovering above them was Stratosfire. The Maximals armed all of their weapons, Ground Zero's multiple launchers making an especially loud noise. Suddenly, the damaged Predacons were faced with many, many gun muzzles, all trained directly on them. "Perhaps I was a wee bit hasty in my assumption of superiority," said Megatron hastily, his troops backing off. "Too bad," said Optimus. "Fire at will." "Don't you mean Megatron?" asked Ground Zero, genuinely confused. Ignoring him, Bandit unleashed a stream of energon darts towards the Predacons. The others quickly followed suit, and the Predacons turned and dashed off at full speed, battered, bruised, and thoroughly unhappy. Cheetor came around, and transformed to robot mode. He glanced to one side and noticed the magna-pulse generator. "I think we could do without THAT," he said, blasting the generator. It shattered into a million shards. "Let's go inside," said Optimus as he gathered up Airhammer while Ground Zero grabbed Wavequake. "I think we've got a few things to talk about." * * * * * * * * * * "YOU MISERABLE EXCUSES FOR DIGITAL CALCULATORS!!!" Megatron finally calmed down and sank into his throne at the center of the cliffs. "Aquasting, did you at least get a scan of those new warriors?" Aquasting nodded. Unfortunately, due to the fact that his body was somewhat poorly constructed, this caused him to fall forward, which made him hit Instigator, who fell forward as well, at which point Scorponok fell also - as usual, for no apparent reason. "Hey!" snapped Quickstrike. "Nobody orders my troops around -" Megatron finally smiled. "Until the Maximals are destroyed, you are in my employ, since your ship is - gone." "Gone?" gasped the mercs. "Precisely," replied Megatron. "Completely oblitherated. Meaning that you are now Predacons - and you'll have to learn to live with it." Stammered half-protests emerged as Megatron headed towards the air-exit portal. "Sir?" asked Scorponok. "Where are you going?" "To take care of some unfinished business," replied Megatron. He had already taken a short rest in the CR Chamber, unlike the rest of his troops. "You're in command until I return." Spreading his fans, he rocketed off towards the north. Scorponok thought for a moment. "Inferno, get over here and carry me so we can follow Megatron!" He realized he would need to put someone else in charge and glanced for someone, anyone. "Uhh... Blackarachnia, you're in charge until me or Megatron gets back!" Scorponok and Inferno rocketed off, neither of them realizing what Scorponok had just said. Blackarachnia, however, smirked evily. "I love that moron." * * * * * * * * * * "You don't remember ANYTHING?" Bandit was obviously getting very upset at this interrogation. "Look, Trailblazer, I know the basics of this world thanks to some stuff fed to me via the CR chamber, but other than that, I remember nothing. Zero, zip, zilch, nada." Trailblazer could not believe that. "You don't remember our wedding on Cybertron? Our volunteering for this mission? When I nearly got killed thanks to Dinobot? When you got blown up by the Decepticons? NOTHING???" "NO!!" shouted Bandit, suprised at how loudly she said it. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just another guy off the street! And if this is your best impression, you're a jerk!" Trailblazer's expression drooped. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, and turned, then exited her quarters. Outside, he nearly ran headlong into Nightpounce. "Hey," she said, recognizing Trailblazer, although she didn't actually know him all that well. "What's wrong?" "Relationship problems," he replied. She smiled sympathetically. "I know how you feel. Do you want to talk about it?" Trailblazer looked up. "Sure, why not," he mumbled. Nightpounce and he fell into step together, heading towards the medlab. "I think if me and Vixen can't help - well, I think we can..." * * * * * * * * * * Far, far away, the keeper of the Arena, the self-appointed keeper of the energon project, known to the Transformers as Mercutio, began a long and dangerous transformation at the hands of Hamlet... "There is punishment for failure, Mercutio," hissed Hamlet. "And we will yet see if this is the correct punishment."