After Earth
Whetting Calamity’s Appetite
By: Sapphire
Writer's Note: This story starts off on the same day (or night, rather) as
‘When The Tide Has Turned’ did.
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Part One – Warning Signs
Optimus smiled as he drove his cyber car along the air freeway. In the seat next to him was Snow Crystal, chatting away excitedly about her visit to northern Cybertron and about everything she did when she met up with her family. She had been born up at the ice caps, hence the name. She was a beautiful, good natured and intelligent female he had been acquainted to at work just less than 8 months ago. She was in fact an air captain, and one of the only female pilots he knew of in such a high rank. Since they first met, they had become good friends often racing each other in the skies with their streamlined, latest technology make of ship, whenever the Generals weren’t looking and whenever they had time on their hands. She was such a dare devil and so much fun to race, as well as to be with. They were good friends, often going out and visiting each other. But that was all they were. Friends. Even though Optimus himself, was prepared to be more than just friends, if she ever wanted to.. There was nothing to hide from himself, he had fallen in love with her and that was that. It was very strange for him, he had never wanted to be in love, or date or marry or anything of the sort. He’d always been focussed at what he did, and pretty much nothing else. He liked being in control; he liked being boss. But fate was something he couldn’t control, and if this was his decided path, so be it.
The lights from the city blurred past as he sped on towards her apartment where he’d drop her off so he didn’t speed too quickly. Every second with her was precious.
Beside him, she chattered on happily, telling him of the delicious energon cakes her grandmother made, and of how she had met a human who had introduced her to skiing and snow boarding. After the Great War, some humans had stayed behind, although not many. So it was special for her to have come across this man she spoke of, and to learn what she did from him.
“Jacob’s such a good skiing teacher! I watched others listening to robot teachers and they were forever falling and stumbling, but I got the hang of it almost immediately, but maybe that’s just me, I am pretty weird…but that’s beside the point. Oh Optimus, it was so much fun, and the snow-covered mountains are so beautiful! Even if I lived there for ten years, I’m still awed at just how spectacular they are! But then Jacob showed me pictures of places on earth. Wow, they’re amazing. They’re breath taking! You are so lucky you got to see earth. Maybe we’ll get a mission someday that will require us to go to the Himalayas. That is the name of the place Jacob showed me. Wouldn’t that be great? We could both race against each other over the mountains, and build snow bots and try and eat fruit cake, although I doubt it’d be good for our systems!” She said, far too quickly. But that was just how she was.
He was nodding all the way, listening calmly as she talked like there was no tomorrow, her sparkling cherry eyes contrasting beautifully to her white and silver body.
“Yes, that would be nice. Though I’d prefer it to be a holiday, just for once.” He commented.
She was quick to respond.
“Yeah, me too. Then our time will be our own. Jacob actually said he used to live in Namibia, but came up to the mountains often. I looked up Namibia on the Cybernet, and it is just like snow covered fields, except it is covered in sand. It’s magical, just expansions of nothing. A desert, so beautiful in its own way. Maybe we can go there too, though my white colouring would probably blind every human around us, but at least we won’t get lost that way.” She laughed.
He rolled his eyes with a smile. She was so enthusiastic!
Eventually he pulled over to her apartment, and it was good timing too as she was about to start talking about how her grandmother knew ancient remedies for getting rid of sand in the gears, once they returned from this ‘dream trip.’
He stopped the cyber car and got out and opened the door for her, even though with the press of a button she could have opened it herself. He was just a little old fashioned, but he liked that.
She stepped out, her cheeks almost pink with health and life.
She was vibrant with positive energy and bubbling with ideas and things she wanted to say, but she managed to suppress them.
He escorted her to the front door of the building before he stopped and smiled shyly.
“Thanks for the dinner Op, it was really nice. You always take me to the nicest places.” She complimented, a broad smile on her face.
He looked down, slightly embarrassed.
“Well, I try my best.”
“Sure you do. That’s why you’re in the militaristic position you are! But honestly, I think it’s a lot to do with just being a nice guy. Thanks for being just that, I’ll always value it, no matter where you take me.” She said, calming down a little bit, her voice softer.
He blushed. He really didn’t know what to say.
“Well…I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He said quietly.
She looked at him knowingly.
“It’s ok Op, don’t be nervous! It’s me here! Remember? I’m your pal. Here, this is just a little thank you present.” She said, and leant over.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning on her heels and heading inside.
“Good night Optimus, and thanks!” She called as she turned to face him momentarily.
He smiled dreamily.
“Um, yes. Good night Snowy.”
She smiled happily and disappeared inside.
He stood there, in the cold night air, but he didn’t feel it. He was just feeling too warm and fuzzy to care.
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Snow Crystal smiled satisfactorily. Optimus had been so kind to her, and she finally felt that she had somewhat repaid the favour, if only a little. She had guessed his feelings for her were a little more beyond friendship, but what she admired about him was that he had the patience and decency to keep it that way for however long it took her to respond in the same way. Which she might or might not do. She enjoyed her independence, her freedom and lack of commitment. And she valued that. But she also understood that Optimus was one of a kind, and that if she ever wanted to get into a permanent relationship, who better than him? Still, she was young; she had much of her life ahead of her, and her decisions had to be made very carefully at this time in her life.
She sighed slightly as she walked along the passage to the elevator. There in the lift was Batrilex, her next -door neighbour. He was a friendly, well-mannered bot that she had basically no trouble with. She stepped in and he greeted her with a smile.
“Evening.” She said smiling faintly.
“Evening.”
The two ascended silently. Usually she struck up a conversation quite quickly, but she was a bit preoccupied at the moment. Finally, she was out of the lift and at her apartment. When she got inside, she found herself a little tired, even though it was still early. She moved over, grabbing a packet of energon snacks, (variety of food for robots was dismal) and slumped in front of the TV, crunching away thoughtfully. She switched it on and was greeted by reports. All across the screen were images of medic cyber cars, police vans and reporters rushing around in a stifling sense of chaos. She stared at it, not actually focussing on anything or listening, her mind was astray. But she eventually snapped out of her trance and took a little interest when she saw the tell tale images of black bags being carried out on stretchers. She knew that there were dead bodies in those bags, and although it was nothing terribly unusual, after wars and things, it still startled her to see them being carried along a road she drove across often when she worked at the base at Nystrin.
She turned up the volume a bit and concentrated on the reporter ahead of her.
“The two fugitive murderers, the names are being withheld, are to be taken into a forensic laboratory for further investigation. The cause of death was of a presumed accidental detonation, however, this is still not confirmed.”
She dropped the packet of chips and leant closer, her optics narrowing.
“The owner of the apartment, Rattrap Vermox, is no where to be found, however, information received reveals that he was seen ‘shooting out’ of a laboratory after having what is thought to be a transmetal upgrade. Police will answer very little on this situation of transmetal technology being available to the general public, but the fact that he had an upgrade today may account for why the presumed assassins would be looking for him, to learn of where and how he gained this technology.” The reporter went on.
Snow Crystal was trembling now. Earlier Optimus had told her in secret that he was going in for an upgrade that it was to be offered to him by a friend scientist in Nystrin.
And that was tomorrow. If what the reporter said was true, his life may be in danger…
She reached for the phone when suddenly the television went off.
By itself.
She stared at it dumbly for a while, before grabbing the remote control. She clicked it, but nothing happened. The TV was dead. She frowned and looked around. The silence was scaring her.
She heard a crash coming from the kitchen and the sound of glass shattering. She shrieked with fright and spun to face the open frame kitchen behind. Nothing, just a broken glass. She must’ve left it on the edge of the cleanbar and gravity finally got the upper hand. She stared at it before slowly getting up and heading for the telephone. The lights went off.
She froze, trying to keep a cool head and quietly moved over in the same direction, knowing she’d come into contact with a table in a moment. Her breathing quickened as fear rose up inside of her and she clambered with hot palms to the table. She threw her hand on its icy cold metal surface and began feeling for it. She couldn’t find it. There was a loud clattering noise and she looked up to see her window was open, and the blinds were moving back and forth rapidly. There was a whisper that wrapped around her and the air suddenly became very, very cold. She backed away from the table and crawled under it, shuddering with terror. The wind breathed a ghostly, remorseful tune and whispers of her name taunting her became even louder. The noise of the blinds increased and as she breathed out, her breath became misty. Robots aren’t nearly as warm as humans, so to breath out mist means it must be bitterly cold. And she could feel that…
Something cold brushed against her arm and she screamed and jerked to her left. She turned and saw in the eerie moonlight the telephone, highlighted on the floor under the table. But there was something white cloaked over the handle. She looked up slowly, trembling and dead ahead of her, not less than 40 centimetres away, was a white face, smiling mirthlessly, with dark rimmed eyes. But she could see through this face in white transparency, and that is what brought her to the heights of her panic. A scream rose up in her throat, but she was too petrified to let it out and all she did was stare, trembling uncontrollably, from the cold and the fear. The face twisted into a grinning one, and it, no, it was a her, her eyes darkened and deepened.
The face was attached to a transparent robotic body, which was kneeling behind the telephone, one of its hands holding it. She watched as the ghost, without even looking down rammed her finger into it and with one pull, snapped the phone in half. There was a loud clack that seemingly echoed and she saw from the corner of her eye the doors locking shut, the window closing.
Snow Crystal began to whimper.
The ghost shook her head and put a finger over her lips.
Then, she disappeared, fading away into the air.
An even colder breeze whirled around her and she felt an airy finger touch her cheek, before the air returned to its normal, warm temperature. The lights flickered on, but the doors remained locked, and the phone broken.
She remained there, trembling, too terrified to move.
Whatever it was, it had delivered its message with numbing accuracy.
She was to remain silent, Optimus could not know.
Snow Crystal was numbly surprised that she could even process the thought in her current condition. It was as though something otherworldly had happened to her in another dimension, or timeframe, but in reality, where she had just returned to, nothing had happened at all.
She didn’t know where that explanation came from, but she found her mind working over time trying to remember the face. But it was fading out of her memory rapidly, all the features running like water into a drying puddle.
And a few moments later, she found herself clueless as to what had happened, and all she knew was that she was under the table, shivering.
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The moon shone brilliantly into the arena and further helped light it up. All the stage lights were on and an eerie excitement wafted through the night air. The stands were full and an excited chatter rose up around her. She loved night duels; it was one of her favourite things. When the opponents stood facing each other with a sense of dread yet, a strong thrill. And the lights went off and the battle began. The best ones were laser fighting, which required ducking and diving behind various objects and hunting each other down. But the sword fighting was also exciting, because you had to see in infra red and that could be quite confusing, and the victorious one was often the one who grew accustomed to the infra - red first. But tonight was her night as they would be having a laser duel, and she was going to be fighting for the first time in months. Adrenaline surged through her veins as she watched Zak take on Kyla below. It was then the stands grew quiet as no communication was allowed to give away the positions of either one. Everyone watched in silence, some bets were made and all in all, it was an exhilarating atmosphere.
Diamond made no bets as she knew both to be virtually equal in strength, agility and skill. It was going to be neck and neck, and she loved it. When the lights went off both had exactly three nano-clicks to take cover behind any object in the arena; then the actual fight began. Diamond winked at Kyla who smiled back happily, she also loved this kind of fighting.
“Take positions.” Dinobot called and both turned and faced each other.
Zak glowered at Kyla and she stared back challengingly.
“And your time starts…now!”
Both sharply turned and ran in opposite directions. Kyla toppled over a metal box and leopard crawled behind another, further back. Zak just ran as fast as he could and suddenly stopped and rolled behind the closest cover, whereas Kyla had already chosen her spot carefully.
The three nano-clicks were up and there was an unsettled silence. Everyone could see Zak rise up slowly behind two metallic boulders and peer through the crack between them. Kyla was lying flat on the ground, staring just to the right of her box right at the object she guessed him to be behind.
And she guessed right.
As soon as she saw the movement she fired and a split-nano-click later the boulder had a hole channelling through it. Zak had ducked and rolled across and suddenly stood and fired violently to where the shot had come from. But Kyla had anticipated that move and had crawled back so quickly she has grazed so badly they were bleeding. She fired twice at her target and he received one of the blows. He tumbled backwards but was quick to recover. There was no time for pain in this game, as if you left your guard for so much as a second, your opponent could be standing over you with a gun aimed at your head. But Kyla took advantage of this and sprinted across, closing in on him. He rose up and fired, knocking her leg as she dived behind a pile of poles. She landed awkwardly and a moment later, he shot at the poles which came tumbling down. She scrambled forward but it was too late. One of the heavy poles had landed on her injured right leg and she was immobilised. But not defeated.
She winced in pain and currently the audience could not see her behind one of the objects and the remaining poles. She raised up her top half and caught sight of a shadow moving swiftly, towards her. She remained silent.
Zak advanced quickly and bots were straining to see if Kyla was all right.
He became incredibly close to the poles but was cautious. He raised his gun and aimed for the poles but suddenly a blast sounded off and he instinctively ducked. But the first blast was not aimed at him; she had actually shot the pole off her leg and now aimed at the closest object. And hit. He was about two feet away but felt the impact and the heat of the short explosion against his face. He glanced down at his chest to make sure the padding around where his spark would be was still in place. It was friendly game. Yes, you could get hurt but you weren’t in danger of dying, as both sides knew not to fire to kill, but rather to injure slightly and immobilise.
With this in mind, he took a daring step closer to the piles of poles, only to discover she wasn’t there. Kyla had slipped off quietly behind a nearby object and suddenly she fastened her hand around his ankle and knocked him over. She shot the gun out of his hand and aimed hers at his head.
“Check mate!” She cried.
Gentle applause rose up as the duel was officially ended.
Kyla moved away and Zak got up.
“Jeez, beaten again buy another girl.” He muttered.
She frowned.
“Ah, well played.” He snorted.
“You too.” She said.
Dinobot approached them and gave a sulky Zak a pat on the back before congratulating Kyla.
“Well done, you’ve improved dramatically. I think that’s the first time you’ve beaten Zak.” He remarked.
Zak threw up his arms in defeat and disappeared into the crowds.
“Yeah, and he’s not too happy about it.” She chuckled.
Dinobot shook his head.
“Some are just like that.”
Kyla nodded and sang happily on her way back to the stands.
She was a bubbly little thing.
Dinobot checked his list to see who had wanted to fight in tonight’s duels and who had yet to do so. He had only Zyda and Diamond.
He sighed. It was pretty obvious those two didn’t like each other, but there was really no point in looking for others to fight a second time with each of them just so they could avoid each other. Besides, in a war, you usually dislike the enemy.
“Diamond, Zyda, you two are up next.” He called.
Zyda’s face dropped and Diamond started mouthing ‘no’s’ and ‘not her’.
He just summoned her to come down with his hands and showed he was not taking no as an answer. Diamond knew all eyes were on her, so with a sigh, she got up and started heading down to the arena.
Well, at least it was a chance to beat the slag out of her…
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Tourmaline collapsed on the grass and closed her eyes, allowing to take in beautiful breaths of air that had been so difficult to catch up till now. When they had heard the police coming, so soon, they had ended up breaking into a sprint and heading for the park, the closest refuge. Rattrap hadn’t transformed as the light from the blasters would have given them away, so he too was exhausted. He collapsed beside her and all they could hear was the hoarse sound of each others breathing.
Tourmaline groggily opened her eyes. It was an awkward feeling. She had been so tired a few moments before, then she suddenly found herself running with an adrenaline surge big enough to support her through a marathon! But now, as it eased off in her veins, she was left with a frustrating amount of renewed energy, even though mentally she was exhausted. Eventually her gasps became smaller and she got her breath back, although her spark was still vibrating from the rush of adrenaline.
“Phew! Now that was close!” Rattrap exclaimed once he’d caught his breath.
He glanced over to see Tourmaline with her hands over her chest and her eyes sparkling with the rush of energy.
“Rattrap,” she breathed. “Don’t ever do this to me again.”
He sighed. He loved this feeling of adrenaline, fighting, running. It rejuvenated him. But he also took into consideration that it was not for everyone.
“I’ll try.” He said and her shoulders drooped.
“What? I said I’d try! How can I help it if the world either wants me dead or behind bars? And I got you out of dat mess, didn’t I”
She didn’t answer.
He shook his head. Fems were so hard to please.
He looked away to his left and stared across the darkened grass.
About a foot away from him lay an abandoned cushion that someone had probably been using to rest a sore ass on. He stretched out for it but it was just out of his reach. He strained to get it, without having to move, but it was no use.
He hated having short arms.
He finally decided to edge a little closer and suddenly the pillow became more accessible. He grabbed it and held it out in front of him as he lay on his back.
It was a cosy, light brown colour with a slight dip in it. It was obviously well used.
A sudden idea crossed his mind and with an evil grin, he whacked Tourmaline on the head with it.
She gasped and grabbed it and he let go, chortling happily.
“Primus Rattrap, what you trying to do? Suffocate me?” She snapped.
She sat up and waited for an apology, but all he could do was laugh.
“Your face!”
She smiled sweetly and returned the favour except this time she whacked him full force over the groin.
That wiped the smirk of his face.
“IKE!”
She stood up and brushed herself off.
“Now, tell me smart aleck, where are we gonna sleep tonight? The police will come here no doubt, and Dinobot’s place is full, not that he’d allow a rat inside and all.” She asked.
Rattrap had recovered from that little ‘scare’ and stood up and scratched his head.
“Eh, I got some cash in my sub space pocket. About enough to get us into a sleazy motel. I don’t wanna get any more friends involved in dis.”
She nodded and Rattrap looked relieved.
At least she wasn’t fussy about where she slept. Figures…
“Hey, uh, what are we gonna do about da police?” He asked.
“Play it blind. Pretend we were out for the night and when we come back, look shocked. Say we didn’t know who they were and what they were doing there. If the cops find us before hand, just look surprised. They’ll know who those two are, and they’ll know that we didn’t drag them in and blow them up. What they’ll assume is that the two found one of your bombs, didn’t know what it was and blew themselves up.”
Rattrap looked mildly impressed.
“Unless you wanna go and tell them what happened?” She offered.
“Nope, I’d rather pretend we were away. I don’t wanna go back voluntarily.” He said.
She nodded.
“I’ve registered that.”
There was a thoughtful silence before Rattrap spoke again.
“Hey, give me my cushion back.” He demanded.
She looked at him as if to say ‘you think I’m that gullible?’
“Why? You’re just gonna whack me again with it.” She said and held it close to her.
“No, I’m gonna whack you if you don’t give it back.” He challenged.
“Yeah right.”
He suddenly lunged for her ankles and she shrieked and ran behind the nearest tree.
He walked calmly up to her.
“Stay back!” She cried playfully and held it up above her head, ready to come flying down on his.
“Now why would I be scared after being shot, severed, blown up and slapped of a small casing of fluff?”
She whacked him on the head but he grabbed it and the two tussled for the ‘casing of fluff’ until Tourmaline finally let go and watched him tumble backwards and land on his rear.
He smiled victoriously.
“Well,” she began. “You and your pillow can stay here and cuddle each other.
I’m off to a motel.” She turned and started to walk away but Rattrap called after her.
“But you don’t have any money!”
She turned holding up his wallet and winked.
Rattrap’s jaw dropped. He thought he was the sneakiest, slimiest thing alive, but she’d just pick pocketed him and proved him wrong.
“Damn you’re sneaky!” He exclaimed.
She grinned, satisfied.
“Have to be, it’s part of my job.” She said and turned back and carried on walking to where she knew she’d seen a motel before.
Rattrap took a breath to suppress his anger, mainly at himself, and sucked up the guts to give in and follow her. He didn’t particularly feel like lying in that damn itchy grass being attacked by a single mosquito that had been brought along during the last trip the park officers took to get water from earth.
He stood up and jogged over to her.
“I knew you’d come back lassie!” She cried, acting excited and overjoyed.
“Ah shut up.” He replied.
She frowned.
“Where’s your sense of humour gone?” She asked.
Then she smiled.
“Maybe it’s lost in that pillow, which looks a hell of a lot better than you do at the moment.” She teased.
She dodged the prejudged blow.
They hadn’t walked long before they found themselves approaching a reasonable looking motel. Rattrap had taken her down a few small narrow streets she hadn’t even noticed and around a few alley -ways to get here.
They stood outside and glanced at each other.
The sign read “The Gawley Hotel.”
“Not a charming name, but hey.” She remarked and he shrugged.
They went inside into a small, yellow room with two seats and a counter, where a big, ugly fem bot was sitting.
Rattrap came up to the counter and asked: “How much you charging?”
“For two rooms it’s 50, for a single it’s 30.” She answered through a nasal whine.
Tourmaline handed him the money.
He counted it carefully.
“Jeez, that was lucky. I got exactly thirty here!” He exclaimed.
Tourmaline snatched the money back and counted it. To her dismay, he was telling the truth. He did have exactly thirty.
The fat bot handed him a key.
“Third door to your right, second floor.” She snorted.
“Eh, thanks.” He muttered and glanced at Tourmaline who grudgingly slapped the money on the counter.
She sighed and headed over to the door leading to the hallways.
“You kids enjoy your stay.” Said the fat fem, smiling slyly.
Tourmaline glared at her but Rattrap pulled her away.
There was no elevator, well, there was, it was just so revolting they decided to take the stairs.
When they reached the top they found the hallway carpeted.
Rattrap shook his head.
“What kind of a jackass puts down a carpet when 300kg’s of metal come walking across it all da time?!” He cried as a thin thread got caught around his foot.
“That’s right Rattrap, look on the bright side of life.” She muttered and turned the key in the door. She pushed it open with much effort and stopped dead in her tracks.
Rattrap came up beside her after freeing himself from the carpet and stopped dead too.
“Wow. Talk about minute.” He remarked, breaking the silence.
And it was, there was room for one double bed, a tiny bedside table and a lamp. That was it.
“I get the bed.” She said and walked in.
“Wh-what?” He stuttered.
“And where do I sleep?”
She shrugged and glanced at the floor.
“It’s carpeted, it should be soft.”
“Oh no, I paid for dis, so I get da prime features.” He quickly cut in.
She lay on the bed and rolled her head to look at him.
“Where are your manners Rattrap? Or has your pillow taken those as well.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it.
He eventually stepped inside, muttering and grumbling.
She stretched across the bed lazily.
“Cheer up, Rat Face. It’s only for one night.”
“Still,” he mumbled. “I paid for it and I sleep on da floor. This day is just full of surprises.”
She smiled shaking her head and watched as he curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed. She snapped off the lamp and closed her eyes.
“Good night Rattrap.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
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Rhinox put down the phone to Optimus.
He’d just contacted the old Maximal leader to confirm him going in for an upgrade. Of course he still said yes.
But Rhinox was uneasy.
He’d seen the results of the transmetal up grader on Rattrap, but he hadn’t been able to contact the Maximal to find out if there were any side effects to the amount of radiation used. It should be safe, but still…
Optimus was coming tomorrow and he wanted to be sure it was perfectly safe.
But the rat-bot was nowhere to be found and Rhinox found himself in a bit of a sticky situation. The side effects, if there were any, would kick in shortly afterwards.
He sighed and headed across the lab to the door.
It was getting late, he knew, but he had to do one last thing before he went home.
He opened the door to find Sam standing with his eyes partially closed. The second guard was obviously late for his shift and Sam was beyond tired.
Still, he managed a faint smile.
“Hello, sir. Going home now?” He asked.
“In a moment, yes. But I’ve actually come to ask for your help.”
Sam woke up a little to that.
“What can I do for you sir?”
“Come inside, Sam.”
Sam looked a bit hesitant.
“Don’t worry about the security, there are three more guards before you, and don’t think I’m going to perform strange experiments on you. That’s what you’ll be doing.” Rhinox said.
Sam walked inside through the first room and into the next lab and was awed by the size of it. He’d never actually been inside and he’d only seen glimpses of it when Rhinox entered and left it. And it was truly amazing. The room was spacious with a lone lab table in the middle, a computer console and various chambers and devices neatly lined up against the walls.
Rhinox moved over to one of the small glass chambers and activated a few buttons on a built-in device. Then he stepped over to the computer and summoned Sam over.
Sam gazed at the complicated little buttons spread out over a long black keyboard.
“Sam, what I want you to do is pretty simple. I’m going to get into that chamber there and once I’m in, you press the green button marked ‘open/close on the glass chamber. Then you come here and press ‘enter’. You got that so far?”
Sam looked a bit worried but nodded.
“Good. After you press enter, you say to the computer, start sequence. Ok? Then you go back to the machine, press the blue button marked ‘maximum power flow’ and hide behind the lab table.”
Sam fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Why do I need to hide behind the table?” He asked.
“The sequence only lasts a few nano-clicks, but during the sequence there is a bright flash of light. The table thing is just to block your eyes, since it could happen quite unpredictably.”
Sam was looking a bit pale.
“I think I got it. But what exactly are you trying to do, sir?”
Rhinox smiled.
“You’ll see.”
The Big Green Giant walked over and into the funny chamber and Sam pressed the ‘green button’. Immediately the lid closed and bars snapped across Rhinox, who winked and strained to pull a thumbs up.
Sam felt a little better and moved clumsily over to the consol and hit the enter key. Momentarily, his mind blanked out a bit, then he remembered what to say.
“Oh of course you nitwit. Um, Computer, start sequence.” He said.
“How obvious!” He muttered and walked around in a circle before remembering to hit the blue button. He moved over to the chamber and pressed it very carefully. He paused a while and thought over what Rhinox had said and if he had missed out any steps. There was a sudden charging up noise and he could see Rhinox mouthing ‘go, go!’ and he didn’t hesitate any further.
The guard almost tripped over himself as he sprinted to the table and a few moments later, he toppled over it and used it like a shield.
He closed his eyes and blocked his ears, and waited.
He didn’t know how long he crouched there, deaf and blind at the time, but it was the smoke he breathed that made him ‘come back to his senses’.
He peered over the table and spotted Rhinox walking slowly out of the white smoke.
He had changed, most certainly.
Instead of having thick, wrinkly skin covering his chest, arms and legs he had smooth golden plates. His face was lined with silver and he had two little cannon guns mounted on his shoulders. He stood and blinked slowly as he saw his reflection in the metal table.
“Not too shabby.” He said, and generally looked quite pleased.
Sam stared, awed.
“Wow! You look so…so different sir! How…how-”
Rhinox cut him off by transforming into a gold, metallic Rhinoceros, with silver horns and cannon guns protruding a little out of his kneecaps. He had dark blue eyes and silver streaks down his back.
“Beast mode looks quite nice too.” He mused to himself.
Sam just stared.
“Oh, sorry Sam. Forgot about you for a moment. Thanks for your help. You upgraded me to a transmetal so now I can see if there are any side effects before I use it on someone else.” Said the golden rhino.
“It was…a pleasure sir.” He stuttered, still staring. He hadn’t seen much in his boring life, so watching this transformation was fascinating to him.
Rhinox transformed and moved over to the door, letting Sam out. He left the room too. “Oh and Sam, if I don’t come to work tomorrow, it will be because I’ve mutated and started rotting away. So, if that happens, please could you phone Optimus and tell him not to bother coming?” He asked, and handed the guard a piece of paper with a number on it.
Sam looked horrified.
Rhinox chuckled.
“Lighten up Sam, I’m only teasing.” He laughed and patted him on the back.
“Uh, yes, yes of course sir. Good night sir.” He called as Rhinox disappeared into the elevator.
“Good night Sam.”
The doors closed and the scientist descended, leaving Sam awed if not totally bewildered.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Diamond watched as the last lights went out and the arena sank back into darkness.
She was still rubbing her arm from the vicious blasts Zyda had given her and at one stage, Dinobot almost had to pull them away from each other they got so violent.
But Diamond won the duel against her if not only because she kept her cool a bit better when she missed. Even though she left a bit more scarred and bruised than usual, she still felt that she had done herself good to get out again and back into the swing of things. She felt more confident and altogether better with herself.
But she was tired too as the session had gone on late.
She and Dinobot walked and chatted about the session on their way home and finally she found herself being able to talk about something again, even if it was only training. Cheetor had left after her afternoon session but up till then had kept her company. Life was slowly but surely starting to look better.
She thought.
When they arrived home an agitated Hyra rushed to greet them at the door.
“Dinobot, the police just left. They came in and searched the house for Rattrap and Tourmaline. I told them they weren’t here but they didn’t believe me. They told me they found two dead mass murderers charred and smouldering in Rattrap and Tour’s apartment and they can’t find either one of them but they think Rattrap and Tour were out at the time, where they don’t know and-”
Dinobot put his hand over her mouth.
“Slow down and tell us once we’re inside.”
She nodded and he let her go.
She rushed to the lounge and waited impatiently for the two to come in.
She didn’t hesitate to start.
“Ok, two big ugly policemen came in with a warrant to search the place for Rattrap and Tour. And of course they found nothing. I asked them what all the fuss was about and they told me that a woman had called from the flat where the two stay complaining about loud noises from the room above, which was theirs.
So the police came and discovered that his bedroom had been blown up and two mass murderers that had recently escaped along with eight others lying charred on the floor. They have heard news from forensics that the bomb was a S25 detonator super charge, one of the bombs Rattrap used during his stay on earth-”
“Wait,” Diamond started. “How did you get them to tell you all this?”
Hyra quickly pulled out a badge from her sub space pocket.
“I’m a member of the Cybertronian Police Force, knuckle head.”
“Oh yeah, sorry. Go on.” She said apologetically.
“Yes, well, as I was saying these guys wouldn’t blow themselves up intentionally so they must’ve found one of Rattrap’s old bombs and killed themselves by mistake. I mean, Tour and Rattrap wouldn’t drag in killers and kill them, would they?”
“Unless,” Dinobot cut in “They were there at the time and they reacted in self defence. They may have left afterwards, as the vermin didn’t want to meet with the police afterwards. He has quite a bad past record, as I have researched.” Dinobot sneered with a faint trace of a smile.
Hyra turned pale.
“Well in that case, afterwards he either bailed out or was captured with Tour by one or more of the other terrorists. Or he wasn’t there in the first place. What if they’re separated? Other angry avenging killers might hunt them down one by one whether they killed those two or not!” She blurted and gasped for air after talking so fast.
Dinobot shook his head.
“More likely the vermin is with her. Knowing that rat he’s probably-”
Diamond clamped her hand over his mouth.
“Gee Hyra, this sounds serious. How come people aren’t aware of these criminals out on the loose?” She asked.
“Oh it’s been on the news, but the police said that after this incident, tomorrow they are letting out a major security warning. These killers are from the Cylagons Prison not far from here. But what worries me Dimes, is that my friend has seemingly disappeared off the face of this planet! Oh Primus, I hope she’s ok.” Hyra wailed and sank back into a chair.
Diamond could see she was very stressed.
“Hey, don’t worry. From what I know, Rattrap really likes her and he’ll protect her.”
“Hmph!” Dinobot snorted as her hand was still over his mouth.
She turned and glared at him and he glared back.
She let go of him and sighed.
“Look Hyra, there’s no use worrying. It’s not going to solve anything. Wherever they are it’s more than likely they’re together and that in itself should keep them safe.
Now go to bed, we’ll keep the kitchen light on for them.”
Hyra nodded dully and got up.
“You’re ok with keeping the light on, Dinobot?” She asked sadly.
He shrugged.
“I don’t make the decisions, she runs the place.” He sighed pointing to Diamond.
She nodded and sank back.
“I’ll be gone early tomorrow, I’m going to help the police look for them.” Hyra muttered.
Dinobot and Diamond stood up and left her alone in the lounge and met up in the hallway.
Diamond stopped him and looked him in the eyes with fear and concern.
“Dad, where did you say Switchblade was locked up before he escaped?” She asked.
Dinobot opened his mouth to reply but she already knew the answer and cut him off.
“And where did you say Megatron was being held?”
He froze as the bitter cold realisation of what she had just said snowed over him.
He was slow to answer, but it came.
“Diamond, I believe we are in serious trouble.”
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Continued in Part Two
Whetting Calamity’s Appetite – Part Two
When Destiny Knocks…
Tarantulas furiously typed up the last touches to the plans for the up grader. It hadn’t taken long; all it required was a bit of research and the odd bit of hacking into files before he had enough clues to figure it out.
And now he had. He also knew that he was going to need equipment to build it, and a test subject to experiment on. He was hoping Megatron would allow him to capture a Maximal to torture and experiment with, but although inside he hated to admit it, it still very much relied on what the Predacon leader thought necessary. Besides, there were a few annoying Predacons in this bunch that he’d be more than happy to test on.
He glanced up wearily at the clock on the wall and was grimly reminded of just how fast time went by.
He looked back at the glaring screen which illuminated his face in the otherwise dark room. He noticed another face appearing on the screen and knew it to be a reflection of someone behind. He swung around on his chair to find himself face to face with Kismet. He growled with irritation.
“Doesn’t Destiny knock?” He asked derisively.
She was unfazed.
“Sometimes.” She replied, her voice so dead, and so haunting it sent a shiver through him. He didn’t like her at all; there was something unnatural about her…
She looked straight across at the screen and stared at it in silence, her light purple face glowing almost white. Her cherry eyes darkening and deepening.
“What are you making?” She suddenly asked. But something in her voice almost suggested she already knew.
Tarantulas turned away from her.
“None of your business.” He sneered anyway and carried on. A steely grip fastened around his shoulders.
“Oh, but it is now.”
“Let go of me female, if you value your life.” He hissed.
She closed her hands around his neck.
“Do you value yours?” She asked.
Tarantulas had eight legs, so freeing himself from her grip was hardly a problem.
Four of them came behind her and grabbed her.
In one sudden movement he threw her backwards and swung around to see where she landed.
But when he looked behind him, she was gone.
No noise, no body.
Only a sudden, bitter chill was left to accompany him.
………………………………………………………………………………………….
She awoke to the sound of a cyber car hooting in the distance and realised she was right at the edge of the bed. She glanced wearily at her wrist which was hanging over the edge and realised it was five to twelve.
She blinked slowly and gathered her bearings. Yes, yes she remembered now.
Her whole body was moaning for her to turn and she stretched and yawned and rolled over onto her left side.
She looked groggily ahead of her.
And sighed.
There was Rattrap, snuggled under the covers, taking up most of the bed, lying like a star. And what made it worse was that he was snoring happily wearing a smug, victorious grin.
She shook her head slightly.
He was impossible.
She gazed at him and watched him snore quietly, perhaps a little jealous that he was sleeping so easily when she kept waking up and dozing off.
She had a right mind to kick him off, but somehow something inside of her stopped that urge. She lay quietly and let her thoughts take control.
She had always been an intelligent girl. Throughout her school life she was constantly top of the class, without really trying that hard. She was particularly good at earthen Biology, which was studied as Cybertron had a direct connection to earth in more ways than one. She also did well at Science and History, but she always dreamed of being an artist, which was a strange thing on Cybertron where art wasn’t really appreciated much. She’d studied art vigorously, and enjoyed every moment of it. But although she loved it, and although she was fascinated by it, there was virtually no jobs on Cybertron for aspiring artists. She had tried, oh she had tried, but she lacked the talent. Her parents had big plans for her to become something great, they always did.
But she had become a detective instead, using another quality that she had: acting.
She’d hoped to become a top girl, a big boss. A chief detective owning her own business. But here she was, hiding from the police lying on a bed in a cheap motel with a snoring rat. Things couldn’t have turned out worse.
Or could they?
She was lying to herself by saying things had turned out badly.
Since she came to this town her life had been anything but boring.
It was a change, this style. Learning to fight instead of flee, running from the police instead of working for them. And it was strangely relieving. Her life back at Relentrax, well, all she did was get a boyfriend, seduce him to tell her all the bad things he’d done in life and then get him arrested.
It got a bit tedious after a while.
But now for the first time, she was not working and had a choice.
She was no longer put with a murder suspect knowing all his details and history.
The people she met now were like books, waiting for her to open them and read them, and discover their true nature, by herself.
And that alone made her life suddenly more exciting and more dangerous than ever before.
She shifted slightly and pulled the covers up a bit more. Robots weren’t cold metal; they had internal heaters. So using blankets for insulation wasn’t uncommon. Especially in what was to be considered Winter on this half of Cybertron at the moment. She gazed ahead, her mind stuffy with memories and thoughts making it hard to sleep.
She gazed at Rattrap and smiled. He was a funny little guy, with a particularly bad attitude that he tried his best to hide when around her and dug as deep as he could for some good manners too. He was charming, in a street –guy –trying –to –be - sensitive kind of way, and that amused her quite a lot.
90% of the males she knew, well, rather worked against, were indecent, one track minded jerks.
But Rattrap…well, he was something different.
She was pretty certain.
About a half a megacycle went past and eventually her previous fatigue caught up with her. Thinking was what had kept her awake, but eventually she thought herself to sleep. But the thought that finally lulled her off, which was that she was for the first time with company, was strangely comforting.
____________________________________________________________________
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Megatron watched through the partially open door. Tarantulas scuttled across the room, carrying pieces of metal and other material to where he’d be building the transmetal up-grader. He was accompanied by Kyroid, who although not pleased with hauling scrap around the place, didn’t put up much of a fight with Megatron when assigned to do it. Which was a relief. His troops back on earth were so disobedient and he constantly had to monitor them for stupidity. He moved away from the room, satisfied with the progress, and continued down the hallway of the house, passing another of the five bedrooms and headed to the lounge, which was pretty much the command room. He missed having a proper set-up, but at least this place was big enough to house them all, and was very well hidden. Since they had come here, Sting’s sister had moved to another house, not far from here, so that she wouldn’t attract the police if something happened to the former rebel leader. And thankfully she had, as something HAD happened to Sting. He was killed, which was reason enough for the police to come over to her new home and question her. They were lucky, she had moved just a week ago.
Megatron moved down the hallway into to ‘command room’ and slumped back in a chair and put his fingers together thoughtfully. He had many plans, all of which had major flaws, and he hadn’t much time to sort them out. Of course, he would never admit to his soldiers that he wasn’t totally sure of what was happening next, no, that would be suicide.
It was morning, he could tell by the small slivers of light that leaked through the blinds. It wasn’t long before he was drifting in and out of sleep, exhausted from thinking and drawing up plans for the past seven hours. But his sleep was once again stolen when the phone rang with a shrill, heart -stopping shriek. He froze, his eyes fixed on it, watching intently. Since the move, the number had been changed, and no one except Sting’s sister, knew it.
But she was over at the police station.
He stared at it as it rang again.
Should he answer it?
Slowly his hand moved over to the phone.
No, the line,
it may be bugged, sound wave scanners might pick up the conversation and locate
him. Too risky, too many
possibilities of being discovered.
The phone went on the answering machine, which had no recorded answer.
“Hello Megatron.”
His spark fluctuated with shock and he pulled his hand away.
“Must be quite a surprise that we know this number. But don’t worry; we’re not out to get you. In fact, we’re out to make a bargain with you.”
“Who?” Megatron growled, even though he knew they couldn’t hear him.
“You’re probably wondering who we are? Hmm? Well that’s ok. Because the answer is going to please you anyway. You’ve been gone 16 years, right? That’s an awful long time, isn’t it? Well, as we know, a lot can happen in 16 years. We know what you’re planning to do, thing is, someone’s already thought of it.” Came the dark, steel cold voice.
Megatron shook his head slightly, his mind buzzing with questions.
“While you were away, a gang formed. In fact, it has been forming for some time. After the Great War, when greats such as Sting were arrested, the Maximals thought they had rid themselves of the Predacon rebels. But they were wrong. A group survived, and slowly has been building up. We’re everywhere now, looking like normal people. We’re a bit like, Earth’s mafia, if you know what I mean. We’ve been waiting a long time for you Megatron. Switchblade foretold the day many times when all the hurricanes of hell, aka you and the other leaders, would be released to lead with him the Predacon Rebels.”
Megatron narrowed his optics, listening in slight disbelief. It could be a trick. It could be anything…
“I am Pernicious, leader of the Relentrax, Dimetrix and Nystrin rebel forces, the latter being where I am positioned with my strongest force at the moment. We are undercover and have been waiting for Switchblade to bring in the others, namely you, Sting, etc. We’ve gathered the news, however, that Switchblade is dead. This then means his second in command, which is myself, moves up to the highest rank and position. From here, I will take over. But, so as not to leave you in the dark, Megatron, I have a bargain to make with you.”
Megatron cautiously turned up the volume a little.
He still wasn’t sure what to believe, and refused to pick up the phone until certain.
“Oh yes, the code so that you know I’m not one of those slagging Maximal police. And if you are wondering about the sound waves and bugging systems, well let’s just say…they’re temporarily disabled.” He said in a low, dark chuckle.
“The code, 834579#Hytrawx7#. You know only Switchblade and his most trusted Generals knew that code, and you were one of them. So now, I would appreciate it if you responded by picking up the phone. We know you’re there, we can even see you. Stolen technology can be great fun.”
Megatron let out a small gasp and looked around for cameras. Then he remembered. Scanners, Kyroid had reported that there were now scanners that could penetrate through walls and mountains from miles away.
Megatron was convinced after hearing the code. He knew Switchblade well, and he respected him highly and anyone who he felt worthy of being put in any command under him. Up to a point, that is.
He pressed a button and spoke.
“Megatron here, I register your code. Now, what bargain do you speak of?” He asked calmly, although he was perhaps just a little frightened.
“Very good to hear a response. Very good. Now, the bargain is that we will work for you. We know you plan to attack the city, Nystrin we presume, from the outside. It won’t work without backup, I’m sure you realise. Well, this is the plan; you bombard the little town from the outside, and at the same time, we will bombard the city from the inside, the core of the apple. There are 20 000 undercover Predacon rebels in the city, a force to be reckoned with.”
Megatron’s eyes widened at the sound of just how many there were in a city of 2 million Maximals and Predacons.
“We’ll come out of every nook and cranny, nab them where and when they least expect it. Predacon bank owners will shoot their staff, Predacon husbands will kill their wives and Predacon shop owners will slaughter their Maximal customers! Can you imagine the chaos? It will be enough to shake the city till it crumbles. But here’s the nice part. This won’t just happen in Nystrin, oh no. When we strike here, there will be strikes everywhere, in every major city, all at the exact same time. The shock will be incredible, the Maximal army won’t be able to deal with it all, even with human help. We will finish The Great War, which as we all know isn’t and never was over, the way it was supposed to be finished. Predacons will rule, and you Megatron, even after committing a crime of stealing the Golden Disks, have because of your skills and dreams, a second chance. So, what do you say? You in?”
Megatron sat in a daze. It took a while to contemplate, all these plans, dreams and hopes that had suddenly become a reality, but he eventually found himself able to respond, but in an aware way.
“Sounds lovely, but what’s the catch?” He growled.
There was low, very amused chuckle coming from the other side of the line.
“Ah Megatron, never one to turn a blind eye. Hmm? Well, you’re right, there is a catch, but it is minor when you comprehend what we’re offering in return. Now, to cut to the chase, we’re aware of a leak out in transmetal upgrading technology.”
Megatron lay back with a grunt almost saying ‘I thought so.’
“Yes, well, we want that technology. At the moment we can’t make any moves to get it without being caught, and we want our soldiers upgraded before the attack. Now, we know that you have amongst your troops, the second best Predacon scientist in the world, personally I think Scanzer is the best, but he’s working in a Maximal lab and is thus a little unreachable.”
“We know he’s working on the up grader, and when it is finished, we’ll take it. And Tarantulas. He will join our forces.”
Megatron narrowed his optics. What they were asking for was very valuable, he was no fool. But what they were offering was just too good to refuse.
“I’m afraid I find myself too tempted with your gifts to refuse such a bargain. Tarantulas and the machine are yours, after I’ve upgraded myself, that is.”
“Very well, but there is a little something, or shall I say, someone I myself want as well.” Pernicious snarled, perhaps a little malevolently.
Megatron could tell he was serious.
“And what may that be?” He asked cautiously.
There was a longish pause before he answered.
“You have a fem, Kismet, that I desire. She will be extremely valuable to me. For personal reasons.”
Megatron froze at that.
He wasn’t prepared for that demand, coming from someone so high up.
And although he would hardly admit it to himself, he had developed a liking for the enchanting, dark female. Just, dishing her out would be quite a shame.
She was an intriguing fem, and one with many dark secrets. There was something eerily powerful about her; something she possessed made her very strong; he just couldn’t put his finger on it. He believed she was deliberately hiding her full potential in this undercover war. And he had so wanted to know why…
But he had an idea of finding out and whether Pernicious knew something he didn’t.
“Kismet? Are you sure? I mean, do you want her for…personal reasons, or for what I think you want her for…” He asked, a challenging tone to his voice.
There was a snarl from the other line.
“Don’t push it Megatron. Details will be delivered to you tomorrow. And when that device is completed, I want all my demands attended to. Now, until then, it is goodbye.”
Megatron’s face stiffened.
“Very well, good bye General.”
The crackle died and a stuffy, thoughtful silence was left to accompany him, as well as a barrel load of questions, that needed answers, and soon…
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
“This really stinks.”
Dalstal glanced up from his computer and eyed Harine’s facial expression. She was clearly distressed, but that was nothing unusual.
“What does?” He asked, lying back and sipping his hot energon.
“Do you know where I just came from? Rattrap’s apartment, that’s where.”
He swallowed and smiled naughtily.
“Ooh Harine. What were you doing there?”
She slapped him upside the head.
“No stupid, I was there because the police were there too, and two recycling vans and paramedics and detectives and forensics. And along with them come reporters, wherever the is a commotion.” She answered, not quite getting to the point.
“Wow! Is Rat-face ok?” He asked, his eyes widening in concern.
She shrugged.
“That’s just it. I don’t know. Two charred mass murderers that recently escaped from the prison, the Cylagons high security one, were found side-by-side, dead in his apartment. The names are being withheld. But the question is; what the hell were they doing there? I know Rattrap’s a maniac, but he wouldn’t drag in assassins and blow them up, as they have been. But he’s not there, and they are. Forensics have identified that the bomb pieces were of the type Rattrap used on earth, which he isn’t supposed to have anymore. Typical of him really.”
“So these guys must’ve accidentally blown themselves up? Right?” Dalstal questioned.
“Dunno. I guess so. But here’s the interesting bit. And I swear to you, I didn’t know this until now. It appears, by records I got hold of, that ole Rat-face was sharing his apartment with a lady-friend. Both of which have gone missing. Now, think of this. Rattrap hasn’t got a pretty background and has never been friendly with the police, so it could be possible, and I’m only suggesting this…”
Dalstal finished off.
“That the assassins failed to assassinate him, whatever the motive, and he killed them off in defence, then gave the police the slip. He and his, um, lady-friend, that is.” Dalstal said, grinning slightly.
Harine frowned and rubbed her head.
“Ah well, maybe the loser will pitch up at work today, and he can help me with my repor