- Runner-up for "Most Like a Beast Wars Episode" 2005

The Beginning or the End

By: Landray Depth Charge

Writer's Note: Special thanks to Omicron the Ice Queen for getting me OOP’s pep-talk to DC. I couldn’t remember it to save my LIFE...Also, thanks to Hacker for getting me even more quotes from the show! And, you know what? Thanks to Joshin Yasha for being such a neatsville DC/Rampage fan. She will be permanent help with this fic and upcoming series. Rated PG for some minor language.

Also note: The un-aired episode 'Dark Glass' DOES APPLY to this fic. I AM INCLUDING IT as CANON.

****

"Fate is a funny thing. Your entire life depends on the decisions you make, but sometimes Fate presents you with decisions of which both outcomes are undesirable. I know, it happened to me. This...is the path I chose."
                                                                                                -- Depth Charge, February 16th, 2000

“Depth Charge, we’ve had our differences but you and I both know that this is bigger than the both of us! They’re under water, which means you’re our only hope. Warheads armed, full speed to maximum, you have to stop Megatron! At any cost…”

Yes. He had to stop Megatron.

            Depth Charge threw a sucker punch at the back of Rampage’s head, which the latter ducked easily simply by stepping forward. The massive purple claws adorning the Predacons back shot out and smashed him in the face.

So why was he here, fighting X instead?

            Staggering backwards and seeing stars, Depth Charge struggled to regain his wits, only barely able to see past the fuzz of distorted pain shielding his optic screen. Rampage laughed, that hoarse, insane snicker that haunted the former guardian's dreams and nightmares, and lunged forward, catching his enemy and eldest friend across the faceplate with a well-placed hook-punch. The receiver of the blow fell, but refused to go all the way down. On his knees, Depth Charge grunted and turned, yanking a piece of raw energon free from the bed of crystals beside him.

He wanted this to end. He wanted his fight with X to be over!

But....the Nemesis..!

            The blue and silver Maximal hesitated for a split second before lurching to his feet and leaping at his most hated enemy. Rampage raised his arms, catching Depth Charge by the shoulders as the manta screamed and thrust the spike forward. The former Protoform X was aware of the sound of crackling energy, of buckling metal, aware of the sudden flare of PAIN that hit his chest, and looked down. Grinning through the agony twisting within him, Rampage croaked, “You...missed.”

“No.” Depth Charge spat angrily. “I didn’t.”

The killer crab lost his smirk as he felt the fluids in his body stop flowing, as he felt his spark constrict and shudder against it. His computer chimed in, “Warning: Internal fluid pump has ceased to function. Stasis lock commencing.”

            Rampage’s optics widened as his body shook in an effort to resist stasis. He would not be beaten! Not now! The emerald-eyed monster howled and clawed at Depth Charge’s face, and the hunter took it to glare at his enemy as he, in essence, died. His body would die until the pump was fixed, Rampage knew, because without a steady flow of mech-fluid his spark could not do its job. He might heal...but very, VERY slowly. And if his old friend had anything to do with it, his mechanical heart would never be repaired. But even he could not resist the pull of stasis lock, and dropped first to his knees before the manta, then finally to his back, optics dark, ceasing to breathe.

            As Rampage fell Depth Charge let go of the crackling energy shard, staring at the killer of his family as he sank to the ocean floor. His chest and abdomen heaved in shock and exertion as he realized that this could be it. This could be the end, if he got back fast enough.

            That last memory string led him to turn towards the Nemesis, looming just in the background. Blood red optics trailed back to his prey. “I’ll come back for you later.”

****

“Megatron, hull breach on deck three!”

The said dragon-bot turned to look at his skeletal slave. “What?” He growled.

Dinobot, Transmetal two, snarled and pointed to the video feed. “That accursed Maximal fish is clawing his way through the docking bay doors!”

“Hm.” Megatron stroked his chin with a clawed finger. “Coming to stop me under Optimus Primal’s orders, no doubt. Let him come. You and I shall give him a welcoming party he didn’t expect, yesss..”

****

            Depth Charge growled, slamming his fist into the door one more time, hoping to loosen it just THIS much...

            The bay doors obeyed and creaked open, seawater flowing in like a tidal wave. The Maximal paid no heed and slipped in with the rushing ocean; the more water that was in the ship, the harder it was going to be to lift if he failed.

He was not, however, going to get himself killed in this mission if he was bound to fail.

            Turning ‘round, the massive manta gripped the docking bay gates and hauled them closed, grunting with the effort of pushing back the sea. Water would make taking off difficult, yes, but it would be disastrous if the entire ship flooded and made the ship un-liftable. No need to alter time any more than it already had been. Now, where was Megatron?

            Moving silently, using his experience as a tracker and a hunter, he brought his missile launcher to bear and checked every enormous hall, every cavernous room. He knew Dinobot was with his commander, and Depth Charge was not going to be caught unawares -- not here, where he couldn’t get help. He was going to have to take a different approach to his attack; normally, he was up front with guns a’ blazing, but he couldn’t defeat Dinobot AND Megatron that way...He would have to take them out one at a time.

He finished checking a dark hallway and moved on. “Depth Charge to Primal.” he whispered into his raised wrist. “Keep it quiet.”

“Are you in?” The Maximal commander asked, subdued.

“Affirmative. I’m moving in on the command center now.” The entire warship shuddered around him suddenly, and an ominous thrum echoed through the Nemesis’ dark halls. “Slag! They’re powering up. Gotta go. Depth Charge out.”

****

            Two angular red optics glared around the corner into the brightly lit control center. The Maximal hunter clutched his gun to his chest for a moment, right index finger already wrapped around the trigger while his left hand supported the belly of the heavy weapon. Looking left, then right, Depth Charge blinked: there was no one there. The bridge was lit up and running -- he could see power bars beginning to light up on the west wall -- but Megatron and his mindless drone were nowhere to be seen. What kind of trick was this?

            Ducking back behind the wall he was hiding behind, the metal manta took out his secondary weapon -- his rifle. Silver fingers flew across blue metal as he checked the ammunition compartment and quickly disengaged the safety, ratcheting the firearm. Clicking the powerful rifle to his right hip, he again reached into subspace and called on his auxiliary launcher. I really AM armed to the teeth. This one was smaller than his main weapon, only firing one missile at a time, but he knew in this fight he was going to need all of the firepower he had, and then some, most likely.

            Depth Charge leaned against the wall, took a breath for courage and said a prayer. It had been a long time since he’d put his faith in Primus, but now that the universe itself depended on him, he knew that this was the time to make amends. If he was going to die -- which he wasn’t counting on -- he sure as hell wanted to make it to the Matrix.

            After prolonging for another nano, he turned and scowled around the corner, optics narrowed, mouthpiece curled into a grotesque frown as he searched once again for the two transformers he knew were waiting to ambush him. He simply didn’t know from where.

            Taking a cautious step forward into the light, Depth Charge’s watchful gaze swept the extensive room. His audios, already acute in their abilities, were keened to micro-sensitivity, ready to catch even the tiniest sound. The attack wasn’t coming.. It appeared that ol’ Purple Puss -- No, no, he isn’t purple now -- had taken a walk with that Transmetal skull-faced freak.

            Depth Charge, weilding his primary and auxiliary weapons, tromped forward and stopped in front of the control panel. There were seven power bars lit up on the wall to his left, and considering that Megatron wouldn’t leave the command bridge for long, he needed to work fast. Snapping his main launcher to his hip opposite of the rifle, the ray-bot set his backup firearm on the panel and started typing. Lucky enough for him, he could read the Predacon language. Running and protecting a colony as he had had required him to learn and be able to read the Predacon dialect in a heartbeat. A message box popped onto the screen.

Acknowledged. What do you want to do?

Depth Charge typed, Terminate power-up sequence. Another box blipped forward.

Are you sure you want to terminate the aforementioned action?

            The hunter read the message, hands hovering over the large keyboard. He scoffed, thinking, Of course I do you slagging piece of scrap! Only time as I know it depends on the push of a flagging button....

Unfortunately, Depth Charge’s luck and time ran out.

            Something clamped around Depth Charge’s neck and he froze, optics wide. The red dragon placed a clawed fore-paw on the manta’s shoulder and tsked, shaking his head as the pincers on his tail twitched around his enemy’s throat. Compared to Depth Charge, Megatron was massive. “Tsk-tsk, Maximal,” The Predacon leader said smoothly, gazing at his claws. “You should never let your guard down in a Decepticon ship.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Depth Charge doggedly growled back. His hand was very slowly reaching for his hip-holstered missile launcher...

Megatron caught it. “I wouldn’t be doing that if I were you, no.”

            At which time Dinobot chose to appear, lurking in beast mode to Depth Charge’s right. The hunter was in quite a position: He was stuck standing between two Predacons -- two LARGE Predacons -- in a Decepticon battleship that was slowly but surely warming up for takeoff.

Marvelous.

            Quicker than one might have expected, Depth Charge twisted his tail and sent it straight into Megatron’s abdomen, at the same time thrusting his foot out to smash Dinobot in the face. The hunter took his moment to reach forward and mash on the ‘Y’ key with an urgent silver finger as the dragon behind him roared, jerking his powerful clawed tail backwards. The Maximal manta gagged as he was flung across the room by his throat.

            Depth Charge bounced and skidded across the command bridge, colliding with the edge of the wall behind him. He gasped sharply as a terrible pain shot through his back, optics wide as the agony froze his body in place, allowing no movement. Dinobot stood up and shook his head with a metallic snarl, blood-red optics locking on his enemy on the floor. “Prepare to be neutralized, Maximal!”

            The hunter rolled onto his chest, cringing as his back sparked in protest to the forced movement. Now he was in real trouble. The Nemesis was powering down, but now he was practically crippled and still needed to defeat Megatron and his lackey. What a dilemma. His mind raced as the angry Transmetal two made his way closer to him, long, sickle-like talons tapping the metal floor menacingly. Okay, assess the situation, Depth Charge thought quickly, remembering his training. I can’t get up, every movement hurts like the Pit, Dinobot and Megatron are both fully functional and pissed off to boot.

...

How do I get myself into these situations? I must be a whore for punishment.

            Reaching to his hip, he grabbed for his primary missile launcher, finding it gone. A similar search for his rifle produced the same result. Bracing his hands on the floor, the metal manta tried to jack himself to his knees, where at the very least he’d be able to fight back with his fists, but was brought back down to rest on his chest by the wave of crackling, stomach roiling pain that shot up his back.

Get creative. Do something he doesn’t expect.

Depth Charge nodded and looked up as Dinobot transformed in front of him. “Wait!”

The skeletal raptor flicked his claws and paused, teeth bared in confusion.

The hunter swallowed his pride and forced his vocaliser to form his next words. “I...beg for mercy.” This is just plain painful. “Please, I...I want to live!”

Dinobot arched his head back, half in shock, half in amusement as the ray-bot continued.

“Besides, where’s the honor in killing a helpless foe?” Depth Charge tried.

“I hardly would include you in the list of those to be described as ‘helpless’.” The raptor hissed, raising his right sickle-claw.

"Then what is your..agh..definition of the word? My weapons are gone, I can't stand up -- killing me would be as honorable and easy as shooting fish in a barrel with the Nemesis' fusion cannon," the downed Maximal insisted, trying to buy himself some time. If he was correct, Rattrap's little excursion with Dinobot a few decacycles ago would prove to save his hide, along with the fabric of time.

He is correct, thought the skeletal raptor, scratching his chin with an elongated foreclaw. If I destroyed him now -- Mrh, Megatron's orders, honorable or not.

"Destroy him, Dinobot!"

Depth Charge growled, looking at Megatron as the dragon turned, staring the duo down. The ancient warship was once again powering up. Trump card, last chance. "You disgust me, Dinobot. You are not the warrior I've read about," the hunter snarled, looking away as the Transmetal two paused, sickle claw in the air. "Do you know how highly Rattrap speaks of you? Before our little private mission to get the old Dinobot back, he told me about you. Or rather, he told me about him. You are not anything like my understanding of the old Dinobot."

            The clawed Predacon lowered his talons, tilting his head as the ray-bot muttered. Dinobot remembered the rat and ray's attempt on him, and ever since then certain memories and feelings had ascertained themselves in his psyche. The sense of honour, or lack of it in this instance, memories of battling Megatron and Rampage, of dying on the jungle floor, looking up at the stars and the faces of his friends.

The question which once haunted my being has been answered. The future is not fixed, and my choices are my own. And yet, how ironic -- for I now find, I have no choice at all! I am a warrior... let the battle be joined.

Tell my tale to those who ask... tell it truthfully, the evil deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence...

Depth Charge eyed Dinobot from the corner of his optic, then lifted his head to look straight at him. "You remember," he stated flatly, as though disappointed. "You remember yet you still serve him. The old Dinobot that mouse told me about is still there. Do you remember what you used to fight for? This is what you've been reduced to -- a mindless drone, the lackey to a 'bot you used to religiously oppose -- you failure! You're weak, Dinobot! You're sinking so low as to destroy an opponent who is already beaten -- you weak, piece of scrap failure of a warrior."

"Enough," Dinobot rumbled, glaring at the downed ray.

"No!" Depth Charge raised his upper body on his arms, just getting warmed up. "Everything you used to fight for, you're willing to flush it for the sake of Megatron's maniacal dreams?" A hot spike of pain shot up his central nervous column, but the hunter ignored it. He was making headway. "Rattrap said he always knew where you stood, but now he's not so sure, and neither am I. I know you remember everything. So where do you stand, Dinobot? Which side of the cutting edge do you reside?"

Megatron roared, rattling the command bridge as the shriekish noise drifted over the room's occupants. "Enough of this incompetent talk, yes!" The dragon dropped hard to all fours and stalked angrily towards the fallen Maximal, who again tried in vain to struggle to his feet. "Dinobot, I do not know what has gotten into you, but let it be known that you will be punished when everything is said and done, yes, oh yes indeed!"

            Depth Charge cried out and dropped back to his chest. He could only barely feel his legs, and every movement he made tore up the repairs his body was making. Unfortunately, Megatron was advancing fast and he needed to do SOMETHING.

And that something turned out to be Dinobot.

"No!" snarled the raptor as he switched to beast mode, leaping at and knocking Megatron onto his side. Dinobot swiftly crouched on the floor in front of the wounded, and shocked, Maximal. "He is correct, Megatron. Destroying a beaten enemy...where is the honor in that?"

"Traitorous reptile! I shall roast you on a spit for this treachery," roared the dragon, standing to full height on his back legs.

"Optimus Primal to Depth Charge, report immediately. What's your status?"

Depth Charge blinked, then looked down at his wrist. "We're about to find out. I'll comm. in five cycles."

            Dinobot was having a fine time so far, dodging the flame, moving in close, striking, and leaping back. For now he was fighting like a raptor, but from a warrior's standpoint, he was fighting smart. Megatron was too large, too powerful, to battle up-front like he was used to doing. The Transmetal two charged in, sinking his deadly fangs into Megatron's side, but didn't get out quick enough that time. The tyrant snarled, whipping his head around and clamping his crushing jaws down on Dinobot's tail, flinging him across the bridge.

            The downed Maximal's red optics widened and he raised his arms just in time for the renewed dinosaur to slam into him, sending them both skidding together down the hallway a decent thirty feet. Depth Charge screamed bloody murder for a second as his back felt like it was twisting away -- it felt as though his lower body was being severed. However, his shriek of agony was cut short at a particularly loud SNAP!

...And he laughed. Sitting up fully, Depth Charge chuckled, "Remind me to thank that lizard for twisting my nervous column back into alignment."

"Remind me to thank him for it as well, Maximal," Dinobot retorted, rolling onto his chest and standing on his powerful back legs. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, let us take advantage of this opportunity and put Megatron out for a decent amount of time."

"I think I know how to do it," the manta nodded slyly. "Listen up."

***

            The red dragon dropped again to all fours, growling darkly at the sparking pain in his side. Dinobot had take a chunk of his metal with him when Megatron had forcefully separated those fangs from his side. Angry yellow eyes peered at the power monitors -- nearly at full power. By the time I finish off the traitor and Depth Charge, the cells will be at full power.

            Victory was at hand. Stalking silently down the dark hallway, he came upon the pair, crumbled and unconscious on the floor, Dinobot lying limply atop Depth Charge, whose back was twisted painfully. It appeared no one would stop him, with the ray being crippled and the Transmetal two traitor in stasis lock. Still...something felt off.

            The Predacon leader arched his neck back, making a quick, and wise, decision. Fire blew forth from his terrible maw, engulfing the stasis-locked pair in it's roaring clutches. His eyes widened in shock when he shut his jaws and the pair remained the same, no damage done.

"Sucker."

Megatron turned around, snorting furiously as he viewed Depth Charge standing in the doorway of the Nemesis' command center. "What?! N-no!"

"Now!" Depth Charge stepped back as Megatron leapt at him, fire billowing from his mouth. Dinobot yanked the lever down, smiling victoriously as the first set of doors shut in the Predacon's face, then the much heavier lock-down doors revved closed over them, giving off a satisfying click and a hiss as they did so.

If Depth Charge could grin, he surely would have been at that moment. "He fell for the projector trick. Depth Charge to Optimus, mission accomplished, sort of. Megatron has been eliminated from the control room, Dinobot is shutting the system down."

"--Wait. Dinobot? What are you--?"

"I'll explain later. We are left with the problem that Megatron is still active on the Nemesis. Advice?"

"..Confirmed. He needs to be put into stasis lock and removed."

"Apparently. But how, smart one, do we do that?"

"That, smart one, is up to you. You have your orders. Keep me in touch, Optimus out."

Dinobot gave one last clack of the keys and the massive 'Con warship began to power down. "He doesn't like you, does he?" the raptor inquired, referring to Optimus Primal.

"Oh, the feeling is mutual," grumbled the ray. "Status report?"

"The Nemesis is powering down for the last time today. I installed a quick but nasty locking network on the systems required for take-off. I'd like to see Megatron get into the computer in less than two megacycles, mrrrhh."

"Good," Depth Charge fell right into the role of commander over his new comrade, and Dinobot didn't like that one bit. However, the tough Maximal hunter was unsure how to subdue a happy Megatron, much less the raging metal dragon he was certain was right outside that door. The superior aura slid away. "Any ideas on clocking Megs?"

Dinobot's red gaze narrowed as he felt that superiority fall away from the larger 'bot and tapped his jaw with his left front talon. "Hmm..I don't suppose among the menagerie of weapons you carry you have any sort of venom?"

"Negative. Only the spiders and Quickstrike have cybervenom," Depth Charge answered quickly. For now, he and Dinobot were on even terms.

The skeletal predator lifted his head, optics blinking once. "What about the ship's defense systems?"

The Maximal cocked his head. "What about them?"

"What if I programmed the internal defenses to target Megatron's signature as an intruder?"

Depth Charge's large, crimson optics narrowed in thought, then widened. "It could work. It's all we got, so give it a try."

            Shrieking, Dinobot fell onto his front claws and transformed, growling as he turned back to the computer. The two massive talons tapped on the keys, "Computer, access Nemesis defense grid."

"Acknowledged."

            The Maximal manta turned towards the door as Megatron roared, slamming into it. It was beginning to dent. Alloy that thick was beginning to dent. Huffing angrily, Depth Charge spotted his primary launcher and jogged to it, picking it up and ratcheting it. "Little faster, bone brain, or we're dragon chow."

Dinobot glanced over his shoulder. "I am moving as swiftly as possible, fishballs. There are certain safeguards in this system...unless, of course, you'd like to try and break the code!"

"I don't have enough patience for puzzles, Dinoboob. And neither does Megatron, so hurry, damnit!" Depth Charge fired back at the dino, motioning to the heavy door, which was very quickly losing its integrity. He aimed his missile launcher at it.

            Dinobot gazed back at the door, lips pulling back to expose sharp, predatory teeth. He tried another letter and number combination, another set of commands. Neither worked.

"Hurry, Dinobot!"

The armoured alloy blocking the way bowed inward sharply.

Dinobot tried something else.

"Dinobot!"

"Shut up and allow me to work, fishboy!"

            Depth Charge grunted, but shut his face. Time was running very short and his firepower was NOT going to stop Megatron as soon as he got through that wall. There was also no doubt that the angry dragon wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Come on, lizard lips, come on, come on..The ray prayed for the second time that day.

            Dinobot was practically sweating as he did his best to ignore the terrible noise originating from the lock. Megatron had somehow added a safeguard into the computer, when, the dinosaur didn't know. His breathing was quick, but he thought he was close.

Depth Charge couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Dino--!"

            Megatron shrieked in fury, slamming his right paw through the door. His side of the lock was clawed completely away, and his talons were hot with the friction. Fire shot out from his gaping maw, enveloping Depth Charge's weapon. The ray screamed and leapt back, dropping his gun and shaking his hand. "DINOBOT HURRY!"

"Acknowledged. Warning, warning, warning, intruder alert, intruder alert!"

            Dinobot turned slowly away from the computer, a smirk adorning his features as he gazed calmly, if not evilly, at his former commander. Megatron's cold yellow eyes locked onto the red jewels that glared at him, and they both paused, hatred rolling off of both forms. The autoguns activated. "You have taken my victory, Dinobot. You will pay dearly, oh yess, and you," the dragon snarled, turning to Depth Charge. "you will not survive on this planet much longer, no."

"All talk. Get out of here, Megatron!"

Megatron's jaw slipped to the side as his brow furrowed. The autoguns opened fire. "It appears I have no choice. Revel in your victory, Maximal!"

Dinobot smirked, watching the mighty Megatron take off down the hall. "External cameras, online." He turned to a monitor, watching.

The manta breathed a sigh of relief. "Depth Charge to Optimus Primal."

"Copy, Depth Charge. Report?" Primal sounded hopeful.

"Mission accomplished. Megatron is retreating, the Nemesis is secured. Need a repeat?"

"Negative. I heard you loud and clear. Good..good work, Depth Charge."

"Yeah, we're heading back for the surface. Depth Charge out." Ruby optics trained on Dinobot. "Unless you think you can swim up there yourself, let's lock this place down and go."

Dinobot rattled his jaws, almost purring. "Mmrr..one moment."

"What?"

"There is some information your comrades may enjoy having."

"My comrades?"

Dinobot realized his slip-up but ignored it in favor of typing on the keyboard. "Yes," he muttered lowly after a moment. "Your comrades. They are no longer mine."

***

            Rhinox slid over to the appropriate console, typing. Class three emergency information? What the..He clicked 'Begin Download'.

***

"Rhinox to Optimus Primal. You'll never believe what we just received from the Nemesis!"

Optimus Primal glanced to the starhopper-esque manta and his skeletal passenger hovering just to his right. "Try me, Rhinox."

"It's information that was not included in the texts we have. I need you back here, we may have a way back to Cybertron."

"Copy that, Rhinox. In other news, the Nemesis has been secured, Megatron is on his way back to wherever he and his Predacons hide, and we have gained a new ally."

"Who?"

"Tell Rattrap his efforts a few months ago proved a success. We have Dinobot back."