Bridging the Gap 

Part One

By: LoneMaximal

PG 13 (L)

'UGH! RETREAT!!’
  Missiles and lasers showered down on the surrounding area, turning up the land and creating huge craters. They sounded all over, like fireworks, their owners clearly having the area pinned.
  The five hiding Predacons quickly reverted back to their Beast Modes without argument and hurriedly disappeared.
  Megatron turned back to Optimus and grunted, his mouth twisting into a threatening snarl, before his purple T-Rex head took it’s place.
  ‘I swear, Optimus, you just got lucky!’ he shouted. ‘Next time, victory will be mine!’
He then turned tail and ran away into the distance, like his troops before him.

‘Yeah, whatever, Scalebelly!!’ Rattrap called after him, shaking a raised fist and holding his gun in the other hand. He was, however, sporting minor scrapes on both his arms and legs, and an open gash on the top of his helm.
Optimus heaved heavily. He ached all over, and like Rattrap, was littered with minor wounds. Particularly nasty, was the mechfluid- leaking cut on his face plate.
  He changed back to his Beast Mode and folded his arms, shaking his head.
  ‘Rattrap, I don’t think we’re in any position to pick a fight,’ he sighed. ‘It really was lucky we all got through that in one piece.’
Rattrap transformed back to his Beast Mode also.
  ‘Aw, c’mon. I was just foolin’,’ he chuckled, waving a little pink paw.
  
‘Optimus is right.’
  Rhinox trudged next to him, already donning his sandy-brown rhino Beast Mode.
  ‘Even though we won, we still took a beating. Some of these wounds are gonna take some time to patch up.’ He turned to Rattrap, and sighed solemnly. ‘Remember, there’s six of them and only four of us. We’re seriously outnumbered in battle, even if it is only by two, and they can take a lot more than us. We gotta start being more careful.’
Cheetor, who had slinked over during Rhinox’s little speech, promptly nodded. Rattrap just moaned.
‘Sheesh, I was only joking! Man, if this is what I get for tryin to lighten the mood, well, I might as well just not say anything.’
The other Maximals all hummed in agreement and nodded.
  Rattrap stared at them for a second, then let out a loud, angry groan.
  ‘NNNGH!HEY! That was NOT funny!’ He sat on his hind legs and folded his front paws, scowling miserably at them all.
  The three other Maximals fell into a bout of laughter. That was the thing about Rattrap; no matter what the situation, he could always see a funny side to it, and had the rare gift of spreading the way he saw it to whoever was in his company.  Even if it was at his own expense.
  
When the laughing fit died down, the Maximals set off back ‘home’ to the Axalon.
  In theory, the Axalon could be known as their home. After all, they did sleep, relax and, well, live there. There were even thoughts about re-decorating it. Nothing fancy, just a few modifications, extensions, etc. However, there was a heated dispute over the colour-scheme, but that’s probably best left unmentioned.

Now the Maximals were each waiting their turn to use the CR Chamber. Rhinox had painstakingly managed to alter the length of the repair cycle, with Cheetor testing it out.
‘I sure hope I got the timing right,’ he mumbled as the door opened. ‘Well, how’re you feeling, Cheetor?’
‘Feelin good, big guy,’ Cheetor replied cheerily, giving a thumb’s up. ‘You must have got the timing just right.’
  Rhinox let out a sigh of relief. Right first time, that was a good start, despite all the trouble he’d gone through adjusting the energon concentration ratio to the new extended time. And then there had been doubts over if the cycle was long enough.
The original repair cycle was half a mega cycle, simply because the ship was an exploration craft, and any and all injuries were predicted to be minor.
The new repair cycle was now only one full mega cycle; double the original time, but it still seemed dubiously short for the extent of damage from today’s battle.
  Still, Rhinox couldn’t argue with results. And the shorter than expected time was a welcome and efficient relief.
  ‘Well, since you’re feeling up to scratch, how about a little surveillance duty?’ Optimus suggested, though everyone really knew this was an order.
  And usually, Cheetor would gladly accept. However, a little unknown incident involving him and a rather hostile wolf transformer, suddenly replayed itself in his head.
‘Uh, surveillance?’ Cheetor gulped. ‘Like, on my own?’
‘Yes.’ Optimus arched a brow. ‘Just a quiet area near base. Say, Section 6. Why, is there a problem?’  
‘Oh, no. No, of course not,’ Cheetor grinned falsely, and rubbed the back of his head.
No, no problem at all. Except the next time he might be seen was probably hacked up into tiny bits! Oh, how tempted he was to just spill everything that had happened on his little ‘walk’ the other day.
But no, he couldn’t do that. Optimus already had enough to worry about, what with the current Predacon problem and all.
He didn’t need to know that there was already a race of transformers living here, and that they weren’t particularly happy  with the whole ‘Second Great War’ the Maximals and Predacons were waging on their home planet. Or that they didn’t see a difference between the two factions and wanted to kill them all, and the fact that Cheetor was as good as dead as soon as he left the Axalon.
No, he didn’t need to know that. Well, a least not now.
Cheetor sighed and went to the exit shaft.
***

He kept low to the ground. Quiet and unseen. Audios on full alert.
There was no telling when another one might pop up. They seemed to just come from no-where.
  
Tigatron had seen the previous battle. He was aware of how quickly both sides could gather and disappear.
However, both of them were exceedingly clumsy in concealing themselves.
He’d already got a close up view of Waspinator, who was too busy gorging himself on berries to notice him, and of Rattrap, who in Tigatron’s opinion, was the worst liability to be cursed with. The stupid rodent couldn’t keep quiet for two seconds. And loud? Those Predacons could probably hear him from half-way across the planet!
At least spotting his targets wasn’t difficult. It was just the fact they were armed and very dangerous that made him so edgy.  

But now he had a more perilous mission ahead of him. He was about to go straight into the lion’s den and attempt to get near the Maximal base. This was his part of the agreement he and Airazor had made.
  He didn’t know what to expect. These transformers were far more technologically advanced than the Earth Transformers, and they seemed to have a fetish for weapons. There’s no telling what kind of contraptions and creations they had on there.
  He was just grateful it wasn’t ‘in there’ he was going.

With a deep sigh, he edged to the end of the forest.
***
  
Cheetor fidgeted uncontrollably. He kept glancing around the surrounding  green gloom, searching for any trace of movement, and jumping at any sudden sound. His senses were heightened in Beast Mode, which at times proved useful. But not now.
  
Sector 6 wasn’t exactly known for it’s thriving wildlife, not since the Axalon had crashed. It was now a dark, dead area, abandoned by the once residing animals, and forgotten by the seasons. Nothing grew there and nothing lived there.
  
Cheetor kept praying, willing that Optimus would radio in, telling him he could come back to the Axalon.

‘Cheetor, come in.’
  Cheetor almost jumped out of his shell when he heard the faceless voice echo. After a few clicks it dawned on him that the familiar voice was coming from his chest.
  ‘Oh, uh hey Big Bot. What’s up?’
  ‘You can come back now. Everyone’s fine and fully functioning.’
  Cheetor could have done a summersault right there on the spot. That was the news he’d been waiting to hear for the past megacycle-and-a-half.
  ‘On my way,’ he radioed back happily.
  He leaped off the mound of earth he’d been sitting on and headed back for the Axalon.

  ‘And just where do you think you’re going?’ a cruel and all too familiar voice rang.
  Cheetor stopped still. He whirred his head around, his cat eyes focussing hard. Come on, he thought to himself, where are you?

  Suddenly, Cheetor felt a great force ram into him from the side. Shock overloaded his systems as he skidded on the ground, his front scraping along the forest floor.
  When he’d ground to a halt, a throbbing pain ran up along the back of his right side near his legs. He struggled to bring himself up, but the pain just got worse.
  Maniacal laughter filled his audios. When he looked up, he saw the great, grey and grizzly wolf form of Wolveron.
  ‘Guess they don’t always land on their feet,’ he chuckled cruelly, swishing his tail proudly. ‘And that was just a little tackle from Beast Mode. My, my, you are weak.’
  Other voices chorused with spiteful laughter. Cheetor looked around to see who else was there.
  
Out of the surrounding brush prowled four other wolves.
  One of them was a grey wolf very similar to Wolveron, except he was a little bigger built and had a flatter snout.
  Two more grey wolves strode out close to one another. Cheetor thought the blow was causing him to see double, as the two were identical; same size, same features, they even walked the same.
  But the fourth wolf was totally different. He was completely snow- white, and walked with grace and elegance. His eyes were thin, looking ancient and wise, and his coat was smooth and sleek.
  They came about Cheetor in a circle, each stopping  a few feet away from him and staring to their leader obediently.
  Cheetor noticed a slightly wider gap between the giant grey and white wolves. If he could just distract them for a second, maybe he could make a break for it.
‘So, kid, you scared?’ Wolveron asked gruffly, taking a step closer to Cheetor.
An idea hit Cheetor. It was a long shot, but it might just save him.
  He flinched falsely, and turned his head to the side. The wolves all roared with laughter at his apparent  distress. Wolveron took a step backwards and basked in the laughter himself.
  Bingo! Cheetor thought to himself, and without warning, darted for the gap between the white and grey wolves.
  ‘HEY!!’ Wolveron cried angrily, as he caught sight of Cheetor sprinting out of the circle. ‘GET HIM!!’
  The wolves all howled eerily, and began their hot pursuit after the fleeing Maximal.
***

‘Hey, Optimus,’ Rhinox called from his computer monitor. ‘Check this out!’
  Optimus was still helping Rattrap get Sentinel online. The project was proving much tougher than first anticipated. When he was sure Rattrap could be left on his own without causing his fifth explosion , he made his way to Rhinox.
‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.
  Rhinox grinned, chuckling slightly, and pointed to the monitor. Optimus stared at the screen, then blinked and looked again, his mouth straightening to form an expressionless look.
  The screen was divided into four, a view from each direction. Rhinox had brought one view, mainly focussed on the forest area, to the centre. This was the one they were looking at.
  What had caught their attention on this particular view was a rather strange and out of habitat creature. A beautiful, snow white tiger with vivid black stripes, to be exact. It was prowling just outside the edge of the forest.
  ‘Now, do you mind telling me what an Artic White Tiger is doing all the way over here, in a forest?’ Rhinox asked mockingly.
  Optimus was still focussing on the screen. A more perplexed look formed on his face.
  ‘…That is strange,’ Optimus finally answered, cupping a hand under his chin. ‘The Arctic region is nowhere near here!’
  He hummed as he thought, tapping his fingers under his chin.
  ‘What’s even weirder, is how long it’s been here,’ Rhinox stated, spinning round on his chair to face Optimus. ‘At first I thought it was a colour glitch with the computer, but then everything else looked alright. So then I thought, well maybe it was just passing by. But instead of heading north in the Arctic direction, it’s just kept coming to us. Now it’s been prowling around in circles, getting closer to the base. I’m telling you Optimus, this really isn’t normal’
  ‘Hmmm,’ Optimus hummed. ‘And how long has it been prowling around the area for?’
  ‘Since it got here. I…’  

BOOM!! A loud blast sounded from behind Optimus and Rhinox. They both ducked and held their heads as a rush of air filled the room. Then Optimus looked behind him to see what had caused the disturbance.
  Rattrap came forward, soot black from the explosion, and laughed feebly.
  ‘Heh-heh. Um, looks like I crossed a coupla wires,’ he shrugged.
  Optimus and Rhinox stared at him, optics wide with shock, but didn’t say anything.
  ‘Er…I’ll just get back to work then,’ Rattrap grinned, waving his thumb over his shoulder. He quickly disappeared out of the room.
  ‘I think it’d be safer if I went with him,’ Optimus stated dryly, when Rattrap had left the room. Rhinox laughed heartily.
  ‘Oh, look. Our little friend’s gone,’ he remarked sadly, catching a glimpse of the monitor.
   Optimus looked at the screen again.
  ‘Oh…what a shame. Still, I can’t blame it. I probably would’ve done the same thing if I didn’t know what had just happened.’
  ***
  
‘Not only are they dangerous, they’re crazy!’ Tigatron muttered to himself as he bolted back to the safety of the forest.
  Almost blowing their base up didn’t exactly make for a good first impression. Still, it was better than them opening fire, wasn’t it?
  At first, this is what Tigatron thought they were doing. That’s why he’d ran off so quickly.
  He soon realised this wasn’t the case, and quickly grew angry at his own cowardice and stupidity.
Eventually, Tigatron agreed with himself that he would resume to watch them  from a distance. He still had no idea that they also had been watching him.
***

Cheetor ran as fast as he could. He didn’t know how far behind him the wolves were, but he didn’t dare look back.
His back right side still throbbed horribly with every pelting step. How long could he keep this speed up?
  The answer was about to come soon, as poor Cheetor’s systems were gradually getting pre-maturely exhausted.  The earlier repair cycle, though seeming successful, hadn’t been enough, and his primary systems were still fatigued from the recent battle.
  The effect came almost instantly. An asphyxiating feeling suddenly filled him. A cramp-like pain started to flood all over his body. His legs felt like jelly, and almost gave way under him.
  Cheetor halted so fast he almost threw himself to the floor. He choked and wheezed heavily.
  ‘What…What’s happening?’ he gasped as he tried to get moving again.
  His whole body then started trembling convulsively. He couldn’t move.

  ‘There he is!’ one of the wolves yelled from behind him.
   Cheetor started to pant deeply. Soon they would be upon him. How long would that be?
    
‘Well, well. Nowhere to run now, punk!’ Wolveron growled, from behind him and transformed.
  The other wolves copied him, their transformations all similar to his.
  The white wolf’s transformation was almost identical to Wolveron’s, but in certain areas, his Robot Mode was very different. For a start, his metal work was a very light, pale blue, giving him a serene look. His white fur seemed to flow over him gracefully, and his optics were just like his wolf eyes, thin and wise, and their yellow glow sparkled. He too possessed a sword, but unsheathed it as gracefully as he walked in Beast Mode. Indeed, all his movements seemed graceful.
  The big grey wolf had brown metal work, which seemed to compliment well his grey, matted fur. He did not have a sword though. In fact, it was hard to tell exactly what weapons he owned, for none were made obvious. He had a bulging furry chest and was the largest of the group. His canine snout and cheeks looked slightly plump, giving an tough, bouncer appearance.
  The two twin wolves kept their symmetrical looks even in Robot Mode. They were both the smaller of the group, and both had the same bronze-brown metal work. On one side of their faces, underneath the eye, both bore a small, black underlining streak, that trailed down their cheek, but was on opposite sides for each bot. This was in actual fact a birth mark, and the only way to tell the twins apart.
  
  ‘Lemme at ‘im!’ the largest wolf growled gruffly.
  ‘Patience, Howler,’ the white wolf said calmly. He spoke as though he was singing, soft and quiet and melodious.
  ‘Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry, Snowlupe. But I just can’t help it, ’ Howler replied apologetically.
  ‘Hey, you guys! Keep focussed!’ Wolveron scolded. He then looked over to the furthest of the twin wolves.
‘Wolfpaw!’ he shouted. ‘Get in close!’
The transformer blinked and looked at him.
  ‘But I’m Wolfclaw!’ he called indignantly.
  ‘Yeah, I’m Wolfpaw!’ the closer twin cried, in almost the exact same voice.
  Wolveron mumbled a few curse words.
  ‘Fine, whatever. Just get in close, he’s not getting away this time!’
  Wolfclaw shuffled unenthusiastically closer to the group.
   
‘Heh. Think yourself lucky, kid,’ Wolveron sneered, his blade poised and ready to attack. ‘You’ve just met the Wolf Pack, the most famous Transformer Pack on Earth.’
  
  ‘Stepping out of line there, aren’t we Wolveron?’

  The rest of the Wolf Pack gasped and looked around for the owner of the voice. Wolveron started to shake with rage and growled viciously.
  ‘SHOW YOURSELF, PRIME!!’ he screamed, and spun around, looking for him.
  ‘Now, now,’ the voice replied coolly. ‘Everyone knows the Earth Protector Pack is more famous than you. And we’re damn site better fighters than you, too!’
    The wolf transformers started muttering between one another.
  ‘I can’t see him anywhere,’ and ‘Damn, where is he?’ cropped up from the wittering bunch.
  Wolveron was seething. He grew livid with every second.
  ‘I SAID SHOW YOURSELF!’ he yelled again.
  The Pack instantly quietened down, and looked to their leader. But nothing happened.
  Wolveron looked up to the tree tops.
  ‘Coward,’ he snarled to the forest. ‘You talk big, but will you face me?’
   
Silence.

  A chill wind brushed through the trees and shrubs.
  Cheetor was still panting heavily. He’d stopped trembling, but still couldn’t muster the strength to move.
  Wolveron had had enough. He grew tired and impatient of this waiting game.
  With a growl, he readied his sabre and began running headlong at Cheetor.
  
  Like a flash of lightening, a yellow blur suddenly shot out of the brush. It was almost too quick to see.
  It collided head-on with Wolveron, knocking him to the side and causing him to stumble.
  The other wolves hadn’t seen it coming, and only saw their leader fall to his knees.
  The yellow blur stopped abruptly on the other side of the Wolf Pack, and revealed itself to be another transformer.
  This one was tall and well built, with strong, golden fur covered arms and legs. On his broad chest was a fearsome lion’s head, below which, was a large set of muscles. A lion tail wrapped around his waist like a belt.
  When he turned back to face the mob of wolf transformers, Cheetor caught site of his face. His helm was dark blue, the main colour of his metal work, with an light, round, azure stone set in the centre. He had no mouth, but a face plate which spread across the lower half of his face.
  But what really caught Cheetor’s attention were his optics. They were the same dazzling, sky-blue as those of his lion Beast Mode’s.

  Wolveron staggered to get up, rubbing his cheek.  The mysterious transformer, seemingly known as Prime, had in fact delivered a heavy blow to his face, which was now reddening and beginning to smart as he rubbed it.
  The other wolves went over to help him up.
  ‘I’m fine!’ he snapped irritably.

‘You just never learn, do you?’ Prime chuckled, folding his arms.
   ‘GRR! I’ve had enough of you!’ Wolveron growled loudly. ‘You’re no better than one of them.’
   Filled with frustration, he jumped to his feet, pushing away his Pack.
   ‘Take him out!’ he shouted, pointing to Prime. ‘Take em both out!’
  
‘You all want a piece of me?’ Prime jeered.
  He then stuck his right hand behind his back and masterfully drew out a large, broad sword. The blade shimmered brilliantly, and looked as though it was made of pure crystal. He then swung it into battle position, taking on a sturdy and intimidating stance.
  ‘Then come get some.’
  
The Wolf Pack growled and heckled, but only looked nervously over to one another. There was something about the way he stood and held his sword that was incredibly daunting.  None of them wanted to move. They just felt frozen in place.
  Even Cheetor felt a little frightened by his dark and ,suddenly large, appearance.

‘What are you snivelling dogs doing!?’ Wolveron barked. ‘I said take em out.’
  Still the wolves did not obey. Instead they quietened down and lowered their heads; their silent reply.
  ‘Fine,’ Wolveron panted, his rage reaching new heights. ‘Then I’ll do it myself!’
   
Without warning, Wolveron darted at Prime. He leaped forward when he was no more than a few feet from him, letting out a terrifying battle cry, and drew his sword back far behind his side, ready for a full-on round slice.
  Prime, sword firmly in hand, also leaped forward with startling speed. The two warriors headed straight for one-another. Cheetor and the Wolf Pack could only watch as they got ready to collide with each other.  
  All too quickly, the two grew within each other’s reach. Wolveron swung his sword round at an unbelievable speed. Likewise, Prime moved his own sword at the same startling speed.
  Soon, the proud transformers slid past one another in midair, landing far apart, backs facing each other. Both wore stoic expressions, standing sturdy and strong.
  Which of the mighty warriors had won the bout? Time would soon tell.
  Their observers, Cheetor and the Wolf Pack, fell into an even more chilling silence. The air was polluted with tension. Cheetor could hear his spark pulsing. Time stood still.
  
  Then, suddenly, Wolveron let out a loud gasp and fell to his knees, dropping his sabre and clutching his chest. He gasped and winced in pain, deep red mechfluid seeping through his fingers and staining his grey fur.
  It was all over.
  Prime turned around, and regarded his fallen foe for a few seconds. Then disgustedly  turned around and walked away.
  ‘Let this be a lesson, Wolveron,’ he stated coolly as he walked, never once looking back. ‘Don’t piss me off!’  
He walked just past the Wolf Pack and stopped, back facing them.
  ‘And, as for you guys. I’m granting you all full pardon, now take him to get healed and get out of my sight.’
  All four wolves nodded solemnly, and left to attend to their fallen leader.

  Prime then walked over to Cheetor. The young Maximal was instantly filled with fright. What was he going to do to him? He couldn’t run away, no matter how much he wanted to.
  Prime towered over him, his optics fixed on the cowering Maximal.
  ‘You ok, kid?’ he asked, his voice still harsh.
  Cheetor nodded, though he knew he was far from alright.
  ‘Good,’ Prime sang, folding his arms; his voice sounding sarcastically happy. ‘Then in that case, you won’t mind telling me…JUST WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE!
  I already warned you. I’m not gonna be able to run around saving your sorry butt every time you decide to take a walk in the woods. Doesn’t your Pack Leader know how dangerous it is here for you guys?’
  Cheetor took a couple of deep breaths to clear his head. But he couldn’t even try to put together a suitable answer.
  ‘What do you mean ‘Pack Leader ?’’ Cheetor asked innocently.
  This was the only thing he could think to say? And no sooner had he uttered the words, it dawned on him how stupid they were.
Nice one. Just act like a total moron, that’s sure to make things better. IDIOT!
  Prime raised a brow.
  ‘Ok…’ he replied bemusedly. ‘Well, your boss. You know, your leader, head honcho. Whatever it is you call your bot in charge where you come from.’
After this brief clarification, Prime then changed back to his lion Beast Mode.
  Cheetor cocked his head to one side and pondered.
  ‘That would be…‘General’, I guess,’ Cheetor shrugged.
  ‘What?’ Prime cried sharply, giving Cheetor a look of utter disbelief. ‘Kid, this isn’t Military School!’
  Cheetor wasn’t sure why, but Prime saying that suddenly made his mechfluid boil. Surely he was aware of the war going on between the Maximals and Predacons. Did he have any clue how many had risked and given their lives back on Cybertron? No. How could he be so…so ignorant?
  ‘For your information,’ Cheetor raged, ‘I AM a Maximal. That means I AM in an army, and in case you’re not aware, I AM also fighting in a war!’
  Cheetor somehow managed to wobbly, but surely, stand on his four legs. The result of which pleased the mighty Earth Transformer a few feet away from him.
  ‘Well now,’ Prime smiled slyly, advancing slowly up to Cheetor.‘You got some brass bolts talking to me like that.’
He soon towered over Cheetor again. And Cheetor once again felt nervous. But he kept eye contact and stood his ground.
‘And I have to admit,’ Prime continued, stepping even closer to the young Maximal. ‘I’m impressed.’
  Cheetor could hardly believe his audios. Did that come out right? He’d impressed Prime, probably one of the strongest transformers on the planet?  
  ‘So kid, what’s your name?’   
  Cheetor blinked for a second, letting the question sink in.
  ‘I’m Cheetor,’ he replied with a smile.
  ‘Ok, Cheetor. Well, if you don’t know all ready, they call me Prime,’ the lion beamed back. His voice had returned to it’s gentle, friendly manner.
  Cheetor nodded, then felt a sharp pain in his legs. He quickly buckled and ended up sat in a crumpled heap on the forest floor.
  ‘Hey, you ok?’ Prime asked with concern, and walked up next to the young Maximal.
  However, soon the pain lifted and Cheetor slowly got up again.
  ‘Don’t worry about me,’ he grunted. ‘As soon as I get back to the CR Chamber I’ll be fine.’
  Luckily, Cheetor didn’t catch the wistful look on Prime’s face after he’d mentioned the words ‘CR Chamber’.
  
Truth be told, Prime had no idea what a CR Chamber was. In fact, probably none of the Earth Transformers knew what one was. The simple fact was, Earth was no where near as technologically advanced as Cybertron. However, this was the way Earth Transformers liked it; keeping to the planet’s organic roots and not letting technology rule them. In fact, they were probably much happier this way than any Cybertronian.
  And besides, who needs all that high tech equipment when you’ve got a planet full of raw energon at your disposal?

  Back to the matter at hand, Cheetor was certain he’d have to go back to the Axalon to get repaired.
  ‘Sorry, but it’s probably best I don’t come,’ Prime mumbled.
  He knew this sounded harsh and inhospitable, but he really didn’t like the thought of going to the Maximal craft. Even though he’d taken to Cheetor, there was still something about them all, Maximals and Predacons, that he just couldn’t trust.
  ‘Hey, no probs. It’s not far from here,’ Cheetor smiled weakly. He then heaved heavily and started his uneasy journey back to base.
  ‘Oh, yeah,’ he stopped and turned around, the same weak smile on his face. ‘Thanks again for saving my sorry butt.’
  Prime laughed.
  ‘You know I was only kidding. I’m always gonna be aroud to save your keister, kid.’
He winked back to Cheetor.
Cheetor laughed to himself and disappeared back into the dark, green gloom of the forest.

Well, that was different, Cheetor thought to himself smugly. Now, if I could only think up another excuse for Optimus, it would all fit together nicely.
  Who was he kidding? Twice in a row now he’d gone awol, and he could bet Optimus would have some questions ready for him.
  Now he’d have to start being even more careful.
***

Tigatron yawned loudly and arched his back into a cat-stretch.
  It was nearing nightfall, and since he’d started the distance watch, nothing even remotely close to eventful had happened.
What a waste, he thought bitterly to himself.
  He sighed and turned around to head off into the thick darkness of the forest. He’d done all he could, given the circumstances.
  He just hoped Airazor would have better luck with the Predacon base.